Feeding guide for adult dogs with liver shunts or advanced liver disease
With CompleteMe Hepatic Canine
Make lower protein, lower purine therapeutic dog food with controlled copper at home quickly and easily.
Formulated for adult dogs with portosystemic shunts, other vascular anomalies or end-stage liver disease. Low fat options available.
Not suitable for growing puppies; please see our other feeding guides.
Makes 1 kilogram of food, which can be portioned and frozen.
Ingredients
200 grams of:
Cooked whole egg, chicken or duck (no shell)
OR
Low-fat cottage cheese (2% fat)
50 grams of boneless raw meat
(choose from: skinless chicken thigh or breast, skinless turkey breast or boneless drumstick, skinless duck breast, turkey mince (6% fat), pork mince, shoulder or loin (5% fat), or boneless rabbit meat)
500 grams of starchy vegetables and/or cooked grains
(choose from: sweet potato, potato, oats, brown rice, quinoa or wholemeal pasta. For any grains or pasta, please weigh out the required amount after cooking)
150 grams of colourful vegetables and fruit
100 grams of kale (fresh or frozen)
OR
3 tablespoons of ground sesame seeds
OR
33 grams textured vegetable protein (TVP; soak before use)
Please select one of these to provide just enough copper from food ingredients to meet the minimum requirement for an adult dog.
3 mL omega-3 rich oil (3 x 1000 mg capsules)
(choose from: fish oil, salmon oil, krill oil, or marine algae oil)
2 teaspoons of omega-6-rich oil
(choose from: hempseed oil, walnut oil, rice bran oil, pumpkin seed oil, canola oil, or sesame oil)
12 grams of CompleteMe Hepatic Canine
Optional:
1 level teaspoon of one of the following:
Turmeric, chia seeds, fresh parsley or mint, honey or maple syrup
OR
1 level tablespoon of one of the following:
Full fat natural yoghurt or plain kefir, bone broth, fermented vegetables (no chilli or garlic)
Directions
- Gently pan-fry the diced meat with 20-30 mL water until cooked.
Omit this step if you would prefer to use raw meat. - Steam or microwave the chopped vegetables until very soft.
- Cook any grains or pasta (if using) until very soft, as per the manufacturer's instructions.
- Combine the meat (including liquid from pan), cooked egg or cottage cheese, cooked vegetables, fruit, kale/seeds/TVP, and oils, and mix well.
- Allow to cool then add 12 grams of CompleteMe Hepatic Canine and mix again.
- Portion and refrigerate, or freeze as desired. We recommend feeding small frequent meals.
Storage and safety
For homemade diets only
Do not add to any commercial dog food, or use with any other nutritional supplements (containing vitamins and/or minerals).
Raw feeding safety
For raw meat, freeze for 10 days before use to destroy parasites like Toxoplasma. In areas with Trichinella, please freeze pork for 3 weeks before use.
Storage and feeding
Larger batches can be made and frozen for convenience. Keep refrigerated food for 3 days, and frozen food for 3-4 months. Please discard any uneaten food after 30 minutes.
Feeding guidelines
Toy/mini breeds (<5 kg): 150-400 g/day
Small breeds (5-10 kg): 270-700 g/day
Medium breeds (10-25 kg): 600-1250 g/day
Large breeds (25-45 kg): 1100-2100 g/day
Giant breeds (45-80 kg): 1550-3500 g/day
Feeding quantities are estimates, and are based on fresh food which contains significantly higher moisture than dry food. The energy density of the diet will also change depending on the ingredients you select (lower fat = less energy dense = more food is needed).
Adjust up or down the amount of food based on your dog's size, body condition, age, and activity level.
If your dog gains unwanted weight, reduce the amount you are feeding by 10-15% and reweigh after a week. If they have unwanted weight loss, increase the amount you are feeding by 10-15% and reweigh after a week. Continue to adjust until the right amount of food is determined. Please consult with your dog's veterinarian as needed, especially if your dog is underweight or has severe liver disease.
Learn how to quickly body condition score your dog here.
Nutritional information
Food made as per the instructions above is complete and balanced, and meets the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profile for maintenance in adult dogs.
It is not suitable for growth and should not be fed to puppies or reproducing females.
All possible combinations of the ingredients listed above have been checked to ensure that the diet contains moderate to very low protein and purines, controlled copper, and is enriched with fibre, antioxidants, and omega-3.
The average kcal/gram for the diet is: 1 kcal/gram
The average protein for the diet is:
51.5 g per 1000 kcal ME
49% dry matter basis
The average fat for the diet is:
32 g per 1000 kcal ME
13.5% dry matter basis
The average copper for the diet is:
2.4-2.6 mg per 1000 kcal ME
10-10.7 ppm dry matter basis
The average moisture is: 76.5%
FAQs
What disease/s is this diet appropriate for?
This diet is intended for dogs with portosystemic shunts or other vascular anomalies (for example, hepatic microvascular dysplasia), or dogs with end-stage or advanced liver disease, needing a reduced protein diet. It may be especially suited to dogs with clinical signs of hepatic encephalopathy and/or concurrent urate urolithiasis/stones.
It contains predominantly dairy/egg-derived protein, with a small amount of added lower purine animal-derived protein, for improved palatability. Dairy/egg-derived proteins are preferred as they are free from heme and other non-protein nitrogenous compounds; these compounds may worsen hepatic encephalopathy is some animals.
Some dogs with shunts (especially post-attenuation) may tolerate and do well on a higher protein diet; in this case, we would recommend our 'Feeding guide for liver support'.
Which vegetables are preferred for dogs with liver disease?
We recommend avoiding mushrooms (especially shiitake mushrooms), as these are purine-rich ingredients.
For vegetables, try pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrot, zucchini, squash, spinach, chard, turnips, kale, parsnips, watercress, Asian greens, tomato, capsicum or cabbage.
Both fresh and frozen vegetables are fine. We recommend steaming or microwaving for vegetables. Locally sourced, regeneratively farmed vegetables are a great choice, if possible, as they are both more delicious and more nutritious.
For fruit, try colourful antioxidant-rich choices like blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwifruit, apple, mango, papaya, pineapple, pear, or melon.
There's not much meat in this diet; what about taurine?
CompleteMe Hepatic Canine contains adequate taurine and is appropriate for vegetarian or predominantly vegetarian therapeutic diets.
How can I store the food?
This makes just over 1 kilogram of food, which can be portioned and fed immediately, or stored in the fridge (max 3 days) or freezer (max 3 months) until needed.
Can I use raw meat?
You can include the meat raw or cooked, depending on preference. For raw human-grade meat, be sure to freeze the meat for 10 days prior to use. For pork (in areas with Trichinella), freezing for 3 weeks prior to use is sensible. Please discuss raw-feeding with your dog's veterinarian; raw feeding is not suitable for all dogs or households and may be an especially poor choice for dogs with more advanced liver disease.
Which are the lowest protein combinations of ingredients, for dogs with more severe disease?
For a low protein diet, select fattier proteins. The following are the lowest protein combinations:
- Cooked whole egg + turkey mince (6% fat) + sweet potato
17.6% protein on a caloric basis - Cooked whole egg + skinless and boneless chicken thigh + wholemeal pasta
20.4% protein on a caloric basis - Cooked whole egg + pork mince (5% fat) + rolled oats
22.3% protein on a caloric basis
Please include all other ingredients as per the list and instructions above - do not leave anything out.
For an ultra-low protein diet, we would recommend a nutrition consult and personalised recipes. Please get in touch with us.
My dog needs a low fat hepatic diet; which ingredients should I choose?
For a low fat diet, select leaner proteins. The following are the lowest fat combinations:
- Low-fat cottage cheese + skinless and boneless chicken breast + sweet potato
21.3% fat on a caloric basis - Low-fat cottage cheese + skinless and boneless chicken breast + wholemeal pasta
21.5% fat on a caloric basis - Low-fat cottage cheese + skinless and boneless turkey breast + brown rice
21.8% fat on a caloric basis
Please include all other ingredients as per the list and instructions above - do not leave anything out.
My dog has allergies, can I use novel proteins like emu or crocodile?
Unfortunately not, as many of these proteins are high in purines, which may increase the risk of urate bladder stones in some dogs. Please contact us for more information. A nutrition consult and personalised recipes may be helpful.
What treats can I feed?
We recommend avoiding any meat-derived treats, especially those containing offal, as these are rich in purines and high in protein. Also avoid seafood/fish as well. Fresh fruits and vegetables, plain rice crackers or cakes, plain oven-baked sweet potato or pumpkin crisps, or full-fat natural yoghurt can be given in small amounts. Please see our blog post here for some treat recipes and other ideas. Whimzees are meat-free lower protein chews that may be well-tolerated by some dogs.
Need to restock?
CompleteMe Hepatic Canine
CompleteMe Hepatic Canine contains essential nutrients, omega-3, fibre, and therapeutic compounds to create a balanced hepatic diet with controlled copper at home.
Formulated for the management of:
- Copper-associated liver disease
- Hepatic vascular anomalies like portosystemic shunts
- Hepatic encephalopathy secondary to shunts or liver disease
- Other liver diseases
For homemade diets only; not suitable for commercial diets. Suitable for raw or cooked diets, depending on preference.
Must be used with our simple feeding guides to create a therapeutic diet. Choose the ingredients you would like to use and add CompleteMe Hepatic Canine to ensure the diet is balanced and appropriate.
Both the product and feeding guides were developed by VNG's two Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists®, Dr Becca Leung and Dr Meredith Wall.