Cousteau is a mini schnauzer, male, 5yrs old, neutered. He was diagnosed with hyperlipidemia (primary). He’s been on a combination of low-fat food and homemade diet (chicken, fish, veggies, oatmeal, etc) and on lopid. Unfortunately fish oils and a few other natural treatments didn’t work (fish oil elevated his levels a LOT). He has been doing alright, no vomiting or diarrhea or pain. Ten days ago he started to cough and whine
early in the morning and his vet said kennel cough. He has been
uncomfortable mostly in the early morning or at night, whining and swallowing. I have been giving him some honey when he gets uncomfortable. I also have a natural cough syrup I can give him, which contains thyme, licorice, plantain, horse chestnut, peppermint, eucalyptus, cajeput, juniper, wintergreen and clove. Would this be safe to give him (it’s called olba’s cough syrup). At this point I am getting worried about pneumonia. Is there anything else I can give him to help him with
the bordetella? I really want to avoid having to give him antibiotics.
Also, I am worried about long-term use of lopid because of its effects on the liver.
Cousteau has been on liv 52, natural liver protector, for a few months and it helps. Is there any other treatment route you’d recommend for his hyperlipidemia?
Hello,
Thank you for your inquiry to Holistic Pet Info. You are on track with the diet and medication; it’s too bad the fish oil wasn’t effective as it’s preferable over drug treatment. You may also consider offering more fiber such as canned pumpkin, flax seed meal, apples or lentils.
There are a few supplements you can try to help with reducing cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations: Red yeast rice at 30mg/ lb once daily and Niacin at 15mg/ lb in divided doses. Schnauzers are also prone to pancreatitis so digestive enzymes may also be helpful, as and they can take some of the work off the pancreas. Vetri-Probiotic BD by VetriScience would be an excellent digestive
enzyme and probiotic combination.
As far as the cough, unless your dog was in a boarding facility or recently groomed
it doesn’t appear that it would be bordetella. Even if it was bordetella, most dogs can recover on their own within 2 weeks. I would recommend further work up for heartworm disease and x-rays to check the heart and lungs.
Ideally, once you get the cholesterol and triglycerides under control you may be able to discontinue the Lopid.
Best of luck.
Regards,