# Milk thistle and heartworm medication



## bruins17 (Feb 16, 2012)

Hi ive been doing alot of reading on here lately and have seen some of you have been using milk thistle to help protect your dogs liver. I was just wondering when you suppliment this? i know tha theartguard is usally run from july to november ( vets instructions) so would i suppliment the milk thistle after hes done the heartworm or would i use it during those months from july to nov?


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

My friend give's her old pug milk thistle every day. We also heartworm the dogs every month year round down here (SW Florida), it's just too risky not to. She's only giving the milk thistle because her dog's ALT is high (213), it definitely helps.


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## bruins17 (Feb 16, 2012)

why do you say its to risky


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

bruins17 said:


> why do you say its to risky


In Florida its too risky to go without heartworm prevention at any point in year because the risk is always there regardless of the time of year. 

It would be fine to start supplementing with milk thistle a few weeks before prevention and continuing it several weeks past the last dose of prevention as well. Milk thistle is a very safe supplement so you can't really go wrong with it.


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## bruins17 (Feb 16, 2012)

i see, so your saying it would be safe to suppliment a healthy dog his whoel life with milk thistle? wouldnt that just increase the risk of liver problems eventually from so much supplimenting


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## brandypup (Jan 23, 2012)

When I was giving milk thistle it was 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. My understanding is that it works bette that way and shouldn't be given straight though. I gave it for a cat on pheno for seizures. I was also givign it during vacciantions for a 2 week period and ntohign more. And then after surgeries for 2 weeks.


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## Mondo (Dec 20, 2011)

My research indicates that healthy dogs shouild not be given mlk thistle. i.e. dogs that do not have elevated liver enzymes, one quite high and the other more moderate. 

It's a remedy. 

Both of mine do have elevated liver enzymes, and they are 11 and 12 years old.


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I have to say, I have lived in Florida all my life..Don't know if I'm proud of that or not lol . Anyway, I do not give heartguard for several months out of the year, when it dries up there is no skeeters. So I take that opportunity not to give my doggies that poison. I guess I'm getting weird about all this stuff I also stop giving the flee stuff. I only just gave it to Skimmer since she was going on the road with me and we would be in bad hotels and on different grounds. Possible ticks along with flees. But no problems.

I am making an effort not to use that stuff. I have always had dogs since I was a kid, our poodle lived to about 18 years old. He ate table scraps and never got anything but a flee collar once in a while. I have had one dog that got heart worms and she was always out chasing critters, a doberman rescue. She got them when she was about 13 years old, but she also had cancer, they gave her six months she lived two more years very happy chasing animals she also ate what ever I ate, she loved my salad scraps. Back then only the rich could afford heart worm meds.:redface:


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

Just a note I have them tested regularly !


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

So you don't give heartworm from like, Dec - April? I thought about it, but then got bitten by some mozzies a few weeks ago when it was around 86 and we were down in the mangroves, so I chickened out. The vet told me I should really put the cat on heartworm preventative as well, which I hate to do, he said there are more and more cats catching it round here nowadays. Windy's outside with me in the early mornings and early evenings, so I got her tested and she's fine thank goodness, but God, I really don't want to put the poor little thing on that Advantage Multi.
I don't give Mol or Wind any flea prevention at all either. Mol's at the dog park and out in the fields, so we've been lucky I guess.
I absolutely detest giving them these chemicals though.


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## bruins17 (Feb 16, 2012)

What are the "safest" brrands you can get for heartworm?


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