# Dr. Harvey's Pre-mix - possible for liver diet?



## Grace'sMom (Feb 22, 2012)

Hi all,

I've read some old posts on this, but wanted to know if anyone still uses it?

I've been home cooking for Grace. But I'm going to be starting a new treatment and worried I wont' always be able to cook for her.... and freezing what I'm currently cooking her doesn't work so great.

She is doing well with veggies. I use a mix of fresh and frozen right now and pulse them in the food processor.

But Dr. Harvey's seems to have all the veggies I'm trying to get into Grace on a weekly basis - sweet potato, carrot, beets, broccoli

Plus the lecithin (really good for her liver issues). The parsley and kelp will help with detoxing.

This is the ingredients list of the Canine health formula: 
Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Barley, Organic Triticale (wheat), Organic Spelt, Organic Brown Rice, Organic Kamut, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Potatoes, Zucchini, Peas, Green Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Parsley, Dried Yeast, Lecithin, Alfalfa, Dried Kelp, Ground Flaxseed, Calcium Citrate, Dried Ground Fenugreek, Dried Ground Fennel, Dried Ground Ginger, Dried Ground Peppermint, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Acetate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid

The veg-to-bowl is the same ingredients minus the grains (so starting at sweet potatoes).


Does anyone use it? Do your dogs like it?

Are the veggies similar to fresh/frozen when re-hydrated?

Do you use the fine ground veg? or the regular? or the canine formula? Grace does not like mushy food (like canned food) - but likes the pulsed veggies (still have shape, not pureed)... 

I sent the information to her vet to see what she thinks. Also emailed Dr. Harvey's to see what they say... I try to keep her veggies/cards : protein ratio 3:1 ... 3 parts veggies and carbs to 1 part protein.

We use cottage cheese, egg, soy, legumes, and sometimes a tiny bit of white fish.

Cooking those things ahead of time and having them frozen or ready (eggs we hard boil and those last for awhile kept in the shell) is easy.

The veggies and grains tend to get mealy if frozen... so hoping this may be a good idea?

I've looked at other dehydrated foods - we've tried some in the past that she doesn't like. But most have copper added, which we have to avoid. So many (like G'ma Lucy's) are out.

This one *looks* like real veggies - so I'm hoping that will mean she will like it better. The others look like paste, not at all like veggies. But - I could be wrong. Does it really look like veggies?

Sorry this is long winded.

Thanks!

Tori


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## Bishop (Mar 10, 2012)

Molly eats Merrick chicken, and she does really well on it, have you checked it out? It is sold at Petco! good luck


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## pammy4501 (Aug 8, 2007)

If you are trying to do a liver diet (and they do work) you might try the Dr. Dodds liver cleansing diet. Marj really knows a ton about all of this, because she cooked for Lady and kept her in great shape for years. Now, if you can't cook, at least the Veg to Bowl will allow you to control the protein content of the food. Look up Dr. Dodds diet, it's probably the best one, and truly works.

This thread is from Marj:
http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/60-maltese-food-snacks-treats/95052-dr-dodds-updated-liver-diet.html


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

pammy4501 said:


> If you are trying to do a liver diet (and they do work) you might try the Dr. Dodds liver cleansing diet. Marj really knows a ton about all of this, because she cooked for Lady and kept her in great shape for years. Now, if you can't cook, at least the Veg to Bowl will allow you to control the protein content of the food. Look up Dr. Dodds diet, it's probably the best one, and truly works.
> 
> This thread is from Marj:
> http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/60-maltese-food-snacks-treats/95052-dr-dodds-updated-liver-diet.html


That diet is great for dogs who have experienced liver damage. In Lady's case, it was from ten years of phenobarbital for seizures. Since you suspect Grace's liver disease may be from a vaccination, I would highly recommend it. Lady's liver healed on this diet and her ALT went back to normal. 

Are giving Grace milk thistle? Lady got it for most of her life to protect her liver. I swear by it.

MILK THISTLE

I can't find any nutritional analysis of Dr. Harvey's. That would concern me, especially for a dog with health issues.

*"Dr. Harvey's Canine Health* It is not clear how much calcium Dr. Harvey's product contains, and whether it would really provide a balanced diet. No nutritional analysis of his products has been done. It would be fine to feed this food occasionally, but look for a product that gives you more information for long-term use. 
Also offers Veg-to-Bowl, a mix of dehydrated vegetables and herbs, and a new Veg-to-Bowl "Fine Ground" that also includes supplements (indicating that neither of the original products are complete, as they do not include these supplements). 
Note that Dr. Harvey is apparently a chiropractor, not a veterinarian or someone with training in canine nutrition."

http://dogaware.com/diet/dogfoodmixes.html


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## Grace'sMom (Feb 22, 2012)

Thanks for the info... it's what I need before I buy something.

We are doing a liver diet.

We follow Dr. Dodd's plan - but use other vegetarian proteins. Grace is really symptomatic right now so trying to avoid all animal protein as it causes ammonia build up, and I notice her symptoms worse on days she eats mostly fish as her protein source (as opposed to egg or cottage cheese).

But our vet gave us Dr. Dodds plan to follow as a guide. Minus the supplements - as Grace is on a good complete vitamin right now.

So yeah, the Dr. Harvey's wouldn't work then. Because it has supplements and she is on one.

Just looking for something that would be okay in a pinch if I'm having a bad 2-3 days.

I can make the protein part ahead of time and freeze it - I freeze the cottage cheese in cubes.... can make hard boiled eggs ahead of time.

But when I tried freezing the veggies with it (and tried freezing them separate) she wouldn't eat it.

She's a stinker.

Right now she isn't at a point where I can say, "Well then you have to wait until next meal." ... She has to eat 3-4 times a day right now.

I guess I try to keep different things on hand.

Maybe I should steam them less? So they are still firm...and then freeze them? So I can just "re-heat" by steaming with boiling water to finish cooking?

I don't know.

She is on Milk Thistle... And she's on herbals to support her GI tract and liver. On Cranberry to keep UTIs at bay. I've noticed some improvement since starting the herbals - she is eating better (still have days it isn't great), pooping better. Still having problems peeing often enough. But it's early... so if we are seeing improvements now, I'm hoping in a few weeks there will be more improvement.

Just need to figure out how to do her meals.... since she really only eats if I make it every day. But that might not be something I can do for a few weeks.

Would be nice if she could make this one thing easy on me LOL



Thanks again!


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Pollack and cod contain an amino acid which helps heal the liver.

*White low-fat fish has a specific amino acid that actually helps heal the liver. Soy and fat-free cottage cheese also have this specific amino acid, but should not be used in a diet until the liver enzymes test comes back in a normal range.*

Liver Cleansing Diet and Milk Thistle

Dodds Liver Cleansing Diet | LIVESTRONG.COM

I used Dr. Dodd's diet to heal Lady's liver, then switched to a diet that had cottage cheese and eggs. At that point I introduced salmon and white meat chicken, too.


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

My friend Elaine has a dog that had a liver shunt removed, and two other dogs with MVD. She has been feeding her dogs sucessfully for many years now...I can put her in touch with you if you'd like. Maybe through e-mail....she loves to help people, but she's not good on forums...:blush::blush:

If you'd like to talk with her, let me know...and give me your e-mail address.


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