very ill poodle

Question
Dear Silva,

Are there any natural remedies or alternative approaches to saving our 4 year old poodle who is dying.

She was in good health until this past April (although she was on prozac for 1 year due to overprotective behavior towards outsiders to the family)

She lost her appetite, followed by 1/3 of her body weight within 6-8 weeks. She was hospitalized by our vet for 10 days, at the end of which she was almost dead and had no diagnoses other than her liver values were bad. She was tested for cancer, parasites, lyme and all the routine problems. We brought her home and removed her from all medications expecting her to die within a few days. Instead she recovered her appetite and energy and over the course of 3 months gained back half her weight.

The problems have returned however. She is again losing weight and has distended intestines. The last visit to the vet showed enlarged intestine on the xray and elevated liver values again.

Her spirits are good but she is clearly starving to death.
She has little interest in her dog food unless we introduce something new. This increases her interest in eating, but usually leads to terrible diarrhea and vomiting. She can only tolerate a bland diet with frequent small feeding, but she turns her nose up at this.

What can we do to help her recover?

many thanks,
Laurie

Answer
Dear Laurie
You really need to get her to another vet for a second opinion.  She could have a twist in her intestines or many other problems, that only an Xray or ultrasound could detect.  All medications are processed by the liver, so if there has been a lot of medication consumption over an extended period of time, it is no surprise that the liver is struggling.  You may need to seek the help of a naturopath or homeopath with regard to getting the liver working properly.  But the first thing you really need to do is get a second opinion from another vet as to why her stomach is distended and why she is losing weight.  There is no point in addressing other issues until this is sorted out.  
I am sorry that I can't offer you more advise than this, but you really need to actually get a diagnosis so that you can plan what path you will take.
Many thanks,
Silva.
www.roxysworld.com.au