Gallbladder Health In Dogs | Short

Hi, this is Rita Hogan, and welcome to the Dogs Are Individuals podcast. I'm a clinical canine herbalist, and I've been practicing for over 20 years. This podcast is all about your dog.

Through an herbal lens.

So let's get to it and dive right in.

Hey, everyone. Hi. How has your week been? Mine has been very good. Very good. So we had someone write into the podcast this week. Irene. Irene, thank you for writing into the podcast. She says, hi, Rita. I'm in your energetics course. Thanks, Irene. I hope you're loving it. My Chihuahua has gallbladder sludge. Gallbladder bile sludge, Irene calls it. It's around 20%. Could you talk about this in your podcast? Love to hear your view. Her dog is slightly warm and slightly damp. Okay, that's good information, Irene. So let's talk about gallbladder sludge. Before I do, I promised you guys I would report back on the mushroom probiotic from Green Juju. I've been using it with my dog, Figgy Nubbins. Okay, so let me just say that I am so beyond impressed with this product. You can. I don't carry it because I don't have freezers and ability to send frozen things, but you can get it on their website@green juju.com they'll send it to you. It is amazing. So Figgy Nubbins has a compromised immune system from. I'm sorry, a compromised nervous system and immune system because she gets into fight or flight a lot. Now, that has gotten probably, I would say, 60 to 70% better, but she still has a little ways to go. And her gut has been off. And she was puking her food. Not like, not every meal, but she had been puking her food quite a bit. I went through all of the things with her. Nothing seemed to be working. And when I put her on the mushroom probiotic, I would say we're about. I think we're about three weeks in, maybe four. I'm not good on timelines, just so we know. Let's just make that a thing. I'm not good at timelines, but I would say a month, three weeks to a month. So her whole, like, digestive system is so much better. The reactivity is better. She's doing great. She's not puking. She's able to tolerate more. I would say she's in less fight or flight. And her coat is glowing, so. And we haven't made any other changes. So that's my report on Green Juju fermented mushroom probiotic. Just. I really am impressed I've used it with a lot of other dogs, dogs with like, brown tearing, dogs that are, like, using antibiotics, dogs that have used antibiotics. I love to. I've added it to my antibiotic recovery protocol as one of the rotations of probiotics. I definitely would put it in a rotation, try it out on your dog, see how it goes. But I wanted to put that out there. So let's talk about gallbladder sludge. Gallbladder sludges seem to be a thing over the last couple years. About three years ago, I never heard of it with dogs, I never worked with it. But the last couple years, it's been coming on strong. So gallbladder sludge is basically little bit bits of little bits and little bits and bobs. You know, it's not really normal for dogs to get it, in my opinion. I think that it's a product of, I would say, liver function. And we know that our liver function is down. Our dog's liver function is down. And Irene, I'm going to tell you about some remedies that, of course, all of these remedies are gallbladder sludge related. And gallbladder sludge thickens. It thickens the bile, okay? And bile is super important for digestion of fats inside the gastrointestinal system. And when you get this concentrated bile salt, it's also called bile salts, you know, you can get mucus and other types of metabolic waste in there that, you know, impairs the gallbladder's ability to do its thing. It stores and releases bile. That's what it does. But again, it is critical for digesting fats and eliminating toxins along with the liver. Okay? So if your dog has a problem digesting fats, you want to look at the gallbladder. Okay? So I guess that's what I want to say about the gallbladder. Right? Let's get into what can we do about this? Because, well, before we get into that, I do want to say, you know, what are some causes of gallbladder sludge? Okay. So poor liver health, and this may not be something that shows up on blood work, just may be something that, you know, is just like congestion in the liver, which also affects congestion in the gallbladder if your dog's overweight. Okay? So your dog being overweight or overfed can also, like, it can alter the bile composition. Okay. And that can lead to thickening of bile sludge, sludge, processed fats, you know, seed oils, processed fats can also have a negative effect on the gallbladder but, you know, a lot of dogs don't eat a lot of fried food or anything like that. Consuming excess seed oils can definitely affect that. And then, you know, we have the big, the big hitters. There's, you know, hypothyroidism can cause thick bile. And we discuss liver disease. And then also those things can be associated with pancreatitis. Okay, so those are like the things that, well, you know, can cause gallbladder issues. And then how do you know if your dog has gallbladder sludge? Well, they can have really pale stool. You know, their gums can be a little, like, little yellow. Same thing with, like, jaundice. And I mean, that's severe. But in the liver, they can have a little, like, abdominal pain. They can do hunching and seem uncomfortable. They don't like their abdomen touched. They can be lethargic. They can make know be. So they can also definitely have a reduced appetite, so they're. They're not as hungry. And I did mention before that fatty foods, anything fatty, any type of fat can upset them. And usually it leads to, like, nausea, sometimes vomiting. So you'll want to look at those, you know, put that little piece of the puzzle together. I'm not a huge fan of low fat diets, so I don't think that's the. It could be a temporary bridge, but I'm not a huge fan of them. You know, increasing fiber can be important. Adding some veg to the diet can be important. There are some remedies that are great for gallbladder sludge, so we're gonna deal with the easy ones, and then we're gonna talk about a little more complicated ones. So the first one is dandelion root, taraxicum officinale. And dandelion root stimulates bile. Okay. It helps with the production of bile and the flow of bile, but it also detoxifies, okay, the liver, which helps the gallbladder in every way, shape and form, and it helps with digestive health. So those are very important. But it helps thin the bile. All right, so you can use a dandelion root tincture. You could even use an infusion or a decoction, which is simmering in the root for about 30 minutes. And then just, you know, extra small dogs. Eighth. Eighth of a. I would say eighth of a tablespoon small dogs, a quarter medium dogs, a half large dogs, a tablespoon and extra large dogs, like 2 tablespoons, you know, as a start. As a start. Then, you know, we have milk thistle. So milk thistle Helps protect the liver. It helps with detoxification. It helps support healthy bile. And healthy bile, definitely. It helps thin the bile so that it can get out of the gallbladder. And it's gonna help with bile sludge. When you improve liver function, you improve gallbladder function. Okay. And vice versa. So they work together. Milk thistle is always a good one. I would just use the seed, so make sure that your, your extract is not standardized. I would use the seed so that you can use it for long periods of time. Turmeric. I'm sorry, When I say the seed, you know, make a infusion or a decoction out of it. And same exact amounts as the, as the dandelion root and used milk thistle. Or you can use a tincture of milk thistle. For gallbladder sludge, I would use probably two drops. One to two drops for extra small, two to three for small, three to four for medium, four to five for large, and five to six for extra large. And you could double those dosages if you need. Then we have turmeric. I would use that as a powder with some fat. It's a wonderful anti inflammatory for the liver and the bile. It's thin bile. It stimulates bile production and it helps with bile stagnation. Okay, that's really important. It's warming. Okay, it's warming. You wanna look at that? So, Irene, it may not be for your pup, but it is warming. And then we have artichoke leaf, which is cooling. Oh, turmeric. You know, I would definitely say an eighth of a teaspoon divided in half per day, extra small dog, quarter teaspoon small dog, half a teaspoon medium dog, 3/4 of a teaspoon large dog, and a teaspoon for extra large dogs per day to start. See how your dog tolerates that artichoke leaf. Cooling it definitely thins the bile, helps with bile stagnation, encourages bile flow, supports the liver, the gallbladder, digestive system. It does all the things pretty much same as dosage as turmeric. And then we have another warming one, which is ginger. Ginger is excellent when your dog is unable to digest fats. It helps with bile flow, it reduces bile sludge, it keeps it from forming. That means it thins it and it helps with stagnation. And you can use just like a little pinch, size appropriate pinch in the food. You can also make a tea, same dosages for milk thistle or dandelion root tea. Ginger tea is fabulous. You can make it from fresh ginger. Just grate some ginger into some water. Like 4 ounces of water with a couple little of ginger. Heat it up, taste it yourself, see how it tastes, and then you can give it to your dog. So another couple remedies that I use for gallbladder sludge is the phytoembryonic therapies. I love them very much. You already know that I use hedge maple. Hedge maple is cooling. You use the buds. You buy it as a already made remedy. It's in my store. It's great for dogs that are agitated, dogs that might have candida overgrowth or anxiety gallbladder sludge stones. It's a nice tonic for the gallbladder and liver. Dogs with high cholesterol. It's a wonderful liver and gallbladder detoxifier. And it can be mixed with any of those remedies I just talked about. And then we have Linden. Linden is. Linden is good for almost any dog. It's dogs that have a lot of anxiety. Okay? Dogs that have a lot of anxiety work well with Linden. Tilia tomentosa is its name. In phytoembryonic therapy, use the buds and dogs with acid reflux, you know, allergies, we talked about anxiety, chronic inflammation, circulatory issues, which includes gallbladder sludge. We need everything circulating high uric acid, hypertension, I would definitely say pain or weakness in the gallbladder. And then you can look at, you know, does your dog have any neurological conditions? Has it had any complications with the rabies vaccine? Any spasms? Is it hyperactive in fight or flight? These are all things that are associated with Linden. So if your dog has any of those, plus gallbladder sludge, I would pick Linden. So with phytoembryonic therapy, Basically I use 1 drop for extra small dogs, 2 for small, 3 for medium, 4 for large, and 5 for extra large. Twice a day before eating, turmeric can be in the food. Any of the dried herbs can be in the food. The infusions can be in the mouth or the food. And the tinctures give before food mixed in a little water, syringe it in your dog's mouth.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Dogs are Individuals. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave.

A review in your podcast app.

And don't forget, sharing is caring. So if you love Dogs are Individuals podcast, share it with your friends and family who love dogs. This will help me so much. And remember, as a listener, I appreciate you much. Thanks to Resonant Media, my podcast production team. This podcast is produced by Drake Peterson.

And edited by Mike Fry.

Any questions, email the show, go to k9herbalist.com, click podcast contact in the menu and then fill out that form and I'll answer any questions here online. Okay, so thank you so much for.

Listening to this episode of Dogs and.

Our Individuals Podcast and I'm going to.

Talk to you in our next episode.

The content of this show is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for veterinary care. This podcast doesn't constitute a provider patient relationship. As always, talk to your doctor, veterinarian or healthcare provider first before starting anything new. And that includes herbs. I'm not a doctor and I don't treat disease or prescribe anything. I'm a traditional herbalist providing herbal support education only. Regarding any products I may suggest the statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All information presented here on the podcast is not meant as a substitute or alternative to information from your vet. Please consult your veterinary professional about potential interactions or other possible complications before using any product.