Cleansing Diets

These homemade diets are intended to help ‘cleanse and heal’ the body during ongoing illnesses of the liver, kidney or bowel. Please note that Dr. Dodds still recommends testing your dog’s food sensitivities and intolerances with NutriScan, as this will direct you in selecting the future food needs of your pet, once short-term healing has taken place.

Liver and GI Tract Cleansing Diet*

Dr. Dodds recommends a formula of 2 cups of pollack, cod or any other low fat white fish fillet to 6 cups of veggies and potatoes, or 25% pollack, cod or any other low fat white fish fillet to 75% veggies and potatoes. Chicken, turkey or pork can be substituted or added, if the dog will not eat fish or has an intolerance to fish. This recipe is for a 15-18 pound dog and to be fed over approximately one week; please adjust according to the weight of your pet.

Liver Cleansing Diet Phase 1
1 and 1/2 cups moist white cooking potatoes
1 and 1/2 cups sweet potatoes
2 cups pollack, cod or any other low fat white fish fillet

Liver Cleansing Diet 2 – Add vegetables based on toleration
1 and 1/2 cups moist white cooking potatoes
1 and 1/2 cups sweet potatoes
1 and 1/2 cups of zucchini
1 and 1/2 cup green beans, kale, celery, summer squash, chopped carrots, spinach, green beans or yellow squash and scrambled eggs, if these are tolerated.
2 cups pollack, cod or any other low fat white fish fillet

Scrub the potatoes well and cut them up crosswise into 2″ pieces so the skin circles the potatoes. OR, you can peel the potatoes before you cook them and cook until they are soft. When cooled, remove the skins.

Wash the vegetables steam or cook until very tender.

2 cups pollack, cod or any other low fat white fish fillet poached in a frying pan with water until fish is white and flaky.

Mix all ingredients together until it is well blended. For flavor you can add a pinch of garlic powder and a little Italian Seasoning to each meal.

Liquid multivitamin or supplement such as the Missing Link. Feed three to four meals per day. Add the herbs, milk thistle (silymarin) and S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) to cleanse the liver.

Milk Thistle Dosage
Dog’s size
Dose as % of adult human dose

5 lbs.	10%
6-10 lbs.	15%
11-20 lbs.	20%
21-40 lbs.	30%
41-70 lbs.	50%
71-100 lbs.	75%
>100 lbs.	100%

*G. A. R. D. [Glutamate-Aspartate-Restricted-Diet]. Avoid wheat, corn, dairy and soy.

Kidney Cleansing Diet for Dysfunction (not failure)
Ingredients
White and/or brown rice OR white potato
White fish sardines, pork or duck. Note: Do not use high-mercury fish, such as tuna and swordfish.

If using rice, cook according to package directions. If using potato, cook until tender (e.g.—bake in skin or remove skin, cut into pieces and boil or steam). Remove skins and lightly mash.

Bake, broil or steam the fish until thoroughly cooked throughout, or drain if using canned sardines. If using pork or duck, cook well throughout.

Combine the rice or potato with the protein (fish, pork or duck) at a ratio of 2/3 rice or potato and 1/3 protein. Season with mixed Italian herbs or parsley.

Later, when your dog has begun feeling better, you can gradually add in finely chopped, lightly cooked (e.g.—steamed) vegetables such as carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, spinach, kale and green beans as well as one scrambled egg per meal, if your dog tolerates these foods.

Supplements
Add supplements as listed in the sample diet in Chapter 3 of Diana Laverdure’s and my book, Canine Nutrigenomics: The New Science of Feeding Your Dog for Optimum Health, including a high-quality pre-/probiotic. Be sure to include an omega-3 fatty acid supplement. Adjust supplement doses according to your dog’s weight.

Feed three – four small meals per day (or at least two meals per day, if your schedule does not allow for more). The total amount of food given should meet your dog’s required daily caloric intake.