MILK THISTLE FOR DOGS, INTERACTIONS AND BENEFITS

DISCLAIMER/DISCLOSURE STATEMENT: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. The information contained in this site is for educational and informative purposes ONLY and is NOT advice. Also, this website and the information contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Please refer to our Disclaimer Policy for more information.

Last Updated on December 29, 2023 by Thee Puppypreneur

Table Of Contents

WHAT IS MILK THISTLE FOR DOGS

Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) is a member of the Asteraceae family. Other relatives of this family are sunflowers, calendula, chamomile, and dandelions.

The reason I list the other relatives of this family is because they could, but do not always cause allergens since milk thistle is related to the ragweed family. This plant is known for being a very invasive weed with beautiful purple flowers.

When talking about milk thistle you will hear words like silymarin and silibinin or for short silibin.

The main active constituent in milk thistle is silymarin which comes from the seeds of the plant.

However, the silymarin is made up of other flavonoids such as silibinin which is thought to be the most active component of silymarin.

Some people prefer to take the whole seed which is silymarin while others prefer to go straight for the flavonoid silibin because they believe it is more potent and solely responsible for the benefits alone.

I personally like to use organic milk thistle that is at least 80% silymarin because there may be other beneficial effects that the whole silymarin contains as opposed to just the extracted flavonoid alone.

I use this milk thistle for dogs, well its for humans but I use it on them

Amazon.com: Organic Milk Thistle Extract, 3.5 Ounces, Pure Milk Thistle Powder Organic, Milk Thistle Tea, Contains 80% Active Silymarin, Strongly Supports Liver Health and Antioxidant, Vegan Friendly : Health & Household

There are options of milk thistle for dogs, specifically, like this one that has milk thistle as well as other ingredients

Amazon.com : Milk Thistle for Dogs – 120 Chewable Tablets – Liver and Kidney Support for Dogs – Hepatic Support with EPA & DHA – Detox for Dogs – Dog Liver Support – Liver Supplement for Dogs : Pet Supplies

Or another milk thistle for dogs product, if you prefer to use a liquid extract then another great option is this product by Pet Wellbeing® that is certified organic, and third party tested and only contains milk thistle and no extra herbs like the one above

Amazon.com : Pet Wellbeing Milk Thistle for Dogs – Supports Liver Health, Protects Liver – Glycerin-Based Natural Herbal Supplement – 2 oz (59 ml) : Pet Supplements And Vitamins : Pet Supplies

DOSE OF MILK THISTLE FOR DOGS

Milk thistle seeds are generally ground down and put into capsules that are standardized to contain a specific amount of silymarin.

Other forms of milk thistle can be in tincture form either alcohol-based extraction or alcohol-free. Milk thistle has a half-life of about 6 hours. ¹

This means that in order to keep a constant therapeutic amount in the blood stream and body you have to continuously dose every 6 hours for it to maintain full efficacy.

Also, the type of administration whether it be powder form or tincture can also play a role on the bioavailability.

When I give my dog milk thistle I typically do it every 6 months at a high dose of about 1600 mg of milk thistle extract spread throughout her meals throughout the day.

So, for 4 –6 weeks she gets about 400mg every 6 hours which is about 175mg per 10 pounds of body weight and then we stop and wait another 6 months before doing it again.

The above is a high dose that I give specifically for MY fur kid and your vet will probably recommend a lower dose or a maintenance dose if you are going to continually give it to your dog every day.

BENEFITS OF MILK THISTLE FOR DOGS

Milk thistle for dogs is well known for having anti-inflammatory, hepato-protective and hepato-regenerative properties, as well as anti-cancer properties.

Milk thistle for dogs is also a cholagogue meaning that it can stimulate the flow of bile in the liver and may be helpful in certain gallbladder issues where sludge has built up in the gallbladder.

LIVER SUPPORT

Milk thistle for dogs has many known therapeutic uses. One of the most notable uses is that it is a hepatoprotective meaning that it protects the liver.

For example, maybe you just finished a round of antibiotics with your veterinarian and you are worried about the hepatotoxic affects or the damage that it could have on your dog’s liver whether long- term or short-term. Then milk thistle for dogs could be an option for your furbaby.

Did you know that some widely used antibiotics such as amoxicillin-clavulanate have been shown to have a delayed onset on liver injury.²

Milk thistle for dogs is also known to have anti-oxidant effects and to support healthy liver function and the great thing is that the liver is actually capable of regenerating itself but

“in animals, silymarin reduces liver injury caused by acetaminophen,” radiation, iron overload. ³

ANTICANCER

Milk thistle has been researched to be more effective when used in combination with other anti-cancer drugs.

“Silybin may also affect the cell cycle in cancer cells by slowing down cell growth, as demonstrated with prostate cancer cell lines.” ⁴

Milk thistle has been researched and found to be effective in bladder cancer, brain cancer, kidney cancer, colon cancer, leukemia, skin cancer and more. ⁵

PANCREATIC DISORDERS

In my previous article on pancreatitis, we discussed how milk thistle can help possibly relieve some of the symptoms of pancreatitis.

In further research done on mice and rats it was confirmed that milk thistle was capable of protecting the pancreas from diabetic induced mice. ⁶

MILK THISTLE DRUG INTERACTIONS

Always consult your veterinarian for the proper milk thistle for dogs dose for your pet’s specific needs and condition.

Make sure you tell your veterinarian of any medications that your pet might be on as the silymarin in milk thistle can interfere with Metronidazole or brand name Flagyl®. ⁷

It can also affect the cytochrome p450 enzymes in dogs which means that it could interfere with how other medications are absorbed in your pet resulting in either too much or not enough of a drug being released in your pet’s system.

Milk thistle is also known to be a chelating agent of iron ⁸ which means that it could reduce absorption of that mineral.

MILK THISTLE ALLERGY CAUTIONS

Well, everyone says that Milk Thistle is “safe”. However, since milk thistle is related to the ragweed plant and the dandelion and the sunflower and part of the Asteraceae family it could potentially be an allergen for your dog.

I know for a fact that milk thistle and all its related cousins listed above are in fact allergens for my dog. However, the benefits most definitely outweigh the cost for her.

I only give her a little boost every 6 months of milk thistle to cleanse her liver and gallbladder.

So yes, she is itchy and her paws get red but it is only temporary and the positive effects, I feel that it has on her liver and gallbladder are the temporary trade-off for being itchy.

If you’re looking for herbs with amazing benefits such as liver protection then check out our other articles like the one below for amazing health benefits;

MEADOWSWEET FOR DOGS