How much Milk Thistle do you give a dog with elevated liver enzymes?

The dosage amount will depend on if you are treating a specific issue or preventing liver damage. For elevated liver enzymes, there might be a specific liver dysfunction happening so you’ll want to work with your Vet on proper treatment. Dosage for addressing poor liver function and repairing damage is between 7-20mg per pound. (Dosage is for Milk Thistle Extract with 80% Silymarin.)

Here’s an example: a dog or puppy that weighs 3lb would take 21-60 mg per day. Max dosage is 20 mg, 3 times per day. Check with your Vet before using this high dosage.

If you want to prevent harmful build-up of toxins and support the liver. You may want to do a liver flush or detox once or twice a year for 3-6 weeks. That only requires a small dosage of milk thistle. The recommended dosage for detox (flushing toxins) is 3-7mg per pound. For example:  a dog or puppy that weighs 3lb would take 9-21 mg per day. Or 7 mg, 3 times per day

A good maintenance dosage, if your dog has Chronic Liver Disease or poor liver function, is 7 mg per pound.

For example:  a dog or puppy that weighs 3lb would take 21 mg per day. Or 7 mg, 3 times per day Again, check with your Vet before using the highest dosage.

Milk thistle is regarded as very safe for use in dogs, it has an excellent safety record and lack of adverse drug interactions. If you do give too high a dose, it can cause an upset tummy, gas, or mild diarrhea; these are easily resolved by giving a smaller dosage multiple times a day.

Human research studies have shown that it is more effective to administer this herb in three or four small portions over the day than in one large daily dose. When it is not possible to split the daily dose and administer the fractional portions three or four times a day, give it at least twice a day.

I was told by a herbalist to give Milk Thistle at night before bed because the liver does it’s cleanup at night and adding Milk Thistle will give it extra support to do its job.

The Forever Dog book lists Milk Thistle and says: “This herb should be pulsed (given intermittently) for maximum efficacy.”

One example of this is to give it daily for 3 to 6 weeks, then take a week break, and repeat if needed.

Step 2: Break the dosage down into 2 or 3 smaller dosages so you can give it 2-3 times per day.