Doing a dog liver detox or gentle liver cleanse is one of the most important things we can do for our pet’s health. I do this myself, with my dog and did it with Max, a client’s dog who always seems “run hot” even while in an air-conditioned home.

In this blog, I give you several options to help you gently detox your pet’s liver with liver detox drinks, liver cleansing foods, dog detox supplements, and liver detox herbs!

Max’s results after the green drink and detox smoothie were he did not pant as often. The few times he did, he would cool off faster. Also, he wanted to take longer walks, was a lot more playful overall and lots of silliness ensued as seen in this video.

As a side note, if you’re interested in a pet bed that looks like Max’s dog bed you can buy a chemical free dog bed with bolster here.

Why do I need to do a dog liver detox or cat liver detox?

Our liver protects us in many ways such as from everyday toxins. If your pet’s liver gets overloaded your pet can experience health issues like high blood pressure, skin conditions, fatigue, and weight gain.

Think of your liver like the air filter in your car. If it gets dirty, your car is not going to perform as well right? You may see things like a drop in gas mileage. Unlike your car’s air filter which can be pulled out and replaced, our livers need to be cleaned up by the things we do or don’t put into our bodies.

Whether you’re a Medical Medium pet owner or follow a holistic vet, much of this information will sound familiar or align with holistic pet health recommendations.

Disclaimer. While the celery juice and the 2 powders in the green drink are considered safe for dogs and cats, I always suggest starting with 1 thing and a small dose. Also, check with your vet to see if they feel it is safe based on your pet’s current health

Celery juice for dogs and cats

Pet liver detox drink option 1

Instructions: Drink this on an empty stomach AND wait 30 minutes before serving your dog or cat any food.

How to make celery juice: you will need a masticating juicer or powerful blender. I bought this BPA-free blender with an 8-year warranty to make my celery juice and smoothies. FYI: you will also need something like a nut milk bag to strain the celery for celery juice.

Celery juice amount for dogs and cats: Start your cat or dog with a small amount and build their tolerance from there. Their health will play a factor! If your pet is struggling with its health you may want to start off really slow with one to several drops of celery juice.

Celery juice for dogs: To give you an idea I worked my 70 lb dog up to 2 ounces.

Celery juice for cats: I see people on Instagram doing this with their cats starting from 1/8 tsp and they worked up to 1 tsp, depending on the size/weight of the cat.

Tip: If your dog or cat won’t drink celery juice voluntarily, you could try to give it to them with a pet syringe (needless syringe). I lean towards figuring out a way to get them to drink it on their own. Although celery juice works best by itself, my client’s dog refused it no matter how many times I offered it to him. In this video, you can see Max happily drinks celery juice once I mixed in the 2 powders from the below green drink.

Finally, if all else fails, a Celery juice alternative is cucumber juice.

Greens drink for dogs and cats

Pet liver cleanse drink option #2

Instructions: Have your cat or dog drink this green detox drink for pets on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning, AND wait 30 minutes before serving your dog or cat any food.

Ingredients and directions: Mix algae and this green juice powder with a few ounces of water or coconut water. If you feel more comfortable getting a product specifically for dogs, you can purchase this blue-green algae for dogs.

Dosage: On each bottle. Please note, If you are using a human supplement that is safe for pets you will have to learn how to calculate a proper dosage for dogs. This example gives you the formula along with an example calculation for you to practice.

Liver detox smoothie for you and your dog

Only part of this 12-ounce smoothie should be shared with your dog. For example, a 70 lb. dog could have a half cup of this smoothie and you drink the rest. I am not suggesting this for cats.

Instructions: 1) You can have this smoothie 30 minutes after one of the above detox drinks. 2) No animal protein for at least 1 hour after drinking this smoothie. Why? Fruit and animal protein do not mix well together.

Ingredients and directions: Put the following ingredients into a blender. 1 banana, 1/2 cup red dragon fruit (aka pitaya), 1 cup wild blueberries, and water for desired consistency. Blend for 45-60 seconds, depending on your blender’s strength and speed.

Tip: If you can’t find these fruits, you can try this dragon fruit powder, or for the wild blueberries you can try this wild blueberry powder. If you want a larger smoothie, double everything except the dragon fruit.

Liver detox breakfast for dogs

Instructions: You can serve this homemade breakfast for dogs 30 minutes after your detox drink or detox smoothie.

Why a meatless meal for dogs? Waiting to have meat, or any other source of fat from animals or plants, until later in the day will help continue the liver detox process.

Tip: If you only feed dinner but give your dog a morning snack, give your dog a meatless dog treat like this, or make your own 3-ingredient Vegan Dog Treat. If you feed breakfast and dinner then a meatless meal for breakfast is a good option.

One example of a meatless meal I made for my dog, seen in this photo, consisted of quinoa, steamed sweet potato, raw kale or spinach, and celery.

Liver detox foods for dogs

Celery can reduce lipomas.

Cucumbers have a cooling effect on the adrenals, liver, and kidneys! Cucumbers contain enzymes to help the body’s protein digestion process.

Red skinned apples increase digestive strength, help rid your body of bacteria, yeast, and mold, quench thirst, and are a great detoxifier.

Sweet potato is anti-cancerous, helps with stress, and helps remove heavy metals.

Spinach is the most beneficial raw not cooked. Spinach is a source of protein and helps the liver recover by removing waste from the liver.

Kale is rich in Omega 3’s. Kale helps with arthritis, feeds beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract, stimulates the liver, and kills strep (which can be responsible for chronic ear infections).

Tricks to get your dog to eat fruit or veggies

If your pet won’t eat fruits or vegetables, try giving them a smaller piece!

Sometimes it is not that your dog doesn’t like apples or celery but they don’t like the size of it. Yes sometimes it is really that simple, watch my client’s dog in this video. Dog rejects and then eats the apple.

Liver cleansing herbs for pets

If you prefer to use pills this dog liver detox supplement is a good option. Another option is a liquid herbal remedy like this one. It does not have as many ingredients as the pill but it would be a good start.

Comment below to tell me what you tried and how it helped your pet!