Maybe that’s the reason I lost a dog to liver failure 2 years ago and my other dog was recently revealed to have liver problems via blood test last month. These dogs shouldn’t be having problems with their livers–livers filter toxins and I avoid feeding sketchy things. I even thought I was feeding a quality food. Yeah right! I frankly feel terrible and am struggling with guilt over this right now. My only defense is a flimsy one–ignorance.
There’s something very odd about those ratings. They give 3, 4 and 5 stars to some foods that are listed on the 10 and 20 worst dog foods, like Beneful and Kibbles and Bits.
There are toxins in all of our foods. If you’re cooking rice for your dog, odds are it has a higher level of arsenic and maybe lead than dog food. The only way to avoid some pesticides and antibiotic residue is to buy organic.
BTW, the Clean Label Project isn’t credible. So far they have released none of their research or data for fact checking or peer reviewed journals. Take it all with a huge grain of salt.
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Ok well that might help me back away from the ledge… but still. To have one dog die of liver problems and the other to develop liver issues, and the third to have serious GI issues twice in 2 years? It’s too much, unacceptable.
I am aware of the problems with white rice and am feeding organic. I do appreciate the warning, however, and it’s important to state for the record–and for the internet browsing reader too.
I’m not a fan of TOTW. and had on and off issues the period of time I was feeding it. I was buying it from Tractor Supply, and they appeared to be pretty lax on their inventory rotation. I learned to check the expiration date on everything I bought there. The 4Health food I wanted was never on the floor, so they were pulling my bags off a freshly delivered pallet.
I might worry more about an infection with liver issues, like lepto or too much copper in the diet. My last cocker had elevated liver enzymes, we thought originally it was the crap her previous owner was feeding her from the table, but she ended up needing gall bladder surgery and the values returned to normal. NSAIDs can elevate liver enzymes too…so can Lyme disease. I wouldn’t necessarily blame the food.
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The food is the only obvious common denominator with these 3 dogs so to be on the safe side, I’m done. But thanks. I am a little less clinical today thanks to your posts, Laura.
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i cook for my 5 small dogs. i make a big batch in a crockpot every 18 days or so, freeze in portions, and thaw out enough for one day, every day. There is a great book on cooking for your dog, it’s called ‘feed your best friend better’, or similar. I use Wysong’s Call of The Wild supplement to add what my dogs are not getting. Very easy to do and my allergy dog does better and my UTI dog also does well on it. The other 3 are all healthy and active.
I had a JRT with Inflammatory Bowel disease years ago and she was in a lot of discomfort when she tried to eat. i had to stop all the proteins she had ever eaten before and use a different one, i had to include a probiotic daily, and she was on prednisone for 6 months to try to heal her. This may be what is going on with your dog.
I adopted an elderly dog last year and she’s had GI issues from day one. Now she’s doing well on The Honest Kitchen Zeal, which is fish-based. They also have a few foods in their “Minimalist” line that only contain six ingredients for dogs with food sensitivities. Their food is quite expensive (my dog is only 6 lbs.) but is designed to be balanced if you add extras, like meat, so you can feed less of it.
For my dog, the low-fat fish diet seems to be helping, along with digestive enzymes, probiotics, and THK Perfect Form supplement. The only issue is she’s a bit underweight and it’s tricky adding calories without increasing fat. So far some cottage cheese and coconut oil hasn’t bothered her. Another thing that’s working is cooked old fashioned oatmeal on days when she’s NQR. This seems to have helped avoid the almost weekly diarrhea episodes.
I’ve been doing tons of research on feeding sensitive dogs and some do better with fiber, and some don’t. THK has a few that include sweet potatoes, chickpeas, quinoa (supposedly soothes sensitive stomachs, but it’s in their chicken-based food, which I’ve been avoiding), oats, barley, parsnips. Some are OK with fats up to15%, others need lower. My tiny dog is eating the amount they recommend for a 10 lb. dog, and she poops a LOT on this food (a common complaint).
In the past with my previous dog, I fed a home-prepared raw diet, but at that time I had no problem finding the meats/bones I needed. It’s more difficult where I am now, plus this tiny dog has tiny old teeth and would probably not take the time to chew things thoroughly. I’ve tried Steve’s Real Food (frozen raw) and had problems with each protein. THK doesn’t have anything really exotic in their line like other brands, but the low fat fish may be what your dog needs.
THK also has a low fat beef and grain (oats, barley) food called Verve. I’m thinking of trying this just to switch proteins for a bit. It’s also much cheaper than the Zeal food. I’ve never tried beef with her before.
When I read threads like this one I am amazed that so many of these dogs’ ancestors lived to a ripe old age half a century ago on foods like Purina Dog Chow, bought at the neighborhood grocery store. With maybe Gaines Burgers crumbled up once in awhile, along with table scraps. Their owners didn’t obsess, the dogs got plenty of off-leash exercise, and were healthy.
Like the cats who lived long lives on Puss n’ Boots and Kozy Kitten.
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Yes, I like to read everything I can about food, as I have a critter w/allergies or ?
It’s important to review what’s available, research it and discard what doesn’t make sense.
The article on snopes is very recent (Oct '17) and I’ll be checking into some of their claims that I found interesting.
And my grandma lived forever and smoked so I probably could too?
Pet food used to be made on a more local level with actual food. Corn is a traded commodity. These companies don’t buy their ingredients from the same supplier all the time they find the cheapest. It’s big business now.
I briefly worked in the industry and would never, ever feed commercial kibble again. It is not remotely like the Dog Chow of old.
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Arsenic is in organic rice too…and there’s more arsenic in brown rice than white rice.
It’s possible there’s a mold or other toxin in the food that caused your dogs problems. My brother lost all of his dogs to kidney failure back in 2007 when there was that huge recall with contaminated dog food.
We used to buy cheap food from the feed store - “Field and Farm” – C$9.00 for a huge bag. Dogs lived to be a ripe old age! Now I obsess about whet they are eating…we, too, watched the Netflix film.
We top up our dog’s kibble with some canned food. DH had bought TOTW and she had problems digesting it. She got such a small quantity that what I noticed was her breath. I wonder if it is too high in protein?
I have an older cat that has digestive issues - explosive diarhea. I tried different all-natural, organic brands. I tried cooking for him - chicken, rice and pumpkin. No better. He is now on Hill’s d/d and has normal poops.
The lesson for me was to listen to what my pet was telling me and not get scared by everything I read on the internet.
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My JRT has been on TOTW for ten years, and he will be 16 next month.
A while back I asked my 70-year old vet what they fed the dogs on the farm when he was growing up. He couldn’t remember. He knew they didn’t buy anything. He figured they must’ve been fed on hog slop and scraps, although he said his mother didn’t just make extra food for them - times were hard on a Minnesota farm in the 40’s. He said back then it was amazing when a dog lived past 5-7. Looking back, he thought a lot of them probably suffered from gastroenteritis.
I think most dogs fed on even Ol’ Roy probably eat a more balanced diet than most humans in this country. We do the best we can. Don’t beat yourself up for not prechewing your dogs’ food. 
They are living better than any bet in the history of domesticated animals.
StG
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My dog has never looked better since switching to Fromm. Read up on them.
http://claytonvetnj.com/videos/
This is Dr Judy Morgan here in NJ…everything you want to know about nutrition for dogs is here, lol. Plus she has a cookbook for your dog…she makes her famous “pup loaf”
I’ve been really thrilled with Wellness Simple. I was looking for something with lower protein and limited ingredients, and my girls have been doing well on it. They both tend toward being finicky and they like it a lot. Neither really has GI issues, though (my old girl has some minor UTI issues, and the low protein has REALLY helped that).
Sometimes I REALLY want to cook for my dogs (and cats), but I can barely manage to cook for myself regularly, so I look for high quality stuff and go from there. And I will NOT feed prescription diets (my vet has tried several times with my old girl. I did give my one cat critical nutrition canned food directly after he was so badly hurt a couple of weeks ago, but he’s just on regular Wellness Core canned food now, with some crunchies on the side, as he’s comfortable eating). I find that they are so full of junk and don’t really HELP anything.
Good luck!
ours gets Fromm also. Looks fantastic 
