I have helped dogs of every size...

Your dog has poor liver health due to one of the following, or more likely, a combination of these things. The good news is this: these things are ALL within your power to change. Your dog can get better, and likely live a longer and healthier life. 

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Poor nutrition

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Let me ask you this: Are dogs living longer these days? Or are their lives shortened by diseases like cancer, diabetes, kidney failure, congestive heart failure, immune dysfunction, IBD and yes, liver failure? 

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Our dogs are not getting the proper nutrition that they need. This has been going on for over 70 years, ever since the creation of the commercial dog food industry. The so-called balanced canned and dried foods made to feed dogs today and touted by pet food companies and health professionals as being healthy are the main cause for health ailments facing our pet population today. These dog foods are highly processed and highly cooked foods that lack usable nutrients.

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And while there are some better dog food options with better ingredients now, they are still all cooked formulas with NO raw nutrition in them.  Plus, just like the older dog food options, they add synthetic nutrients to make them more "nutritious".

 

But the added synthetic nutrients in all these foods don't come close from a chemical point of view to what the complex configuration of nutrients in real foods are.  Dogs are supposed to get nutrients from food, not chemicals cooked up in a lab. So is it any wonder that our dogs' livers, intestines, and kidneys are failing in epidemic numbers today?  Our beloved friends are not living as long, nor is the quality of their lives as good.  This is causing a lot of suffering to dogs and owners alike. 

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The good news is that this can be turned around by supplying your dog's body with what it needs from real foods and the proper whole food supplements. These provide your dog's body with what it needs to heal, regenerate and thrive. Unfortunately, this is not something that your vet can likely help you with. 

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An Improper Diet

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No one knows what to feed their dog these days. There are too many competing theories and after awhile, your head is spinning.  One website says one thing, and another says the opposite.

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Maybe you are trying to make homemade nutritious meals for your dog with a high amount of animal protein. OR  you are feeding a commercial dog food that is high in animal protein. 

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My experience tells me that dogs need to eat real foods but with a LOWER amount of animal protein.  

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It is very popular these days to feed dogs a high meat diet. Many people are telling you that your dog is a carnivore based on their ancestral diet and their digestive tract. There are MANY high meat dog foods and high animal protein treats to choose from. But is this really the best diet for your dog?

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My experience with thousands of dogs has shown me that the vast majority of dogs are NOT carnivores but are more omnivores. I have many, many dogs come to me on high meat diets that have poor liver health. When the animal protein is reduced in the diet then they start to rebuild their health. I know this may go against what you have read and what you may currently believe but I want you to be open to a different way for your dog. They need it. Dogs in the wild did not always have access to raw meat. Thus, they adapted by eating scrounged vegetables and fallen fruits, and anything they could find. Dogs are omnivores. 

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Some people are adding cereal grains like oats, wheat and rice to their homemade meals.  AND many commercial dog foods include some type of grain in the formula. Grains are very cheap ingredients. But these are not good foods for dogs.

 

Grain feeding does not usually cause immediate problems: Dogs are scavengers and omnivores which means they can cope with just about any food, cooked or raw without problems - for short periods or in small amounts. It is when a generally unsuitable food, such as these grains, are fed as most of the diet for a number of years that problems begin to surface.

Dogs that eat grain as the major part of their diet suffer premature aging and the early development of degenerative diseases, such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and other pancreatic problems. Many skin problems, allergic problems and arthritic problems respond to the withdrawal of grains from a dog's diet. Grains can also put undue stress on the liver. 

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Exposure to toxins, including vaccinations & medications

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The liver is the main filter of the blood. This is a critical function, because whenever we eat food, our bodies produce normal metabolic toxins and wastes that must be gotten rid of. But the liver also has to deal with ingested toxins like medications and vaccinations. These can put tremendous stress on the liver, causing poor liver health and poor liver function. Anesthesia is very toxic to the liver. Pain medications as well. Antibiotics can disrupt the gut bacteria leading to poor digestive health, which we will look at next.

   

Poor Digestive Health

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The answer to your dog’s poor liver health may lie in their digestive tract. Your vet will look here to kill any bacteria that may be producing any excess ammonia that is stressing the liver, but this is the wrong approach that only adds to the problem.

The digestive tract is your dog's first line of defense. The liver is your dog's second line of defense.  That is why the health of the gut and the liver is the foundation of all health.  This principle is what is now called Functional Medicine.

The small intestine serves as the first line of the body’s defense against germs, harmful foods and toxins. The liver is the body’s master chemist. Also the fuel storage, housekeeper, and poison control center. The liver stores the most important alkaline elements in the dog’s body and as a result, the liver is the body’s second line of defense.

The liver is responsible for many important functions including the removal of by-products from the digestion of food, the absorption of food and the production of proteins necessary for normal blood consistency and clotting as well as other key functions involved in metabolism.

Most all Functional Medicine doctors, believe that liver health is dependent on gut health. Therefore, the beginning of liver dysfunction starts with gut dysfunction. If the first line of defense, which is the small intestine, is not working properly, then the second line of defense, which is the liver, will carry the burden for digesting foods. The stress on the liver eventually will take a negative toll on the liver’s daily function, especially its job getting rid of toxins and wastes (detoxification). 

The liver will fail to filter blood, and toxic material will enter the general circulation. The liver will fail to remove the normal by-products from digested and absorbed food from the circulation. Therefore, these by-products remain in the circulation and can lead to metabolic and clinical abnormalities. This is when you start noticing the many well known and written about symptoms of poor liver health.

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So what causes gut dysfunction leading to liver dysfunction?

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Based on my experience in working with dogs for many years, I find that all of these dogs that suffer from gut dysfunction show symptoms of frequent bacterial infections (proliferation of harmful bacteria or candida) leading to frequent urinary tract infection, bad mouth odor and/or bad urine odor (strong ammonia smell), bloated stomach, less than normal weight (nutrient deficiencies), lack of energy, lack of appetite or being a picky eater, weight loss, hacking, vomiting and diarrhea or constipation.

When gut dysfunction is addressed naturally through a change of diet and the intake of whole food supplements, dogs with poor liver health will no longer exhibit any negative symptoms and can end up living a longer, healthier life.

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In fact, many times once the liver is no longer overburdened, it starts to heal and regenerate itself and return to normal function.  

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Traditional veterinary treatment may only treat the symptoms caused by the poorly functioning liver. Prescription dog foods only compound the problem and create other problems. Antibiotics kill friendly bacteria and may further contribute to leaky gut permeability. Expensive and traumatic surgery to close a liver shunt may only be treating a symptom. Thus, with or without surgery, your dog and your vet may continue to see a lot of each other in the years ahead.  

Only in getting to the underlying cause of the poor gut & liver health with a proper diet and whole food nutrients will you likely be able to say goodbye to your dog's poorly functioning liver – and perhaps your high vet bills – once and for all.  

 

Click on the FREE CONSULTATION button for further help.

The only thing you have to lose is your dog's poor health. Your dog deserves to be healthy. ​​​​