Picky Eaters

​Dogs with poor liver health can be very picky eaters. This can drive you crazy. They can also be really underweight. Why aren't they eating the food you are giving them?

 

Let's think about what is happening. A dog with poor liver health, a liver shunt or MVD has very poor liver function.  The liver's main function is to filter the blood of toxins and wastes. If this is not happening efficiently or effectively, then a dog has excess toxins and wastes circulating in their bloodstream. Their body is having to call in reinforcements to help out with this process because if toxins and wastes are not gotten rid of the dog will die.

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This cleansing of the blood also takes a LOT of internal energy. That is why your dog may be less energetic on the outside. They may be lethargic and sleep a lot. They may be losing weight. They may also not be eating very much.

 

Your dog with poor liver health has high internal energy needs just trying to keep your dog alive. The LAST thing that your dog's body wants to do is to have to use a lot of energy for DIGESTION. So their body is telling them NOT to eat very much. Their body is conserving their energy to be used for MORE IMPORTANT things like cleansing the blood. This becomes a higher priority than eating.

 

Many times a dog with poor liver health will struggle with vomiting. Food is being eaten but the body does not have the internal energy to digest and process it so guess what? It comes right back up. 

 

It drives you crazy because you think that if your dog doesn't eat that they will die. This is not really true - your dog is much, much more likely to go into liver failure than die of starvation, in my experience. 

 

Another reason that your dog is not eating is because you are feeding them the wrong foods or what your vet or pet store is passing off as 'food'.

 

Let's look at the typical Prescription dog foods that are most often used with dogs with liver problems:

 

Hills L/D Liver Care dry ingredients: Brewers Rice, Chicken, Chicken Fat, Egg Product, Soybean Meal, Flaxseed, Powdered Cellulose, Chicken Liver Flavor, Dicalcium Phosphate, Lactic Acid, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Dried Beet Pulp, Glyceryl Monostearate, Calcium Carbonate, DL-Methionine, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K)), Fish Oil, Choline Chloride, Iodized Salt, L-Lysine, L-Arginine, Taurine, minerals (Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Tryptophan, L-Carnitine, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Natural Flavors, Beta-Carotene.

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Hills L/D Liver Care canned ingredients: Water, Rice, Soybean Meal, Chicken Fat, Soybean Oil, Corn Starch, Egg Product, Chicken Liver Flavor, Powdered Cellulose, Corn Protein Meal, Fish Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavor, Potassium Chloride, L-Threonine, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K), Biotin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Iodized Salt, L-Lysine, minerals (Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Copper Sulfate), Magnesium Oxide, Taurine, L-Arginine, L-Carnitine, L-Tryptophan, Rice Protein Concentrate, Beta-Carotene.

 

Royal Canin Hepatic dry ingredients: ​Brewers Rice, Brown Rice, Corn, Soy Protein Isolate, Chicken Fat, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Natural Flavors, Vegetable Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Monocalcium Phosphate, Fish Oil, Pea Fiber, Dl-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Fructooligosaccharides, Marine Microalgae Oil, Vitamins[L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source Of Vitamin C), Dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Source Of Vitamin E), Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex], L-Lysine, Trace Minerals[Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate], Taurine, Salt, Marigold Extract (Tagetes Erecta L.), L-Carnitine, L-Threonine, Magnesium Oxide, Rosemary Extract, Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols And Citric Acid.

 

Royal Canin Hepatic canned ingredients: Water sufficient for processing, brewers rice, corn flour, chicken liver, pork by-products, chicken, corn grits, powdered cellulose, fish oil, hydrolyzed chicken liver, vegetable oil, natural flavors, dried plain beet pulp, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, tricalcium phosphate, carob bean gum, carrageenan, vitamins[DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), niacin supplement, biotin, D-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex], choline chloride, sodium tripolyphosphate, hydrolyzed yeast, guar gum, trace minerals[zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, calcium iodate], glycine, citric acid, sodium carbonate, taurine, L-carnitine, magnesium oxide, marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.). 

 

A dog with poor liver health needs a LOW animal protein diet and these foods are very low in animal protein. They bring down the animal protein by adding rice, corn, soy and wheat. Unfortunately, none of these are good foods for dogs, in my opinion.

 

The red color synthetic ingredients are not real nutrients but chemicals and that puts a huge burden on the liver and kidneys. Other foods are marked in red because they are not native to a dog's diet, or are basically waste products from other food industries and therefore can not be digested well.

 

3 out of the 4 Prescription dog foods above also add Powdered Cellulose which is another name for sawdust and/or ground up cardboard. 

 

These are overly processed, overly cooked commercial dog foods with NO raw nutrition in them. Ask yourself this question - "what would my own health be like if this food was all I ate 7 days a week for months and years on end?" This is a highly acidic diet that will have negative side effects on the liver and kidneys and other organs over time.

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So WHY would you expect your dog to be excited to eat this garbage? Their body is saying "Hey, don't eat that stuff! It is going to take WAY too much energy for me to digest and process THAT 'food'. I would rather you NOT EAT ANYTHING than eat that stuff!" 

 

Your dog needs a REAL food diet. This is what his/her body is designed to thrive on. But it also must be the RIGHT foods including raw vegetables and raw fruits and a LOW amount of animal protein. I teach you how to make a 100% real food home made diet of simple ingredients like meat/fish, raw vegetables, raw fruits, raw nut butters, etc in proper ratios for liver healing and a lifetime of health. I have complete guidelines for this in my Slow Diet Transition instructions that are part of my starting emails.

 

As you start to feed your dog the proper real foods with my help, a funny thing happens: they get excited about eating again!

 

Their body says this: "Hey, you're FINALLY giving me something that I need and can use to start healing this body!  Why don't you go find more of that food to eat!"

 

And the pickiest eaters become my most VORACIOUS eaters - please request a FREE CONSULTATION.

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Just read these comments below to see what is possible for your dog:​​

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