Little Peanut's liver enzymes have tripled

[JennyS]

@Dr. Jeff My lil guy Peanut is a little over 6 (I think). He is a chi mix. 11-12 pounds. Neutered. I have not had him vaccinated since he was adopted 4ish years ago, but was forced to get him a rabies vaccine September 2024. His blood work came back with slightly elevated liver ALT then. He has suffered from focal seizures for years and I thought they had subsided, but they come and go. I feed him Steve's raw food for pets. Just last week I had blood work run and his liver enzymes have tripled to 900 from 300. I only had the bloodwork done because his breath is atrocious and I was thinking of getting his teeth cleaned even tho I am against anesthesia for dogs I was not sure what to do.

I have no idea if it is related to the focal seizures, but now the vet wants him to have a $1K ultrasound. he is going tomorrow for another test where they do something and he cannot eat and then they feed him? Other than being scared of his own shadow he is genuinely happy, When he is not scared, he is a happy little boy who loves to run in the dog park. he has def aged(grayed) a lot in the past couple of years. He is always hungry (unfort I cannot rid him of eating his own poop). I cannot seem to house break him no matter what. He has a dog door, but will go to the bathroom just inside of it and all over my moms house. he also pees in his water bowl sometimes which is strange. I am hoping that @Dr. Jeff can help me figure out what is wrong and what to do. Why are his liver enzymes so high.

 

[NancyK]

This is something to consider but not sure if it is the actual cause of the elevated liver enzymes...

There is a tendency in many raw commercial foods to use what I consider to be an extremely high percentage of organ meats. Organ meats IMO should be consumed in proportion to how they exist in an animal. To save money, the raw food companies often use huge amounts of heart meat in lieu of muscle meat and excessive amounts of liver. This is particularly true for the ruminant animals where muscle meat is more expensive and organ meats like liver are sky high in copper. Liver is also extremely high in vitamin A. To meet AFFCO standards, they often use more organ meats than a dog should consume to meet the crazy AAFCO rules without using supplements. The AAFCO rules are outdated and based upon dogs eating ultra processed foods that are not bioavailable. To me, they have little or no meaning for a raw fed dog. Although raw food is best for our dogs, these commercial formulas are dangerous and can cause problems over time. Too much of a good thing is not good.

One way to help with this is to at least rotate brands and proteins, however almost all raw foods nowadays are using excessive amounts of organ meats. And some will even add copper and vitamin supplements on top of a recipe that includes large amounts of ruminant liver. You could check copper and vitamin A content in what you are feeding. However, I personally believe in the common sense approach where organ meats should be a small part of a healthy diet.

The way I chose to get around this is to make my own dog food. To me this is the only way to know what your dog is getting. It also allows you to customize the ingredients per your individual dog needs.

There are some who say that huge amounts of organ meats are OK because they are "natural" vs synthetics. However, I disagree.

Anyway, this may not have contributed to the elevated enzymes but is a possibility you may want to consider.

Someone said the following which really hit home with me... "Dogs are ruined by abundance and perfected by lack".

Nancy