# Dave's Dog food recalled - made Molly sick



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Aww that is a rough sounding go of it. I hope both your girls are all better. Every time I read about commercial food recalls I am glad I cook at home for my crew. At least when there are recalls on human food you hear about it super fast.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

I had been giving Poppy a little bit of Dave's canned food every day as a special treat. She ate it without issues for about 2 yrs. then, 2 months ago I gave her a little, about 1/4 can and the rest of the day, evening, and the next day she only drank water and would not eat anything.....her poo was very runny and stinky too. 

When this all cleared up I offered her the canned food again, I had not yet made the connection that it was the cause of the upset. Poppy refused it....she has NEVER Refused canned food. 

I threw it out and switched to making a home made concotion of rice, ground chicken and sweet potatoes for her daily treat. I make a big batch and freeze it. No more problems. It is disheartening to see that there has been a recall on their food.

So sorry you had a kiddo with an upset tummy as well. Glad all turned out well.


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

Wow. I have read quite a bit about the health risks of commercial dog food. But even so, I am taken back when I hear about dogs getting sick and manufacturers recalling the food. So two PF'ers had sick dogs as a result of Dave's. It just seems outrageous.


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## SusanG (Aug 8, 2009)

Yes, no excuse for that kind of thing happening. I was terrified she would collapse of dehydration and gave her Cerenia about 3 am hoping that would help stop the fluid loss until I got her to the vet first thing. Her vomiting stopped an hour later and she was totally normal after that, no ill effects so I couldn't see what a vet could do, I watched her like a hawk all day. Then I saw the recall on Daves - bingo - knew she was poisoned and this was her body's way of purging itself completely. "Iron gut" Callie didn't eat as much, didn't get sick, but the gas and loose bowels were her reaction to it. Frustrating because one has to rely on trust that what you are buying is what they say - all natural, the best quality and safe. I try to make sure the girls get only the best, the purist because it is very difficult for me to prepare all their meals from scratch.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

SusanG home cooking is a project (especially in the quantities I prepare) but over time I have figured out ways to make things more systematic and manageable. If you ever decide to try home cooking LMK and I will outline my system.


I hope you are all fully recovered (settled tummies and caught up on lost sleep) from your bad start to the week.


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## SusanG (Aug 8, 2009)

I would be interested in knowing how you do it. No doubt I wouldn't have the need for large quantities since two 16 lb minis don't eat as much.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I batch cook skinless boneless chicken legs and thighs from Costco by boiling them in a large pot on low temp for enough time that the meat will shred easily with a fork. I also batch cook the other main components of chicken livers and whole wheat pasta. For me batches of chicken is 25-30 pounds, livers is 10 pounds and pasta is 4 pounds at a time. My mom cooks for her small mpoo and does so without having a separate freezer. I got a freezer so I could make the cooking into something that happens over one weekend a month. For you it would be much less than that since 8 ounces of meat is about the portion for one 45 pounds dog per day.


I have a stock pile of zip loc or similar sealable containers and I freeze those containers with single ingredients. I also use a nutri-bullet to grind the spinach/kale greens that are added. I also save the "broth" left from cooking the meat and the livers to add some liquids to the meal. The dogs drink relatively little plain water since they get a lot of water in their meals.


When I am planning to travel I make complete meals in vacuum seal bags and freeze those. When the trip comes up I put the frozen meals in a cooler together and generally don't add ice to the cooler so the meals thaw during the trip. When we went to the 2017 rally nationals in Georgia I took enough meals for both Lily and Javelin for two weeks. If you have meals in vacuum bags on the road make sure you have scissors to open them and a rubber spatula to make sure you get all of the contents of the packages into the bowls.


This is the recipe and is balanced to be nutritionally complete done with a computer program for my by PF member Firestorm.


FOR A 45 POUND DOG PER DAY (divide into two portions)

8 oz chicken (I use boneless, skinless legs and thighs from Costco and sometimes add chicken hearts)
0.75 cup macaroni (I use whole grain rotini or penne) 
4 chicken livers
3 teaspoons bone meal
2 scoops (scoop being 1/8 tsp.) kelp powder
3 cups spinach (I use bagged organic mixed spinach, kale and chards from Costco and grind it with water in a nutribullet)_
0.5 teaspoon canola oil
0.5 tsp cod liver or other fish oil (I use mega red krill oil)

For changes, if you eliminate the cod liver oil, the recipe provides 0% of the daily recommended serving of Vitamin D. You could replace it with a vitamin D supplement. This is what I have done.

Eliminating the liver and replacing it with chicken meat makes the recipe low in Copper, Zinc, Selenium, B5, B12, and Choline. I have not found a replacement yet, but you might be able to.

Of course, you can replace the fish oil with another omega 3 source.

I should also note that the portions weren't really right for Javelin who weighs about 50 pounds, but was losing weight (very high metabolism and very active). He actually eats about 12-13 ounces of meat a day with the other ingredients increased proportionally.


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

My dogs have a mostly home-cooked food. They do have some kibble, but it is kibble that has no factory-farmed ingredients -- i.e. no meat that is not "certified humane." The kibble I use is either v-dog (vegan kibble from v-dog.com) or Open Farm (the only certified humane dog food). I absolutely do not trust the meat ingredients that go into most commercial dog food.

As far as the home-cooking, my dogs each get about 1/3 of a pound of meat or fish or eggs per day. Meat is purchased directly from reliable family farms (see eatwild.com for a farmer near you). I use a lot of organ meat because it is cheaper and just as good for the dogs. I like hearts (chicken, turkey and/or beef hearts) because they are muscle meat. I limit other organ meat (liver, kidney) to once every 10 days or so. I also use ground turkey or ground beef, canned salmon, tilapia, fish sticks, etc. I cook every day, or every other day. 

Dinner also includes a generous portion of potatoes, bread, pasta, rice, or other carbohydrates. The dogs love broth-soaked bread so I often boil the meat and then soak bread in the broth. They seem to prefer white bread to the more interesting kinds of bread that I like.

They also get a calcium supplement. I've gone back and forth between using ground egg shells (dried in the oven, then ground in a coffee grinder) or a commercial supplement.

Sometimes I try to sneak a few carrots or peas into their food. But they don't seem to like veggies much.

Cammie and Sam are in excellent health, and I think this diet is a lot better for them than commercial dog food. And of course, they like it a lot better!

For those who disagree with feeding grains or carbs, a friend of mine consulted with a PhD veterinary nutritionist who said that carbs are fine for dogs. They are not necessary for dogs, but they are digested by dogs, and they are a good cheap source of nutrition. Here's an article if you are interested: https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/13_10/features/Carbohydrates-and-Your-Dog_20103-1.html


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## Tamika (Jan 7, 2018)

lily cd re said:


> Aww that is a rough sounding go of it. I hope both your girls are all better. Every time I read about commercial food recalls I am glad I cook at home for my crew. At least when there are recalls on human food you hear about it super fast.


I have come to the same decision. I always cooked for my dogs years ago and they were so healthy. With my new pups I've been using some commercial food but have done away with it and started cooking again after the recent deaths and health problems here in Australia. Dozens of dogs confirmed sick in investigation into popular dog food Advance Dermocare - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

When I took my dogs to puppy class at the vet they are horrified if you talk about making your own dog food and not buying commercial products, so I didn't say anything. They even gave each pup a big bag of kibble at the end of the course. There is so much information on the internet and experience on this site that if you research you can make sure you give your pups a great balanced diet. I now only use human grade meat and preferably organic vegs.


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## Vita (Sep 23, 2017)

Tamika said:


> ...I now only use human grade meat and preferably organic vegs.


Hey there Tamika! Long time no see. Hope you and the pups are well.

I've started doing this for Bella's dinner's when she was three months old. She was an extremely picky eater and I erred in letting her eat cat kibble since she rejected every bag of high grade dog food. I then learned long term use can cause pancreatitis, so began weaning her off it by mixing it in dog kibble with toppings. It took her awhile to get with the program, but she did.

What helped is that whatever meat, poultry, fish, and green or orange veggies that I eat for dinner, she gets her little saucer of it too. And whenever I have eggs for breakfast, she gets a portion of that too. She loves the variety in her diet; her weight is good, and she's the picture of good health.


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