Beware! Ziwi Peak Dog Food

[confrontyourfaith]

Disclaimer! This review is late and the formula could have changed.

I have had my dogs on Ziwi Peak Dog Food for 3 or more years. They have been good to me, where even my finickiest dog would eat every bite of it. The problem came early 2022, where my dogs started to have hard poop. Their poop, even right after defecating, would crumble in my hands when I picked it up.

To me, this was concerning, but with one of my dog having heart murmur, I didn't want to change to an alternative no-carb kibble that could cause heart problems in dogs. This all changed when my vet called me about elevated liver enzyme (ALT) in BOTH dogs in July 2022. From their tests 9 months ago, their ALT values went up to about 350. The vet said, it could be liver tumor, but it was strange that BOTH dogs were affected.

I, then, did some research about the Ziwi Peak Dog Food and saw that they were bought-out in late 2021. It finally clicked. There must have been changes in processing or production as the ingredient list didn't change.

I quickly changed their kibble to an alternative and within a month, the dogs' ALT level went down to ~150.

I tried to find info regarding this but couldn't find anywhere. The store where I bought the Ziwi from and Amazon reported none of this.

I know this is late, and maybe the production or formula changed from when I last purchased Ziwi Peak Dog Food. But if you are feeding Ziwi Peak Dog Food and see signs of your dog suffering from hardened stool, please change kibbles.

@savedbygrace94, @taylora380

 

[joannejojo]

@confrontyourfaith Hi has anyone experiencing this with Stealla and Chweies ? We have had an unexplained high alt reading on a dog we supplement with S&C. Any thoughts would be appreciated

 

[confrontyourfaith]

@joannejojo I am no expert, but I would advise doing a process of elimination. The only reason we were able to deduce it was Ziwi Peaks is because we changed nothing in our dogs' diet. We kept the same chicken treat we were feeding them for years. We only change the veggies and fruits we give them on the side.

The vet said if the liver ALT went up more, she would be more alarmed and would insisted on biopsy, but ~400 wasn't really definitive. I don't know what level your dog is at.

Also, it sucks, but a lot of dog foods that I thought were good, like Acana, have been recalled for causing heart problems in dogs. (source: https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/truth-grain-free-dog-foods-dcm/). So, maybe you could do research on the exact food you are feeding.

 

[orma32]

@confrontyourfaith Thanks for the heads up; I hope more people read this—please keep this post up as it can help anyone searching the sub for Ziwi Peak.

By the way, isn’t Ziwi Peak meant to be a topper/treat and not complete diet? I don’t think anyone should be feeding a domestic dog Ziwi Peak exclusively as the macronutrients are totally imbalanced for their guts (too much protein). Over time, the health effects from eating primarily Ziwi Peak or other meat-based diets for dogs would be similar to the long-term side effects from the carnivore diet for humans—basically, it’s taxing on the liver, kidneys, and digestive system.

That said, I’m not sure how much the change in ownership of Ziwi Peak played a factor in these detrimental effects. It could also just be the long-term effects of an extremely high-protein, extremely low-carb diet on domestic dogs. After all, a crucial key in their development and domestication came from eating grains. Furthermore, we don’t have any record of the wolf they descended from (not the Grey Wolf). Their ancestral wolf itself could’ve even been an omnivore; even some wild canids today become primarily vegetarian during certain seasons/environments.

Anyway, I’m so sorry to hear that you went through this. A call from the vet like that is every pet owner’s fear. I’m glad their ALT levels went down!! Thanks for tending to your dogs so quickly.

If you’re interested in high-quality food that’s more ethical, check out Open Farms, Jiminy Crickets, or Honest Kitchen. I think you would still be fine giving Ziwi Peak as treats as long as your dogs are getting adequate carbs/grains. Maybe look into ancient grains or even Einkorn recipes for your dogs if they have difficulty digesting modern grains.

 

[lucb]

@orma32 Ziwi can be used as a meal or topper

 

[terry1]

@orma32 Open farms did not respond when I asked if they employ a pet nutritionist with a PhD by the national pet nutrition alliance. https://petnutritionalliance.org/resources/pet-food-manufacturer-evaluation-report/ and neither did Honest Kitchen. I would be very weary

 

[elijah1986]

@confrontyourfaith My best friend has 2 dogs and a cat and has fed dogs the air dried kibble alternative, and the cat the wet cat food cans.

I just heard of the buy out today and told him.
He didn’t know either. Mad and shocked we didn’t know before.

The holistic pet stores are saying the formulas are still the same and they still do quality testing and they haven’t heard of any issues with poison food, etc.

Being it’s China I’m skeptic snd suggested he switch to another quality food.
WHAT is the best substitute brand kibble/food for his dogs?
What is the best substitute brand of grain free kitty food?
He’s wanting to start new food ASAP.
Thank you.

 

[terry1]

@elijah1986 https://petnutritionalliance.org/resources/pet-food-manufacturer-evaluation-report/ find a brand that owns their own plants and has a full time PhD animal nutritionist, or at least consults with one.

 

[laurra]

@elijah1986 I feed ZiwiPeak (in addition to occasional Open Farm and Fromm) but I did once try the Canadian version, Zeal). I don't know if it's the same as Ziwi or related to same company though. (I know this post is old, I was just Googling all of my dog's foods and treats to make sure I haven't missed any recalls and ended up here.)

 

[andrewjrg85]

@confrontyourfaith There was no news that investment resulted in any changes in processing or ingredients. However, it’s good practice to diversify and rotate. The good news is that if you can afford Ziwi you can afford anything else. I would look at high-end freeze dried like Primal.

 

[sctiger29]

@confrontyourfaith My Goldie had the exact same issue with Ziwi Peak, dry, crumbly dog poop. We switched away from it in 2021.

 

[beerandjesus]

@confrontyourfaith Interesting we just had our two dogs taking blood test and we discovered the same - we re moving away from Ziwi and yes they are now owned by Chinese private equity firm!

 

[rubberrodent]

@beerandjesus What did you switch to!

 

[lilyj]

@confrontyourfaith Omg my dogs bloods have come back with elevated liver enzymes and she’s been on ziwi too! She’s had 3 bloods for the past 4 months and the results are only getting higher. I’m going to switch and see if it’s the ziwi I’ve been freaking out so much. The vet even ran an sdma test and it came back fine

 

[soosh99]

@confrontyourfaith Our cat is on ziwi peak topper and this makes so much sense. He has had hydration problems and acorn-like poo.

Not right away and he loves it so we have been limiting it. I found this threads because the store ran out of “cat” and said the “dog” was the same.

What does Chinese ownership have to do with it? Does the investment firm own the company because it backs it? Or that since an investment firm owns it the quality is lacking?

 

[soosh99]

@confrontyourfaith https://bestfriends-kitchen.com/ziwi-peak-sale/

 

[snugglebug]

@confrontyourfaith Thank you for this info. My dog had had that type of poop and I didn’t get why because he gets enough hydration. It’s not all the time but here and there. Ugh I’m so pissed I didn’t know about this until now.

Does anyone know of a food that’s comparable in texture? I like to feed a mix of this and freeze dried for the different textures but this type is harder to find.