Things to think about to improve your pets health and prolong their life
Nutrition, it's a pretty hot topic in the pet industry these days. Just as hot for dogs and cats as it is for humans as a matter of fact. For people the highlights have been getting brighter and brighter on processed foods and how terrible they are. Some studies have found links to cancer and other horrible diseases for people who are processed food heavy. Personally, I feel as though it's absolutely true. My Mom and Step-Father both passed away in the last 12 months. My step father was always a heavy set guy but I can recall a lot of unhealthy habits throughout my life. Especially while later in my life they pretty much stopped cooking. I can't recall the last time my mom cooked, it may have been some sausage & pepper dish for a family gathering and when my step-father cooked, it was usually his famous fudge. My step father passed away from having 2 types of stage 4 Liver cancer. He was about a month away from his 71st birthday. My mom, for the last 7 -10 yrs of her life she'd been battling dementia. The last 6 months of her life, it just took her over. She passed away from complications due to the horrible disease. I truly believe had they been on a more healthful dietary path, they'd both still be alive today. I believe this in part due to the juice diet my step father had attempted to push thru his last 7 months of life and the improvement we saw in his cancer.
Look I am not a Pet Nutritionist nor a Vet. I will say though, even vets have limited knowledge in the field of animal nutrition simply because of how Big Food has their hands in Veterinary school, just like Big Pharma dips into Dr programs. What I am however, is a dedicated pet owner and pet care business owner who is invested in the health of my own pets and my clients. I do not trust the intentions of big business and, I think, nor should you.
For dogs and cats, who we often feed kibble, it's not much different than people eating out at McDonalds on a regular basis. The big corporate brand pet foods cut corners like you wouldn't believe adding fillers and low quality proteins and other ingredients. If you go a step further, while cats and dogs are not "designed" for carbohydrates, complex carbs found in low glycemic foods and fruits and vegetables do have their place in our pets diets for the sake of providing micronutrients for a more balanced & whole diet, but many big brand foods carb up their kibble and often omit the fruits and vegetables quantities. In fact, there's a Pet food boutique in Canada who recently did a brief series on popular dog food brands. What they did was break down the ingredient list into 5 categories giving each category a 1 - 10 score with a perfect score being 50 points or an A. It was eye opening. As an example, I have linked one of the reviews they did of Purina Pro Plan Overall, for me it was the attention to the Salt location in the ingredient list in relationship to the fruits and veges is what got me the most I think. then there was something about unnamed ingredients and ingredient splitting not to mention something referred to as 4D meat.
Before I saw any of these reviews, I knew how important a quality food was for our pets. Even when my Chocolate Lab, Mocha, was still with us, there was just something in me that didn't like the food we were giving her. I can't recall what is was I started out giving her, probably a Purina product, but I did eventually begin switching her over to what I thought were better foods at the time. Towards the end of her life I actually cooked for her, chicken and rice with mixed veges. I'd cook the rice in bone broth (which I later learned you have to be careful with because onions and garlic are not good for dogs). I'd also toss in some blue berries or strawberries. I'd also add some ground flax seed and other seeds so I was sure she was getting as wide a variety of nutrition as possible. It was a lot of work, but you know what, she lived to be 14 yrs old. For a Lab these days, that was pretty darn good. But then...why is that when back in the day they were living to be 16?
It wasn't until Sandy came along 2 months after we lost Mocha that I really began getting more into my dogs nutrition. I did even start cooking for her...man that was just too much for me to handle though. Between managing a new and growing Pet Care business and a little puppy eating 3x per day I just didn't have the bandwidth to do it all. I do love the idea of raw diets or cooking for my pups. There was also a matter of ensuring they were getting all the micro nutrients they needed. Calcium, Iron, Omega 3, Niacin, and the list goes on and one...how do you know how much to give and how often...it just got to be too stressful. So, down the rabbit hole of finding better quality kibbles.
Many are aware, the first ingredient should be a NAMED protein. Not a meal or anything else, but a named protein like chicken, beef, salmon, etc. After that, the ingredient lists get to be quite complicated, I feel. Often there are ingredients I can't even begin to pronounce. I think however, that is a clear indication of the food quality though. Ideally, you'd want to see fruits and vegetables listed. Additionally they should all be listed BEFORE salt. Why is this you ask? Well salt is only allowed to make up 1% of the total makeup of the food and anything following salt is less than 1%. So think about that for a minute. "What if I see fruits and vegetables after salt"? The answer is quite simple, there is less than 1% of those fruits and vegetables in that bag of kibble. I don't know about you, but I don't like the sound of that.
There are other things to consider, like how the food is preserved and if they add any coloring then the total amount of carbs in the food, but I will let you dive into that for yourselves. I challenge you though, really dive into the foods you feed your dogs. Compare labels the next time you go shopping. To take it one step further, I challenge you to change where you shop. Your local PetSmart or Petco aren't the only options, especially down here in Raleigh/Wake Forest, NC. Hollywood Feed and Earthwise Pet are two stores I frequently visit and very much like what they have to offer and have knowledgeable staff.
What do I feed my dogs?
I've recently begun to feed my dogs a blend of three different foods. They are three different brands and three different flavors. The thought process is each brand has a different take on nutrition and therefore I offer my dogs a more rounded diet. the proteins I provide also give my dogs the benefits of each one of those proteins, be it poultry, beef, or fish. I also have been giving them goats milk in their food. Kibble is dry, so when I don't add some warm water I add the goats milk. Goats milk is a natural probiotic so it helps to keep their gut health in check. I also add in some toppers from time to time. I use a salmon & mushroom topper to add some fatty acids from the fish and the micro nutrients from the mushrooms, but I also use a beef & turmeric topper. This one if more for the turmeric which has anti-inflammation properties.
One of the foods I use is the Duck recipe from the brand, Fromm. I chose to try this brand because they use Flax Seed, Chicken Liver, Carrots, Apples, Broccoli, Cauliflower, I like the array of vegetables despite some of the other ingredients listed.
Another food in my pups blend comes from the brand Stella & Chewy's. I really like that this is minimally processed and includes ingredients like; suncured alfalfa, flaxseed, salmon, cod, fenugreek seed, coconut oil, pumpkin, cod liver oil, pumpkin seed, organic cranberries, organic spinach, organic broccoli, organic beets, organic carrots, organic squash, organic blueberries, thyme, sage, and dried kelp. I feel as though this is very nutrient dense and offers the best impact so far.
The final piece of my pups food blend comes from Farmina, Tropical Selection Chicken. Despite the photo I've inserted, this is a larger kibble which give a little something different but also has some pretty good ingredients, like: Chicken, Dehydrated Chicken, Whole Spelt, Whole Oats, Chicken Fat, Dehydrated Herring, Dried Beet Pulp, Herring Oil, Dried Carrot, Suncured Alfalfa Meal, Inulin, Dried Banana, Dried Kiwi, Dried Mango, Dried Papaya, Dried Pineapple, Dried Spinach, Psyllium Seed Husk, Brewers Dried Yeast, Turmeric.
Have I figured things out for my pups, absolutely not. In fact, something I completely missed up until working on this Blog was the yeast some of these recipes contain. Sandy, my yellow lab, actually has some issues with her ears and producing smelly goo which makes them itch. Yeast can absolutely contribute to this, however Korra, my Australian Shepard/German Shepard mix does not have this issue. So I need to change things up somehow. I will say one food I am anxious to try comes from a brand called Carna4 I feel like this brand is the creme de la creme of dog food. I, however, don't think I can afford to make this leap just yet. But it will happen.
And Cats, well let's touch on cats while we're at it. Cat foods see a lot of the same quality problems dog food does, poor quality proteins and a crap ton of fillers. However these pose a bigger problem for cats as they do for dogs. Why is this? Well cats require a meat rich diet, which means even plant protein is not great for cats. So all the fillers and carbs pose a big risk for cats where feline diabetes is concerned. Think about that for a sec...carbs break down into sugar. Cats can not process carbs properly so their insulin levels spike. over the course of their life their bodies can't handle the sugar spike and become ultimately become unable to produce enough insulin and become diabetic. Now, this is simply related to kibble. I have to admit I do not know enough about wet foods, for cats or dogs, to be able to intelligently speak. However, I imagine there are similar things to consider for wet food as well.
So now that I've said quite a bit and may have sounded like I'm on some sort of soap box please allow me to say this; I, in NO WAY, judge what you do or don't feed your pets. Some of you may not have ever had any idea about the information I've shared. Others may have known but just can't seem to justify the cost of the higher quality kibble and that's perfectly fine. The purpose of this blog is to educate, bring to light thoughts and ideas so that you can ultimately make your own decision. I encourage you to do some homework, read labels investigate studies, interview pet food professionals and make your own decision. Heck, if you feel the corporate foods are still good enough for you, then you win, but at least you are armed with some things to think about. I, after all, care for your fur family and if I can help prolong their lives then I am going to try.
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