Raw Food for Pets
We believe that pet parents are passionate when it comes to the subject of what they feed their fur-kids, and with good reason. A good diet can contribute to a long and healthy life and even psychological well-being for our fur-kids and likewise for our pet parents. Our moto: Happy Pets = Happy Parents! The question you are trying to answer;- what is the best food to feed domesticated dogs or cats? While the majority of pet parents feed commercial grain-based kibble or canned food, many pet parents like you, today, are looking for healthier options. And the net is full of materials to help you, and confuse you, when it comes to natural feeding.
You will find many anecdotal reasons for feeding on biological specie appropriate diets, for and against, or home-cooked for that matter, even more on the prey model. You will also find many “scientific” articles on why not to feed raw, sadly, as little research is done into raw feeding.
And not too mention all of the confusing terms! Why do we refer to natural diets? In our minds, raw is complete, and therefore natural, as designed by nature, and not broken. Raw, in today's convenience society, seems to indicate part of something, and not complete. But natural contains all the parts needed (as designed), therefore complete (or whole), so we advocate natural pet cuisine, or if you want to knit-pick, biologically specie appropriate natural raw pet cuisine.
“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” - Buddha
To paraphrase Dr Ron Hines from Texas, USA, what we have learned to date, is that there are exaggerations on both side of the pet food diet debate. Your fur kids will not live forever on natural unprocessed diets, but they won’t either die tomorrow from eating them, and the right decision for you depends on you and your pet's specific situation.
The difference is that we are documenting our learnings here for everyone to read, review, comment and contribute! When we started, we spend hours on end trying to decipher the garble available on the net to read, purchased many thousands of dollars of books to read (and have read), and are now starting to document our learnings, so that you, as the pet parent and guardian, can benefit.
Itchy Skin Wins Big and Vets Scratch Their Heads
Dogs and cats, just like humans, can have allergies. More than 30% of all skin irritations in our pets and fur kids can be attributed to allergies. Allergens can be found in foods, inhaled allergens like weed, tree and grass pollens, moulds or fungi, insects, carpet fibres and even other pets. The age of onset for initial allergy symptoms is usually between 6 months and 3 years of age.
Evolutionary Nutrition through Biologically Specie Appropriate Raw Food
The topic of nutrition transcended from health conscience parents to pets over the last couple of decades, to a point where today we have a brewing “David and Goliath” story in the making. No less due to social pressures, career orientated couples, empty nesters and increased demand on home security, many more pet parents are starting to evaluate their pets’ nutritional needs with similar consideration as their own. Combine these ever-increasing demands on pet care with ever increasing veterinary fees and escalating costs of companion animal care, pet parents and guardians are actively looking toward international trends for guidance. These trends have resulted in the growth of the biologically specie appropriate raw pet food market, an area of business that we as Raw Food for Pets (Pty) Ltd specialise in.
Pups and Monster Mutts: Behaviour vs Training
Often, pet parents will spend gobs of money trying to get their pups to behave in the fashion that they desire only to find out that they really should have sought the assistance of a professional canine behaviourist! There is a difference between Trainers and Behaviourists, not all problems require retraining your pet. Before contracting with any animal professional you should understand exactly what each one does to help fur kids.
Food Synergy – a Key to Dietary Vitality
Next time someone says “but there is no science to back your natural, specie appropriate raw food diet approach”, just refer them to all of the scientific effort behind food synergy – it’s been there all along …. we discuss the topic in detail.
Health Checklist for Your Pets
Regular at-home physical exams can help you learn what is normal for your pet’s body, and therefore allow you to detect when something is not normal. While it’s still important to take your pet for a professional exam at your vet’s office at least once a year, you can keep watch on your pet’s health in between visits by getting to know what’s normal, and what’s not, for your individual pet.
Why Should I make The Switch?
A feline is widely known as an obligate carnivore in the pet nutrition world. Dogs, on the other hand, are scavengers - but thrive on evolutionary nutrition. This means that in nature, out of necessity, our fur kid's diet consists only of raw prey. For a cat, eating raw food can be viewed as a biological obligation. Through an appropriate diet of raw meat, bone, and organ, our fur kids can reach their fullest health potential.
Grooming You Kids
There are several grooming basics that every pet parent should know and follow. Done regularly, a grooming routine will not only help your dog’s coat shine, but the physical interaction will also help his or her socialization. Regular grooming will help you build and maintain healthy relationships with your pets, and practice gentle leadership skills. Another benefit of grooming is that you may notice a physical change that needs medical attention, something that might not have been obvious if you hadn’t been grooming your pet. We provide you with some tips & guidelines in this article.
Integrated Veterinary Practitioners
Allergies in Pets (Part 2) ..
The most common skin disorder we come across daily when meeting new pet parents and fur kids is allergic (atopic) dermatitis , or more correctly, canine atopic dermatitis (CAD). This condition results in itchiness after exposure to environmental (usually airborne) allergens (foreign protein that induce allergies). Part 2 of the discussion.
Allergies in Pets (Part 1) ..
The most common skin disorder we come across daily when meeting new pet parents and fur kids is allergic (atopic) dermatitis , or more correctly, canine atopic dermatitis (CAD). This condition results in itchiness after exposure to environmental (usually airborne) allergens (foreign protein that induce allergies). We discuss this topic in great detail.
Arthritis in Pets ..
Arthritis is a collective term for acute or chronic inflammation of joints, and is a common condition in dogs and a rare condition in cats. Arthritis technically means “inflammation of the joint”. Inflammation is characterised by swelling, stiffness, and pain; therapy is designed to counteract these effects of inflammation. We discuss this condition in greater detail.
Bladder Infections in Pets ..
Bladder infections usually occur as bacteria normally living in and around the lower urinary tract ascend (go up) the urinary tracts through the urethra and infect the normally sterile bladder. Bacterial infections of the urinary tract will result in symptoms that include fever, backache, painful and frequent urination, lethargy, and blood in the urine. We discuss this topic in chief.