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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.
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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 ..
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 wh..
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 f..
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 r..
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 ..
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 - ..
Grooming You Kids
There are several grooming basics that every pet parent should know and follow. Done regularly, a grooming routine will ..
Integrated Veterinary Practitioners
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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) dermat..
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) dermat..
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..
Bladder Infections in Pets ..
Bladder infections usually occur as bacteria normally living in and around the lower urinary tract ascend (go up) the ur..
Cancer in Pets ...
When it comes to our pets, there’s no national organization that tracks the occurrence of cancer. We do know that many c..
My vet is not very supportive of raw feeding ...
Make friends with your vet, and help them become informed! We discuss the reasons why they might not be supportive of ra..
Constipation in Pets
Constipation (obstipation, megacolon), often suspected by pet parents but in fact, rarely diagnosed, occurs when the pet..
Cushing's Disease in Pets
Canine hyperadrenocorticism , commonly known as Cushing’s disease, or hyperadrenocorticism , results in overproduction o..
Diabetes in Pets
Diabetes mellitus is a common endocrine pancreatic disorder of cats and dogs. The incidence of diabetes in cats and dogs..
Epilepsy Support in Pets
Epilepsy is the name given to seizural disorders in dogs and cats for which there is no identifiable cause. Primary ep..
Incontinence (Urinary) Support in Pets
Urinary incontinence means that the pet cannot totally control his ability to urinate. Typically, urinary incontinence c..
IBS / IBD in Pets
Inflammatory bowel disease is the name given to a group of conditions that are characterized by pathologic evidence of ..
Kidney Disease in Pets
Traditionally, vets have recommended restricting protein consumption because protein is poorly metabolized by dogs with ..
Herbs and General Wellbeing ...
In our daily interaction with pet parents and ill fur kids, we have found some valuable herbal solutions that will help ..
The Scoop on Poop ...
Your fur kids’ poop (stool or faeces) provides a wealth of information, which is why it may seem that veterinarians ask ..
Feeding Habits
Healthy fur kids, are usually willing to eat (often too willing), but how often should we feed them? We discuss general ..
Preparing Raw Meals ...
A quick "How-To" overview...
Energetics of Food
In the West food is described by its protein, fat and carbohydrate content. By contrast, in the East food is described b..
Meal Variety ...
A more emotional topic of discussion is variety. Variety in your fur kid’s diet is of great importance to pet parents; i..
Meal Planning ...
Meal planning might seem daunting at first, but it need not be. It does not have to be a science project either. We disc..
Pet Obesity, a Severe and Debilitating Illness!
We tackle a very tough topic, Pet Obesity. Obesity , defined as an increase in body weight of at least 15% above what wo..
Basic Food Groups ..
We discuss basic food groups in more detail. ..
Senior Dogs ...
The senior (geriatric or post-maturity) stage follows on from the maturity phase and continues until death. In small bre..
Toy Dogs ...
Toy breeds, which often have tiny appetites and small stomach capacity, may also benefit from being fed a calorie-dense ..
Working Dogs ..
From a nutritional perspective, high-performance dogs include canine athletes, pregnant bitches and lactating dams. You ..
Managing your kids' weight
It is sometimes difficult to determine what your fur kids' ideal weight should be. We discuss this topic in detail...
Adult Phase ...
The adult phase is that time after your fur kid ceases to grow and before visual and physiological changes due to the ag..
Growth Phase ...
Your four legged friends’ growth phase starts at birth. During the growth phase the young animal has a higher requiremen..
Differences between cats & dogs ...
You will agree that dogs and cats are different, and dogs have different dietary requirements than cats do. Unlike cats,..
But my vet says dogs are living longer ..
We explore the topic of longevity and some of the myths associated...
Prebiotics and Your Pet's Hapiness
By definition, prebiotics are a type of non-digestible fiber compound. Just like other high-fiber foods, prebiotic compo..
Probiotics and Your Pet's Happiness
Bacteria have a reputation for causing disease, so the idea of tossing down a few billion a day for your health might se..
Your Pet's Digestive System
Your fur kids’ digestive system is different than a human's and therefore dogs (and cats) process and eat differently th..
Supplements in the Diet?
Numerous supplements are available today on the market. Using natural, chemical free supplements will benefit your pets ..
Additives in the Diet?
Preservatives are essential in preventing spoilage of food. As people learned more about food and as chemicals were deve..
Vitamins in the Diet?
Vitamins are a group of compounds that are essential for keeping your fur kid fit and healthy. They cannot be produced i..