Is kibble enough? As we all know, marketing can fool even the best of us by fabulous looking images eloquently displayed on packages. We know, we now have to read labels! Yes, even for our pets. We don’t knowingly want to feed our pets foods filled with chemical preservatives and poor quality meats or parts of unnamed animals. Right?
We know kibble was created out of convenience for us humans. It is easy to scoop a cup of food out and pour it into a bowl. Done. But is that what is best for our pets?
Dry food is between 40-70% carbohydrate. Ancestral diets are approximately 10% carbohydrate. What is the difference? Fresh, moist food.
When you feed strictly kibble, the body searches for moisture to digest that food. Pets usually do not drink enough water to digest their food properly. So the food “waits” for moisture to be pulled from other areas of the body. Our pet’s kidneys have to work harder and a constant state of mild dehydration can be a risk. We have also heard the complaint, “My dog has gas.” One cause for that can be carbs from the kibble sit in the stomach waiting to be digested and then begin to ferment. That can cause your pup to have a build up of gas and/or belching.
Adding a good-quality, fresh/moist food to your pup’s diet can help the digestion process. Which will also lead to less dehydration and stress on the internal organs.
If you read our recent blog post, you now understand that rotating your dog’s food can help maintain your dog’s health by providing a variety of foods, as well as, head off any allergic reactions. Now add in moisture; the 2nd key component to a healthy and balanced food routine.
Moisture can come in the form of: our fresh homemade stews, raw food diet, rehydrated diets, bone broth, kefir, goat’s milk, canned food, etc. Our homemade stews are made fresh (about 5x a week) using human grade ingredients. It all started one Thanksgiving a few years back. We created a special Thanksgiving Stew (Turkey Delight). We have been making them ever since. We make Turkey Delight (turkey, spinach, sweet potato, carrots, and cranberries) each week. Then we have 2-3 other flavors that we rotate (Monthly stew schedule updated on our website/blog). Keep checking our blog for other powerful bowl additions.
Can’t Wait: Here are quick tidbits (or stop by the store to chat with one of our staff members):
Raw Food Diet is great for many things: overall health, skin&coat, healthy teeth, better poop and much more – we will highlight raw diets in future posts.
Dehydrated/Freeze Dried – just add water for a great addition
Bone broth is great for joints, immune system and the gut.
Goat’s milk contains vitamins and minerals essential for digestion.
Kefir is a powerful addition that is an immune booster, yeast killing, an antibiotic/anti-fungal, & a natural probiotic (a power house)
Canned foods: easy to provide a variety of foods, a complete and balanced meal.