SPECIES APPROPRIATE CANINE NUTRITION
... Crash course in canine nutrition!
DON'T HAVE A SCIENCE DEGREE?
The topic of pet nutrition can be a sensitive one - after all, the majority of pet owners consider their furry companions to be family, and these owners genuinely desire to provide the best of care. What this "best of care" consists of will vary dramatically from one individual to the next. Ultimately, most rely upon their veterinarian to make healthy dietary recommendations - but are these owners truly provided the healthiest options, or something akin to paid endorsements?
Before we proceed further, let me first ask you two simple questions:
While you may not have a degree in nutrition, common sense tells you a product - regardless of marketing hype - cannot possibly replace a variety of wholesome, garden-fresh foods. It is illogical to believe a product could adequately supply all nutrients required to reach our full potential and then maintain optimal health throughout our lifetimes. Fresh, whole foods are essential. “Science” backs this claim; indisputably. |
RunAmok Autumn
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PET FOOD MARKETING DOMINATES
If the need for a variety of fresh food in the human diet is irrefutable, why then do we so readily believe the propaganda spewed forth by pet-food companies? They spend millions of dollars each year marketing this idea that, not only is it safe but also necessary for our pets to consume the same, "scientifically formulated" product for every meal, over the course of their lifetimes.
These companies profit billions of dollars, annually, from this marketing ploy... and they have gone to great lengths to ensure they have a captive audience. Royal Canine and Hills Science Diet are big players when it comes to providing "nutritional research" for the veterinary schools… This is not an insignificant "conflict of interest". Perhaps you have even viewed these foods filling your own Veterinarian’s clinic shelves?
Unfortunately, consumer-savvy manufacturers know how to market their products to charm caring pet owners. Sunny packaging, bold statements, dazzling snapshots of adorable dogs, choice stew meat, garden-fresh vegetables, and tantalizing fruits all lure us to believe these pet foods are the best choice… but are these so-called “natural” foods really optimal - or are we being duped by a multi-billion dollar industry?
If we take a few minutes to dissect the marketing claims, starting with the packaging, it becomes easy to see the propaganda for what it really is. Pet food labels persistently display these misleading terms:
Fresh. Healthy. Wholesome. Natural. Holistic. Supreme. Recommended. Scientifically formulated. Complete. Best. Balanced. Organic. Active. Tasty. Primal. Hypoallergenic. Light. Evolutionary. Breed specific. Cuisine. Energizing. Clinically-proven. Probiotic. Active. Protection. Grain-free. Superior. Wild. Vital. Sensible. High-Energy. Premium. Gourmet. Prairie. Innovative. Outback. Ultimate. Instinct. Ultra. Primitive. Peak. Essential. Advanced.
These expressions best-describe a diet of real, wholesome, species-appropriate foods! This illusion is, of course, their intention… Unfortunately, these words used in the context of a dry, heat-treated, packaged product, could not be farther from the truth!
These companies profit billions of dollars, annually, from this marketing ploy... and they have gone to great lengths to ensure they have a captive audience. Royal Canine and Hills Science Diet are big players when it comes to providing "nutritional research" for the veterinary schools… This is not an insignificant "conflict of interest". Perhaps you have even viewed these foods filling your own Veterinarian’s clinic shelves?
Unfortunately, consumer-savvy manufacturers know how to market their products to charm caring pet owners. Sunny packaging, bold statements, dazzling snapshots of adorable dogs, choice stew meat, garden-fresh vegetables, and tantalizing fruits all lure us to believe these pet foods are the best choice… but are these so-called “natural” foods really optimal - or are we being duped by a multi-billion dollar industry?
If we take a few minutes to dissect the marketing claims, starting with the packaging, it becomes easy to see the propaganda for what it really is. Pet food labels persistently display these misleading terms:
Fresh. Healthy. Wholesome. Natural. Holistic. Supreme. Recommended. Scientifically formulated. Complete. Best. Balanced. Organic. Active. Tasty. Primal. Hypoallergenic. Light. Evolutionary. Breed specific. Cuisine. Energizing. Clinically-proven. Probiotic. Active. Protection. Grain-free. Superior. Wild. Vital. Sensible. High-Energy. Premium. Gourmet. Prairie. Innovative. Outback. Ultimate. Instinct. Ultra. Primitive. Peak. Essential. Advanced.
These expressions best-describe a diet of real, wholesome, species-appropriate foods! This illusion is, of course, their intention… Unfortunately, these words used in the context of a dry, heat-treated, packaged product, could not be farther from the truth!
SEE FOR YOURSELF
The Natural-Rearing program we, and like-minded NR breeders, recommend is rocking both holistic and naturopathic veterinary realms – and pets around the world reaping the benefits! Interestingly enough, this very same care is vehemently shunned by most in the modern veterinarian community. Does this make you uncomfortable? It should, for so many reasons!
We learn best when we use all of our senses... So I want to challenge you to do something this week that may seem a little odd. I want you to get close enough to really observe at least 15 - 20 pets. Obviously, you may have to visit your neighborhood pets... or better yet, simply sit in the waiting room of a local Vet clinic for several hours and note the health of the animals which come through the door.
If you have permission of the owners, run your hand over the pets’ bodies and through their coats... Smell your hands. Ask the owners if they can open their pets’ mouths, so you can view the back teeth. Do you see plague build-up? Ask what each owner does to prevent periodontal disease? Do the pets regularly lick their feet, their hind-ends, or scratch at their sides or ears... Do they get ear infections? Do they have weight issues or urinary tract infections?
If you have a keen eye and a give of gab, you will soon discover some astonishing trends: Severe allergies, hot spots, chronic ear infections, skin & coat problems, periodontal disease, obesity, diabetes, hip and joint deterioration, heart and liver disease, pancreatitis, renal failure, and cancer... More shocking, you will find many of these conditions in pets not yet 4 years old!
I am not shy in saying we, and many other NR professionals, believe these conditions develop, not "in spite of" modern care, but because of these protocols!
We learn best when we use all of our senses... So I want to challenge you to do something this week that may seem a little odd. I want you to get close enough to really observe at least 15 - 20 pets. Obviously, you may have to visit your neighborhood pets... or better yet, simply sit in the waiting room of a local Vet clinic for several hours and note the health of the animals which come through the door.
If you have permission of the owners, run your hand over the pets’ bodies and through their coats... Smell your hands. Ask the owners if they can open their pets’ mouths, so you can view the back teeth. Do you see plague build-up? Ask what each owner does to prevent periodontal disease? Do the pets regularly lick their feet, their hind-ends, or scratch at their sides or ears... Do they get ear infections? Do they have weight issues or urinary tract infections?
If you have a keen eye and a give of gab, you will soon discover some astonishing trends: Severe allergies, hot spots, chronic ear infections, skin & coat problems, periodontal disease, obesity, diabetes, hip and joint deterioration, heart and liver disease, pancreatitis, renal failure, and cancer... More shocking, you will find many of these conditions in pets not yet 4 years old!
I am not shy in saying we, and many other NR professionals, believe these conditions develop, not "in spite of" modern care, but because of these protocols!
BUILDING BLOCKS
Though we raise Australian Shepherds, these truths apply to the very tiny breeds as well as the large breeds, from Chihuahuas to Mastiffs – and all those in between. What one generation eats can have lasting effects on the health of future generations – both for good, and for bad. An in-depth feeding study done on cats (also carnivores) showed that poor nutrition can affect up to four, future generations! With each generation of kibble-fed dogs and cats, these animals are taken farther from the natural, glowing health which can be achieved through proper diet.
As you likely know, Aussies are an energetic and athletic breed – intended for tough work and lively play! It takes the right building blocks (nutrients) to form the strong bones and connective tissues needed to achieve this enduring “fitness for purpose”! As dedicated breeders looking not just to the present but to future generations, it is exceedingly important for us to provide these animals with a proper dietary foundation so they may develop into the fine animals they are genetically designed to be.
As you likely know, Aussies are an energetic and athletic breed – intended for tough work and lively play! It takes the right building blocks (nutrients) to form the strong bones and connective tissues needed to achieve this enduring “fitness for purpose”! As dedicated breeders looking not just to the present but to future generations, it is exceedingly important for us to provide these animals with a proper dietary foundation so they may develop into the fine animals they are genetically designed to be.
"SPECIES-APPROPRIATE" DIET
Take a look back at the words used to describe many of the dog foods. The "selling" points nearly all pet food companies use to market their products revolve around "natural", "organic", "instinctive", "primal", and "wild". Their goal is to leave customers with the deep and unwavering belief these products contain all the goodness - the very essence - of a species-appropriate, natural diet. Primitive! It is this concept they gleefully market - yet the food they profit from could not have possibly strayed farther from a “primitive” diet!
What IS a "Species-Appropriate" diet... and what science is this concept based upon?
"Species-appropriate", by very definition, is the food any given species is designed to eat – The food which said species can utilize to the fullest extent. Optimal. Ideal.
We can "build" the near-perfect blueprint of a true, species-appropriate diet by observing wolves, coyotes, and/or wild dogs eating their kills in their natural habitats; studying what, if anything, left at the "kill scenes"; and picking through carnivores' scat for hair, teeth, and bone bits for prey identification. Not for the faint-of-heart – this is the dirty-work which should back so-called "scientific" publications.
What IS a "Species-Appropriate" diet... and what science is this concept based upon?
"Species-appropriate", by very definition, is the food any given species is designed to eat – The food which said species can utilize to the fullest extent. Optimal. Ideal.
We can "build" the near-perfect blueprint of a true, species-appropriate diet by observing wolves, coyotes, and/or wild dogs eating their kills in their natural habitats; studying what, if anything, left at the "kill scenes"; and picking through carnivores' scat for hair, teeth, and bone bits for prey identification. Not for the faint-of-heart – this is the dirty-work which should back so-called "scientific" publications.
MY DOG IS DOMESTICATED
We agree! However, for your pet’s health, it is essential to distinguish fact from the romantic idea emerging in our country that pets are just furry family members. While it is true you may consider your dog as part of your family, "domestication" did not morph your sweet pet into anything other than the same Canid he was, generations before.
Your sweet dog is still a "wolf-like Canid"; classed among more than 30 species to include wolves, coyotes, jackals, and various primitive dogs. So closely-related, in fact, that he could be bred (excepting physical size limitations) to a wolf and produce live, viable offspring; these hybrids could, in turn, reproduce young of their own!
Every recognized dog breed was designed to meet a specific need. Retrieving? Herding? Search & Rescue? Believe it or not, these behaviors are simply modified “prey drive”, bred down from their ancestors.
Not so far removed, after all.
Certainly, I could insert a truck-load of data to enhance every aspect of this conversation - but to keep this relevant to the topic at hand; for all practical purposes, the differences between domesticated dogs and the other members of the "wolf-like Canid" family are merely "cosmetic".
Your sweet dog is still a "wolf-like Canid"; classed among more than 30 species to include wolves, coyotes, jackals, and various primitive dogs. So closely-related, in fact, that he could be bred (excepting physical size limitations) to a wolf and produce live, viable offspring; these hybrids could, in turn, reproduce young of their own!
Every recognized dog breed was designed to meet a specific need. Retrieving? Herding? Search & Rescue? Believe it or not, these behaviors are simply modified “prey drive”, bred down from their ancestors.
Not so far removed, after all.
Certainly, I could insert a truck-load of data to enhance every aspect of this conversation - but to keep this relevant to the topic at hand; for all practical purposes, the differences between domesticated dogs and the other members of the "wolf-like Canid" family are merely "cosmetic".
THE DIGESTIVE TRACT DOESN'T LIE
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Do not be fooled by false marketing. Your dog has been blessed with a short, relatively "forgiving" digestive tract. Designed to subsist as a hunter and scavenger, he can eat fresh prey, rotting carrion, garbage leftover in landfills – even survive for years on the cheapest of bagged foods... Yet, his true identity, his "calling" as it may be, is as "carnivore".
Just as a wolf, coyote, or "primal" dog thrives on meat, organs and bones, it is this same form of nourishment your dog’s digestive system utilizes most efficiently. This natural diet provides nutrients essential for proper growth, development, immune function and longevity. TAKE THE NEXT STEP
Ready to learn more? Ready to jump in? Our SARF page will teach you the basics of feeding a safe, natural, species-appropriate diet for free! We even cover some additional information - such as vaccinations and proper supplementation!
For those who are serious about learning how to feed this way, we do offer individualized consultations for a fee. If you would like more information, you may contact us for specifics. |
