lucky dog organics

Repost from earlier Ping.Fm

It's a rainy day here in Boston and as I feed my dog her lunch I am thinking heavily of the TRUST we put in our pet food companies. We need to believe that they are working for the benefit of our pets...not their pockets. However, the food recalls of 2007 showed that there was corruption afoot in the industry. Some good companies were brought into the mess because they TRUSTED their suppliers. The trickle down effect was enormous! It changed the way we went about things ....as consumers, as retailers, and as health practitioners. The grey weather always gets me thinking of such serious things so I did a little online research and decided to post the two things that came up on our beloved Google. One is scary.... http://ping.fm/sE5rW There are EXTREMELY HIGH levels of zinc in some nutro foods and this can cause catastrophic issues with your cats! Consider this when feeding it to your feline kids. This other one atleast BEGINS to offer some of the people and pets affected by the recall in 07 SOME closure. The owners of ChemNutra Inc have changed their plea to Guilty in their roles of supplying tainted wheat gluten to a large list of U.S. pet food manufacturers. http://ping.fm/tiZfz With all this said, you might wonder what I feed my own dog. Bella eats Nature's Variety Frozen Raw as her main source of health and wellness with the occassional snacks of Orijen Fish Formula or Addiction Wild Kangaroo and Apple. Take care everyone and hug your pets for Bella and I today!

It's a New Year! Time for a diet change for your pet?

Many of us woke up on January 1st feeling less than thrilled with our bodies. We look back and realize rather immediately that our ill health and poor body shape are in direct correlation with what we put in our mouths day after day. So came the vows...Less crap! Some of us ransacked our pantries and threw stuff out... double bagging it and putting it in the trash outside right then as to avoid second guessing our wise decision to purge. While still others of us vowed to go a step further and to eat more fresh foods, more "whole" foods, to take more supplements and exercise more. Meanwhile we poured and scooped the same old stuff into our pets bowl. Day after day.

Variety is the spice of life. No single food can provide a lifetime of optimal health. What a body requires for optimal health changes over the years. Now might be a good time to explore some of the alternatives that are at your disposal. In this posting I am exploring three alternatives to the grocery, veterinary office or discount shopping center (i.e. Target, Kmart, Walmart, PetSmart, Petco) and trying to help you see the pros and cons of each.

The three alternatives to traditional commercial pet foods are as follows:

1. "Alternative" commercial pet foods

2. Home-cooked

3. Raw (commercial and home prepped)

"Alternative" commercial pet foods

People understand certain marketing buzzwords as being healthier or better for you when attached to a product. Buzzwords such as All Natural, Healthy, Holistic, and Organic. Pet owners are increasingly finding themselves pulled in the direction of healthier pet foods with claims to a more natural product because they know what an impact natural products have had on their body.

Pros:
Options and availability like never before! Even in regular grocery stores things are emblazoned with such claims.

Cons:
Because of the market flood, consumers will find themselves wondering whose claims are true and whose are just marketing mumbo jumbo.

How to weigh the cons with the pros and make the best choice? Look for AAFCO feeding tests and manufacturers that utilize an on staff vet nutritionist. Seek advice from the Internet and sign up for The Whole Dog Journal . This great resource reviews both cat and dog foods every year and as a member you are able to search the archives for past reviews.

Home-cooked

Just as it sounds, this style of diet is lovingly prepared by the owner or a service such as Zen Chein Pets in NYC.

Pros:
This diet is much more palatable and most pets will begin wolfing it down without hesitation. It's a wonderful option for someone who is comfortable in a kitchen and enjoys the work of cooking. Because of it's unique ability to be custom formulated, it is a perfect diet for those with multiple medical needs, who, otherwise, would not be able to be provided that optimum nutrition with one single type of food.

Cons:
For those preparing their own pet's meals, the time investment can be quite a hurdle. When I was cooking for Lucky, It took me several weeks to determine a schedule to make it as easy as possible. The cost of home cooking can be much higher due to the need to supplement the diet with vitamins, minerals and different herbal additives. The risk of not properly balancing the nutrition can result in potentially life threatening imbalances long-term. This is true particularly for cats who require certain minerals and amino acids in order to maintain their health. If you choose to use a service that handles the balancing for you make sure they are legitimate. The costs will be even higher than your own endeavours however they will take the guesswork out of it for you. If you are in NYC we highly recommend Zen Chein Pets. (See link above)

Raw

This is the path I chose for Bella. She came to me as an emaciated rescue in the back of a pick up truck. Less than a year old and already twice abandoned.... I knew she needed some extra care. We started with a home-cooked diet and about 6 months in.... we transitioned to raw. She enjoys it more. She thrives on it in a way she didn't with other diets. While some people choose to do the Raw diet (also known as BARF or Bones and Raw Food or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food diet) on their own.... purchasing meat at the local natural foods butcher or through a BARF co-op others, such as myself, choose to go the commercial route. Due to the importance of balancing nutritional requirements I prefer to leave the guess work out and not have to handle all of the messy bits. Just because she loves it, doesn't mean I want to touch it all!

Pros:
Highly digestible with increased bio-availability. May provide additional phytochemicals, flavanoids, polyphenols and nutrients yet to be identified by nutritional science. Quite good for dogs with food allergies and gastrointestinal issues. Some studies have shown that this type of diet increases the human/pet bond.

Cons:
Some studies have shown that pathogenic bacteria in HOMEMADE raw diets are shed and viable in the feces of household pets. This can increase the risk to the elderly, young children and the immuno-suppressed. HOMEMADE raw diets can also have significant nutritional imbalances and the ingestion of improperly ground raw bones can lead to gastrointestinal perforation.

Decisions

So, after all this.....what do we do? Which type is the best option for our pet and if we have a multi pet household....is one that provides optimal health for one dog going to necessarily provide optimal health for the other? Or the cat?

There is no single best food for all dogs, or for any dog for that matter. One of the reasons for this is because their bodies and their bodies' needs change over time. What you should be looking for is a well designed diet that is properly formulated for your pet's age, weight, activity level, physical condition, and medical history. Ask for assistance from a professional nutritionist in creating a nutritional margin or safety that will allow for the variety that your dog needs.

After any major dietary change.... do a follow up in 6 months. Have your vet run some blood work, do a urine and fecal scan and have a physical exam. This will allow you to get a comprehensive look at your pet's health and help you to determine whether you are on the right path!