Your skin is the biggest organ of your body. If your pet is itchy, chewing their skin to form hotspots, not excited at dinner time and/or has a dirty tummy, your pets diet may be causing problems. Where to start? In the words of Socrates, "Let thy food, be thy medicine".
One of our main services, is nutritional consulting. About 85% of our customers have experienced "allergies" at one time or another with their pet. Once they find the magic protein it is difficult to get them to explore other foods. After approximately 6 months, the allergy is mysteriously back with revenge. Suddenly the new protein is not working anymore. People try cooling proteins like rabbit, duck or fish or unusual proteins like kangaroo and alligator, only to find after a few months that the "allergy" is back. Why? Most likely because although a missing element was replaced, now something else is missing.
Using the chart below, select a diet as healthy as your budget will tolerate and your dog will eat eagerly. If you are feeding a nutritious diet that your dog hates, that is not good for you or your dog. When introducing the new diet, help your pet through the process of rebuilding a healthy foundation. We recommend raw goat's milk from Primal and regular exercise. This will help rebuild your pets immune system.
Once you start, switch the proteins around. Variety is the key to including all the vital nutrition that a healthy body needs. That is why we do not eat the same meal everyday, three times a day, month after month, year after year. Understand that it might take up to 30 days to see results. Realize that your pet may actually detox and start loosing hair during the diet refresh, only to have it grow in silky and full. Have them eat well, exercise regularly and get rest and you will fall in love with the results.
1. Hunted, raw prey (Not a real choice for 99.9% of us)
2. Prepared raw diets such as Stella & Chewys, Small Batch or Primal. It is important to understand they use the whole animal. This includes organs and bones and enzymes needed for optimal health. If you prepare it yourself we recommend researching the B.A.R.F. diet.
3. Freeze Dried raw diets Ex: Stella and Chewy's Great raw alternative. Easy to use if you do not want to handle raw. Resembles kibble and good for traveling.
4. Dehydrated, 100% Human Grade, minimally processed. Ex: The Honest Kitchen
3. Fresh cooked meats, calcium, organ meat, and very small amounts of fresh vegetables. Include a vitamin/mineral mix, omega 3 essential fatty acids (salmon oil). Do your research to create a optimal recipe. We recommend Dr. Pitcarin's book of recipes and health care: Natural Health of Cats and Dogs
4. Premium canned foods that are mixed with some fresh, raw foods. Use mostly meat, grain free, and low carb.
5. Same as #4, with fresh cooked food.
6. Premium canned foods WITHOUT fresh raw or cooked foods.
7. Premium canned foods that use grains. They are quality meats without by-products.
8. Premium grain free kibble. Ex: Fromm's
9. Premium Kibble with grain.
10. Canned foods. Substantially less meat. Water is number 1 ingredient. Usage of by-prducts and usually significant amounts of grains and preservatives. Grains equals or exceed meat.
11. Grocery store brands - dried or canned. They contain little meat, by-products, chemicals and primarily consist of grain and condemned animals.
With a little patience, a good diet and exercise your pet's skin issues will be a thing of the past.