Archive for June, 2010

Let’s face it, the economy is hitting everyone hard.  Yes, its getting better – slowly but surely – but still, if you can save at all isn’t that a good thing?

Little dogs as well as cats do quite well on chicken necks. Remember to feed according to your pet's size as well as eating style.

Many of our existing and potential customers have long fed their dogs of all shapes, sizes and ages, ground raw mixes.  Its easy and convenient.  What they don’t realize is that some of their food costs could be lessened while at the same time they give their dog or cat something new, exciting and, well, kind of cool!  The introduction of whole raw meaty bones to your pet’s diet can save you money and more likely than not, thrill your dog or cat to bits!

Turkey necks are great for large dogs but can be cut in half or thirds for smaller meals

The addition of raw meaty bones is sometimes a leap that people are a little hesitant to make.  Its sort of big, has bones in it, looks gross….but its time to GET OVER IT!  Your dog can handle it – would we lie to you?  Just think of the smile that will come to your face as you witness your dog’s joy in crunch crunch crunching those bones!  Its a most satisfying sound, of that I can attest!  For smaller dogs, cats and puppies there are chicken necks – perfectly sized for their needs and jaw size.  As your puppy grows, and for larger adults, chicken backs and turkey necks make perfect RMB’s (remember to always feed size appropriate!).  Sometimes they need a little help initially in figuring out what it is exactly that you have dropped into their food dish (some need no such assistance, they just KNOW), and perhaps you have a piggy dog who needs to be encouraged to chew, BUT all dogs and most cats will thrill in their meals!  Great jaw exercise, great meat to bone ratio and in the case

Backs are great for dogs and puppies of all sizes. If one is too much than simply cut in half for a meal sized portion

of chicken backs, clinging organs adding to their chickeny goodness!

Its really NOT scary at all – its what those teeth of theirs were made for I swear!  Alternating your dog or cat’s meals between APFP Raw ground mixes and raw meaty bones can help you to easily give your pet some variety as well as cut some of your raw feeding costs.  Your pet AND your wallet will thank you!

Ever try to hold down a 75 pound dog while attempting to brush his teeth?  Better yet, how many have had success in making their kitty understand that brushing is for their own good?  The claws disagree.  What was the cost of your pet’s last dental at the vet’s office?  Not cheap and frankly, whenever anesthesia is involved, not safe – Especially for our older pets who are often the ones who end up needing a dental the most.

The teeth of a 13 year old German Shepherd Dog, fed raw since age 7, never had a dental.

How often have you heard people tell you that they have to feed dry kibble to their pet because it keeps their teeth clean?  Did you believe them?  How about if they tell you its a special DENTAL formula dry food?  More convincing?  Hate to burst any bubbles but its pure, unadulterated malarkey.  When’s the last time YOUR teeth felt clean after you chewed on some pretzels?  My guess is that you actually had to forcibly remove some of the residue that was stuck in your teeth.  Same goes for a pet that eats something roughly the same texture and consistency.  Check out the gum line of a dog that just got done downing a big old bowl of kibble – mushy “goodness” stuck all around.  Yum……What is happening is that the kibble is actually contributing to the development of tartar and plaque.  Grain based foods (and to a lesser extent their better but still not perfect grain free counterparts) leave all kinds of bacteria forming particles behind on your pet’s teeth.   Starches, sugars – carbs.  All feed bacteria and the mouth is a great place to take up residence.  Bacteria leads to plaque and tarter which lead to gingivitis (gum disease) which can then lead to infections throughout the bloodstream even resulting in kidney disease or liver failure.  Bad times.  There IS an easy solution – believe it or not.

Keep your puppy smiling from the beginning by starting him out right. He'll never know what a dental even IS!

Raw meat and raw bones offer up what could be called a “miracle” both in lowering existing tartar and retarding the growth of more.  Get rid of the tarter and plaque, avoid gum disease and infection.  Certainly the physical chewing of raw meaty bones can go a long way towards this result.  The physical act of chewing large chunks of meat and spongy bone is like a natural flossing for your pet.  What you may not know though is that raw meat and bones do essentially the same job whether whole or ground.  True!  The enzymes provided by the raw meat are just the ones that retard bacteria growth and prevent all the mouth nastiness that leads to bad teeth and infections.  These enzymes are denatured and destroyed during the cooking/heating process of making kibble (or even of a cooked homemade diet).  They aren’t there so they can’t work.  So long as you are feeding a natural raw diet, it matters NOT if you decide ground is the way or whole works best – both are going to benefit your pet’s mouth in essentially the same way.  Remember too that dogs and cats fed a natural raw diet have overall better immune systems than do those fed processed commercial diets – this goes a long way towards making sure that they can keep up a defense to any invading bad bacterias in a much more efficient and effective way.  All systems are stronger which means an overall healthier pet.

Tarter and the resulting gum disease make for one sad puppy....A raw diet can change all of that!

So the next time someone tells you that feeding kibble is the only way to good dental health, don’t laugh in their faces but simply smile to yourself knowing that you and your pets will be having a nice steak dinner with that money they are shelling out to the vet for a much needed dental.  Whether ground or whole, raw meat is the optimal way to keep your pet’s smile as perfect and pearly white as it can be.

While dogs seem to predominate the world of raw feeding and the world’s of our customers as well, cats are also an very important part of many people’s lives.  Is a raw diet appropriate for the kitties?  Perhaps more so than any other pet we would have!  Cats are obligate carnivores – meat and protein equals life.  Nothing in this world could be more appropriate for cats than a raw diet.

Both cats and dogs benefit from eating a natural diet based on meat, bones and organs

If started from a young age, cats are generally quite easy to acclimate to a raw diet – they take to it like a duck to water and never look back.  It can be more difficult, however, to switch an older kitten or cat over.  They can be slightly more finicky than dogs – even sort of offended when we offer them something new.  Unlike dogs you can’t simply wait them out.  Cats WILL starve themselves, sicken and get to a point where simply cannot eat regardless as to whether they are hungry or not.  Its crucial, therefore, to use caution when switching your feline from dry or canned food to raw.  Some will surprise us and simply eat like they’ve never had anything other than raw.  Others can be a little obstinate.

If you are currently feeding your cats a dry kibble, your first step is to get them onto a canned food.  Even if your kitty never fully switches to raw, canned food is far preferable to dry and so becomes goal number one.  Once you find a canned food that your little darling will condescend to eat (they certainly know what they like don’t they?), start your raw transfer by adding a very small amount to his canned dinner.  Slowly but surely add a bit more raw, a bit less canned.  If all goes well (sometimes it actually does!), your kitty will be eating raw like a pro in a matter of a couple of weeks.  If he puts the brakes on your shenanigans, simply back off and start anew pushing things slightly less and going at a slower pace than originally.

Cats require a slightly higher meat to bone ratio than dogs (though its quite close) and adding more meat, less bone, can sometimes make a difference.  One trick shared by a loyal customer is to add extra organ blends to the Raw mixes in order to make it more enticing to the cat in its entirety.   This also helps to ensure that your cat is getting more than adequate amounts of taurine – an essential amino acid for cats.  Taurine is naturally found in heart meats which are in all of our mixes but particularly found in all three organ blends.  Important to dogs as well for heart health, taurine is even more necessary for felines to prevent  blindness, nervous system disorders, heart problems as well being beneficial to the respiratory and immune systems.

Dietary requirement for cats and dogs only differ slightly and generally they can share the exact same diet with few tweaks

It can be a harder undertaking to switch your cat over to raw.  Starting early whenever possible will make the job easier but even with older cats it IS possible.  For the “big switch”, we recommend various mixes.  Many cats seem to prefer poultry over other meats – to that end we suggest starting out with our Chicken and Turkey mixes.  These veggie free products can be great in the initial stages of transferring your cat from commercial to raw food.  Once you have achieved success with the simple mixes, adding mixes of differing protein sources can become a much easier proposition!