Our Raw Journey
Once I brought Wrangler home I knew I wanted him to be with me as long as possible. A healthy long life starts with nutrition. When I adopted Wrangler he was on a kibble diet, this was not the road I wanted him to continue on. I was always into pet nutrition, working at a pet store I wanted my clients and my customers to be on the best, healthiest path they can be. Reading your pets food ingredients helps tell you the quality of the food. The first 5 ingredients are what I look at the most but I still check the rest. I want to see the meat protein as the first ingredient, no by-products, and no corn. I don’t like seeing a list of ingredients that I don’t understand or know how to say.
Research for Something Better!
I took a seminar on a healthy brand that was made with whole food, with QUALITY ingredients that we would find in a supermarket. They had tons of information on why a healthy diet will help keep minor and major health issues away. Once Wrangler was settled in my home started the transition, 75% kibble 25% Whole food brand. Understandably he had a runny stool (this will happen sometimes especially with a dog with a sensitive stomach). I spoke with the rep at my store and she recommended I stay with the ratio 75%/25% until his belly ache subsided. 2 weeks goes by, same ratio, same stool issue.
I then decided this wasn’t for him. I was speaking with my bestfriend Jess (Callie’s mom whos also into nutrition for her dog) for advice, she recommended looking into raw dog food. Jess told me about a Vet named Dr. Karen Becker, she has a YouTube channel called MercolaHealthyPets. Watching her videos it help me get further educated into dog food so I then began my search. I dove into researching for the best brand for puppies, 5 1/2 months old. I wanted a premade raw so I didn’t have to worry about making sure it was balanced and nutritionally appropriate for him. I then found Steve’s Real Food, a premade raw brand balanced for dogs and cats! Their ingredients were absolutely amazing, a small list, filled with superfood ingredients that I could pronounce!
I went on their website and found a local store that sold their food. The owner of the store was so helpful and answered all our questions and confirmed this was a great brand for our dogs. Our first feeding with the raw was just using it as a topper to see how Wrangler’s belly took it. He took to it well! I still decided to wean him onto the raw instead of switching cold turkey. for 3 days I fed 75% kibble 25% raw, as his belly did good we transitioned to 50% kibble 50% raw for 3 days then 25% kibble 75% raw. Finally after a 9 day wean he was fully raw!
Feeding Raw has Plenty of Benefits
smaller feeding portions
smaller more firm, less smelly poops
stronger immune system=less vet visits
shiny coat
better weight control
better dental health
A raw diet is not cheap but its definitely worth it if you can afford it. If your dog is on a healthier diet, your dog in turn will be healthier which means you save money on vet care. If you want your dog to have a healthier diet but cannot afford it right now, that’s okay! Start with a healthier kibble, check your ingredients, add healthy ingredients (fresh chicken, beef, salmon, lamb), give your dog a prebiotic and probiotic. It all starts with small changes.
