OUR PHILSOPHY Cont'd
After a medical scare several years ago, I started eating healthier. Since nutritious eating improved my health, I thought it would also help my dogs when they were sick. It worked! Cleo & Patra had not been to the vet in almost 2 years aside from their annual check-ups!! At 8 months, they were diagnosed with Luxating Patellas (where the kneecap pops out - common in toy breeds) and I was advised they would need surgery at around $4K each. We did some acupuncture and they have eaten only nutrient dense foods including 100% Grass Fed Meats since then. Our Holistic vet informed me that their knee caps are now very tight and will no longer require surgery to correct this condition! I could not be happier, not to mention saving $8K in vet bills! Preventive care and a diet of raw or home-cooked meals can improve your pet's health by providing the body with the clean fuel needed to thrive and heal.
The number one question everyone asks is "How do you feed your dog healthy foods with the rising costs of food, gas and everything else?" The real question is "How can you afford NOT to feed your pet healthy food with the high costs of vet bills?" In Europe, almost 2 million dogs have been put down in the past two years as the owners could no longer afford to care for their dogs when they became sick. This is so heartbreaking.
A large factor in determining a healthly diet depends on your budget. There are many nutrient-dense healthy foods that are not expensive. The financial cost of a nutritionally deficient diet can be staggering. Feeding your dog nutritious foods does not have to be costly, and can eventually be a cost savings in the long run! You are either going to spend the money upfront by investing in good nutrition, or down the road on vet bills, which then comes along with all the emotional trauma.
During the first few years of your dog's life, their body is running on it youthfulness and dealing with food's toxic effects. Toxins build up a little at a time and it can take years for symptoms to appear when the built up toxins in the body begin to affect other organ systems. This typically is seen around ages 5 to 7 years old.
Improving your dog's diet means spending more time finding more nutritious foods and food sources. We've already done alot of your homework by aiming to educate you through our website with information, links to articles, books, websites and sources to buy the nutritious foods we use in our Canine Connections . We want to enable you to make an informed decision of what to feed your pet - whether raw, home cooked or kibble.
Though there is still good kibble on the market, the majority of the kibble are not diets built to sustain healthy dogs. Feeding your dog healthy foods means feeding it real whole food that is nutrient dense. Easy-to-digest pet foods are made with the highest human-grade ingredients and free of all the items listed on our home page. The easier the food is to digest, the more thoroughly nutrients such as vitamins and minerals will be assimiliated into the blood stream, to feed the individual cells that make up the various organ systems.
Our meals provide nutrients from real foods and are not synthetically added in, as with most commercial pet foods. Our meals are intended for healthy dogs, but many of our clients with health issues have seen dramatic improvements if not elimination of these issues. We suggest consulting with your vet or a Holistic Animal Nutritionist if your dog has serious health issues.
We offer a variety of nine nutritious meals, and encourage feeding a constantly changing assortment of food so your pet has a better chance of receiving the nutrients they need. Since cooking destroys enzymes or reduces some nutrients, we replace these by adding back in Probiotic Enzymes. We recommend superior supplements from real food sources to help ensure all of your dog's nutritional needs are met and suggest adding raw foods with enzymes as snacks to provide those vital nutrients as listed below.
Our home-made bone broth also provides required minerals, particularly calcium, colostrum, kelp, alfafa, magnesium and potassium, which helps build healthy cartilages and supplies gelatin which aids digestion. Unfortunately the benefits of these are not shown in the AAFCO feeding guidelines.
We can also customize your meals from a few suggested websites, your own dog's favorite recipe or from your vet's recommended diet. After all, each dog is unique and uniquely yours with different requirements. What works for one dog may not work for another. We work with many picky eaters whom are now eating regularly to the delight of their pet parents! We will work with you until we find a meal that is satisfying to your pet.
Perhaps you need a break from the time-consuming task of cooking for your pet. Allow us to help free up your busy schedule by cooking your special meals. We also offer individual sample portions to sample for your pet's taste buds to "try before you buy" with our Mixed Breed Sampler option, which contains 2 ounces of 7 of our scrumptious meals with delivery on us to test your pet's palate.
To provide the best of a raw and home-cooked meal, we suggest including snacks such as raw milk, raw cheese and yogurt, which provide the enzymes that a raw diet provides. Raw, unpasteurized, unhomogenized milk straight from healthy, organically raised, grass-fed cows or goats is an excellent food for dogs and cats and they can tolerate it. Colostrum, the first milk the mother gives to her calf, builds the immune system up through whole raw milk. When introducing dairy products, feed them once a week to be sure your dog or cat tolerates them well; then use as often as desired.
Try our nutrient dense food - and see how much your dog likes it! You'll soon realize that homemade meals can be a great alternative to commercial food and are very nutritious. If you already home cook for your pet, we applaud you! A healthy diet is the best investment and one of the best gifts you can give your pet.
So to you and your beloved pet - healthy, happy eating! Our pleasure is to serve your best friend!
Cleo & Patra's Mum
