If you follow us closely here, you know that we personally home-cook our dog’s food each day, and I truly believe that is the Gold Standard of feeding based on my research. However, we realize that not everyone can do that, so I wanted to at least share my TOP food tips in one easy-to-access place to give our community a few options to choose from.
Please remember any food is better than kibble for your pets, but there are some important tips to remember before a diet change!
- Dogs + cats should not eat kibble if you can avoid it. Cats, especially as they are not getting enough water from this option. This puts a strain on their kidneys, which is theorized to be a major cause of kidney disease. For those thinking they can just add water to their cat’s dry food, it is not that simple. Cats require a 70-75% moisture content in their meals. Pet parents can’t equal that by simply adding water. Another problem involves ingredients. Dry food is high in carbs (even “grain-free”). These diets may also use plant materials as a protein source. Being obligate carnivores (having zero carb requirements and digestive systems geared towards metabolizing meat/organ/bone), cats aren’t able to process the carbs and plant materials, making them prone to obesity and diabetes. Long story short, the Gold Standard for cats is wet or canned food. You can see our top picks under Cats, then Wet Food. See below for a coupon!
- Run the Wellness Scan on your dog or cat. This will tell you EXACTLY which ingredients they can and can’t have.
- Once you get your results back, choose a brand that offers higher-quality options like YumWoof, Honest Kitchen or Farmer’s Dog. If neither brand satisfies the scan results, you can learn how we cook our own here. Both brands are already supplemented and balanced.
- You MUST properly supplement your animal’s food; you CAN’T just feed them chicken and rice or fruits and veggies, which is not balanced and complete. This can harm your animal, and this is why many vets suggest kibble, as it is already balanced and supplemented. You do not need kibble to give your pet a balanced meal; however, you will need some guidance and you will need a plan. Our food blog explains that in-depth above but this supplement is brand new and does exactly that! Just add protein with this supplement and your meals are completed!
- Feeding raw is excellent; however, raw food requires more energy to digest, so until a dog is super healthy and with a healed tummy, we suggest gently cooked to begin.
Coupon Codes-
If you do want to try the brands we like to suggest, we do have two discounts for you to enjoy!
- The Honest Kitchen– Use code WELCOME15 for 15% OFF your first order!
- The Farmer’s Dog– Click here to access 50% OFF!
- Yumwoof– Code ORGANICBUNNY saves you site-wide!
Options We Like From Honest Kitchen-
Food: We prefer the grain free and the limited ingredients dehydrated diets they offer. The stews are ok, but we prefer them for use as toppers or a good option for cats.
Treats: The fish chews, Bone Broth Bites, and the Jerky Treats are our faves as they contain no oats or chickpeas; the others contain these.
Supplements: Bone Broth, Goat’s Milk, and The Herbal Digestive.
Other Supplements We Like-
Supplements can be very confusing! The above food brands I mentioned do come properly supplemented and balanced; however, you can always add in additional supplements depending on your pet’s needs. Think of them as boosters you add to your smoothie! Things like probiotics, immune-boosting mushrooms, diverse organs, + more. You can view all of our TOP supplements here.
The quality of supplements really matters, so the above are the gold standards of supplements.
Overall, these are some of our top tips, simplified, making it a breeze for you to get your pet on a better diet ASAP! Got questions, leave them below!
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