The Honest Kitchen

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/

I am just nuts over The Honest Kitchen de-hydrated dog food.  This is what I have been looking for in all of the hours spent reading and re-reading about dog foods.  Their dehydrated mixes are made from human grade ingredients (and they are certified by the FDA to be able to say so), and manufactured in a human food manufacturing plant.  I have not found a higher standard set in the dog food industry.  I can feed The Honest Kitchen products knowing that it is held to the same level of quality as the food my human family eats.  This, is what I want in a dog food.

Dehydrated means that there is less processing and more preservation of nutrients...

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/about/what-makes-us-different/


The Honest Kitchen is also straight forward with informing consumers about the origin of it's ingredients.  This means a lot to mean, especially in light of recent events.  So many dog foods use components from China, and over the last several years that has left many pets sick, or dead.  I look for foods, specifically that are China free.  I am thrilled to say that this brand is 100% China free.

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/learn/our-ingredients/

We are working on a box of Thrive at the moment.  The great thing is, that you can order samples at their website-to ensure that this is something your pooch will love.  I recommend ordering a few, as the difference in flavors is noticeable   I don't think that I mentioned the employees regularly taste test the batches? I even taste tested the Thrive before feeding it to the boys, grainy, yes, and very well flavored (something I would never do with kibble).

The Honest Kitchen offers many different formulas, some for all life stages, some meant more for adult dogs. I encourage you to explore their site as there is a wealth of information there. The Thrive we ordered is made from free range chicken, it is also gluten free!

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/thrive/

The boys would chase me into the kitchen and go so far as to bark at me until I had the food prepared.  I feed twice a day (5-6 lb maltese dogs) so they get 1/4 cup of mix at each feeding along with a little over 1/4 cup of water.  The feeding instructions call for a bit more water than that, but I like to keep it a little more of a 'mush' consistancy.  At first they devoured it, then for a while they didn't want anything to do with it....when I reintroduced it after a time, they have begun again to dive in and wait eagerly for mealtime.  I think, I have created some picky dogs.

It is my understanding that sometimes the Thrive formula (with it's gluten free quinoa base) is slightly different tasting from the other formulas so don't be discouraged if your pooch doesn't go nuts for it, I suggest just trying another flavor.

Since Rocky has such a sensitive stomach, I will be ordering some Zeal for him next round. I have heard it does well for dogs with very sensitive tummys.

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/zeal/

If you have been thinking of giving a dehydrated food a try for your dog, I don't think it gets any better than this.  Now when I say the dogs are eating better than we are for dinner, it's no joke!

Pet treats from China

There has been an ongoing issue with pet treats that are made in China, causing problems for pets.  There have been a total of 360 pet deaths to date and over 2000 cases of animals getting sick from these treats.  The brands effected by the issue are ones commonly found in stores such as Wal-Mart.  The FDA has issued a warning to pet owners to use caution when feeding these products and reminds that they are not necissary for a balanced diet-yet the manufacturers still refuse to pull them from the shelves.  If you have not heard anything on this issue, I would urge you to do some reading.

http://seattletimes.com/html/tailsofseattle/2019215698_fda_update_on_jerky_pet_treats.html
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm319463.htm
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/07/fda-releases-data-on-dog-treat-testing-still-no-answers/
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/hats-off-to-food--water-watch.html
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-news/jerky-treats-death-toll/
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recall/chicken-jerky-treats-suspects/

If this is news to you, I would suggest a google search!  I have said it before, please be careful what you are feeding your pets.  The truth is, we aren't going to get 100% away from China-though many companies say they are 100% China free, I find that hard to swallow.

I believe they (the companies) have good intentions (and we are talking more about kibble here-not the tainted treats specifically).  The majority of the worlds vitamins tend to come from China-that is for humans as well.  Many pet food companies, in an atempt to do the very best for our pets, and to provide the very best quality of ingredients, will source their vitamin mixes from companies that are not in China-the only issue with that, is that many of those vitamin companies, get their supplies from China.  See what I mean?

The best you can do, is look for something that is as free of Chinese ingredients as possible.  I look for made in the USA, and I like to contact the dog food companies that I use, to find out even more details then just what is on the bag, or what is on the website.

Educate yourself and keep an eye out, it's a shame that this particular issue has gone on for so long....

Freshpet

I am a huge freshpet fan. They offer fresh foods for your dogs and cats, this can be found not only in petstores but also in your local grocery store.

The boys really enjoy the slice and serve rolls. (Which are available in all life stages!) The only reason I don't serve this full time is cost. Premium kibble is still more affordable. I do use these, however, to suppliment their diet on occasion, as a replacement for one of their kibble meals.

Freshpet also has a wonderful selection of treats available. I have made their peanutbutter cookies, which my boys greatly enjoyed, and I even brought extras to work for co workers dogs. I did not recieve one bad report! These cookies only last about a week, so if you only have one or two dogs, I would either share leftovers or only make partbof the batch and freeze the rest.

As for the frozen treats, the peanutbutter ice cream is a hit in our house, in fact, the boys will be having some as a snack today. (Tucker is teething and it is great for his sensitive mouth) Today's blog pucture shows Rocky finishing off his treat, pretty sure he's fond of it! The frozen yogurt though, he gives up to Tucker without a fight.

Overall, I love these products and would definantly recommend them to other pet owners! Freshpet is one of our favorite brands.

http://freshpet.com/

What are you feeding them Part I

Do you pay attention to the ingredients in your dog food? If not, maybe it's time to stop and take a look.  The majority of brands available in major stores are made of low grade ingredients and heavily corn based.

There is a bit of a movement towards more natural ingredients in pet foods and there are now several websites that rate dog foods.  These sites can be used as helpful tools to educate you and get you thinking about what you are feeding your best friend.

Dog food Chat
Dog Food Advisor
Dog Food Analysis

Dog food advisor is probably my favorite on the list as they are helpful in that they keep everyone up to date on recalls and such.  These sites are all great to give you an idea of what is out there and exactly how crappy your kibbles and bits or iams might be-however.... I don't believe any of these individuals are nutritionists specifically for dog foods.  That doesn't mean the sites don't have good information and that doesn't mean these people don't know what they are talking about-just take it with a grain of salt and apply it to what works best with you and yours.

Now, if you're feeding something like Pedigree, I'm going to ask you personally to change.  Animal meat, and meat byproduct is mysery meat-you don't know if that's a pound animal that was put to sleep or a diseased cow that was bought on bargain because of the low grade meat and possible effects it might have to whatever eats it.

I feed our boys Fromm. Fromm Foods I like the ingredient list, I like the company, I trust the company, and it is US made.  You really need to know where this stuff is coming from-there have been several warnings regarding pet treats made in China as of late.

If you love your pet, you'll take a moment to look into this and if you're feeding corn and sawdust (yes I said sawdust) you'll take the time and spend a little extra to find something better...

Meet the Boys

I like pets a hell of a lot more than I like people. It's true. My dogs make my day, I have no idea how I survived so many years without one! My parrot, well....he's a different story-I am working on repairing our 16 year relationship.

We have two maltese dogs, Rocky and Tucker. They can be utterly obnoxious at times and some days they make me want to pull my hair out, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

There is nothing like a dog, to greet you when you come home, to cuddle with you when you're feeling down... They don't talk back (using words) or steal your shit (unless they can get away with it) and they certainly do not push you out of bed at night...

Haha, ok, seriously, who would have thought a five pound dog would manage to take up half the bed!?