Canine Nutrition
- What is a dog. Herbivore? Omnivore? Carnivore? Silly question? Well, probably not
as silly as you think. Dogs are technically classified as omnivores. Surprised? Many
are. Why are they classified as omnivores? Because a dog can survive on plant based
proteins. Survive. Not thrive. There is a big difference between surviving and
thriving.
Dogs need meat to thrive. If we look at their dentition and their intestinal tract it is
designed to digest meat and bone. Their teeth are designed to rip and scissor
through meat and crush bone. Their intestinal tract is short, not allowing the extra
processing that it takes to efficiently digest plant material.
People are true omnivores...as are bears. If you look at our teeth, we have molars
designed to crush and grind plant material as well as proteins. Our gut is longer,
allowing us to break down and gain the nutritional benefit of vegetables. With their
shorter gut, and incorrect teeth, dogs do not process vegetable material efficiently
and many times that material passes through them without imparting its nutrients.
- Dogs need 20-40% digestible meat protein in their daily diet. Dogs need very little
carbohydrates!
Keep in mind that the pet food industry is only about 75 years old. In order to make
pet foods at low cost, many companies use the waste products of the human food
industry. There are no rules preventing them from using 4D meats. 4D meats refers
to dead, dying, diseased and down. There is nothing preventing them from using a
cancer ridden animal or a sick animal in making your dog (or cats!) food, and they do
use these things. Would you eat these things? Would you consider having these
things in your diet something that would help prevent cancer and some of the other
illness that plague our beloved companions? Our pets lives are too short as it is. We
need to make every effort to help them live longer, healthier, disease free lives, and
diet is very import to that end.
If you are going to choose a commercial dog food, it is important to choose one that
has biologically available nutrition. Choose a food that uses only human grade
ingredients.
ORIJEN REPRESENTS A NEW DIRECTION IN PET NUTRITION: BIOLOGICALLY
APPROPRIATE.
The concept is simple: include the fresh, whole foods that nature evolved dogs and
cats to eat (in correct ratio and quantity), and exclude ingredients like cereal grains
that are not part of the natural diet.
High-protein, low-carbohydrate and grain-free, ORIJEN features fresh regional
ingredients in a Biologically Appropriate ratio of 70 percent meat, 30 percent fruit
and vegetables and zero grain (70/30/0).
The metabolism of cats and dogs is naturally evolved to operate on a largely
carnivorous diet, and by better matching the natural diet, ORIJEN promotes peak
health in cats and dogs of all breeds and life stages, nourishing them as Nature
originally intended. ORIJEN is a new direction in pet nutrition: BIOLOGICALLY
APPROPRIATE.
Over the years we have tried many different diets from Raw to the absolutely most
expensive commercial food available.
We have found that ORIJEN has given us the best results. We highly recommend it!
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