Raw Food-What you will notice in your pet!

The Healthy Bark

When feeding a raw diet these are the things you will notice, some right away, others over time.

• Less Shedding
• Shinier Coat
• Leaner Bodies
• Better Weight
• Defined Muscles
• Healthier Joints
• Digestive Upset
• Cleaner Teeth
• Better Breath
• Better Energy
• Better Kidney Health
• Helps Urinary Tract
• Less Stool
• Overall Better Health

Less shedding and shinier coats come from the fact they are digesting and using the foods they are eating. Since digestion takes a lot less time they are supplying the body with the nutrients they need. This means the skin-the largest organ of the body is finally getting nutrients. Meats have omega 3's in their natural state not cooked out like in kibble diets. Amino acids are left intact for utilization of these very important nutrients.

Leaner bodies, better weight, defined muscles, and healthier joints are all things you will notice over time. If you have an overweight dog you are adding stress to the skeletal system, this causes the joints to take on added stress. With a raw diet you are feeding the whole body, the nutrients from the raw diet help with joint health, and build muscles for a leaner dog. Being able to get their nutrients from whole foods is how they were designed.

Cleaner teeth and better breath, comes from eating foods that are not laced with starches, which they cannot breakdown. Gnawing on raw bones such as the spare ribs helps them clean their teeth. Dry food does not clean a pets teeth. Do you use pretzels to clean yours? Dogs are incapable of moving their jaws from left to right, they can only go up and down. If you have ever seen a dog get sick you know the food is still in the shape it was in the bowl. Turning their heads sideways and chewing on a bone is how they keep teeth clean. Also chicken necks or turkey necks depending on the size of your pet. The meat on these as being pulled off acts as floss. Better breath comes from not digesting starches, having a better digestive tract, and letting their bodies eat whole foods.

Better energy because they are using the food they are eating to fuel the body. Protein is used for building the body and fats are used to fuel the body. When feeding raw the fats are used like they are suppose to. Not sugars hitting the body and slowing them down as they try and digest what is not natural for them.

Better kidney and urinary health comes from the raw diet as well. First of all dry foods have 10% moisture while raw foods are around 60% moisture, this means the body is staying hydrated. Dogs and especially cats get urinary tract infection from lack of hydration caused by the dry food they eat. If they are eating dry kibble than the body has to use its water to rehydrate the food in order to process it down to be absorbed. This takes a lot of energy, resources, and slows down the immune system. A dog and cats PH level should be around 6.5, when it drops below 6 it can cause oxalate stones if it goes above 7 it can than cause struvite crystals. Using a species appropriate diet helps regular the PH to where it needs to be.

Less stool, most people do not think about it, but the amount of stool your pet produces shows you how much of the food they are really absorbing. If you are feeding 3 cups of food a day and picking up 2 1/2 cups of food your pet is only pulling nutrients from 1/6th of what you are feeding them. So basically you are paying for your pet to poop. In raw fed pets you will notice very little is left over. They actually absorb what they eat.

Better overall health, is a great way to describe what happens to a raw fed pet. The list above just shows some of what you will notice. There are many other benefits we will talk about along the journey of The Healthy Bark.