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Do you add anything to your pet food?

Most people do.

In fact, a large number of people add something to their dog or cat food even if it’s simply water.

So why add mixers?

Other than health concerns, people like to feel they are doing something special for their pets. They also want to make their pets feel special. (We certainly get that.)

So what can you add and why?

Let’s break it down into 5 categories:

• Water
• Weight loss/pancreatitis
• Hip & joint health
• Overall health
• Quality protein/picky dogs

Water

It’s vital for dogs and cats to stay hydrated. They both get moisture from meat, but often need to drink more water than is provided by their food, especially if they are eating too much carb rich, processed kibble.

Dogs, like humans, can simply drink water to prevent dehydration. Cats are a different story. Due to biology and evolution, if you see them drinking water chances are they are already dehydrated. That means we must make sure they get enough liquid into their bodies. The easiest way to do that is to feed them a moisture rich diet like raw or canned. Otherwise they could end up with urine crystals and bladder stones.

Weight loss/pancreatitis

We know what you’re thinking,

“Why would you add more food for weight loss?”

Seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it?

When your dog needs to lose weight the obvious solution is to give him less kibble, but what if he’s still hungry? Adding a mixer like Honest Kitchen Base mix or Sojos Pre-Mix will give your pup extra nutrients and fill him up without the extra calories (and give them more water).

Both Honest Kitchen and Sojos contain dehydrated fruits, vegetables, nuts, vitamins and minerals and are easy to use. Simply mix with water and the food turns chunky. Then you add kibble or raw meat.

Another reason to add one of these mixers is because some kibbles have too many carbohydrates, so your dog's blood sugar might spike then crash.

So the mixers help keep their belly full and blood sugar from spiking.

You might also likeRaw Goat’s Milk for cats and dogs too. Goats milk is low in fat and can act as a kibble substitute. It also has medium chain triglycerides, therefore doesn't require pancreatic enzymes to digest.Great for pets with pancreatitis and the added probiotics aid in digestion.

Hip & joint health

Older pets usually end up with hip and joint problems, but many senior formulated foods don’t have enough hip and joint supplemental properties to make much of a difference.

That’s where mixers come in and there are many options: 

• Supplements for joint health come in a variety of forms, pills, treats and powders are most common.
• A more holistic approach for overall joint health would be bone broth with turmeric & fermented fish stock. These present a non synthetic approach.

Overall health of dogs & cats

Overall health covers a few distinct areas:

• Digestive health: pre and probiotics
• Immunity boosting: multivitamins and super shroom mix
• Teeth, skin and coat: Sea kelp and oil

Quality protein/picky dogs & cats

Is your dog or cat picky? Try adding some quality protein from a meat source and see how they like it. You can try raw, freeze dried raw and even canned proteins.

Have questions? Stop by either of our stores or ask us online!