A Dog and a Cat playing Tennis? ?
Really... ❓
Probably not... But pets playing tennis is equal to what it's like trying to choose between a grain free dry food and grain inclusive dry food these days. Choosing between the two types of dry food is like a really weird tennis match between dogs and cats.
WHAT the WHAT⁉️
?Yep - you can go back and forth all day, there isn't a lot of excitement, at times it could be stressful and concerning for their welfare, you have no idea if your choice is going to be successful over time, and they're very equally matched in their downfalls... It could very well be EXTREMELY confusing as to why we're playing or watching this game at all.
Which pet are you going to bet on to win? Which dry food are you going to bet on to win?
I would say neither in both cases.
Here's what I mean:
??Grains like wheat, barley, oats, corn, rice etc. are loaded with phytic acid (anti-nutrient), glyphosate (herbicide), starches, can be a significant source of mycotoxins (mold/fungus), and are just plain starchy/carby. Starch/carbs turn to sugar in the gut and create inflammation. All starches break down in the gut and rot there until they pass. While we wait for digestion and elimination, they cause more inflammation through the body and destroy the gut microbiome (good bacteria of our pets.) Dogs cannot digest grains, they have no use for them in their body, or in their biology. There are no quality amino acids in these grainy ingredients.
??Grain free diets include legumes, lentils, potatoes and more. These ingredients are loaded with phytic acid (anti-nutrient), glyphosate (herbicide), starches, and are just plain starchy/carby. Starch/carbs turn to sugar in the gut and create inflammation. All starches break down in the gut and rot there until they pass. While we wait for digestion and elimination, they cause more inflammation through the body and destroy the gut microbiome (good bacteria of our pets.) Dogs cannot digest legumes/lentils/potatoes/etc., they have no use for them in their body, or in their biology. There are no quality amino acids in these grain free ingredients.
Do those two paragraphs read almost the same? Look similar? That's because it is almost exactly the same. All dry food, grain in or grain free, is at least 40% starchy carbohydrate that our pets (dogs and cats) cannot digest or utilize efficiently. They just can't no matter the source or carb choice. It's all carbs to them.
⚖️Trying to pick grain free vs. grain inclusive dry food is just swapping one dry food for the other. Depending on the quality of the ingredients comparing apples to apples, they're pretty darn equal in their shortfalls.
↔️Yes - there are BETTER dry foods than others, and we try to stock the least processed, highest quality grain free AND grain inclusive dry foods we can find -- but it's still all dry food alone.
❓So what the heck are you supposed to do for your pets to be sure they aren't suffering from nutritional deficiencies, poor gut health, or exposing them to ingredients that may not be the best for their health⁉️
Well - there are a lot of things you CAN do that are actually very EASY.
✅If feeding a dry food, choose the best dry food you can find through education and a bit of research and ROTATE. Don't get locked in to 1 manufacturer using the same ingredients and supplements over and over again. Switch it up! Do some grain free, some grain inclusive, but always foods that use ingredients from the human food chain. Read the labels, call the companies, ASK questions! Don't take "no or I don't know" for an answer. Know where your food comes from. Take a little time to find out what is truly best for your pet based on your own research.
✅Know that studies are paid for by industry who benefit from those studies. If one source/person/company is suggesting 1 or 2 specific foods, ask yourself WHY and find out the truth. Find out who sponsored and paid for those studies, and what companies sponsor and pay for organizations recommending specific foods. Look for those sponsors and donors. It's important to know who is paying for those suggestions.
✅Please be sure to be adding at minimum 20% fresh food to your pets' diet. By doing this you'll be reducing the amount of dry food they consume by 20% and still feeding balanced meals! (See suggestions below.)
✅When adding and providing MORE fresh food (which is better for our pets) please be sure that those fresh foods you choose will complete and balance your pets' food over time and come from the highest quality sourced ingredients you can find.
✅We suggest adding fresh foods like eggs, goat's milk, kefir, bone broth, fresh quality meats, complete raw food or lightly cooked diets like we stock in store, and even quality canned and freeze dried/dehydrated foods, and canned sardines can supplement dry food short falls. Add foods with complete amino acid profiles to improve your pets' nutritional diversity. Every time you add in fresh food, reduce the amount of dry food fed, still focusing on a balanced diet over time.
✅Regularly add a quality digestive enzymes and probiotics to your pets' food (dogs and cats) to support good gut health. Cut back on dry, processed, treats. Meaty treats only are what are suggested - treats like dehydrated hearts, liver, and muscle meat provide quality amino acids for our pets.
Variety EQUALS Vitality
Please rotate your foods, be sure to be adding fresh foods where you can. Step out of the scoop and serve habit. NO dry food is the 'end all, be all' for any pet. It's still a dry, processed, pet food and equal to us, as humans, eating only dry, processed, cereals every day, every meal, all the time. It is not healthy for us to eat only dry, processed, food, it is not healthy for our pets to eat only dry, processed, food.
Stop in to see is, message us, call us. We're here to help you wade through all the confusion!
Janelle
Wags to Whiskers