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The Impact of Dog Food to Your Pup's Health and Cost of Vet Bills

Sarah Tritsaris, CIVT Natural Animal Nutrition | Nov 17, 2022

Pet ownership has been on the rise with over 50% of households in Canada having a dog. This is great news for us dog lovers, especially since we know this means a lot of love, kisses, long walks and play time. But it also means increased household expenses on dog toys, treats, jackets, booties, food….and the big one….veterinary expenses.

Unfortunately with the rise of feeding processed dog food diets in the last 60 years we have seen a significant increase in illnesses in dogs. From obesity, heart disease, pancreatitis, liver disease, IBD, diabetes, allergies, and the list goes on.

What can be done to keep my dog healthier? 

Research shows feeding a whole foods diet, or adding whole foods to your dog’s diet can reduce the risk of illness, increase your dog’s lifespan and give them a better quality of life. Dogs fed a whole foods diet live an average of 3.1 years longer than dogs fed a processed food diet.

More about processed dog foods 

Unfortunately, we have become accustomed to feeding our dogs a processed food diet, largely due to the marketing making us believe that ‘dog food’ should be processed and come off the shelf. The issue with these heavily processed diets is they are often using low quality proteins, contain grains as a main or second ingredient, in particular when dog’s do not require a large amount of carbohydrates in their diet, and contain a long list of chemicals, preservatives, additives and synthetic vitamins that are harmful to our pups.

These processed foods additionally are so overcooked, they strip the nutrients out of each ingredient which is why chemicals and synthetic vitamins are later added in. There is also a significant level of carbohydrates in these foods to keep the kibble together, which is a cheap filler ingredient. Lastly, a chemical spray is placed on the outside coating of the food to make it palatable to dogs…which is, again, not healthy for our pups as these are chemicals and often lead to causing other illnesses in dogs.

These heavily processed foods are a large factor in why pups have been living shorter lives, have an increased chance of developing a serious illness and have increased our overall vet needs (and, therefore, our vet bills).

The good news is, you can start to reverse these trends.  

There are some great local Canadian companies who have made feeding dogs healthy and delicious foods easy. One of which is Puppy Gang Fresh Foods. These meals have been developed by Holistic Veterinarian and Animal Nutritionists and contain only high quality proteins, fruits, vegetables and organic supplements. No chemicals, preservatives, additives, filler ingredients or synthetic vitamins. Only ingredients that provide nutritional value for your pup.

Puppy Gang Fresh Foods meals can be used as an entire meal or as a nutritious top up to existing food. Aside from spending more quality time with your pup, you will also see a change in your pup’s stool, energy levels, fur quality, enjoyment at meal times and feeding a whole foods diet will help to reduce your vet visits and bills. 

For Furkin members, Puppy Gang Fresh Foods has agreed to provide 50% off your first 8 packs using code FURKIN

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Furkin and Puppy Gang Fresh Foods are independent third parties. Furkin does not endorse, provide advice on, or in any way promote the use of Puppy Gang Fresh Foods nor is this a solicitation of insurance by Puppy Gang Fresh Foods. Material provided herein is for informational purposes only.