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Your Dog's Diet: An Honest Discussion
The PupLife.com Interview With Lucy Postins,
Co-Founder of The Honest Kitchen
There are very few things more important to your dog than
a healthy diet. Raw diets are popular right now and for good
reason. The benefits of switching to a dehydrated raw diet
are being touted in the media and sales of dehydrated
raw dog food continues to rise.
We recently discussed the issues of dog diet, dog obesity
and dog allergies with Lucy Postins, Co-Founder of The Honest
Kitchen Dog Food.
PupLife.com: Hi Lucy, thank you so much for visiting with us!
How did The Honest Kitchen get started?
Lucy Postins: The company was founded in 2002. I was feeding
a home made raw diet to my Rhodesian Ridgeback, Mosi, and
found it to be very messy and time consuming so I began thinking
of ways to make it more convenient. I came up with the idea
of dehydrated raw food and after Mosi began thriving on it,
I figured other pet owners might be interested in it, too!
PupLife.com: Diet plays such an important part of a dog's health
and yet, dog obesity
is on the rise in the U.S. What can dog owner's do to combat this?
Lucy Postins: Obviously exercise is fundamental to over all
health but of course nutrition plays a key role, too. Many
people seem to over indulge their pets with treats or feed
too much of the wrong sort of food & I sometimes wonder
if they are trying to make up for their dog having to spend
hours alone each day. By paying them off with food, instead.
Our research also shows that an overabundance of grains can
contribute to excess weight gain in dogs. Most kibbles are
loaded with huge amounts of poor quality grain such as wheat,
corn, soy, sugar beet pulp and rice which are not really natural
foods for dogs. The excess grains results in a 'bloated' look.
Lower grain, with more protein, helps them to slim down. A
raw or natural-fed dog almost always looks lean, fit and more
agile than one fed kibble.
Cutting carbs is not always the answer, however –
for some dogs, a reduced fat diet is more appropriate. It
completely depends on the individual animal.
PupLife.com: Another trend that we see is an increased focus
on food allergies. Is this a growing problem or do you
think that the topic is just getting more media attention?
Lucy Postins: Again, there are some common culprits that are
present in so many commercial pet foods nowadays - wheat,
corn, soy, sugar beet pulp and rice to name a few. In addition,
people are becoming more aware of the artificial chemicals
that are used to preserve many low grade pet foods - Ethoxyquin,
BHA, BHT that deplete a dog's immune system over time and
then make them more susceptible to adverse reactions to food
based an environmental allergens. Coupled with the consumption
of by products, fillers and other ingredients that have been
'obliterated' with the high heat and pressure used in canning
and extrusion, which actually destroys the enzymes and alters
the amino acid composition - the long term cumulative effect
is that the odds are stacked against a dog's long term health.
They get chronic ear infections, GI upset, itchy skin and
coat problems and people (and the media) are really starting
to recognize that the food we put into our dogs each day plays
a fundamental role in all this. We wouldn't expect to stay
in peak health if we ate junk, fast food every day and
we can't expect our dogs to, either.
PupLife.com: It seems like everyone is talking about raw diets for dogs right
now. What exactly is a raw diet for dogs?
Lucy Postins: A Raw diet is basically a combination of raw meat, bones or cartilage
and fresh vegetables and fruits. It generally attempts to replicate the type of
diet that a wild dog or wolf might eat in the wild, with the emphasis on more
meat and fewer carbohydrates. The acronym BARF is commonly used, and stands for
Biologically Appropriate Raw Food and reflects the fact that a raw diet is something
our modern dogs’ ancestors might have eaten.
PupLife.com: Tell us about The Honest Kitchen's dog food brands,
and the unique
qualities of each.
Lucy Postins: We have a line of dehydrated raw food diets
for dogs (and one for cats). The dehydration helps to preserve
the nutritional integrity of the raw ingredients versus cooking
and makes the food easier to handle, store and ship, compared
with a frozen raw diet.
We have two grain free recipes – Force & Embark, which are made with
chicken and turkey, respectively. Force is an adult maintenance recipe and Embark
is for all life stages, including pregnancy and growth. We also have a diet made
with beef and certified organic grains (some dogs do seem to need a certain amount
of grain in their diet to maintain a healthy bodyweight and overall health but
it really depends on the individual animal). Verve is generally suited to adult
and senior dogs.
PupLife.com: How do folks prepare Honest Kitchen dog food for
their pet? Do they have to add meat to the food?
Lucy Postins: Our foods simply require the addition of warm
(not hot) water. The addition of meat is entirely optional
and depends on the requirements of the dogs and the time or
interests of the owner. At a corporate level, we really advocate
daily variety for our companion animals and we encourage customers
to mix in their own meats, or things like plain yogurt, cottage
cheese and so on for variety. Our foods have balanced Calcium:
Phosphorus ratios to facilitate this although each of our
existing recipes does meet the AAFCO nutrient profiles so
it is certainly not necessary to add anything if you don’t
want to. We like to make that analogy that feeding a monotonous
diet of kibble is like eating Cheerios for every meal of every
day of your own life! Our foods offer a way to change that
and feed dogs a little more considerately.
PupLife.com: How is Honest Kitchen dog food created? Obviously
it is dehydrated, but why is dehydration beneficial over
canned or processed kibble dog foods?
Lucy Postins: The meats and eggs are dehydrated above 120
degrees F to kill any pathogenic bacteria that may be present.
All the fruits, veggies and other ingredients are dehydrated
below 104 degrees F and therefore still considered raw. The
process is much gentler than canning or extrusion and helps
to really maintain the nutritional integrity of the raw ingredients.
In addition, our foods are made in a human food factory that
also produces bakery mixes, breakfast cereals and so on –
so the quality controls are completely different than those
at a traditional pet food rendering plant or cannery.
PupLife.com: Okay, say I want to switch my dog from a kibble
or canned diet to a raw diet. How should I transition my dog
to this new diet? Can I do this overnight?
Lucy Postins: We recommend taking a few days to make the transition, to allow
the dog to adjust gradually and for the ’friendly’ gut flora to develop
sufficiently for the new diet. We suggest mixing a small amount of Honest Kitchen
with the regular kibble or canned food for the first couple of days. Gradually
increase the ratio to half and half for a few days, and then completely remove
the food. A little plain yogurt can be added if desired, and it is helpful for
settling the stomach and making the transition go more smoothly. Once the dog
has some variety in its diet, the GI system becomes ‘strengthened’
and you can start to have more fun with adding extras! We have a new, free recipe
booklet with lots of ideas for creating home made meals for dogs.
PupLife.com: What's new and exciting for The Honest Kitchen right
now?
Lucy Postins: We are about to launch ‘Preference’
which will be a grain-free, meat free ‘base-mix’
to which a customer’s own choice of protein can be added
to create a complete and balanced meal. Prowl is our grain-free
recipe for cats.
PupLife.com: Thank you so much for visiting with us.
Lucy Postins: Thank you!
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