Variety is the spice of life; it’s also the key to helping your dog truly thrive.
Have you heard the term ‘food biodiversity’? The term, used in scientific circles, describes the vast range of nutrients found in different: food sources, species, soils that grow the plants we eat or plants the livestock animals we eat, consume.
Feeding a biodiverse diet is crucial to optimum health for both dogs and humans.
We asked Dr Nick Thompson (aka The Holistic Vet) to talk to you about the biodiversity of dog food and why he recommends you ditch the dry and choose a fresh, raw, natural diet instead.
Check out the video above or, for the readers among you; we’ve included a summary below of the main points. We’ve added the time stamp, too, so if you want to watch a snippet of the video covering the topic you’re particularly interested in, we’ve got you covered!
0:10 As part of the ditch the dry campaign this August, I wanted to share with you some of my pet hates about why I really, really do not want to feed kibble to cats or dogs.
0:20 And on this little broadcast, I’d like to talk to you about a balanced meal versus a balanced diet.
0:54 A balanced meal is what the kibble manufacturers, the dry kibble manufacturers, want you to feed your dog, and they sell it to you as being scientifically formulated and perfect for your dog.
1:23 And what they’re saying is that we guarantee you that with this dry kibble, when you pour it out into the bowl, every meal will have every single nutrient that your dog needs. And you can feed it for an entire life stage adults or senior or Junior.
1:11 On the face of it, it sounds fine; it’s balanced
2:00 But that’s not how nature works.
2:01 There are no animals, including humans, who eat every meal as a balanced meal.
2:14 Think about a tiger on the Serengeti or a lion on the Serengeti; they eat a variety of nutrients. And some days, they won’t eat anything at all.
2:42 And so there is massive justification for the raw feeding fraternity who say, we don’t feed necessarily a balanced meal, every meal, we feed variety, and that is the key
2:56 The keyword with raw is variety
2:59 We feed variety over the course of a week or two weeks; we are supplying all nutrients in energy-dense, biologically appropriate forms that the gut and body can suck out of the food.
3:24 That’s the way it’s been with dogs for 45 million years with cats for maybe 10 million years; they’ve been eating in this way.
3:35 They eat a variety of nutrients so that over a week or 10 days, they get everything they need.
3:43 I completely reject the idea that we need to feed a balanced meal with every meal.
After knowing that, do you really want to give your cat or dog dry kibble?
To read more about kibble production, check out Dr Nick’s blog “I Refuse To Feed Kibble: A Vet’s Perspective“. Plus, if you have landed on this video and have not yet seen the other videos in the series, you can head over to our ditch the dry page to catch the rest.
Explore our full grain free dog food range.
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