Love and Understanding
When Susan first met Connor, his medical file was over an inch thick (see below). Conner, an Airedale, had a long history of GI problems and was at the vet many times each month with his previous owners. It finally became too much for them, financially, time and his “accidents” (he suffered from diarrhea and vomiting). They gave him to a rescue, so that someone might be able to ‘fix’ him.
Susan did.
“I got him 2 weeks after he was given up and he did have those same digestive issues with me. I immediately went on a hunt to find the very best food for him that I could. I have Celiac Disease and can’t eat any gluten so I figured I’d try him on a grain free/gluten free diet. I mixed the HK into Connor’s food and he began to get better quickly. I probably rushed the switch to HK but he so quickly seemed better. His GI system got straightened out almost immediately and his behavior changed in a major way. We have seen an amazing difference in this dog in so many ways. Once I started him on Thrive his “issues” cleared up in a few days and have never come back (its been 6 months so I’m sure we are good to go). To help ease Connor’s sensitive tummy I added Perfect Form and he loves that too. Everything about him is normal and my vet says he is a normal healthy dog that just need a serious diet change.
I just wanted you all to know, not only how much I love the food, Thrive but how nice and helpful the entire staff is.”
Explaining Puppy Mills & Responsible Breeders
We’re sometimes asked why we are so strongly opposed to allowing our foods to be sold in retail outlets that sell puppies and kittens. Some people have also questioned our support of special pricing for approved breeders. Here is a little insight on our policy and if you have more questions, do feel free to ask.
We have refused to allow Honest Kitchen products to be sold in stores that sell puppies and kittens for the past eight years and remain committed to this policy today.
We believe that puppy mills do not constitute ‘responsible breeders’, since puppy-mill pets are not sufficiently socialized to normal everyday situations, causing them to suffer various social problems and making them difficult house pets – which in turn makes them even more at risk of ending their days in a shelter.
There are about 100,000 to 200,000 dogs inside puppy mills at any given time in the United States. In addition, puppy mills do not offer lifetime support to puppy owners and do not agree to take back any puppy they have raised, for the duration of its entire life, as a responsible breeder does. Also, when puppies are sold in retail outlets, there is insufficient vetting of new homes to ensure that owners are sufficiently educated on how to care for their new animal, have the means to care for their new family member and properly understand the lifetime responsibility they are undertaking.
The mass scale breeding of puppies on farms, transportation across the country and re-sale in shops is the single biggest cause of massive over-population of companion animals in the United States and has caused puppies to be considered as commodities or possessions rather than members of the family. The greatest victims in the puppy mill problem are the breeding parents, because they will live their life in a cage and it generally ends fairly brutally.
We do, however, support the sale of our Honest Kitchen products to, and by, responsible breeders. A truly responsible breeder’s puppies would never be sold through a retail store and most certainly would not end up living or dying in a shelter. Why? Because a) responsible breeders thoroughly ‘vet’ prospective new homes to ensure they have the knowledge, time and resources to care for one of their pups and b) a responsible breeder takes responsibility for the life of any animal they breed and would take back an animal in the event that the unthinkable happened and the dog had to be re-homed.
Responsible breeders are involved in the preservation of their breed, not for financial gain. They breed for temperament, soundness and good genetics and take great care to select parents that possess various traits desired in offspring. Responsible breeders are often involved with breed-specific rescue groups, and have the best intentions for the welfare of the breed they love and respect so much. That’s not to say that every breeder does this. We all know that some unscrupulous breeders, over-breed or breed irresponsibly for unacceptable traits (such as an excessively squished nose, or too small a head or body, causing terrible congenital health problems in offspring).
The real problem the pet-retention problem, where people do not retain or provide a lifetime home for the pets they acquire and are too quick to give them up to shelters due to a move or other changes in circumstances. Many wonderful animals are currently in shelters waiting for a loving home. Some of us at The Hones Kitchen and many of our customers, have been able to offer homes to such animals and as a company, we frequently donate food, and money to various rescue organizations.
Of course with a sensitive subject such as this, there are lots of opinions about what is right and wrong. But we do feel there is a very important difference between responsible breeders and those who have unplanned litters, fail to screen prospective owners, sell animals as ‘goods’ and don’t offer a lifetime of support to the animals they breed.
If you’d like further information on what constitutes a responsible breeder, The Whole Dog Journal has an outstanding article. For additional information and resources please contact us — we’re happy to help.
Why buy local?
Why do I buy local? Especially with pet products? As the dog-mom to two large dogs, one would think it would be more economical to shop at the big box and chain stores for treats and supplies.
But what I get at my local pet store is far more valuable than the minimal savings I could get if I travelled a few more miles to the big box store. A little cheaper perhaps in some instances, but my mother always said you get what you pay for!
So for the past 10 years, I’ve decided to support my independent retailer, because they offer me something so much more valuable; customer service, knowledge and education about my pets and the products and a sense of community. My local store does their homework, they know in depth information about the products they carry, strive to learn more about pet nutrition, and they are often my first stop when I’m looking to get help with any dog-related question I have. For years, my local store has been my personal think tank of dog experts.
Like “Cheers”, when I walk into my independent retailer, everyone knows my name. But not just my name, they also know my dogs’ Penny and Jackson’s name. There is something wonderful to be said for a store caring enough and having enough interest in you to remember who you are. It’s sad but true, but that sense of community and belonging is feeling farther and farther away in today’s fast paced world.
Plus, I know that by doing business with my independent retailer, most of the money I spend goes directly back into my own community and my local economy. And I also know by shopping locally, and not travelling those extra few miles down the road, that I’m using less gas, relying a little bit less on fossil fuels, minimizing my car’s gas emissions into the atmosphere, and reducing my carbon footprint.
So think globally, and buy locally.
Your Honest Kitchen friends,
(Our family used to be made of three large dogs. Jake is no longer with us, and on his last day I went to South Bark, my local store, and they instantly knew what was imminent. The store’s owner gave me a big hug, and Jake’s favorite and last treat. That is the only thing we went in for that day, but we walked out with everything we needed.)
Kibble or Canned?
The ultimate question about Fido’s diet is a contention of worry for dog guardians, but one that is not always discussed.
How’s a guardian to choose? If you’ve shopped around for pet food in recent years, you might have noticed there are now more categories than ever before. New foods in frozen, dehydrated and freeze-dried formats offer many different benefits over conventional processed foods. Yet kibble and canned diets continue to reign as the major players in a multi-billion dollar industry.
Kibble, or dry food, is baked or extruded using high heat and pressure, making hard brown chunks or “nuggets.” Wet food is soft and moist, usually packaged in a can but sometimes in a fl exible retort pouch. The main advantage of a kibbled diet is convenience. Kibble takes almost no time to scoop out of the bag and into Fido’s bowl; it’s quick, clean and simple. Canned foods offer relative convenience over frozen or dehydrated diets that require special storage or the addition of water before serving. However, canned foods do have to be refrigerated after opening, which makes them slightly less convenient than kibble.
Some kibble manufacturers claim that kibble helps keep teeth clean, as Fido crunches it and tartar gets scraped off. This, sadly, is a myth. Wouldn’t it be great if consuming crunchy cookies helped to keep our teeth clean, too?
The main advantage of canned food is its naturally high moisture content, which more closely emulates the diet that nature intended and means it will not swell in the stomach. This may make it better suited for bloat-prone breeds as well as those prone to urinary tract infections or blockages, because the extra moisture helps to keep the urinary system flushed out. A wet food diet is often the best choice for senior pets or those with dental issues or missing teeth, but some guardians report concerns about wet diets contributing to increased tartar buildup on the teeth.
One “con” of kibble is the fact that it is such a uniform, homogenous product; it’s hard to identify what’s really in those smooth brown chunks. Proponents of a fresh or non-conventional diet, such as raw or homemade food where variety is king, liken kibble consumption to a monotonous diet of nothing but processed breakfast cereal for themselves. No one wants that!
Canned foods can be more costly than kibble, especially for larger breed dogs, but there are some quality products on the market that use real, identifiable whole food pieces in their recipes—reassurance for those guardians made nervous by the visual mysteries of kibble. On the down side, some owners report that they dislike the smell of canned food, and some wet diets cause particularly malodorous or loose stools, which can be off-putting. Stool quality in kibble-fed dogs can be better than for those fed canned food, often because of the beet pulp used to reduce stool volume and facilitate “easy pick-up.”
It’s worth remembering, however, that what is appealing to us guardians isn’t necessarily optimal for Fido. In determining what sort of diet to feed the dog in your life, his individual needs must be taken into account. There are no fixed rules about what feeding format is best for specific groups of dogs. As a general guide, a varied diet is usually best, so Fido has a chance to absorb nutrients from lots of different sources just as we do.
Lucy Postins is a monthly columnist in Fido Friendly Magazine.
Little Miss Millie
Sometimes, your new dog just finds you. There’s no need to look any further than the door. Millie was found a new months ago, wandering the streets of San Diego in the rain.
- Millie, our newest office pup
She was picked up as a stray by Carla, our reseller sales coordinator and came into the office for a day, while we made posters and announcements on Craigslist and facebook to help her find her owner. That was several weeks ago and no one came forward. Now she owns Laurette, our Director of Purchasing & Operations. She has fit in with our team like a charm – quiet, calm, gentle and funny. Charlie the Dalmatian (Laurette’s original love), is coming to terms with the idea of having a new sister but we know he secretly rather likes her.
This young lady does have something of a wild side, too. She’s been known to help herself to more than one of Laurette’s lunches…..She loves to nibble our hair and sit on our backs or tummies during weekly Honest Kitchen yoga classes (the more you giggle the more she won’t stop). And when you take her to the beach, this girl can run! We think she rather likes being a THK exec.
- Millie, at full clip on the beach
