LH 165: Real Food For Our Pets

LH 165: Helping Your Pet Live Closer to Their Food

We talk a lot about living closer to our food and making sure we know what’s IN the food we eat and serve our families. Well, on today’s episode we chat about doing the same thing for our pets.

For optimal nutrition, it can be just as important for our pets to avoid processed foods too.  And unfortunately, most of what we typically feed them…is junk food.

Now, this topic can be controversial. And I know we don’t all have the time or money to make our own pet food or buy custom food. But that’s not what this is about.

This is about having a better understanding about pet food so that we can make the best choices we can that is within our capacity.

You will learn:

•   A new way to look at what we are feeding our pets
•  Why slow food and locally-sourced can make a difference in pet health
•  The cancer story of one dog that shifted everything
•  What’s really in some of our store bought pet foods
•  Why some treats are worse than junk food
•  What natural treats are safe for dogs and which are not
•  Where to look for help with feeding your pet in a natural way
• And SO much more…

Lynn Felici-Gallant:

Lynn Felici-Gallant is an attorney, garden designer, and co-owner with her husband, Paul, of Paul’s Custom Pet Food LLC, based in Northwest Connecticut.

Paul’s Custom Pet Food creates small-batch, handmade, ethically sourced dog food, treats, and custom pet food based on the unique dietary needs of companion animals.

She credits the couple’s Golden Retriever, Hunter, for the start of the business and her resultant passion for pet nutrition. Hunter, who was diagnosed with fibrosarcoma in the lower jaw at three-years-old and given only six months to live, is going on 12, having survived cancer through a regimen of Chinese herbal medicine and food therapy.

Homemade Pumpkin Zucchini Dog Cookies:

Lynn shared her homemade pumpkin zucchini dog cookie recipe with us!

Just click the box below to download her full recipe as a printable PDF.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

Paul’s Custom Pet Food – Lynn’s Website

How To read Pet Food Labels – scroll down on Lynn’s blog to get the “cheat sheet” on food labels

Foods You Should NOT Feed Your Pets

A special note from Lynn regarding USDA Regulations:

The issue of “human-grade pet food” is complicated. I misspoke in saying that the USDA governs “human-grade pet food” and that pet parents should look for pet food that is labeled by the USDA as human-grade.

In fact, the USDA governs human food. The FDA oversees pet food (feed). At present, the FDA is trying to define pet food made of fresh, human-grade ingredients, as this is a new concept for the industry.

Rather than look for USDA “human-grade pet food” as I stated, consumers should look on the labels for pet food made with human-grade ingredients.

Related Episodes:

The Secrets To Living Farm Fresh

Transcript:

Click here for the full transcript for Episode #165