Pet as well as human health is not created by taking a pill to eliminate a symptom, it is created by the things that we do and the choices we make in our lives. This includes the food that we eat, the air that we breathe, the environment we live in, the physical and mental stimulation we get, and a number of other factors.
Since our animals rely on us to make these choices for them, we need to understand the decisions we make either contribute to chronic health or chronic illness. From a holistic standpoint, we are interested in nutrition and diet as the primary tools for wellness. Food has to be wholesome, fresh, consist of high quality ingredients, and be digestible to provide maximum benefit. Food is the basic foundation of health. It provides energy to the whole body and supports cell function which contributes to the overall strength of the immune system. Strong, healthy immune systems are generally very capable of dealing with the day to day intruders that may otherwise compromise health and create a response (symptom).
Highly processed, non-fresh, unnatural commercial diets often contribute to deficiencies, imbalances, malnutrition, malabsorption, and sensitivities in our dogs and cats. We often see the effects of this diet by the symptoms our pets experience such as digestive upset, poor elimination, itchy skin, ear infections, behavioral problems, reoccurring illness, and so many others. Long term effects of poor nutrition for our animals is something “the experts” are still unraveling. We do know that weak immune systems, chronic health problems, and various diseases continue to affect our pets at younger ages and the reoccurring use of medications to address these issues, in many cases, is wreaking further havoc on their bodies.
Our dogs and cats require good quality animal proteins and thrive when eating a correctly balanced, species appropriate diet. They do best with the least amount of chemicals in their systems, are happiest when they get regular mental and physical stimulation, are at peace when they live with consistent leadership from their people, excel when they maintain an appropriate body weight index, and live long, productive lives when they are in excellent health. Please consider this when making choices for your animals, since they rely on us to make these decisions and provide for them.