If we’re in a season where our pets don’t exercise as much as they should or can, digestible food is crucial. Extra weight is easily packed on if their food source is less than, really digestible (too many carbs, starches, many “grain free diets" are loaded with starch). Protein, digestible protein, is the most important part of your dog’s diet, and amino acids are the building blocks of protein. More meat in the diet assures sufficient amino acids. Raw meat is the best source of these building blocks. Don’t be fooled by labels that list meat, deboned meat, as one of the first ingredients because those are usually wet forms of meat, a slurry, before processing leaving only a small amount of meat in the final product, as it loses much of its volume after processing.

Since 1996, here at Viand, we have always tried to make our clients aware of the benefits of raw meat. Our recommendation of incorporating some raw meat into your pets’ diet and that was way before those "in the know" now preach. Viand’s formulation was originally designed to work synergisticly with raw product. We don’t buy into the specialty raw meats for dogs that are marketed out there, as our theory  ”if it’s good enough for me, it’s good enough for my pet” holds true. The commercial, raw meats designed for your pets are wonderful and very convenient, but their pricing per pound seems a bit much. Almost twenty years and thousands of success stories of combining raw meat with Viand, proves it is that simple! Viand can be fed alone and many do, but with a little research you can see the importance of raw product. Meat, vegetables, and a variety of leftovers (limited) keeps an active and vibrant immune system at its peak. When your dog does not get enough protein, you leave him vulnerable.

Common symptoms include chronic skin or ear infections; spinning or tail chasing; aggression or timidity; excessive shedding; crooked whiskers; vomiting or diarrhea; poor appetite; overall weakened immune system.

The majority of working breeds needs extra protein. Dogs that are couch potatoes can get by on less protein (and food in general). Our Viand dogs and cats are lean, thin sometimes, but heavy on the scale, that’s a healthy animal! I hope you take some time and review your pet's wellness and overall sense as they are very special to us all and it is our task, a chosen one to share our time with them. Happy New Year!