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kibble

Baked vs. Extruded Dog Food + A Wellness GIVEAWAY!

June 16, 2015 50 Comments

Baked vs. Extruded Dog Food - Do you know which is best for your dog?

Do you know how your dog food is made?

Until BlogPaws, it never occurred to me to look into it. I am meticulous when it comes to the contents of Mauja and Atka’s food and research every last ingredient. If I care so much about what is in their food, shouldn’t I care just as much about how it is produced?

Extruded Dog Food

While the extrusion process was initially used to create puffed cereals, it has become a staple in the pet food industry. Extrusion is an easy and efficient way to create large amounts of nutritious, shelf-stable food. Here’s a brief explanation of the extrusion process:

  • Raw and wet ingredients for the food are mixed together to form a dough.
  • The dough is pushed through a machine, called the expander, that uses hot water or pressurized steam to cook the dough.
  • While under these extremely high temperatures, the food is forced (extruded) through special sized and shaped holes and then trimmed by a knife.
  • Once the pieces exit the expander, they puff up to look like the kibble we are used to seeing.
  • The kibble is then sprayed with fats, oils, vitamins, and minerals and packaged before the oils can spoil.

There you have it! Is it just me or does anyone else think that sounds pretty gross? The extreme cooking process removes the vitamins and minerals that then have to be added back at the end of the process. I don’t like when my food is created like that, so I certainly don’t like it for my dogs!

But what’s the alternative?

Oven-Baked Dog Food

Wellness TruFood

Oven-baked dog food is exactly what it sounds like – baked in the oven. Oven cooking is a slower process which is done in small batches. I definitely appreciate the extra time and quality control when it comes to feeding my fluffies.

While the extrusion process leaves the kibble with less than 40% of it’s vitamins and minerals, baking retains almost 100% of the initial nutrients. This means your dog is getting his/her vitamins and minerals from real food. Baking also ensures the protein sources included in the initial recipe survive the cooking process leaving you with a more flavorful, nutrient-dense food.

But it must be crazy expensive.

You know, that’s what I thought too until I did a bit more research. Turns out baked kibble weighs about 20% less than the extruded variety. This means that a 25 lb bag of dog food will have approximately 20 more cups if it’s baked than extruded. Since it is also much more nutrient dense, you may end up feeding less overall!

Wellness TruFood

Wellness TruFood & Great Pyrenees

When we were at BlogPaws, we had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people from Wellness that introduced us to the TruFood line. Mauja and Atka went BANANAS for the CocoChia bakes. These delicious, crunchy treats are made with meat, vegetables, coconut oil, and other wonderful ingredients. The fluffies are really enjoying the CocoChia salmon, coconut oil, and spinach variety.

Wellness TruFood CocoChia Bites

Even more, they LOVED the food. With 70% more protein than other similar brands (thanks to the baking process), it is irresistible. Getting pictures for this post was a challenge as they kept drooling all over the place! I went through several drool rags during this photoshoot… 😉

Wellness TruFood is unique from many other brands as you can actually see the goodness in the kibble. Not only are there air-dried fruit and veggie pieces, but living superfood nuggets as well. These nuggets are naturally colored from beets and turmeric and packed with other superfoods such as kale and blueberries. To top it off, they are coated in live yogurt cultures for a natural source of probiotics to increase digestibility.

Wellness TruFood Baked Blends currently has a few formulas to choose from:

  • Chicken, Chicken Liver, and Flaxseed (adult)
  • Salmon, Turkey Liver, and Flaxseed (adult)
  • Lamb, Turkey Liver, and Chickpeas (adult)
  • Chicken, Chicken Liver, and Chickpeas (small breed adult)
  • Chicken, Chicken Liver, and Flaxseed (puppy)

Wellness TruFood CocoChia Bites & Great Pyrenees

The TruFood line also includes Tasty Pairings which are food our wet food eating friends.

So what do you think? Would your furry friend like to try the Wellness TruFood line? You’re in luck! Wellness was kind enough to provide TWO fantastic prizes! Prize 1 is one (1) 18 lb bag of Wellness TruFood Baked Blends and Prize 2 is one (1) gift basket of Wellness wet food and treats!

Great Pyrenees & Wellness TruFood CocoChia Bites

a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the giveaway: No purchase necessary. Giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only, except where prohibited by law. Giveaway will run from June 16 through June 24, 2015 at 11:59pm EST. Two (2) winners will be randomly selected and notified via email. Winners will have 48 hours to claim their prizes; failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize. Facebook and Twitter do not sponsor, administer, or endorse this promotion. Participants must read and agree to Rafflecopter’s Privacy Policy before entering and participating in this promotion.

Filed Under: Healthy, Happy Dog, What's New Tagged With: dog food, dog treats, healthy, kibble, trufood, wellness

Power Your Pooch with PowerFood

April 14, 2015 16 Comments

Here we go again with one of our favorite companies, Only Natural Pet! The fluffies have been getting their salmon oil every day and I love it as much as ever. We also still have green beef tripe niblets in their treat rotation and they love chomping on their Himalayan yak’s milk chews in the evening.

In case you couldn’t tell, we’re pretty obsessed with our Only Natural Pet products.

Only Natural Pet Canine PowerFood

Today, we’re talking about another fantastic Only Natural Pet product: Canine PowerFood.

Finding an appropriate food for Mauja and Atka takes a lot of work. I am constantly researching dog nutrition and searching for a way to maintain the fluffies’ health. Surprisingly, I had never heard of Canine PowerFood.

The Canine PowerFood comes in three flavors – Red Meat Feast, Just Fish Feast, and Poultry Feast. Each formula has limited protein sources to avoid common food sensitives. Here are a few of my favorite things about this food:

  • Made in the USA
  • No grain, gluten, soy, corn, wheat, or oats
  • Low glycemic carbohydrate sources
  • Holistic vet formulated
  • PowerBoost Blend

The PowerBoost Blend is one of my favorite things about the Canine PowerFood line. The blend consists of green lipped mussels, pumpkin, probiotics, digestive enzymes, and sea cucumber. This raw, freeze-dried blend is mixed into each piece of kibble so your dog won’t spit out the “bits” like in some other foods (Atka’s a pro at that).

Great Pyrenees eating Only Natural Pet's Canine PowerFood in PawNosh bowl

A few other important ingredients:

  • EPA and DHA – great anti inflammatory
  • Apples, cranberries, carrots, tomatoes – natural antioxidant sources
  • Glucosamine hydrochloride, chondroitin sulfate, green-lipped mussels, and sea cucumbers – joint health
  • Chicory root – gut health
  • Pumpkin powder – antioxidants and fiber

Canine PowerFood is also very reasonably priced. A 22.5 lb bag of the Just Fish Feast is only $56.99. If you use auto delivery the price is reduced to $48.44. Now that’s a great deal! Head over to Only Natural Pet and don’t forget to use this discount!

Make sure you use code “AFSAVE” to save $10 + Free Shipping on orders $25 or more. Valid now through 4/30.

Disclaimer: It’s Dog or Nothing received the product mentioned above in exchange for our honest opinion. Don’t worry, an advertiser will never influence the content of this blog and we only share products we feel YOU would enjoy!

tasty-tuesdays3

Filed Under: Reviews, What's New Tagged With: dog, dog food, great pyrenees, holistic, kibble, natural, nutrition, only natural pet

Mauja Gets it Her Way with pawTree

September 4, 2014 29 Comments

Dog food.

Natural, organic, grain free, raw, freeze dried…

Is there anything more confusing?

I prefer to make sure Mauja and Atka aren’t limited to one type of food. Mauja tends to get bored pretty easily and I don’t blame her. Why would she want to eat the same food day in and day out? It’s my goal to ensure that the pups get plenty of healthy variety, but I definitely have my favorites for them. [Read more…] about Mauja Gets it Her Way with pawTree

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: dog food, dogs, food, great pyrenees, healthy, kibble, natural, nutrition

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