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Locally Family Owned & Operated Since 2010
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5 Natural Super Foods For Dogs!
What Does Optimal Health Look Like For Our Furry Children?
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"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."
- Hippocrates (The Father of Medicine)
Using Food As Therapy!
Nutrition really is the foundation of health. It's the body's fuel and provides the building blocks for the maintenance of health, tissue repair and
energy. What you feed your dog has to... Make their heart beat, create new blood, renew their bone marrow, fuel their brain, ease their mind, make their lungs work,
support
their immune system, heal their skin, keep their digestive system moving smoothly, lubricate the joints, repair and build the muscles... What will you feed your pet to do all of that?
That's why Bark Avenue places a large focus and a great emphasis on diet and nutritional supplements. We believe food is medicine.
We need to be thinking about food as the most important medicine we take every day. Feeding fresh, wholesome, minimally processed or unprocessed food is paramount in maintaining your dog's health.
Supplementing with super foods is a wonderful way to incorporate optimal nutritional medicine into your pets diet.
1. Bone Broth
Bone Broth provides such tremendous benefits for your dog. It's literally a healing potion.
What is bone broth exactly? It's bones, simmered low for several days with apple cider vinegar. This slowly breaks down of all of these nutrients, making them extremely bio-available to the body.
Benefits of Bone Broth:
- Improves digestion and helps heal "leaky gut" - All disease starts in the gut (autoimmune, allergies, asthma, chronic inflammation). Gelatin soothes and repairs the mucous lining to help seal the gut barrier, which can become damaged and allow toxins into the blood stream. Gelatin
assists
the breakdown of proteins and fats from food, making them easier to digest.
- Assists in detoxing the liver - Glycine is a powerful precursor for the production of glutathione, a powerful detoxifier. The liver is such a hard-working organ - it does a lot for the body. It's most important job is to detoxify those things that our dogs are exposed to that the body has to clear. It flushes out chemicals, hormones and waste. It also provides minerals, acids and electrolytes that boost the detox process.
- Reduces inflammation - Glycine and proline are powerful anti-inflammatories.
- Alleviates joint pain - Recent studies show that the components of bone broth can provide relief from joint pain.
- Strengthens bones, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments - Glycine is important for building muscle strength. It prevents the breakdown of proteins in muscle tissue and preserves it (which helps prevent atrophy in aging dogs). The collagen contains proline, glucosamine
and
chondroitin which support cartilage and cushion the joints.
- Provides minerals and increases their absorption - Bone broth is rich in macro-minerals (calcium and phosphorus) and trace minerals (magnesium and zinc). Bone broth helps with the absorption of these minerals.
- Boosts the immune system - Gives the body tools to boost antioxidant activity which helps to fight infections.
- Improves skin health - Collagen builds strong skin and protects the skin from aging.
- Supports brain function - Glycine is an important neurotransmitter in the brain. Bone broth helps improve cognition and memory and promotes better sleep.
2. Raw Green Tripe
So What Is Raw Green Tripe?
Tripe is the stomach of a ruminate (grazing) animal including cows, buffalo, sheep, lamb and deer.
The unique stomachs of ruminants have four chambers which systematically break down grasses with a slew of digestive enzymes, gastric juices and amino acids.
You may have seen tripe on the grocery store shelves in a white and bleached form. This is not what you want to feed your dog: it is devoid of any real value.
What you want to feed is 'green tripe', the stuff that comes right out of the animal, dripping with all of those wonderful juices.
The magical mystery meat that dogs crave and humans fear! Tripe seems to be the line in the sand drawn between beginning raw feeders and the 'been there, done that' old pros.
If you are among the uninitiated, then you will find feeding tripe to be a real treat (as will your dog).
Not only will tripe provide immense health benefits for your dog, it will catapult you to the rank of seasoned raw feeder, just one rung below raw feeders who scoop road kill off the road and tote it home in their trunk to proudly offer as a gift for their furry charges!
The same digestive enzymes and beneficial bacteria that help the ruminant animal digest foodstuff will do the same for your dog.
Think how much money you can spend on digestive enzymes and probiotics in a bottle and those same wonderful, natural substances are in abundance in green tripe.
Digestive enzymes aid in digestion, meaning the body does not have to expend as much energy when digesting a meal.
This means your dog gets the most nutritional benefit from his meals. Digestive enzymes also do much more than aid in digestion: they purify and cleanse the blood and remove toxins, parasites
and
fungus.
Digestive enzymes also improve metabolism, hormonal function and boost the immune system.
Cooking destroys digestive enzymes, so it is important that your dog's tripe is green and raw.
If your dog eats a cooked or commercial diet, then he may be suffering from enzyme deficiency. The signs of this can include anxiety, lack of energy, chronic diarrhea and digestive problems, gingivitis, viral and bacterial infections and yeast overgrowth.
If your dog suffers from any of these disorders, consider the value of adding green tripe to his diet or increasing the amount you currently feed.
The gut is populated by hundreds of different kinds of bacteria or microflora which are divided into the 'good guys' and the 'bad guys'. The 'bad' bacteria are those responsible for health complaints and some of their members include e- coli, salmonella, campylobacter and listeria.
These are the bacteria contained in foods and the environment that could potentially make your dog sick: if it weren't for the protection of the 'good' bacteria.
The good bacteria improve immune function simply by out numbering the bad bacteria and maintaining a healthy microflora in the gut.
Green tripe is loaded with Lactobacillus Acidophilus, one of the bacterial 'good guys'.
Your dog's gut can only feed so many micro-organisms, so the more 'good' bacteria he consumes, the less 'bad' bacteria will find anything to eat in his gut and they will get crowded out.
Many health issues are caused by imbalances in the microflora.
Older dogs are especially prone to this as they tend to have lower levels of beneficial bacteria in their guts.
Supplementing your dog's diet with lots of raw, green tripe will help him maintain a healthy balance of microflora, manufacture more B vitamins, and prevent many health disorders.
If your dog already suffers from health issues, consider adding raw, green tripe to his diet. Acidophilus can be used to treat a myriad of health complaints.
Not only is tripe loaded with digestive enzymes and probiotics, it has the perfect ratio of calcium to phosphorus - 1:1.
Green tripe also contains the essential fatty acids, Linoleic and Linolenic, in their recommended proportions.
It can also be served in nice, large rubbery chunks which will provide your dog with good exercise and better dental health.
3. Raw Goat Milk
Raw milk (unpasteurized) is one of the most nutrient rich foods around. Just take a look at the nutrient profile:
- Fat soluble vitamins A, D and K2
- Healthy fats: Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT) and Omega-3s
- Probiotics and digestive enzymes
- Protein/amino acids
- Immunoglobulins
- Minerals and electrolytes: calcium, magnesium, potassium
There are many health benefits of raw milk. It's been shown to strengthen the immune system and reduce allergies. Thanks to the probiotics and digestive enzymes it's great for gut health. It can even help to repair leaky gut and promotes better skin health.
Goat milk contains vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, trace elements, enzymes, protein, and fatty acids. In fact, the body can digest goat's milk in 20 minutes. Having fat molecules one-fifth the size of those in cow's milk makes it easily digestible and tolerable even for dogs with digestive issues. Raw goat milk is a source of easily digested pro-biotics that can help with many chronic diseases, including:
Liver disease
Heavy metal poisoning
Malnutrition
Kidney disease
Kidney stones
Diabetes
GI disease
Poor digestion
Diarrhea
4. Organ Meats
No matter what you feed, be it commercial raw, homemade meals or something else, organ meat is a crucial component of the diet.
Many commercial diets and home cooks will follow the 80-10-10 rule (meaning 80% muscle meat, 10% bone and 10% organ meats), but we like a bit more than that.
Organs and glands are nutrient dense. This includes the liver, kidneys, adrenal glands, pancreas, brain, stomach (tripe) and heart. Liver and other organ meats are strength builders (also known as blood builders).
In Traditional Chinese Medicine they're called blood tonics. And we know that carnivores prioritize the organs as they go for the organs first.
Feeding foods such as Xkaliber (Raw Green Tripe formula), Answers Pet Foods, Small Batch chubs and Vital Essential all contain high organ meat. We always
recommend
rotating proteins and
company's
to retrieve different benefits from each.
Here are some of the organ meats that you should try to include in your dog's diet:
- Liver: vitamin A, B, iron, folate, zinc, amino acids, ribonucleic acid. Research shows that liver is great for building strength and endurance
- Kidney: vitamin A, B12, riboflavin, iron
- Heart: CoQ10, vitamin B12, amino acids, collagen
- Adrenal glands: vitamin C
- Brain: omega-3, selenium, zinc, vitamin B12
- Tripe (green, not bleached): The Xkaliber formulas have a great source of tripe and organ meat, digestive enzymes, probiotics, selenium, zinc, vitamin B12
5. Medicinal Mushrooms
Medicinal mushrooms are magical. The effects they have on the body are
astronomical. They are deemed by
Chinese
medicine to be the ultimate source of healing.
Mushrooms are one of our favorite foods that can be offered on a daily basis. Mushrooms contain some of the most unique and potent natural medicines on the planet.
They've been used in Chinese herbal formulas for centuries because they provide such powerful health benefits. Medicinal mushrooms are packed full of vitamins and nutrients including beta glucans, flavonoids, pre-biotics, digestive enzymes and antioxidants.
One of the most well-known benefits is the amazing boost to the immune system. Digestive health and anti-cancer benefits are also good reasons to add them to your dog's diet. Some of the nutrients include:
- Minerals: potassium, selenium, sulfur, sodium, geranium, zinc, phosphorus
-
Vitamins: B complex, folic acid, pro-vitamin D
-
Protein: essential amino acids
-
Enzymes: antibacterial, proteolytic
-
Lipids: phospholipids, sterols, sterol esters, free fatty acids, mono-, di- and triglycerides
-
Polysaccharides: glycogen, beta-D-glucans, chitin
-
Essential oils: triterpenes
Reishi:
Promotes heart health, immune system function, liver health, endurance, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, relieves allergies, control & regulate blood sugar, manages joint issues
Treats:
Cancer, heart disease, arthritis, allergies, upper respiratory infection, compromised immune system
Shiitake:
Stimulates white blood cells, improves circulation, inhibits tumor growth and lowers cholesterol
Maitake:
Stimulates T-cells, been shown to prevent cancer, supports body during chemo-therapy, helps with diabetes and supports liver function
Turkey Tail:
Contains beta-glucan polysaccharides, essential sugar in the body to activate immune system, protects from infection, fights disease, heals pulmonary disorders, treats inflammation in urinary & digestive tract
Cordyceps:
Anti-tumor properties, protects against liver and heart disease, heals leaky gut syndrome, helps with kidney failure, alleviates symptoms of asthma
So Whats The Next Step?
Come to Bark Avenue! There are an abundance of ways to prevent disease in our animals.
Here at Bark Avenue we truly believe that food acts medicine. If used properly, it can heal the body and provide the upmost source of health and vitality. We carry many different super foods and supplements ( including the ones mentioned above) and are always excited to talk with our customers about nutrition and health. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to come talk to us!
Thank you so much for being a customer here at Bark
Avenue.
We are very grateful to be apart of your furry companions health journey.
With Love,
Kiana & The Bark Avenue Team
Source: Dogs Naturally Magazine
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What's New At Bark Avenue?
Grocery Pup
Grocery Pup is a new edition to our lightly cooked formulas. Locally sourced and owned in Texas, they are a wonderful formula if you re looking for a complete and balanced alternative to a home cooked meal.
Adored Beast
Love Bugs - Our new probiotic formula! Glacier Peak Holistics has discontinued their Pro-Bio Complete formula, but fear not! Love bugs is equally as fantastic and offers the same benefits.
Open Farm Tetra Packs
Open Farm has come out with a new canned food formula! Grain-Free and extremely palatable, the packs are resealable and are a great new edition to our canned foods!
Origins is a premier 5-in-one whole food supplement that adds real nutrition while providing total gut health support to improve overall animal health.
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March Promotions!
Small Batch Frozen Raw
- 15% Off All Frozen (Excluding Frozen Bulk Boxes and Chubs)
Vital Essentials Frozen Cat
Instinct Kibble
- $5 Off Small Bags
- $7 Off Medium Bags
- $10 Off Large Bags
OC Raw
- 20% Off All Freeze-Dried Food Including Treats
Ziwi Dog & Cat Formulas
- $4 Off 16oz Dog & 14oz Cat
- $7 Off 2.2lb Dog
- $17 Off 5.5lb Dog
- $25 Off 8.8lb Dog
- $2 Off All Chews
- $1 Off Ziwi Reward Treats
- Ziwi Cans Buy 3, Get One Free
Stella & Chewys NEW Biscuit Treats
Primal
- 20% Off Chubs
- Free Bone Broth With The Purchase Of Large Bag Zignature Kibble
Nulo
- $5 Off Small Bags
- $10 Off Large Bags
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Dr Will Falconer has written the e-book, "Vital Animals Don't Get Heartworms".
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