Saturday, February 12, 2011

Honest Kitchen to the Rescue.

You Are What You Eat - by Susan


I've had a pet or two (or three) more or less since the day I was born.  Mostly dogs, cats, turtles, hamsters, hermit crabs, fish, and of course, a horse.   I've always tried to be a good pet mama:  I start with lots of love, the best vet care, the best food I can find, clicker training, long daily hikes, more love, and because I work at home, tons of time spent together.


I've told the story of my current Airedale, Connor in the blog before.  But a quick recap: he's a rescue of sorts... he was returned to his breeder (thank goodness for that) and a good friend of mine (Thank you Debbie and Koshie) knew I was in need of a dog and she is good friends with Connor''s breeder (Dale, what fabulous dogs you have!). And the rest, as they say, is history.  


After having Connor for a year now, I'm pretty sure he was given up for a variety of reasons but one of them was his "ill health." His previous owners had a veterinary record on him that was 2 inches thick.  And most of the record is about his GI issues.  My vet (the wonderful Dr. Tom Burns of Veterinary Associates of Cape Codand I sat down with his vet record and it seemed to us that the first order of business was to change his diet to see if that would change his health.  


I researched dog foods to the extreme, got on dog lists, posted to dog forums.  I spent a lot of time researching a raw diet and participate in an online list that was primarily about feeding your dog a raw diet.  And I think there is a lot to be said for it.  But I was pretty sure I didn't want to be handing all that raw food.  Honestly I eat vegetarian at home most of the time because I hate the look and feel of raw meat.  There are a few good, small, independent dog food makers out there and in my research I found Honest Kitchen.

I was really impressed with their dog food and ingredients... they start with the very best, whole food, human grade ingredients, they can find and gently dehydrate them.  Look into the company - how they find their ingredients, how they make the food, how much they care about our planet and our environment, their refusal to cut any corners, and how every month they support a different charity.  This food is made with love and such good will.  Even the boxes are recycled paper and the plastic they use inside the box to keep the food fresh: it too is post consumer recycled plastic.  To say I was impressed was an understatement.

So I bought Honest Kitchen food and supplements, got Connor on them and almost immediately, voilà, he was no longer suffering from GI problems.  I kept him on the Honest Kitchen regimen for this past year and he has had no GI incidents or any health problems at all.  Perfectly healthy dog.  I always wondered if it could be that easy.  Really, just a diet change and supplements?  The supplement I use for him is called Perfect Form and it is a digestive supplement.  (click here to read Honest Kitchen's description of it)  

So a couple of months ago, Honest Kitchen was changing the packaging on their supplement line (thank you very much I love the new can and it opens far easier then the old style!!), I didn't keep up my "pantry" and I ran out of Perfect Form.  It was a bit hard to come by in the stores due to the packaging change.  

Not a big deal I thought, he's still on Honest Kitchen food so he'll be fine.  At first he was.  And then over the course of a few weeks, he occasionally would spit up a little stuff (like a teaspoon full of breakfast) and then "uh oh" his poop got different.  Not enough that most people would worry but it was clear to me that the Perfect Form really does help his digestion.

I emailed Honest Kitchen in a panic and of course once again they came to my rescue (Thank you Carmen!) and overnighted some Perfect Form for Connor.  And guess what.... in two days he was back to normal again.  And in the months following this, he has not had one incident of an upset tummy.  So inadvertently I got to test if it really is the Honest Kitchen products that have improved his health and I can say unequivocally YES.  

After reading their website (they have a ton of very interesting articles under the "Learn" menu) I found out that a lot of people switch to Honest Kitchen because their dogs have some sort of health issue: skin problems, allergies, GI issues, itching, ear infections.  And I think with all the research that has been done in the field of nutrition over the past few years we all know that good food is the cornerstone of good health (for people too).  And most of the Honest Kitchen customers feel their pets health is far better after switching to Honest Kitchen.  I'm so glad I found them.

This is the kind of company I want to do business with and I wish that every company I buy from could be exactly like this.  Honest Kitchen cares.....  about my dog's health, about their products, about the planet, about me. 

I'm not employed by Honest Kitchen (but I'll tell you I love them so much if they offered me a job I'd take it in a heartbeat!) and they don't ask me to write about them.  I'm really just so smitten with this company!  They do however give me coupons that I can give to you if you'd like to try their food.  You can buy it in many places on Cape Cod and all around the country, go to their store locator and put in your zip code (its also available online too).  And if you'd like a coupon please email me!

Gotta run, its time for Connor and I to go on our hike!


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