The Truth about the foods we carry

 

We are just going to jump right into it. We only carry foods that we have hand selected and that we are comfortable feeding to our own pets. This is actually why my wife and I (Ryan and Jessica) opened the business on our own instead of a franchise. We were being pushed on things such as certain foods and raw hide treats which we know are not good for our pets, but we would have had to sell under a franchise, and that is just not the way we wanted our business to run. 

So what's so terrible about certain foods?

The answer is complex, but in it's simplest form, there are keywords that you should look for on your pets food, that in my advice for whatever that is worth, if you see these 4 words, you should run. 

1. By-product (of any kind, such as Meat by-product, Poultry by-product, Animal by-product)

2. Corn

3. Soy

4. Wheat

What is the problem with By-products?

The biggest problem here is that it is unregulated and can literally be from Dead, Dying, or Diseased animals (called the 3 Ds). In fact, in 2018, Gravy Train dog food made by Smuckers had to be recalled because it had high levels of the pet Euthanasia drug called Pentobarbital, which was making large amounts of pets sick. This drug entered the food because they were using Euthanized pets in the food. 

How does this happen?

I dont want to be bleak so I will mainly leave this to better written articles to explain this if you would like to know more information than I provide. In short, many pet food companies will get these cheap sources of meat and put them in large grinder piles, which are then ground into the by-product line items used in the foods. These sources come from the 3 Ds, road kill, slaughter house waste not deemed fit for human consumption, etc.. 

Here are several articles which go in depth on the By-product rendering process:

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-industry-exposed/shocking-truth-about-dog-food/ 

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/dog-food-meat-content/

https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/investigates-dangerous-chemical-used-veterinary-euthanasia-found-dog-food/M4SSJHHE35GARCCVACRX73UJHQ/

It does not mean that all by-products are bad, it depends on the brand and manufacturer, but because it is not regulated, we can't be sure if the by-product is good or not, so it is best to avoid any foods that use by-products. 

What is the problem with Corn?

The biggest problem I have with corn is the lies that dog food companies tell for their use of corn in their food. The only reason dog food companies use corn is because it is extremely cheap. They can sell you a $60-$70 bag of dog food, when better brands that do not use cheap filler ingredients and are better for your dogs can be bought cheaper. These large companies are jacking up the prices on their food while using cheap ingredients to make it and enjoying astronomical profits while lying about it. 

The first lie about corn is that it has a low glycemic index and therefore won't cause your dogs blood sugar to spike. This is not true, here are the real glycemic values in corn compared to other ingredients:

Corn Meal (69)

Brown Rice (55)

Corn (53)

Oatmeal (49)

Wheat (41)

Barley (25)

Chicken (0

Beef (0)

Compared to most other ingredients, corn does NOT have a lower glycemic index. 

The second lie about corn is that it is highly digestible. This is just flat not true. The only way that corn becomes more digestible is by milling and refining it further down into a meal, which then causes its glycemic index to increase. You will see that most manufacturers will label corn as 99% digestible, which is intentionally misleading as it confuses consumers to interpret the statement to mean that corn has a high nutritional value, which it does not. It is just a cheap filler. 

The third lie about corn is that it has a high biologic value, and is again, blatantly false. Here is the graphic which shows the biological value of corn compared to other ingredients:

I think I have said enough here, but incase you would like to read more on Corn and its nutritional value in dog food, here is a wonderful article with sources cited:

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-industry-exposed/dog-food-corn/

What is the problem with Soy and Wheat?

94% of all soy produced in the United States is GMO, which are saturated with Glyphosate (roundup). It has been established by WHO that Glyphosate is a "likely carcinogen". Dog cancer has been on the rise steadily and now we are at the point where at least 1 in 15 dogs develop cancer. This is still being researched, but there are links being made to the ingredients and chemicals used in dog food (BHA/BHT, and pesticides used on Soy and Wheat products like roundup (glyphosate). 

To be clear, I am not saying that Wheat and Soy are bad for dogs, but what I am saying is that the way it is now predominately being produced and the chemicals used in it's production is potentially harmful. In addition, the main reason these are being used is as a source of protein, which is cheaper than using meat. So again, its a situation where cheaper ingredients are being used, while large companies are then able to sell the bags for a higher price and higher profit margins. 

In Conclusion

Thank you for reading! It is not my intention to offend or alienate anyone. These are my opinions and advice, and information that goes into the products that we carry in the store. Our dogs are our kids which I freely and proudly admit (my wife and I cannot have children so this is what we have chosen to do). We pour over articles, peer reviewed studies, and try to connect as many dots as we can. We want to be a safe and secure source for you and your pets. 

Grooming and Frustration in Providing the Best Care Possible

 

Everyone gets frustrated every once in a while. It is an unfortunate risk we take waking up every morning 🤣. The last thing that we want here at Paw of the Family is to be one of the causes of that frustration. In a service driven industry, no matter how hard we try, sometimes it is unavoidable. We do our absolute best to deliver the best customer service we can with every interaction, but sometimes, even with the best customer service, frustrations can arise from prices, booked schedules, missed appointments and associated charges, to having to shave a matted pup, to being unable to groom a pup when it is in the best interest of the dog. I want to talk about these, so that it can perhaps provide a lens into this side of the business. Each of these issues could be their own blog posts and perhaps they will in the future, but at least for now, I want to touch on these at least in a synopsis and without making the post too much to read.

First, I want to discuss price. We are not the most expensive, and we are not the cheapest. We looked at the industry and other reputable salons and we actually did our best to stay competitive by creating entire grooming packages, instead of making you pay for each and every item individually. This does 2 things:

1. While on the surface we may appear more expensive, however, if you add all the items we are including from other salons, we are actually cheaper. You may say that you do not want everything, but that leads us to point 2.

2. We 100% believe in providing the best for your dog, and we stand by that and mean it. By including everything in packages and not allowing 1 off services, we are actually ensuring that your pup gets their teeth brushed, that they get that de-shed to alleviate a compacted coat, and they get their ears cleaned/plucked. Your dogs should have their teeth brushed daily, or given specific chews to clean their teeth. Just like we need to care for ourselves, that is what grooming should be for your pup.

Second, lets talk about booked schedules. I know this one can be particularly frustrating. We 100% do our best to provide multiple options for sizes of pets for each day. Fortunately, and frustratingly 😆, our groomer is very good and the folks that come to her keep coming back (Joking, please keep coming back!). What this means is that typically, folks set up their next appointments before they even leave the store, so she stays pretty booked out at least a few weeks. We offer that to our current customers because we want to show the same loyalty back to them that they do for us. There is nothing more frustrating than being loyal to a particular business, but they make it difficult for you every time you try to utilize them. We want to keep growing and building and gaining new customers 10000000%, but we also don't want to leave our current and loyal customers out hanging in the wind. So we must put limits on the number of new customers we take in so that we can continue servicing and taking care of those who have taken care of us. We are actively working on a solution for this. We are underway on an expansion that will give us more room and allow us to hire more groomers!

Third, Missed appointments and associated charges. Again, this one can be particularly frustrating. I have missed doctors appointments and had to pay missed fees just to name one example. There is a reason behind it and it's not because the particular business is money hungry. I can speak to ours and why we have a late cancellation or missed appointment fee. A groomer only has so much capacity to groom X amount of dogs in a given day. We also do not believe in overbooking or overpacking the schedule. That can lead to rushed jobs, injuries, and unsafe work environments for both our groomer and your pup. So since we do not overpack the schedule, 1 missed appointment is a pretty big hit for a groomer's paycheck. This is also a common occurrence as everyone has a busy life and schedule, it happens 100% and there is no blame, anger, or any bad will whatsoever. We do charge a $35 fee for missed or late cancels, not out of anger or retribution, but to ensure that the groomer can still make a healthy paycheck for their mortgage, bills, families, etc... While some salons still charge the entire cost of the groom, we don't believe in that, things happen! We believe $35 is fair since it is cheaper than our smallest package. While 1 appointment may be thought to not be a big deal, the reality is that this can happen a minimum of at least 5 times or more a week in our experience. We try to help with easily accessible communication methods, clear policies, online ways to modify/cancel your booking ahead of time, reminder emails and texts, but again, things happen!

Fourth, shaving your pup or being unable to groom them. We actually have 3 negative google reviews regarding this one. We want to provide the best care possible for your dog. Sometimes that care can mean that we are not performing the services. It could mean that we will recommend you to a specialist such as a vet groomer or a behavioristic groomer. We are not a money hungry business and will put your pup first every time. 

I would like to share an example with you all. Recently, we have recommended a very matted pup to the vet groomer. Against our recommendation, the parent went to another salon not equipped to handle that situation. The pup ended up at the vet with an extensive bill and bleeding/suffering that lasted longer then it needed to. This is NOT the groomers fault. This would happen anywhere, including the vet's office. Only, at the vet, they can treat immediately stopping excess suffering to the pet.

Well, that about sums it up! These are the 4 to 5 items that we feel can be the most frustrating for our customers. If you made it this far, thank you for reading! I hope that the tone and voice of this blog post was communicated well enough to not be received as a complaining piece, but more of a glass lens into the reasoning and choices that are made. We live here, we are your neighbors and friends, and we want to be seen as the best business with the best customer service. We strive to do this, even when things don't work out as good as we hope each interaction can be. If you have been frustrated with us, I hope this article helps to show that the choices were from a good place, and if you have not been frustrated with us, I hope you never will be and every interaction is the best one you have ever had. 

Written by Chelsea and Ryan at Paw of the Family

The Benefits of Doggy Daycare

 

    Does your dog have too much energy? Are they anxious or destructive when you are away? Doggy daycare may be a great addition to you and  your pets lives! There are many benefits to using a doggy daycare. I wanted to cover a few of those benefits, explain what doggy daycare is, and if it is good for your dog. 

The Benefits:

Our pets are very adaptive and usually fit into our routines. However, there are many pets out there that just don't get excited for spending the entire day alone. Let's say you work an 8 hour day, plus commute and errands, your pet could be spending upwards of 10+ hours alone per day throughout the work week. There are many ways to occupy your dogs time during the work week, from puzzle toys, chews, etc.. But often times, these only last so long. Other less active dogs may sleep the entire day while you are gone, but this type of sedentary lifestyle isn't healthy long term with a lack of mental stimulation, possible weight gain and future mobility issues. 

Dog daycare is a great way to keep your dogs active, stimulated, and happy. That leads us into:

1. Safe Socializing

This is super beneficial especially for single dog households, busy pet parents that may not be able to make it to dog parks,  and for pets that don't have many other doggy friends. Daycare provides the opportunity for your furbaby to socialize with other dogs in a safe, controlled environment with constant supervision. 

2. Exercise

Dogs with a very sedentary lifestyle may be prone to damage to their bodies and minds. If dogs spend alot of time alone, they can become accustomed to this slow-paced lifestyle which can lead to weight issues, mobility issues, overeating, and digestion problems. 

It is also great for overactive dogs, as they will be able to run and play to their heart's content and be tired when it is time to go home. 

Daycare is also great for dogs that need to lose a few pounds and don't get excited about running and playing in the yard. With a few other dogs around, it can entice your pet to play and run with his/her friends and lose some of those pounds. 

Finally, daycare can be especially great during the winter when it can be harder to get you or your pet out into the cold. Your pet can play and exercise with friends in a nice warm environment without you or your furbaby freezing.

3. Separation Anxiety

We know this one from experience. Our Golden has horrible separation anxiety.  However, she does so much better when she is with her pack (Joker and Robin). We know how hard this one is on both you and your pet. Daycare can provide a social outlet to help ease that anxiety. In addition, with someone being with the dogs all day, this can help reduce separation anxiety with someone being there with them, while also getting to play with all of their friends.

We all have to go to work, school, errands, etc.. and daycare can allow you to do that without leaving your pet to wallow in their loneliness and anxiety all day (howling, chewing, licking, crying, anxious). 

4. Peace of Mind

No one likes coming home to a mess, potty, or destroyed house. These are signs that your pet is acting out and is upset being left alone (separation anxiety). 

Daycare can give you peace of mind that your pup is happy and playing, and your home is safe as well. 

Daycare is not right for every dog

Unfortunately, some furbabies are not suited for daycare:

-Poorly or not at all socialized dogs. This can actually lead to being overwhelmed and aggression

-Past incidents of aggression towards other pets or people

-Not vaccinated appropriately, which can lead to your pup being susceptible to illness 

-Injured pets that require care beyond what a daycare can provide

-Pets that are not neutered. Unfortunately this can make group play difficult to incorporate for everyone.

Fortunately! Any good daycare will perform an evaluation to see if your pet is a good fit for daycare! Here at Paw of the Family, our evaluation will begin with your pet meeting the staff. We will ensure that your furbaby is comfortable with us and we can handle your baby without any signs of aggression or fear. This test includes things such as our staff holding the leash, and then walking with him/her, touching your pets collar, petting them, approaching your pet while watching for any signs of fear, etc... 

After your furbaby has had a few moments with us and gotten comfortable, we will introduce a few new four legged friends of varying sizes (likely our own Harley, Joker, and Robin). After this, your dog and new friends will be brought to the play area. 

At the play area, new dogs will be introduced a small group at a time to verify that your furbaby will continue to be comfortable meeting new dogs as the group gets larger.

If tails are still wagging, then we will be able to schedule your pet for daycare services whenever you need! 

If your pet does not pass evaluation, that DOES NOT mean you have a bad dog! They simply do not want to be there.  We will be 100% transparent with you, as our goal is to offer the safest environment possible for all of the pets in our care. If your furbaby shows signs that they are not suited to daycare, we will be open and honest about it. 

DON'T FORGET THE CATS!

Quick video of some common issues we see come through the store affecting cats and the common cause is Dehydration. 
 

No longer carrying Acana and Orijen pet food

 

Hey Paw Family!

It's time for another blog post. I believe the title says it all when it comes to what this blog post will talk about. 

Acana and Orijen are 2 extremely good dog food brands that are both owned by Champion Pet Foods. Champion has won best pet food company 8 years in a row! We have been thrilled to be able to sell their products in the store to our customers. 

So why are you removing these two brands from the store and why is there a big picture of who makes dog foods at the top of the post? To put it short, Champion Pet Food is being purchased by Mars the candy bar company. 

Mars values and our values here at Paw of the Family do not align when it comes to pet food and the nutrition we give our animals. We tell everyone who walks into our doors that there is nothing in this store that we would not feed to our own pets. We of course need to make money to keep the doors open and to be able to pay the bills, but the money is secondary to us. Helping our community in taking care of their pets, helping with advice, and providing a place where you can trust that what you are feeding your animals is safe and healthy is NUMBER 1 BY FARRRRRR! (capitalized, in bold, and extended last word to emphasize lol). Quote from Mars pet food 5 core principles, "We base decisions on Mutuality of benefit to our stakeholders." https://www.mars.com/about/five-principles 

Mars produces other brands such as Pedigree, Eukunuba (which was once a great food), Cesar, Royal Canin (also once a great food), etc.. All using ingredients such as Corn and by-products,  and some using non named meats, fats, and even worse, using ingredients such as BHA/BHT which are believed to be cancer causing (1 in 15 dogs get cancer these days). 

It doesn't matter what brand it happens to be, we WILL honor our promise to this community to put our pets first and not the money. 

Mars has already started discussing innovation and streamlining the products that Champion offers, and this often leads to reduced QA standards even if they didn't change a single ingredient, such as plastic and metal shavings being found in their foods. (https://healthypetproducts.net/blog/the-top-5-manufacturers-of-recalled-pet-food/) We would rather get ahead of any of that, than to risk any bad products being sold from our store. 

We are sorry to those in the community that buy these foods from us, however, we are already hard at work on a replacement. We are leaning towards Farmina as the replacement but we would LOVE to hear from you!

Best Regards,

Paw of the Family

Dog food Cost and Nutritional Comparison

 

Grain-Free, Grain-Inclusive, and DCM

 Hey Paw Family!

I hope everyone is doing well on this fine Saturday afternoon. It is time for the next blog post! I'm a little worried about this one, but it is a common question we get asked in the store and I know it can be a bit divisive with opinions all over the place. So, I want to tackle this one, and let data lead the way in this discussion. 

Let's talk about Grain-Free dog food vs. Grain-Inclusive dog food, and DCM (Dilapidated Cardio Myopathy) that looms over this discussion.

 First, what is the difference between Grain-Free and Grain-Inclusive dog food? The names are pretty self explanatory, one includes grains such as rice, oats, barley, etc.. The other uses non grains such chickpeas, lentils, quinoa, etc.. 

Ok, that's all well and good, but what does it mean, who cares? Well, there are a few reasons these exist. 

1. Some dogs have grain allergies, and grain free foods greatly help these dogs and their coats. This is the main reason we carry grain free dog foods in the store!

2. Some believe that dogs do not require grains and did not eat them in the wild, and therefore do not need grains in their dog food. There is no real research or peer reviewed studies on this one, this is more opinion based at this time than anything. There are studies currently happening, but nothing with any amount of time or real data to give us anything to go on here. 

How do these two types of dog foods relate to DCM?

DCM (Dilapidated Cardio Myopathy) is a heart condition that dogs can get. Simply put, it is a reduction in heart function which can either be genetic or developmental in dogs. 

In 2019 the FDA released a report which seemed to correlate Grain-Free dog foods to DCM. Since then, the FDA has repealed this report later in 2019, in 2020, and in 2021. They have retracted the statements and are now stating that it is due to a lack of Taurine and activity in dogs. 

How come when I google DCM or Grain Free for dogs it still comes up with everyone saying DCM is due to grain free diets. This is because good news does not travel as fast as bad news, and folks aren't staying up to date on the latest research and reports. It is true that some grain free dog foods have a lack of Taurine, but that does not include any of the foods we carry in the store. ALL of them have added Taurine, as we were aware of this study and worked to make sure we had the best in store. 

Where is your proof in what you are stating, because I have heard that DCM is a big deal affecting so many dogs, especially from these grain-free diets:

1. The FDA themselves: The Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Director Dr. Steven Solomon of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that there is no scientific evidence that a grain-free diet causes canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in a recent study.

Partnered with Champion pet foods in the study referenced above "The agency’s latest remarks and findings on DCM confirm that a grain-free diet provides safe and healthy nutrition, and that the risk factors for DCM relate to the dog’s unique health situation,” said Blaine McPeak, chief executive officer of Champion Petfoods. “Evidence shows that the absence of grains in a dog’s diet is not linked to the development of DCM, as the presence of grains in a dog’s diet does not prevent against DCM. We hope this brings clarity to pet lovers and gives them the confidence and trust to select the best diet for their dogs."

This is not opinions or heresay, but facts backed by collaborative, peer reviewed studies. 

2. Next research paper, written by PHD Dr. Ryan Yamka - Founder of Guardian Pet food co and is board certified in companion animal nutrition by the American College of Animal Science

https://northpointpets.com/npp-journal/fda-finds-no-evidence-that-grain-free-diets-are-causing-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy-dcm/

3. Lets look at the numbers:

1 in 15 dogs will be diagnosed with cancers. Some breeds are prone to it, others from feeding cheap commercial foods that have things like BHA/BHT in them.

1 in 4 dogs are obese which exacerbates any issue they may have including Arthritis, cancers, and even DCM. 

Only 1 in 750,000 dogs will be diagnosed with DCM. It's incredibly, incredibly rare. There are only 519 cases that have been submitted to the FDA, number is taken directly from the original FDA report that was sent out and caused the panic:

https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy#cases 

So, not to make light of any issue, we love all of the furbabies! However, there is a strong concentration that folks have on an incredibly rare issue, when instead we should be focusing on the much, much more common issues by not feeding cheap filler foods and trying to keep our dogs at the correct weight ranges. 

We are not vets! Always listen to your vet. This is just a question we get alot and there is A LOT of disinformation out there. We hope this helps clear up some of that!