I’m partnering with Castor & Pollux to bring you today’s post. My fellow dog mommas are going to love this one!
I typically write a weekly post where I share what I’ve been eating but today I’m switching gears and showing you what the furry members of this household have been eating recently. It’s been about four years since I’ve addressed this topic and I know many of you are newer readers (and fellow dog moms) so I think we’re overdue an update! I’ve also got some general feeding time tips to share with you.
Choosing the Right Dog Food
I will start by saying that I am a tad fanatical about what I feed my dogs. I did a lot of reading about various dog foods when Sullie was a puppy (10 years ago, I can’t believe it!) and made the decision that even with a tight budget, investing in high-quality dog food was a priority. One thing that really helped me make this decision was thinking about my own body and what makes it feel good. When I eat a lot of crappy food, I honestly feel bad all over. I notice a difference in everything from mental clarity to energy levels to skin quality to digestion and much more. When my diet consists mostly of clean and healthy food, I feel about a million times better in my body both mentally and physically. It made sense to me that the same would apply for animals.
(Sullie on her second birthday back in 2008!)
This point was really driven home for me when after three years of feeding Sullie a relatively good dog food, I discovered that her food was the culprit for recurring ear infections. Y’all, it was terrible. Sullie was at the vet constantly for the better part of two years for terrible, painful ear infections. Not only were the infections themselves painful but sweet Sullie would cry at the vet while they were cleaning out her ears. We had resigned ourselves to the fact that this was something we would deal with forever until a new vet suggested we switch her food. She hasn’t had one single infection since. When I got Zoey I started feeding her the same thing and we switched the pug Arnie over as well when he moved in.
Fast forward to now…I have been approached with many dog food partnerships in the past but I’ve turned them all down because I wasn’t willing to mess with the health of my dogs. I accepted this partnership with ORGANIX® because it offered the opportunity to try out a food that is even more highly rated than what I was feeding. After reading a lot about ORGANIX, I liked a lot of things about it and was genuinely interested to give it a try.
ORGANIX by Castor & Pollux Natural PetWorks
ORGANIX by Castor & Pollux Natural PetWorks is the leader in organically-certified and natural food for dogs. Here are a few of my favorite features about the brand.
- ORGANIX recipes feature a balanced combination of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.
- Every recipe contains omega 3 fatty acids to promote healthy skin and coat.
- All ORGANIX recipes are cooked in the USA at an organically certified kitchen. None of these recipes contain corn, soy or wheat.
- Options for grain-free recipes.
- No fillers or antibiotics and no ingredients from China.
What makes ORGANIX different from other natural pet food brands?
- The first ingredient in every recipe is always organic free-range chicken or turkey, real salmon or lamb.
- Organic ingredients produced without chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, artificial preservatives or added grown hormones.
We received two big bags of the Chicken & Brown Rice recipe and the ingredients list is solid.
And judging by the giant string of drool Sullie has going here, I think it’s safe to say that it’s a winner when it comes to taste. (I’ll have to trust the pups on this one.) I’m pretty sure that this new dog food test has been the highlight of my pup’s month! They’re so excited about it.
We are starting with the Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe but here are the additional recipes offered…
- Grain-free Chicken & Potato
- Grain-free Lamb & Peas
- Grain-free Salmon & Peas
There are also small-breed, large-breed, puppy and healthy weight formulas in addition to a selection of canned food. And for my cat mommas, ORGANIX has you covered as well. You can check out the full ORGANIX product listing on their website.
To locate a store that sells Organix® recipes in your area, visit ORGANIX site. If you want to save yourself a trip to the store, you can visit their shop online search menu.
5 Feeding Time Tips
- When transitioning your dog to a new food, start by replacing a small portion of their existing food with new food. Gradually increase the quantities over the course of a week or so until you’ve fully transitioned to the new food. Do not make a sudden switch!
- Have a feeding “place” and always feed your dogs in that same place. It creates routine and order.
- If you have multiple pets, feed them separately. Even though my girls have never shown signs of aggression towards one another, I don’t trust them with food. Zoey zooms through her meal and rushes over to interrupt Sullie and I think it’s an altercation just waiting to happen. Zoey gets fed in the bedroom with the door closed, Arnie in his crate and Sullie in the kitchen.
- Use a food command. I like for my girls to know that their humans are in charge of the food so they have to sit and wait to eat until given their food commands. Sullie’s is “oink, oink” (video here) and Zoey’s is “wiggle, wiggle.” Arnie is 14 so he gets a pass on this. He can barely even see to eat his food. 🙁
- Interrupt your dogs and mess with them while they’re eating. Again, I want to avoid food aggression and guarding at all costs so since both of my girls were pups, I’ve messed with them while they’re eating. This is everything from patting them to sticking my hand in their faces to picking up the food mid-meal and making them go through the command drill again and much more. I don’t do this all the time by any means and I know it might sound a little crazy but I swear that it works.
Coming Up Soon
Stay tuned…in a few weeks I’ll have an update on our experience with ORGANIX along with scenes from an upcoming doggie adventure!
I’d love to hear how you address your pets nutritional needs. Are you choosy about dog foods? Do you give any supplements to your dogs?
Do you use a food command or have any feeding-time routines?
I’m also happy to answer any dog food and feeding time related questions you might have. 🙂
Make sure to stay connected with Organix® by following them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
