By Sarah Tritsaris

Co-Founder, Puppy Gang Fresh Foods

As dog owners, we know our dogs are not just ‘dogs’. They are our children. I refer to my guy Tarzan as ‘my baby’. My mum refers to her dog as her baby too (even though she has 2 grown children and a grandchild!) I know we aren’t unique with this and that most dog owners feel this way.

When we started our journey at Puppy Gang Fresh Foods, we did so because of what we learned about the dog food industry. Its unregulated. There are very little controls of what should go in the food. Its largely heavily processed with a bunch of ingredients that can be dangerous to your dog, or doesn’t add nutritional value. And so on. 

We wanted to change this and provide healthy dog food that we could deliver to dog owners in Toronto. More importantly we wanted to help extend dogs lives and thrive in life. We hear a lot of our customers talk about their dogs being obese, having IBD or other illnesses, or that they lost their fur-baby too early in life. What all of us didn’t know was how much nutrition plays a part in the wellness and lifespan of our dogs.

In working with a holistic veterinarian and animal nutritionist, we learned alot about what dogs really need in their diet, and why more and more dogs are having health issues, lack of energy, poor fur quality, stool quality and increased illnesses and decreasing lifespan. We think about it in a way of what we know about human health. If we ate food off a shelf every day, essentially processed food, we would also have these issues - obesity, illnesses, reduced lifespan. We couldn’t get the nutrients we would need from processed food and all of those preservatives and additives would not treat us well in the long term. I would not eat processed food every day, I’m sure you wouldn’t either, but the difference is we often forget that the same rules apply to our dogs!

Our dogs need whole foods to thrive in life, just like us. Whole proteins, fruits, vegetables, calcium and organ meat. This is critical. What you feed your dog makes a huge impact on their health. Our mission at Puppy Gang Fresh Foods is to help keep dogs as young as pups.

"Dogs need whole foods to thrive in life"

The results we have seen are astounding. Our co-founder Marisa’s own dog has aged backwards. From not being able to run and having a million illnesses she is now a lively 8 year old dog. Kalinda never needed knee surgery, and now jumps and behaves like a pup. Our clients have reported change in fur quality and skin irritations disappearing, stool improvement, growths have gone away, increased appetite and excitement at meal times and a total change in energy. 

Why? Because just like us if we eat whole, unprocessed food our overall health and wellbeing is so much better than when we eat processed food. Think about how lethargic you feel after eating fast food, or something processed. 

Research also backs this up. Research shows that feeding dogs whole foods can reduce the risk of cancer by up to 90%! It also extends a dog’s life on average by 3.1 years, with some dogs expanding their lifespan by up to 50%. 

"Research shows feeding dogs whole foods can reduce the risk of cancer by up to 90%"

I know how much we love our fur-babies, and finding a way to extend their lives is so important to many of us. Our customers can help their dogs get the nutrients they need in two ways:

1. Using Puppy Gang Fresh Foods as a whole meal
2. Using it as a nutritious topper. The science behind this still stands. There is a significant difference for those dogs that get some whole foods in their diet compared to none. We recommend substituting 25-50% of your dog’s diet with whole foods if you use our meals as a topper.

Of course other factors play in as well. Breeds, level of activity and exercise and environmental factors. However we know nutrition is a critical and significant piece of the equation.

Feeding whole foods will help your dog thrive in life and be as young as a pup! Check out our trial pack here