My name is Stacey and I live in Horsham, West Sussex with my family and our incredible Cocker Spaniel, Ted who was a failed foster in 2017 and he's kept us smiling, laughing and surrounded by love ever since!
My journey into fresh feeding and holistic approaches to dog care however, started in 2016, with Shadow, a beautiful but complex Springer Spaniel, who no longer lives with us but taught me so much. You can read his story here.
My purpose and mission now is a simple one; to support dog guardians as they navigate the confusing world of canine nutrition & holistic wellbeing, giving them opportunities to ask questions without judgement and make informed decisions which align with their own beliefs, values and circumstances.
All of these conditions can be supported with a fresh, species appropriate diet which focuses on reducing inflammation and increasing bioavailability of nutrients.
It is becoming clear in the human nutrition space that eating a diet high in ultra processed foods is detrimental to our health and leading to increased inflammation and disease within the body, so it's no surprise that this is now becoming apparent in our canine companions too.
Dogs, like their wolf cousins are carnivores and have little to no requirements for carbohydrates. As stated in the FEDIAF Scientific Advisory Board Carbohydrate Expert Review "Neither cats nor dogs have an absolute requirement for carbohydrates; they
need glucose but as carnivores are able to synthesize glucose de novo,
from amino acids".
When we consider that the majority of the highly processed commercial dog food on the market contains large percentages of carbohydrates such as cereals, grains, rice and potato we have to consider the impact they are having on our dog's overall health and wellbeing.
A 2017 study showed that modern day domesticated dogs will select a diet of 30% protein, 63% fat and 7% carbs, so whilst there is large variation on the difference in protein and fat ratios compared to that of a wolf (54% protein, 45% fat, 1% carbohydrates), the minimum carbohydrate amounts are still apparent. It is theorised that the differences in protein to fat ratios between the wolf and the dog, is due to the domestication process and the various feast or famine stages they would have dealt with during the pre-domesticated wolf ancestry stage, early domestication stage and rapid artificially selected diversification stage. As they evolved and adapted through these stages, the nutritional responses and macronutrient requirements will have changed so prioritising and consuming higher ratios of fat ensured they were able to survive.
It is also worth considering the impact of overuse of pharmaceuticals on our dogs too and there is now mounting scientific research to support taking a more mindful approach about how and when they are used.
If you have any questions or concerns about your dog's nutrition or holistic wellbeing, please don't hesitate to contact me.
07956 332349
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.