I spend most of my day talking to pet parents about nutrition and I love it!!! There are very few things I would rather talk about or learn about than pet nutrition, in fact, I started a podcast (The Spawdcast) so I could talk about it some more. I had to because my family was going to disown me. No, really! I am not kidding. BUT As a pet nutritionist, the word raw can send me into a tailspin, which doesn’t make much sense. In fact, a pet nutritionist who doesn’t recommend a raw diet would be an interesting guest for me on The Spawdcast. If you know of any let me know. But I still hate the word raw. Proponents of Raw diets often speak of all the health benefits from feeding a pet raw meat and some will even claim that feeding a raw diet will rid your pet of all of his or her health conditions, but that is for another post.

So is not cooking your pet’s meat all you need to do to make your pet healthy? No, certainly not.

When I speak to pet parents about providing their pets with the best chance of a healthy, happy life, we inevitably will talk about nutrition and that of course, will lead to a conversation about nutrients and nutrients are lost when food is cooked, so I obviously don’t cook my pet’s food but I don’t suggest a raw diet. Actually, I do, I just don’t call it a “raw” Diet. I stay away from this term for fear that people will run to the store and buy some raw chicken without understanding the complexity of setting a pet up for success through diet. Actually, it’s not very complex it’s just that people want to make a lot of money off your pets and our domesticated animals are the most unhealthy animals on the planet because we make decisions for them based on commercials that tug at our hearts. I prefer to call a diet that will give your pet optimal health, a Species Appropriate Diet and my definition of a SAD is far more than not cooking meat and also includes what should never go in your pet’s body.

Many nutritionists and pet advocates argue that a SAD is so much healthier for your pet. The argument holds true when you look at the science of high heat kibble that has to have all of the nutrients added back in through synthetic vitamins and minerals.

Dog food companies spend millions of dollars on fancy commercials telling you you should feed your dog like a wolf . But then they show the dogs bowl filled with processed, brown, hard synthetic vitamins and minerals. I don’t know about you but I have never seen any wild animal eating processed food or something that came out of a bag that was sitting on a shelf for a year. But I digress. My point is, if you believe your dog should eat like a wolf or your cat like a cougar, And I do, (in most cases) then you need to incorporate EVERYTHING. Food, exercise, fasting, playing, hydration, critical thinking. ALL OF IT.

So let’s look at the wolf for a moment, Did you know that a wolf will fast ( not eat) on average 10 days a month or that they get a lot of fiber from the fur of the animal they eat. Wolves have been caught on video eating blueberries and then regurgitating them to feed to their pups. And cats, don’t even get me started on them. Wild cats require a lot of moisture in their diets. Have you ever heard of a wild sand cat? So cute, I want one. looks just like a domesticated cat but lives in the desert and rarely has access to water. All of their hydration comes from their food and this is the best source of moisture for the species. Cats need high protein, high fat and high moisture diets. But don’t get me wrong, we are talking about good proteins and good fats, not processed cereal foods.

Feeding a pet a Species Appropriate Diet (SAD) is by far the best diet you can feed your pet, but please, in doing so, understand this, if you give a couch potato a high protein diet without exercise, moisture, good fats to balance, fiber, and brain activity ( like hunting) you might as well feed the processed kibble. But please don’t, No, really Please don’t , pretty pleeeease don’t, Just don’t

If you want a happy pet, feed them SAD and all that encompasses.