Ash
All pet foods contain 'ash' in their formulations. This is a term that needs to be explained, since some may think of ash in the context of fireplace residue and assume that fireplace ash has been added to perhaps bulk up the food. This, happily, is not the case.
Ash is not an additive in pet food. In fact, it is quite the reverse. Measuring existing ash content in a sample of pet food is a way of determining and describing the maximum mineral content of the food. The reason it is called ash is that, if you heat a sample of pet food to burn off all the organic components (which are combustible), you are left with the inorganic residue, which denotes the level of mineral in the sample, since minerals are the only inorganic (non-combustible) elements.
These minerals are primarily potassium and phosphorous, with smaller amounts of iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc and sodium, as well as trace amounts of many other minerals.
The ash content is important to know, not only to indicate the mineral content, but the quality of the protein present in the food. A high quality protein product will produce ash content generally no higher than 3%. While a small amount of mineral content is important to good nutrition, high quality protein content is essential. Look for this balance in the ingredients list.
Tripe
When you feed our raw ground whole animal food to your pet, you are automatically including tripe and raw bones in that mix. This is a real plus.
Tripe is the finest, most natural food tonic you could wish for. This rubbery ingredient may look a bit disgusting to the mere human, but it's a dog delicacy of the highest order, with major health benefits. - nutritionally valuable, rich in excellent protein, essential fatty acids, minerals, enzymes and vitamins.
Since tripe is the stomach of ruminating animals, where food is swallowed unchewed, regurgitated, chewed and mixed with saliva, swallowed once more and broken down by gastric juices, amino acids and other digestive enzymes, there's a lot of digestive help going on.
These super-active gastric juices and enzymes at work in cud chewing mammals are also hard at work when they are mixed into our product, helping your dog digest his food. The amino acids are aiding muscular development and the gastric juices are cleaning and flossing the teeth. Last but not least, there's a lactic acid bacteria (the good intestinal bacteria) that takes on a probiotic function.
Raw Bones
Raw bones are another joy-filled treat. Happy dogs can chew their way to optimum health with a most important source of balanced minerals (especially calcium and phposphorus), quality protein, fats, vitamins and cartilage. Essential for optimum oral and mental health.
The bones must be raw. Cooked bones can become brittle and could splinter. Raw bones are perfect ... the way nature intended.
Taurine
Taurine is an amino acid that is found in the fluids of muscles, lungs and heart of many animals. It is necessary for the flow of sodium, potassium and possibly calcium and magnesium ions into and out of cells. When you feed our raw ground whole animal food to your pet, the benefits of taurine are automatically passed on.
Selenium
Selenium, a trace mineral, is a vital and essential nutrient that should be part of the diet for all dogs and cats (and their owners).
As an antioxidant, selenium helps maintain healthy immune systems. Selenium works with vitamin E and enzymes to help fend off toxins and to reduce toxin build-up in the cells.
Selenium helps vitamin E to be more effective in reducing fat oxidation and maintaining good cholesterol levels.
The daily requirement for selenium is less than the requirement for any of the other trace elements; selenium is toxic in high doses. Meat products are good sources of selenium. When you feed our raw ground whole animal food to your pet, the benefits of selenium are automatically passed on.
