Your puppy's nutritional needs:

According to holistic veternarian Dr. Jane Bicks, the maximum life span of dogs is estimated to be around 25 to 30 years, yet the average dog generally lives no longer than about 13 to 14 years. She says that this deficit is due largely to poor nutrition.

In addition to containing what is generally considered the bottom of the barrel ingredients in terms of nutritional density, most conventional dog food products contain especially large amounts of sodium to make them palatable, as well as dairy, by-products, chemical preservatives, artificial colors and other potentially harmful ingredients. The carbohydrate ratio is too high in some dog food brands as well, eventually leading to obesity, which is increasingly becoming a serious problem with dogs. In fact, obesity is one of the greatest health concerns facing our dogs; it can cause unnecessary suffering and a shortened lifespan

Renowned research scientist Dr. Barry Sears believes that dog food should have about the same 30-30-40 ratio as the human Zone diet. This means a relatively small amount of carbohydrates. Not only do many dog food brands have a particularly large amount of carbohydrates, they are mostly grain based.

Another problem, according to the USDA Agricultural service, is that mites often get into dog food pellets, which can cause a number of problems such as disease. They recommend keeping dog food cool and dry, and vacuuming in the places where the food is stored the food is stored a least once a week. In addition keep the area around the dish where the dog food is served clean. Also, do not leave any dog food in your pet's bowl on warm, humid days.

For this very reason our dogs at RiverHill are fed only the best holistic food. We feed a combination of Nature’s Variety holistic diet and Taste Of The Wild (with No Grain, No By-Products - Natural grain-free formula with vitamins and minerals). These two dog foods insure that our dogs are getting all the necessary nutrition they need to grow up happy and HEALTHY.