Like many dog owners, my dogs are part of our family. Over the years I found that feeding my family processed foods caused issues like allergies, intolerance and even brain fog. When I cleared out my fridge and cupboards of highly processed food and got my family to eat fresh food we noticed a huge difference in our moods, our energy levels, our ability to fight colds. And it made sense to me, that for years, pet food has been highly processed, uses second and third grade ingredients and many animals were not at their optimal health, despite eating enough age appropriate and ‘balanced’ diets.
Combine this with my 15 years experience as a veterinary pathologist, understanding mechanisms of diseases, how cells degenerate and where things go wrong inside a dog’s body. It just made sense to me that food, what we put into our bodies every day, is like medicine that fuels, supports and energizes our cells and tissues. It may not cure every disease, but it can certainly slow down aging, help optimize health and avoid underlying conditions. Nothing I researched showed that processed foods optimize cells and tissues.
When we adopted our first rescue dog, Luna, she was a mess. Wirey, brittle hair, weak nails, dry skin and a dull luster in her eyes and skinny. She was not the picture of health. Not knowing her food history, I decided to try fresh cooked dog food for the first time with Luna. I said: ‘Ok, here is an ‘experiment’ I will do at home.’ So many of my colleagues warned me about pre portioned fresh food not being complete and balanced, not having research behind it, not having enough ‘science’ backing the ingredients, recipes and no food trials being done.
I talked to Kabo’s Founders to find out more about the what, how and why behind their recipes and their business plans. I was very impressed at the quality of the human grade ingredients, the animal scientists and veterinary nutritionists that helped form their recipes, and the focus on the correct portions for dogs. This is of key importance as the number one health issue ailing pets right now is obesity. The number one way to tackle this is to find the correct portions for your dog and stick to it. Consistency is key. Kabo helps keep portions consistent over the long term. That….is what helping dog’s is all about.
We transitioned Luna’s kibble (that the shelter had her on by making her meals 25% Kabo and 75% kibble the first two days. I monitored her stool and there were no issues and she gobbled the meals up so fast that I had to buy her a slow feeder!
My background in science and research made me understand that small dog food companies do not have the money to set up studies like this. On top of that, government agencies that fund human and animal research, do not put a lot of money into nutrition research and certainly do not have the priority to fund research on fresh foods for pets. Moreover, dog food companies owned by large corporations, did have the money to fund research studies, but they were biased.
So it's up to individuals to show the ‘anecdotal evidence’, the good stories, the successes, the unhealthy to healthy pet cases. Besides that, doesn't it make basic sense that eating fresh cooked food is better for any animal versus dry, filler compiled, artificial preservative, dry food, or, mystery meat from a can??
Well, these recipes smell and look like home cooked food and by day 7 of Luna’s Kabo journey, she had more energy, more sparkle in her eyes and her skin seemed less flaky. At this point we had progressed to 50% Kabo and 50% kibble. We went from 75% Kabo then to 100% Kabo. Throughout the transition her poops became smaller and a bit darker and she was regular in bathroom frequency.
After two weeks on two different recipes - chicken and beef - Luna was a different dog. Her coat seemed to be softer. After a quick grooming session, we could see her Morkie face much better and her washroom routine was figured out and stools were smaller, a bit darker and smaller. Luna loves it so much that she jumps as high as the kitchen counter when we prepare her food bowl!!!
By the end of 3 weeks on Kabo, Luna was a completely different dog than when I picked her up. Socially, she opened up to our family and was trusting us. More importantly, you could tell she felt better on the inside as well. From her soft shiny coat, sparkling brown eyes and excellent body condition, I knew this had to do with her new fuel. That was three years ago. She is still happy, has no health issues, has maintained a consistent weight and is living her best life.
It’s important to bear in mind that, over the last twenty years, nutrition has become a much more advanced science. Nutrition science research is revealing the differences in how the body absorbs harshly cooked and gently cooked foods. As a result, revealing the differences that quality ingredients and cooking have on digestibility. Gently cooking (at lower temperature than extrusion cooking) is known to increase nutrient and calorie digestibilities of ingredients. (1) This has led to purposeful ingredients and the idea that food is functional - that specific nutrients in food serve specific cellular requirements for optimal health. In other words, food is medicine! All of Kabo’s gently cooked recipes are meet AAFCO standards, are good for all stages of a dog’s life and clearly help dog’s live their healthiest lives.
1. The energetic significance of cooking. Carmody R.N., Wrangham, R.W. Journal of Human Evolution. Volume 57, Issue 4, pp 379-91, Oct. 2009.
2. Apparent total-tract macronutrient digestibility, serum chemistry, urinalysis, and fecal characteristics, metabolites and microbiota of adult dogs fed extruded, mildly cooked, and raw diets. Algya, K.M., Cross T-WL., Leuck K. N., Kastner M. E., Baba T., Lye L., et al. Journal of Animal Science, Volume 96, Issue 9, pp 3670-3683. Sept. 2018.
3. Apparent total tract nutrient digestibility and metabolizable energy estimation in commercial fresh and extruded dry kibble dog foods. Tanprasertsuk J., Perry L.M, Tate D.E., Honaker R.W., Shmalberg J. Translational Animal Science, Volume 5, Issue 3, pp 1-9, July 2021.
4. Nutrient digestibility and fecal characteristics, microbiota, and metabolites in dogs fed human-grade foods. Do S., Phungviwatnikul T., de Godoy M.R.C., Swanson K.S. Journal of Animal Science, Volume 99, Issue 2, pp 1-13, February 2021.
