Making Him Turn Heads
By Heidi RJ, P.N.A Pet Nutrition Advocate
Whenever my dog and I take a sunny stroll along the trails, fellow dog walkers often turn their heads our way.
“Wow! Your dog is so pretty and so white!” they declare.
“Why thank you,” I proudly respond. “She tends to think so too!”
“How often do you bathe her?” they ask.
“Actually, unless she’s gotten into or rolled in something, I don’t.”
I always get a puzzled look with that answer. “It’s actually just the corn in her food!”
I get another look of confusion.
“Corn?” they ask.
“Yup, corn! It’s a source of protein and carbohydrate and a great source of Omega Fatty Acids (O.F.A’ s), which are an important part of what help to preserve her skin and hair coat. It’s what helps make her shiny.”
“Huh, cool. I didn’t know that.”
The nutrients found in O.F.A’ s help to maintain a ceramide barrier in the skin locking in moisture and helping to block out allergens, pollutants and indoor heated air that may cause for a dry, over shedding coat – thus creating a silky, shiny one that will turn heads!
The benefit of O.F.A’ s
• They are also a great and natural source anti-inflammatory.
• Helpful for our arthritic, orthopedic dogs and larger breed, developing pups.
• They even help with cognitive function – beneficial for both our developing and senior pet friends.
A glossy coat is the first sign of a healthy, happy pet.
A beautiful, white smile also means a healthier, more aesthetic looking pet, (not to mention that no one likes to get a greeting from a pet with bad breath!)
Since they can’t brush their teeth like we can, it’s up to us to do it for them. The most ideal way to maintain your pet’s pearly whites would be to start actually brushing their teeth with a toothbrush and paste from the get go. It’s important to note that we cannot use human toothpaste for our furry family friends. Pet stores and veterinarians sell over the counter, pet specific toothpastes in a variety of flavours – poultry and vanilla mint seeming to be the top pick of most dogs and their people. Other options for your best pal’s oral care could be bones or chew toys meant to help encourage chewing and mouth movement.
Choosing a high quality food for your pet with safe additives, such as Sodium tri-polyphosphate, can also help your pet’s teeth to shimmer by binding calcium in the saliva and digesting it in the stomach and utilizing in the body as opposed to having it accumulate in the mouth leaving behind plaque and building up tartar on the teeth. Smaller breed pets are more susceptible to tooth decay as their mouths are more crowded with less room to move and chew, juxtaposed to larger breeds which tend to chew on larger kibble, bones and toys helping to keep their teeth clean.
Simply switching your pets food to a high quality diet with low indigestible proteins (L.I.Ps), Omega fatty acids, fibre and other micro ingredients, like vitamins, minerals and dental additives, is the simplest, most affordable way to maintain a beautiful, and thus overall happy, healthy, long living family friend that will turn heads too!
