I know it’s cheaper and more convenient for the moment to buy whatever is at the grocery store.  But, there are some major consequences.  If you feed cheap, either you are going to be spending a lot of money on vet bills later in life, or your pet will suffer and die young…or both.

On my sixth birthday, I opened a cardboard box to find a 6-week-old spotted kitten inside.  I was ecstatic.  I didn’t have any other pets at the time and I loved animals.  White with spots, naturally I’d call him Domino.  I loved that cat to the core.  I spent more time with him than with my friends.  He is still a huge part of my childhood memories.

My parents and I didn’t know that there could be unhealthy pet foods, so we fed him whatever was cheapest.

By the time he was nine years old, he had begun to get very sick.  My parents didn’t have any money to take him to the vet, so I watched him slowly degress.  He became immaciated, unable to hold any food down and vomitting constantly.  He lost all bowel and bladder control, several teeth, and his coat was dry and coarse.  Every time I looked at him for the next two years I just felt sad. I knew he was going to die.

By that time I had started to learn about the differences in pet foods, but it was too late.  Domino held on until we decided it would be best to have him put down at 11 years old.  I think he had some kind of cancer.

Now that I had known this could have been prevented by feeding him better, I began to feel guilty.  I wouldn’t want another cat for several years, until I got Julius.

I take comfort in knowing that Julius is recieving the best diet that I can provide for him.  I know that he won’t turn out like Domino.

Flint River Ranch’s oven-baked foods are much denser than kibble that has been extruded.  Each kibble is so tightly packed with highly digestible nutrients that you will feed about 25% less than a different kibble.

For instance, on a regular kibble from the store, my two large dogs were eating 4 cups a day each.  On Flint River Ranch, they only need 2 1/2 cups a day each.  That’s it!  1 1/2 cups less per day than the old kibble, saving me a lot of money.  And this is not starving them, they are very satisfied because the food is very filling.

Even if you are feeding a cheap commercial kibble you can save money feeding Flint River.  Flint River does ask that you reduce the amount when switching to their food as they do not want your pets to become overweight.

Astonishingly, compared with what I was feeding before I discovered Flint River (a high quality extruded kibble from the store), I’m saving over a hundred dollars a month. No joke.

You can’t get it in the pet store, but, you don’t pay extra for shipping.  And, it usually arrives in 2-3 business days.  Click the link at the top left to order or find out more.  Leave a comment to ask about free samples.

Flint River Ranch original kibble is formulated for puppies and adults.  It does contain whole wheat flour and ground wheat.  Wheat is highly digestible and very nutritious, but some dogs are allergic to it.

This food has four different types of protein including lamb meal, chicken meal, fish meal, and dried egg.  It includes dried kelp, one of the healthiest plants on earth.  It has naturally chelated minerals, 25 vitamins and chloryphill.

This food comes in the regular nugget, or in their famous “broken cookie” kibble.  It looks like a bunch of biscuits broken up and dogs love it.  (But it’s not as many calories as biscuits)

This formula is also formulated for dogs with food-sensitive allergies.  Lamb is a super healthy red meat for dogs.  Millet is one of the best grains around.  They also use ground whole rice as well as the rice bran.  Using different components of one grain is the best way to do it.  This food has garlic in it which is packed with nutrients and a good flea buster.

You can view the full list of ingredients on the Flint River Ranch website.  There’s a link on the side of this page.

Flint River Ranch’s Fish ‘n’ Chips dry dog food formula is nutritionally balanced for all life stages.  This means that it has enough protein and carbohydrates for puppies and seniors.

Fish is the absolute best thing that you can do for a dog’s skin and coat.  It’s packed with omega-3 fatty acids and is the leanest meat.  This formula is also perfect for dogs with allergies.  It has no wheat, chicken, or beef.  Bucket used to have severe hot spots and we couldn’t figure out why.  When I learned about how dogs can have skin allergies, I put him on this food, and the hot spots disappeared.

This formula uses three types of fish.  Trout as the number one ingredient, herring, and menhaden.

A few of the other ingredients include oatmeal, oat gran and oats which are great for sensitive stomachs being gluten-free and highly digestible.

Alfalfa meal is a good carbohydrate that aids in digestion and cleanses the circulatory system.

Grape seed oil is said to be the most powerful antioxidant source known to man.  It can protect cells from damage and promote good circulation.

Blueberries and cranberries are important super foods.  High in cancer fighting vitamins in minerals, and known to help prevent or fight infection.

Potato of course is a good carb that is high in potassium.

Dogs love the taste of sweet potato and it is also high in vitamins, minerals, calcium and fiber.

Flint River Ranch twice oven bakes all of their dry dog foods and treats.  This is done under carefully controlled conditions.  If a product doesn’t meat the standards, it is destroyed.  Although it is more expensive than the regular extrusion process, the finished product will be more pallatable, more digestible, and overall more natural and healthful.  Because of this, they do not need to spray on flavorings, fats, or unnatural vitamins on the outside of the kibble.

Also, they do not need to add chemical preservatives such as BHA or BHT or Ethoxyquin.  Ethoxyquin is suspected of causing cancer.  BHA and BHT are known to cause liver and kidney disfunction.  They use vitamin E, or tocopherols as a natural preservative that works for up to a year with oven-baking process.

Tocopherols is also a great antioxidant.  Antioxidants slow the oxidation of other vitamins in the food.  So, while this natural preservative works for 12 months, the food itself is baked and sent to a customer within one month.

Oven-baking takes hard to digest starches (such as those in potato) and turns them into dextrins, which are immediately absorbed into the animal’s system.  Baking acts as a “pre-digest” which makes the nutrients more readily usable to the animal’s digestive system.

The cat food is extruded and then oven baked once, because the higher meat and fat content is extremely difficult to bake completely.  Also, the shape of the kibble is very important to a cat and the pointy-edged shape can only be obtained through extrusion.  Still, there is nothing sprayed on the outside and no chemical preservatives.  It has proven to be extremely desirable even for the pickiest cats.

Overall, the oven-baking process has proven to be the highest quality of making dry pet foods.  It creates the most highly digestible and most pallatable of any dry food on the market.  I greatly appreciate that Flint River Ranch does not decide to take the cheaper route, but goes for quality because that’s what they believe in.

Ingredients-

• 2 whole chickens, de-skinned and de-boned
• 2 jars of vegetable baby food (get one with no onion powder)
• 3 jars of chicken or turkey baby food
• 7 tablespoons canola oil
• 7 tablespoons flax oil
• 7 tablespoons fish oil
• 6 rounded tablespoons human-grade bone meal powder
• 1 6.5 ounce can of minced clams with juice
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Directions-

Boil and chop chicken and mix with all ingredients.  All you need to do now is freeze it.  Thaw in hot water when ready to serve.

Ingredients-

• 1 chicken liver, chopped
• 1 chicken heart, chopped
• 1 chicken neck, chopped
• 1 chicken giblet, chopped
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Directions-

Combine chicken heart, neck, liver and giblet with parsley.  Add water and broth.  Cover and simmer until the giblet is tender.  Grind in a food processor or blender for the cat’s small mouth.  This recipe can be used for dogs as well and then does not need to be ground.

Ingredients-

• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup dry milk
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 3 1/2 ounces mashed and deboned mackerel, either canned or freshly cooked

Directions-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine dry milk and wheat germ.  Drizzle honey over mixture.

Add mashed and de-boned mackerel, mix well.  Form mixture into balls and place on an oiled cookie sheet.  Flatten.

Bake 8-10 minutes.  Should be refridgerated.

The texture should be squishy like fudge.

Ingredients-

• 1 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup flax seeds
• 2/3 cup Brewer’s yeast
• 1 cup shredded cheese of any kind
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 2 cups oat flour
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 eggs

Directions-

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease 2 cookie sheets with vegetable oil.  Combine oats, flax seeds, Brewer’s yeast, cheese, rice flour, and oat bran flour in a large bowl.  Wisk together chicken broth and eggs and mis with oat mixture.  Dough should be stiff.

Roll into 1 inch balls, then flatten.  Or, flatten all dough together and use cookie cutters.  Place on cookie sheets 3/4 inch apart.  Bake until edges are golden brown, or 40-45 minutes.