When I first brought home my dog Max, I never thought he would change my life in the ways that he has. From hearing him scramble to the door to happily greet me every time I come home, to picking up poop, there’s really never a dull moment. Every day is a new adventure with him. Max has helped me learn more about myself than I ever thought possible.
Like many dog owners, I want Max to enjoy a happy and healthy life for as long as possible. For years I thought I was achieving that with the dog food I bought at the supermarket. That was until I learned a little more about the pet food industry and how processed dog food is likely taking years off of our dog’s lives.
I decided to change up what Max was eating every day. He’s a smaller breed, which means he needs a good bit of food to fuel his daily activities. Before the change, I was feeding him Acana Grain-Free Diet food. I had no choice but to make a switch after I learned that the FDA named it as one of 16 dog foods that are linked to canine heart disease.
When I first read that news, my heart immediately sunk. There’s nothing worse than learning the seemingly harmless food you’ve been feeding your dog every single day might actually be damaging their health. These types of pet food recalls are more common than you might think thanks to Canada’s relaxed regulations on the pet food industry. The recalls are usually due to major companies trying to save money by using cheap ingredients from China and shelf-extending preservatives.
The more I learned, the more I realized that switching up Max’s diet was a necessity. Luckily, I came across the local Canadian dog food brand, Kabo, that Gobi the Creampuff was reviewing on Instagram.
According to Kabo they offer “fresh, healthy, human-grade dog food” that is delivered right to your door. After reaching out to them to learn more, I was put in touch with a veterinary nutritionist that helped explain the changes I would see in Max with his new diet. I was told that I could expect to see things like better digestion, healthier stool, a shinier coat and improved energy levels.
I was really intrigued by the founder’s story, who created the company after his dog, Kabo, unexpectedly passed away from stomach cancer just 3 years after adopting her. This led him to spend months researching what exactly happened to Kabo and why.
He discovered that one in every two dogs will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and that their diet is usually the main culprit. The pet food industry is simply not strict enough with regulating major manufacturers, which has allowed them to include life-shortening ingredients such as corn starch fillers and synthetic preservatives in our dog’s food.
When I opened up the package of food from Kabo I was instantly impressed. Instead of dried-up balls of who knows what, the food was fresh and portioned out for each day. I could literally see all of the different natural ingredients making up the food.
During the first 14 days of feeding Max a diet consisting primarily of Kabo food, I noticed some important changes.
After the first week, I saw that Max seemed to be having what appeared to be healthier stools. I wouldn’t consider myself an expert in dog poop, but I definitely noticed that Max’s stool had a healthier consistency and was browner instead of the hardened greenish stool that I often saw while he was eating the dry food. On top of that, I started to notice that he was drinking much less water throughout the day because of the higher moisture content in the fresh food. Max also appeared to have a lot more energy than usual, and I even noticed that his coat seemed to have an extra bit of shine.
To me, the concept of feeding your dog a higher quality food to help them stay healthier and extend their lifespans really makes a lot of sense. I’m extremely excited about Kabo thanks to the true quality of the product and the ease of receiving it via delivery.
The peace of mind I get by feeding Max this type of food is worth every penny. Hopefully Canada will start to pay more attention to the pet food industry and its shady manufacturing practices. Until then, I think I’ll stick to feeding Kabo’s fresh dog food.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT KABO
