Taste of the Wild

Can I feed this food to my large breed puppy?

Yes. All of the Taste of the Wild formulas meet the nutritional needs for growing puppies. Large breed puppies should be fed a little differently than small or medium breed puppies in order to control their growth rate. Overfeeding calories can lead to rapid growth, which puts stress on the developing bones and joints. It is important to keep your large breed puppy in lean body condition - ask your vet how to determine whether your puppy is lean or too heavy. You may have to adjust the feeding amount up or down from what is indicated on the package, the package just provides an estimate of the amount to feed and every puppy is a bit different.

Top of page

Can I feed any of these foods to my puppy or kitten?

Yes! All three canine formulas and the feline formula are formulated to meet the needs for all life stages. This means they can be fed to growing puppies or kittens, pregnant or nursing dogs or cats and adult pets. Follow the recommended feeding guidelines on the package and adjust up or down as needed to maintain your pet in an ideal, lean body condition.

Top of page

Should I expect stool changes when feeding Taste of the Wild?

Any time you change the diet that you are feeding to your pet there is a possibility for changes in the quality or character of the stools. This is especially true if the new diet is very different from the previous diet that was being fed.

When making a diet change, it is best to do so very gradually. This means that the first time you feed the new food, it should make up only 25% of the ration that is being fed that day. So, if your dog eats 1 cup of food two times daily, feed 1/4 cup of the Taste of the Wild mixed with 3/4 cup of the previous diet. Do this for 2-3 days. If the stools are firm, increase the Taste of the Wild to half of the daily ration for another 2-3 days. If the stools are still firm at this point, increase the Taste of the Wild to 3/4 of the daily ration for another 2-3 days. Finally, feed only the Taste of the Wild.

Dogs are similar to people in regards to the population of bacteria that live within their digestive systems. Because of this, digestive upset caused by a diet change can sometimes be prevented by mixing some non-fat plain yogurt in with your dog's food each day during the transition. The live cultures within the yogurt will help balance the flora within the digestive system and minimize flatulence or loose stools that are sometimes associated with a diet change.

We certainly expect that the stool quality is equivalent if not improved with a switch to the Taste of the Wild, and while this may be true in most cases, there will be some dogs who simply do not tolerate this recipe. This may be because of an intolerance to a particular ingredient or even an allergy to a particular ingredient. Symptoms of a dietary intolerance include larger stools than normal, foul smelling stools, diarrhea, vomiting the food back up and even skin problems. If your dog suffers from an apparent intolerance after a gradual transition, it would be wise to try a different recipe with different protein sources.

Top of page

Isn't the protein in these foods too high for my dog?

Absolutely not! There is not any reason to be fearful of higher protein levels in pet foods unless your pet is suffering from very specific kidney or liver diseases. Quality protein actually provides the necessary amino acids for your pet to remain a healthy, lean body condition. Muscles use amino acids as building blocks. When dogs are overfed, they become overweight, just like people. Providing protein that your dog can use to maintain lean body mass will help keep him lean and healthy. You can still overfeed these foods, so if your dog is gaining weight, make sure to reduce the amount that you are feeding.

There is a myth that high protein causes allergies. This is absolutely not true. Proteins themselves are the components of foods that pets may be allergic to. If a pet has a mild allergy to a particular ingredient, it would make sense that the allergy symptoms would become worse when the pet is exposed to higher levels of this ingredient. It is not the protein itself that is the problem, but the specific type of protein.

Top of page

Where are your foods made?

We have three manufacturing facilities, all located in the United States. One is located in California, one in Missouri and one in South Carolina.

Top of page

Are your fresh meats hormone and antibiotic free?

Yes. All of our meats are purchased from food grade suppliers and are certified hormone and antibiotic free.

Top of page

Do you use any chemical preservatives?

Chemicals are not used to preserve any of our formulas. We use mixed tocopherols (vitamin E) to preserve the chicken fat in our pet foods. Added ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and rosemary extract in some of the formulas also have preservative effects.

Top of page

I heard salmon is bad for dogs. Why do you use it in your foods?

There is a parasite that lives in the bodies of some salmon, mostly in the Northwestern United States. Dogs that eat raw salmon can become extremely ill if exposed to this parasite. The salmon that we use is safe for two reasons: the first is that it comes from Alaska, where the parasite is less likely to be found. The second, and more important, reason is that our pet foods are cooked. Cooking destroys the parasite and protects your dog from this serious illness.

Top of page

My cat has bladder problems. Do you have a diet for this?

We do not manufacture any prescription formulas for the treatment of urinary tract disease in cats. All of our adult cat formulas are designed to maintain a urine pH of 6.1-6.4. This is adequate to prevent struvite crystals from forming. In most cases, this is also appropriate to help prevent calcium oxalate stones, but some cats may need a diet that produces a higher urine pH, such as a senior cat formula.

Feeding a canned product is thought to help prevent stone formation by increasing the total water intake and thus diluting the urine. Cats normally have concentrated urine and diluting it seems to help prevent urinary tract problems. Also, cats with chronic urinary tract problems seem to have an excessive response to stress. Any stress in their environment can trigger a flare-up of bladder trouble. Sometimes even a diet change (even when switching to an appropriate diet) can trigger the development of a problem.

Any cat with a history of medical problems such as bladder stones should have a thorough check-up and a nutritional consult with his veterinarian. If changing diets, switch very gradually (2-4 weeks) to help prevent a problem.

Top of page