What is holistic dog food? When people think of holistic, many of them immediately think of yoga, crystals, and essential oils. While this certainly may be the case in some holistic practices, let’s focus on dogs. Although dogs do have a yoga pose named after them, they’re probably not going to be meditating with crystals or appreciating your essential oil diffuser quite as much as you do. But they can benefit greatly from eating holistic dog food.

Healthy dog food is a foundation for your dog’s longevity and quality of life. Feeding them foods made with real meat is one step you can take, but at Viand Pet, we go the extra mile and farther. Shop our full line of holistic dog food, supplements, and treats today!

Here’s what makes holistic pet food holistic.

Holistic vs. Natural vs. Organic

You likely see these three terms used interchangeably, but there is a difference between each one! Here’s the lowdown:

Holistic Dog Food

As premium dog foods go, holistic foods are balanced to promote the most optimal health possible. This type of food utilizes real meat as opposed to fillers, and is made with high-quality ingredients that have retained their nutritional value as opposed to being processed. You might find that it has other beneficial nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and macronutrients.

Natural Dog Food

Natural dog food can fall under the holistic dog food realm, but not all holistic dog food is all natural. And not all-natural dog food is organic. Have we confused you enough yet? Stay with us. Natural foods for two- and four-legged animals is regulated, and must meet certain criteria. In short, it’s food that is made from ingredients that aren’t processed, and that aren’t made from synthetic chemicals.

Organic Dog Food

Organic dog food is all-natural dog food, but comes with stringent USDA requirements regarding the ingredients and must be certified organic. The ingredients in organic pet products come from companies that must adhere to the strictest standards regarding the way the foods/ingredients are grown and harvested to ensure that no chemicals or synthetic ingredients come into contact.

Now that you have a basic understanding of what these terms mean, let’s go a little more into depth on some of the tenets of holistic dog food.

The Concept of Wellness

Holistic health means whole-body health, and is based on the concept that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. So when a dog has sore hips or a skin allergy, it’s not experiencing whole-body wellness. Holistic dog foods are designed to not only fulfill the nutritional requirements (and stomach) of your pet, but also to make the skin and coat healthy (not just shiny) and the bones strong, to name a few benefits.

Holistic Pet Food Regulations

Here’s the rub: as of right now, there are no federal requirements that govern what holistic dog food must embody. Because of that, any dog food company can say they’re holistic! That’s where it’s your job as a consumer to investigate a company’s claims. When you know more about the food’s ingredients, and how they are meant to help a dog’s whole-body wellness, you’ll know whether or not these claims are true. Also look into the processing of the food and ingredients, read reviews, and get a holistic understanding (see what we did there?) of the company and the food.

At Viand Pet, we’re more than just a label. We’ve spent years researching ingredients, foods, and everything else we needed to know in order to create holistic dog and cat foods for your beloved fur babies. Shop only with us today!