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Answers
to Frequently Asked Questions
Please select
one of the following questions to see the answers below.
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2.
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How
is Home Made 4 Life packaged? (back
to the top)
Home Made 4 Life is packaged in food grade packages available
in two sizes for dogs: one pound and three pounds. For cats and
ferrets, Home Made 4 Life pet food is packaged in a half pound package.
For more details, please consult either Pets
4 Life (Ontario, Canada) or
Aunt
Jeni's Home Made (Maryland,
U.S.A) web sites.
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3.
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How
much will my dog, cat, or ferret eat? (back
to the top)
We generally recommend starting with 1/2 pound of food per
25 lbs of body weight daily. This is a general rule. Each pet is
individual and may require more or less food depending on the level
of activity, gender, age, breed, etc. You are the best judge of
your own pet's needs and it may take some time to get a feel for
it, but use the 1/2 pound per 25 pound of body weight per day rule
as a starting point. See chart
for more detail.
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4.
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I
have a ferret is this food ok for her? (back
to the top)
Yes, a ferret is a carnivore too. Home Made 4 Life is made
for carnivores. Our Nutritionists have done extensive research to
make sure that Home Made 4 Life fulfills a ferret's nutritional
requirements.
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5.
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Do
I need to supplement Home Made 4 Life? (back
to the top)
Home Made 4 Life is a complete and healthy meal. It has
been carefully formulated to provide total nutrition for your pet.
However, our nutritionists
still recommend supplementing any diet because the quality of food
is no longer what it used to be years ago. Our land is not as fertile
as it used to be. Over-farming the land has taken vital nutrients
from the soil. Also, the weather elements (wind, severe rains, flooding,
etc.) have taken their toll as well. As a result, today's food supply
is less nutritious. Therefore, we highly recommend supplementation
of Home Made 4 Life with a good vitamin/mineral mix. We also recommend
digestive enzymes and probiotics for the first couple of weeks while
your pet is becoming accustomed to his/her new Home Made 4 Life
diet. If you need further details, please email
us.
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6.
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Is
it safe to feed Home Made 4 Life raw? (back
to the top)
It is very safe to feed Home Made 4 Life raw. During their
pre-domesticated years, carnivores in the wild ate the flesh of
prey animals infected with parasites and viruses. They lived and
prospered on a RAW diet. A raw diet provides enzymes necessary for
complete, proper digestion and absorption to occur. We have gone
one step further to ensure that the raw ingredients used in Home
Made 4 Life are safe for your pet, by adding Grapefruit Seed Extract
(GSE) to the diet. GSE is an anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial,
anti-viral agent. It kills unwanted pathogens on contact. It is
safe for your pet to consume, and is used in very low concentrations.
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7.
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Is
there anything in particular that I should be watching for after
I feed Home Made 4 Life to my pet? (back
to the top)
As long as the transitional phase is followed carefully,
there should be no problems. Some pets develop diarrhea as a result
of being fed food that they are not used too. Diarrhea can occur
because the body is trying to adapt to the new diet, which requires
new digestive enzymes (or rather the unused Digestive Enzymes are
called to work again). Diarrhea can also occur because the body
is ridding itself of toxins. There may be toxins built up in your
pet's body from poor health, diet and/or drug treatments or even
routine vaccinations. While it may take from 2 weeks to 1 month
for an ill pet to become accustomed to the Home Made 4 Life diet,
for healthy pets there is generally no problem at all.
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8.
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What
if my pet won't eat Home Made 4 Life? (back
to the top)
So far this has never been a problem! Make sure that you
mix the diet well with your pet's previous diet. Gradually switch
him/her over to the new diet. Some professionals recommend that
you fast your pet for a day or two prior to feeding a new diet.
We recommend this method ONLY IF your pet is healthy. Usually
pets will eat anything after a day or two of fasting. Does your
pet have a favourite food? You may mix some of it into the Home
Made 4 Life diet. Most pets eat Home Made 4 Life without thinking
twice, but sometimes we encounter a finicky eater like a cat or
ferret! If you need help convincing your pet to eat Home Made 4
Life, please email
us.
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9.
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There
are bones in this food. My veterinarian has always told me not to
feed bones to my pet. (back
to the top)
It
is fine to feed raw bones to carnivores. Raw bones provide a perfect
ratio of Calcium to Phosphorus, as well as trace minerals. Supervision
is always in order when your pet is enjoying a good chew on his/her
bone. COOKED bones should NEVER be fed. Cooked bones can
splinter and can be very dangerous to any animal. The bones in Home
Made 4 Life are raw and ground into fine pieces. They are very safe!
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10.
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Why
is the food all ground up? (back
to the top)
Home Made 4 Life is manufactured to increase digestibility
and bioavailability of its ingredients. Carnivores do not have the
proper enzymes to break down and digest the plant cell walls found
in vegetables.
Home
Made 4 Life uses finely ground vegetables to ensure that pets will
be able to obtain optimum nutrition. By mixing all the ingredients
into ground meat we ensure that pets cannot pick out and reject
certain ingredients from the Home Made 4 Life diet.
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11.
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I
have heard that too much broccoli and cabbage can be bad for dogs,
why does Home Made 4 Life have both of these vegetables in it? (back
to the top)
One of the goals of the Home Made 4 Life diet is to provide
variety. The more vegetables your pet eats the more nutrients he
or she receives. Each of our ingredients, including each vegetable,
was selected based on its unique merrits and health benefits. For
example, cabbage is the only vegetable that provides Vitamin E.
Broccoli is extremely high in vitamin C. Many of the cruciferous
family of vegetables, including broccoli and cabbage, are highly
touted for their anti-cancer characteristics. If your pet ate only
broccoli and/or cabbage day in and day out, there might possibly
be cause for worry, but the levels of these two ingredients in the
overall recipe for Home Made 4 Life are not nearly high enough to
give cause for concern.
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12.
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Are
raw eggs safe to feed dogs and cats? (back
to the top)
A diet would have to be incredibly biotin deficient (which
some kibbles are) in order for the dog to suffer a biotin deficiency
from eating raw eggs. The beauty of feeding the *whole* egg is that
the biotin in the yolk more than makes up for the avidin in the
white. Not only that but biotin can be found in meat, organ meat,
and other whole foods. Thus a Home Made 4 Life diet will never be
deficient in biotin because of the varied ingredients.
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14.
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Why
are the protein values so low in the Guaranteed Analysis of your
food? (back
to the top)
The
values in fresh foods are much lower than what you see on bags of
kibble, due to the water content of fresh foods. Kibble contains
10% water (on the average) while Home Made 4 Life and most canned
foods contain more like 75% water. So you can think of it this way--the
values are literally "watered down" or diluted. In order to make
a fair comparison between diets that vary in moisture content, we
use what is referred to as DM or Dry Matter. If we convert everything
to a Dry Matter Basis (DMB) it eliminates any differences due to
water content. In order to do this, we need to know the % moisture
in the food, hence its appearance on the Guaranteed Analysis (GA).
An example would be, if the moisture is 75% that means the DM is
25% (100 - 75 = 25). In order to determine what the protein content
is on a DMB we do this calculation: 11/25 x 100 = 44%
Now
before you panic and think the protein level is way too high, yes
it is much higher than any kibble. However, remember you really
cannot compare kibble to fresh, real foods. The proteins in fresh
foods are much more bioavailable (readily assimilated by the body)
and a much higher quality. They are not altered by high heat processing,
which changes the amino acid structure and ends up making the whole
thing a lot harder to digest. Your dogs will not be getting "too
much" protein by eating fresh foods, I promise! Mother Nature has
designed the body to be able to pick and choose what it needs from
the foods it is given, as long as those food are fresh and real
(not cooked and processed into kibble). The rest is excreted, and
all of this happens with much less stress on the digestive system
than processed foods.
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15.
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There
seems to be a lot of "sweet" ingredients in your food, like carrots,
sweet potatoes, apples, honey. Is it too sweet for pets? (back
to the top)
No, Home Made 4 Life is not "too sweet" for pets. Each ingredient
contributes unique properties that complement those of the other
ingredients in our recipe. The pectin in the apples binds up the
excess sugars and soluble fiber and takes them out as waste product
(stool). The carrots and sweet potatoes add lots of vitamin A and
fiber. Honey, the most obviously "sweet" of the ingredients we use,
is used in very small proportions in Home Made 4 Life. Honey is
made up of 35% protein & contains half of all the necessary
amino acids. It is a highly concentrated source of many essential
nutrients, including some minerals (Iron, Copper, Manganese, Silica,
Chlorine, Calcium, Potassium, Sodium, Phosphorus, Aluminum and Magnesium),
B complex, and C, D, and E. It promotes healing and energy. Honey
also inhibits bacterial growth, and as a natural sugar is much safer
than refined sugars or sugar substitutes. Because it has not been
processed or altered in chemical composition, the body can process
a natural sugar more easily than other types. If you would like
to read more informaton about the importance of honey, please view
Pets 4 Life's article
pages.
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16.
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Is
there a Retail Store near me to buy Home Made 4 Life? (back
to the top)
Home Made 4 Life is sold in retail stores across Canada
and the United States. Please contact
us either by email or phone to find a retailer near you.
If you are a Retailer or know of a Retailer who may be interested
in selling Home Made 4 Life pet food, please email
us.
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17.
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How
much do I feed my puppy or kitten?(back
to the top)
Home Made 4 Life is very nutritious for growing puppies
and kittens. Puppies and kittens need more food than adults to fulfill
their nutritional requirements. Dr. Ian Billinghurst (Grow Your
Pups with Bones) suggests feeding pups and kitten up to 10% of their
body weight. Thus, if your pup weighs 10 lbs you should feed 1 lb
of food. We generally recommend that you split this amount of food
into 3 to 4 feedings per day. Growing pups and kittens should be
kept on the lean side. "Roly poly," while adorable, is not healthy.
Please watch your pet closely. If s/he gains too much weight, decrease
the amount of food given; if s/he should lose weight, increase the
amount of food given. Remember each animal is an individual, and
the amount of food required daily can vary tremendously, even among
litter mates.
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18.
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I
have a pet that needs lower protein. Can I feed Home Made 4 Life
pet food? (back
to the top)
By all means, please feed Home Made 4 Life pet food. The
amount of protein in this diet may be higher than that listed on
the Guaranteed Analysis of kibble diets, but what you see is not
what you get. The quality of protein in Home Made 4 Life pet food
makes it much easier for your pet to digest and process than commercial
kibbles. Home Made 4 Life is more bio-available, providing better
absorption and assimilation. Therefore, your pet's kidneys, liver
and other organs do not have to work overtime to process and extract
nutrients from the "food" they receive. Many times, it is the additives,
dyes, preservatives and other non-nutrient ingredients in pet food
that are the culprits of poor health in our pets. Feeding Home Made
4 Life to your special needs pet could be one of the best things
you do for him/her.
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19.
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Home
Made 4 Life pet food is more expensive than other pet foods on the
market. Why? (back
to the top)
Actually, Home Made 4 Life may be *less* expensive than
a premium brand kibble. The ingredients found in Home Made 4 Life
are fresh, high-quality, wholesome, human-grade, and pure. Other
raw food diets on the market do not contain the variety of ingredients
that go into Home Made 4 Life. There is no need to buy additional,
expensive bottles and jars of fancy supplements that you may see
as part of a package deal with other raw food diets. When you choose
Home Made 4 Life, you will save on vet bills because your pet will
be eating good quality food which promotes wellness. A fresh-foods
diet is highly bioavailable, which translates into getting more
for your money.
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20.
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How
long can I keep Home Made 4 Life in my freezer? What about after
it thaws, how long will it last in my refrigerator? (back
to the top)
Home Made 4 Life is made of human-quality ingredients, so
treat it just like you would treat food purchased for your own consumption.
The freezer life is up to a full year, while the thawed product
should last at least 4 days in your refrigerator.
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21.
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I
want the best for my pet. Why isn't your food organic? (back
to the top)
Most people are under the assumption that anything "organic"
is superior. This is a nice ideal, and certainly organic products
may indeed taste better and be healthier for us. However, you might
be surprised to learn that many "certified organic" foods still
contain "acceptable" levels of pesticides and chemicals. "Naturally
raised" livestock may still be fed non-organic feeds, or be given
"acceptable" drugs or hormones.
Common
sense would suggest that as long as each and every ingredient used
is "certified organic" then the final product would also fall into
the same category. However, there is no rule on this for pet food!
This means that a pet food manufacturer might use one or two organic
items out of several in a recipe, and still be able to call the
finished product an organic one. The consumer can't tell, and the
manufacturer is not doing anything illegal. Home Made 4 Life does
not play word games. We don't make false claims. We do try to use
as many organic items as we can in each batch of food we process,
but we can't promise to be 100% organic without dramatically increasing
our price.
The
majority of us do not seek out organic foods for ourselves and our
families to eat. When it comes to feeding our pets, the emphasis
should be on fresh, high-quality ingredients. Organic is nice, but
not necessary. Meats and vegetables that are sold for human consumption
are far superior to the ingredients contained in most commercially
produced pet foods.
Switching
your pet to a diet such as Home Made 4 Life, comprised of fresh,
raw, human-grade meats and vegetables, will provide a multitude
of health benefits, regardless of whether or not the individual
ingredients are "certified organic."
To
read more about organic standards in the US, please view this article
and its related links: Organic
Foods -- What's the Fuss?
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| 22. |
I
heard cats need taurine. Does Home Made 4 Life have enough taurine
for cats? (back
to the top)
You are correct that cats need taurine in their diet. Taurine
is an amino acid, and is found in meat, particularly in heart muscle.
It is destroyed by cooking, which is why commercial cat foods must
make a point out of adding back in a synthetic source to their product.
If you feed real, fresh, raw meats to cats, you have no worries about
taurine. |
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23.
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Do
add water to Home Made 4 Life diets?(back
to the top)
I want to assure you we DO NOT add water
to our products at all. It is the vegetables that are used that
are the culprit. Celery is composed of a lot of water. Greens are
comprised mostly of water with essential nutrients. The lamb and
chicken recipes contain more starchy veggies which will retain or
soak up the water. The beef and rabbit veggies contain mostly water
and when we are manufacturing a lot of water is lost but there still
is some retention. The veggies in the beef and rabbit are not firm
veggies if we think about it compared to the chicken and lamb. In
chicken and lamb, we have carrots, sweet potatoes, cabbage and broccoli.
All these veggies are very bulky. In beef and rabbit, we have celery,
greens and squash. The squash has the most bulk but still very juicy.
We have chosen these veggies to give pets variety. As well, I feel
the rabbit recipe may be one of our most nutritious based on the
ingredients given. Rabbit is high in essential fatty acids and the
veggies are full of healthy nutrients (b-complex, vitamin c, vitamin
a, etc.) The beef is the worst for holding water due to having a
higher fat content. The higher the fat content the more water retention.
However, we want most of this veggie liquid still in the product
as to not lose the nutrients. All in all, we are trying to do the
very best for the pets based on producing a nutritious product.
As a feeder of Home Made 4 Life to my own pets, the lamb and chicken
contains no liquid when thawed. The beef and rabbit contains liquid
when thawed (beef the most). However, based on the above information
it has never been a concern with me.
Variety
is very important when feeding your pet. Each food ingredient contains
different nutrients and by feeding variety we are ensuring your
pet receives the best nutrition possible.
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