Curation

• Balanced fresh food is highly recommended due to their high quality ingredients and moisture, low levels of processing and high nutrient retention in their natural forms.
• However, it may not be the most convenient option. Do consider the need to defrost each meal before feeding, as well as the need for freeze space.

• Freeze-dried food is similar to fresh food in terms of quality ingredients and nutrient retention. As there is no heat involved in the production process, it is a great and more convenient alternative to fresh feeding.
• It is recommended to rehydrate freeze-dried food before feeding to increase moisture.
• However, freeze-dried food can be quite costly.

• Air-dried food goes through a process of drying with little to no heat, maintaining decent levels of nutrient retention, and uses high quality ingredients. However, in most cases, nutrients that are not retained are supplemented in the food.
• Air-dried food is great for picky dogs switching to better quality foods as their form is similar to kibbles. Picky or old dogs may find it hard to switch to fresh or freeze-dried food with completely different smells and texture.
• Do take note that not all air-dried food is created equal, hence we've picked out only the best for you.

Dehydrated food is similar to air-dried food. However some heat is involved in the drying process, retaining less heat sensitive nutrients in natural forms. Thus, similar to air-dried foods, supplementation is added to meet nutrient requirements.

• Dry kibbles go through a high heat process called extrusion. High heat can cause several undesirable effects such as protein denaturation. Heat sensitive vitamins and minerals are also destroyed in the process. Thus, these missing nutrients are supplemented in the diet.
• Dry kibbles also require a high amount of carbohydrates to bind the food together, in which some companies take this opportunity to use cheap fillers with low nutritional value to cut costs of production.
• Although kibbles may not be the best nutrition source, we understand that it's the most convenient and what most people are comfortable or used to feeding. This is why we are here to pick out the best for you!

• Known protein sources are of utmost importance to us. Some examples include “lamb”, “beef lung”, “lamb trachea”. Hence, we avoid products in which animal sources are unknown and use unidentifiable by-products. Some examples include “animal by-product”, “animal protein”, “by-product meal”, “meats and derivatives”
• Many food brands that claim to have high protein use cheap plant protein to pump protein levels up in their products. Though plant protein is acceptable for most dogs and cats, we advocate for what is most naturally and biologically appropriate for our fur friends, which can only be found in animal protein. This is because we have to keep in mind that dogs are scavenging carnivores while cats are obligate carnivores.
• However, there are exceptions (such as chronic medical conditions), and we’re not saying that all plant protein is bad. So, some examples of cheap unacceptable (based on our values of feeding biologically appropriate foods) protein sources include “maize gluten”, “maize protein”. Why do companies use plant protein then? The most simple explanation is that plant protein is cheaper and more cost efficient than animal protein.

We avoid brands that use cheap filler and binders as their source of carbohydrates that provide little to no nutritional value to our pets.

It’s important to know what fat sources go into your pet’s food. For example, named fat sources that pass our requirement include “chicken fat”, “beef fat”, “lamb fat” while unnamed fat sources such as “animal fat” are avoided. We are also averse to low quality vegetable fat.

Quality oils are great sources of omega 3 & 6 to our pets. Hence, pet foods that include named fish oils such as “salmon oil”, “cod liver oil”, or quality non-animal oils such as Linseed or flax oil are great examples. On the flipside, bad examples include unnamed fish oils or low quality oils like canola, which provides little nutritional value.

Good quality fibre should come from fresh food sources (i.e. fruits, vegetables, beets) instead of highly processed by-products (i.e. powdered cellulose). On the flip side, poor quality fibres can lead to constipation, loose stools, blocked anal glads and etc.

Products we carry on our marketplace must meet AAFCO, FEDIAF OR NRC nutrient guidelines.

• Examples include Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT), Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA), Ethoxyquin and Propylene Glycol.
• The above additives have been known to cause death and have resulted in many pet food recalls, thus they are avoided at all costs.