The love that we humans get from our animals every day is so healing and so powerful, it softens even the most hardened among us.  Our pets help us through our darkest days and they inspire us to be better humans.

What can we possibly do to repay this incredible gift?  Our job is to do whatever we can to support their health and happiness. To us at Fish & Bone, that translates to  ‘love them from the inside’… nurture their physical and emotional well-being so that they can live their best lives.

Digestive Support

We now know that a healthy gut with diverse flora (a variety of good bacteria) is the heart of our immune system, which keeps us feeling good, and keeps us healthy in face of infection, stress or disease. A healthy gut needs lots and lots of good bacteria and enzymes (which break down protein, fats and carbs into absorbable nutrients).  Start with the best natural diet you can reasonably afford. Visit one of our stores, and we’ll walk you through our aisles and describe all of your options. But let’s say you already have a great base diet. A terrific addition to any processed pet food, and to any change in formulas/rotation, is a good probiotic/enzyme mix…this will have an immediate impact in helping to digest any meal it is added to. When given along with food over time, the benefits multiply.   Also pumpkin is a fantastic addition.  Pumpkin is packed with antioxidants and vitamins, and it has the unique binding properties that help both diarrhea and constipation.  And it’s flavorful, so most animals love it. Keep pumpkin in the pantry in dehydrated form, and just use as much as you need.  Or buy pumpkin by the can, moist and ready to rock the bowl.  Bone broth is dense with nutrients and collagen, which helps heal the lining of the intestines, and dogs and cats love it.  Buy bone broth frozen or shelf-stable and either give it as a treat or as a topper to hydrate a dry or freeze-dried meal. Goat milk is another fantastic digestion-booster as it is rich in enzymes, and tastes like ice cream to your pets.  Get goat milk either frozen or dehydrated and use it as often as you like for a happy healthy gut.

Raw Bones and Brushing

Raw meaty bones have the combination of acidic pH, live enzymes, sinew that acts as floss, and scraping that naturally happens when dogs chew…these factors act together to help remove plaque, inhibit bad bacteria from forming and stimulating the gum line where inflammation often occurs.  Marrow bones contain a lot of fat, so we like to scoop out most of it before giving the bone to our dog as a treat.  Cats enjoy chewing too!  Sinewy chicken wings, necks or backs are perfectly sized for their mouths (dogs can eat them too).  Brushing is the best way to really clean teeth. It doesn’t have to every night, just choose a routine and stick to it.  No matter the age of your pet, start now.  You can get simple starter kits designed for cats, puppies, small to medium dogs or large breeds. Enlist your dog to help in between.  Get a dental toy or ‘diy’ toothbrush, spread it with a peanut butter or poultry toothpaste, and let the chewing (and brushing) begin. But any amount, at any age, is going to have benefits.  Add a plaque-inhibiting powder to the bowl, available for cats and dogs, and try bacteria-reducing water additives, also available for cats and dogs.

Healthy Skin and Coat

Essential fatty acids or EFAs are essential because the body can’t make them, they have to part of the diet. The easiest way to support the skin, provided you’re feeding a healthy base diet, is to add fish oil.  Fish oil is high in long chain omega 3 fatty acids, which go right to the skin cells as well as supporting other organs, like the heart, the eyes and brain. It just doesn’t get much easier…a few squirts on the bowl and your pet will love the taste. Cats love it too.

Pain-free Joints

Cats and dogs can begin to experience joint pain even in their adolescent years. Keeping their weight down is important in order to take stress off their joints. And it will help them live longer. But add a really good joint support supplement, and you will do wonders to ease pain and increase range of mobility.  We love this joint support with green-lipped mussels and curcumin for dogs and cats as a daily topper. Alternate it with Austin & Kat’s more potent version with boswellia and medicinal Reishi mushrooms.  You can also give chrondroitin and glucosamine in the form of joint support treats made with natural seaweed for the best kind of reward…one that will make them feel like a puppy again.

Ease Anxiety

Anxiety is very common in pets, triggered by storms, travel, fireworks, traffic noise, separation, vet visits, changes in their environment like a new pet in the house, or a move to a new home.  Anxiety causes real suffering. But thankfully there are potent natural solutions that work wonders, using plant-based ingredients like valerian, St. Jon’s Wort and tryptophan.  Plan ahead, and give them to your pets well in advance. Our customers’ (and ours as well) favorite solutions are hemp oil-based, but though they are 100% safe and effective, we can only sell them in our brick & mortar stores.  Come see us and our team will walk you through those options.