As holistic breeders, we start your puppy off right with a superior holistic puppy food diet. This diet is designed to support your puppy's growth, development, and health, but we don't just tell you what to feed your puppy. We tell you why! This is because we believe it is our responsibility to educate you so that you know how and why to feed your puppy this superior holistic diet. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!" - Benjamin Franklin Remember that superior puppy nutrition is foundational to the optimal health and development of your puppy. It generally costs a lot less in the long-run to feed your puppy a superior holistic puppy food diet and provide a holistic lifestyle than to follow more conventional puppy care. This is because your investment into a holistic puppy food diet and lifestyle dramatically decreases the likelihood that you will need as much vet care for your puppy in the future. On this page, we provide lots of information on how to feed your puppy a well-rounded, wholesome, holistic puppy food diet. We cover core nutritional principles, an overview of the food and supplements we use and recommend, and instructions (& money-saving tips) on how to purchase your puppy's food and supplements. Finally, we lay out several sample diets to help you understand how you can customize your new puppy's holistic puppy food diet for optimal health. To provide bonus support and education, we also supply all our puppy buyers with a Quick Start Guide To Feeding Your Puppy that includes everything covered on this page plus a week-by-week road map for your puppy's diet for the first 6 months so you aren't left trying to figure it out on your own. PLEASE NOTE : If you are not getting a puppy from us, but you would still like to learn how to feed your pet a holistic diet like this, feel free to contact us. We're happy to help.
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As holistic breeders and educators, we strive to achieve the following core nutritional principles with each of our dog's diet. We recommend that you strive to implement these core nutritional principles with your puppy's diet as well.
✓ We strive for 70% - 80% meats and/or raw meaty bones.✓ We strive for 5% - 10% raw organ meats.✓ The remaining 10% - 25% of the diet should include other highly nutritious foods, like fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, etc.✓ We strive to incorporate a significant amount of raw foods into every dog food diet, and encourage puppies be on a raw diet by 6-9 months old.✓ We strive to only use high quality, ethically-sourced natural and clean ingredients.✓ We avoid cheap unhealthy ingredients, such as animal by-products, fillers (wheat, corn, soy), artificial ingredients, food colorings, etc.✓ We select a variety of meats to help prevent the development of meat sensitivities.✓ We strive for a large variety of foods - especially fruits & vegetables - to provide excellent nutritional diversity.✓ We supplement kibble diets with raw, fresh, high-quality oils, but only from companies that provide careful processing to prevent oxidation.✓ We supplement kibble diets with a holistic immune support product to support immune system needs through all life stages.✓ We supplement kibble diets with a holistic raw digestive support product to promote digestive health and overall wellness as a result.✓ We only provide treats, seasonings, & toppiers that provide additional nutritional diversity and health benefits without lots of extra calories. ✓ We select pet food and supplement companies with proven quality and safety records.✓ We select pet food and supplement companies with excellent sourcing and processing practices and policies.
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We start your puppy out on pawTree's Real Chicken & Sweet Potato Recipe as soon as they begin eating. They LOVE it! The Chicken & Sweet Potato Recipe is a delicious meal of chicken, peas, sweet potato, with chickpeas, flaxseed, apples, blueberries, cranberries, pumpkin, papaya, spinach and parsley. This holistic puppy food recipe is a whopping 67% meat, highly-digestible, nutritionally-dense and high in protein, so it is the perfect recipe to use for small puppies as they are transitioning from Mama's milk to solid foods. It is easy on their little tummies, while providing a nice variety of food and superior nutrition to start them out right. Because our puppies are so small, when you first take your puppy home, this bag will probably last about two months.
We start your puppy with pawTree's Freeze-Dried Raw Food Real Beef Recipe as a topper to your puppy's holistic food. This freeze-dried raw food is a whopping 78% beef and organs, highly nutritious, delicious recipe of beef, beef liver, beef hearts, garbanzo beans, sweet potatoes, beef bone broth, kale, apples, blueberries, and pumpkin. This food is freeze-dried gently at low temperatures so as to preserve the nutritional content of each ingredient, and therefore includes extra support for digestive health in the form of live enzymes and other live nutrients. 78% of this recipe is beef and beef organs, so this topper increases the meat and organ content of your puppy's holistic puppy food diet as well as providing additional raw foods with nutritional diversity. With our tiny puppies, this bag will usually last for about 2 months when used as a topper. Please Note: This freeze-dried raw recipe (and/or the Turkey and Chicken varieties) is our #1 recommended food for long-term health for your puppy. We do not start puppies on this as their base diet because their caloric need is so high during their early puppy development that they would have to eat too much. We do provide it as a topper and recommend that you transition your puppy to this as their base food by 6-9 months of age. Because this food preserves so many things (like probiotics), you normally will not need to supplement your puppy at all if this is their ongoing food!
We use a very small amount of pawTree's Wild Alaskan Salmon & Pollock Oil on each meal we feed your puppy because these oils are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for a dog's overall health and well-being. Omega-3 fatty acids help support a healthy coat and skin, reducing itching and promoting a shiny, lustrous coat. They also have anti-inflammatory properties and support heart health, brain health, and cognitive function, promoting optimal brain development in puppies and maintaining mental sharpness in adult dogs. Including salmon and pollock oil in your puppy's holistic puppy food diet is an excellent way to enhance your puppy's overall health and vitality. We intentionally and specifically use pawTree's Wild Alaskan Salmon & Pollock Oil because it is sourced and produced under very strict regulations to ensure its purity, freshness, and safety. Unfortunately, most other fish oil products are not produced under such strict regulations and therefore often oxidize rapidly and can actually lead to health problems instead of preventing them.
We start your puppy on Immunoshroom shortly after weaning. Immunoshroom is a powerful holistic supplement that supports your puppy’s immune system, offers strong antioxidant protection, and ensures optimal cellular function. It features a unique mix of five medicinal and adaptogenic mushroom species, combined with antioxidant-rich ingredients, to deliver comprehensive immune support for your puppy. When your puppy first goes home, he or she is still developing their immune system and this amazing product supports that development into a vibrant, optimally-functioning system. As your puppy grows, the adaptogenic mushrooms provide support by adapting to the current need, so they are an absolutely vital part in supporting your puppy's immune system through all stages of his or her life! Because our puppies are so small, this product will most likely last you about 4 months, but you will need to adjust it as your puppy grows based on your puppy's weight.
Gastro Pro Plus are holistic, natural soft chews that include a comprehensive blend of soil-based probiotics, prebiotics, digestive enzymes, and gut-soothing herbs. These ingredients work together to promote a healthy intestinal flora, enhance the immune system, aid digestion, improve nutrient absorption, and discourage your puppy from eating poop. It is a well-known fact that the immune system has its foundation in the gut. This is because if the gut has problems, proper digestion and absorption can be compromised, causing deficiencies which leave the body without appropriate fuel and nutrients to function optimally. This supplement will usually last at least 4-6 months because our puppies and dogs are such small breeds!
As far as treats, pawTreats are the best you can get. Made from high-quality real ingredients, these treats are minimally-processed, very low in carbs and calories, and high in protein. Our favorites are the Freeze Dried Raw Duck & Mangoes, Freeze Dried Raw Meatballs, and several of the Soft & Chewy treats. The Soft & Chewy treats can even be broken into many small treats for training tiny puppies. Once we switched to these treats, our dogs and puppies no longer want any of the other treats we used to use with them. This is because our dogs can tell the difference and prefer healthier treats, which makes us very happy!
As far as variety, we recommend pawPairings. Packed with superfoods, these great seasonings can be added to kibble or freeze-dried raw to provide variety and extra nutrition. They are super convenient as they do not require any transition time to add them into your puppy's diet. These pawPairings are also amazing for the picky eater. Just add a sprinkle on top of your puppy's food and watch the picky eater suddenly transform into a good eater.
We use and recommend pawTree for most our pet food and supplement needs for many reasons. Please visit Why We Use & Recommend pawTree for more information.
Two to three weeks before Go Home Day, you need to order your puppy's food and supplements so you will be ready as soon as your puppy comes home. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about ordering your puppy's food & supplements. PawTree Login: https://pawtree.com/shalom/account/login Your Login Informaton: As a complementary service to our customers, we create your pawTree account for you ahead of time. With pawTree, we even set up a sample EZ Ship order that includes your required products. Please check your email the Preparing For Your New Puppy Series email about ordering your food and supplements. That email contains your login details. When you first log in, please be sure to change your password. And feel free to reach out if you need assistance with any part of the process.
Several weeks before you bring your puppy home, we will provide you with a Quick-Start Guide To Feeding Your Puppy that will give you all the nitty-gritty details on feeding your puppy the day you bring your puppy home. The Quick-Start Feeding Guide will also provide a Road Map for feeding your puppy for his or her first 6 months of life along with sample diets for life!
There are many different ways for you to provide a superior holistic puppy diet for your puppy's long-term health. Some people prefer to feed an all raw diet, some people like to feed a mixed raw & kibble diet, and some prefer to just feed kibble. Regardless of which approach you prefer, pawTree provides customizable holistic nutrition options to help you achieve your goals. Combined with NuVet Labs supplementation and a holistic lifestyle, pawTree holistic dog foods will help you to give your puppy a fantastic foundation for both long life and good health. Below are a few sample customized holistic dog food diets to help you see just a few of the many possibilities available to you! Remember, you can be creative and mix and match however you like, as long as you are staying within the core holistic dog food principles described at the beginning of this page. You can go directly to the sample diets for each category by clicking on the links below:
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