Love Paws Pet Services

16/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ds4JCnMyJ/

As soon as Ralston Purina developed extruded kibble in the late 1950's, the industry (Big Pet Food teaming up with the US Dept of Agriculture who wanted to shift as much wheat and corn as possible), they knew they had struck gold.

By the early 60's, the Pet Food Institute, the mouthpiece of the pet food industry, began a campaign to get pet owners to feed more ultra-processed products to their pets.

They began funding reports concerning the ‘dangers’ of table scraps for pets.

To quote the chair for the Manufacturers Committee of the National Pet Association at the time "our biggest competitor is still table scraps.".

They had to go.

Rachel Kelly covers the entire move in her Michigan State University masters thesis. Entitled "Feeding the modern dog : an examination of the history of the commercial dog food industry and popular perceptions of canine dietary patterns" it begins:

"The commercial dog food industry in the US has grown significantly over the past century. Fifty years ago, feeding dogs "table scraps" was the norm; however, as dogs went from "pets" to "family members," the dog food industry convinced dog guardians that feeding table scraps was inappropriate. Commercial diets grew in popularity because nutritional science made dog food seem complicated; veterinarians recommended them; effective marketing convinced guardians they were ideal; and socio-economic conditions made purchasing processed dog foods highly acceptable."

No mention of a single study there showing the product's benefit, because it didn't begin with nutritional science or health concerns. The move is supported by little more than aggressive marketing and dogma.

And now, 65 years later, we are still without a single jot of evidence showing the health benefits of high-carb kibble for our beloved meat eaters. There is only evidence to the contrary.

But do you know what does need MORE evidence, according to the RCVS?

Fresh, biologically appropriate food (and table scraps - the very reason they decided to hang out with us in the first place).

Don't forget, the University of Helsinki found that simply adding 20% real food to a bowl of kibble results in significant health gains for your pet. How, if the kibble was better?!!

Let me tell you folks, scraps from your family's dinner table are significantly better than the inedible waste they use to make low-protein, cereal-based, ultra-processed, chemically preserved, crap-fat kibble.

Do not leave their nutritional fate and subsequent health in the hands of the most hated junk food companies on earth.

***
REFS
Anreder, S. S. (1962, January 29). The pet industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Barron's National Business and Financial Weekly, 3, 8, 10, 12-13

Rachel's master's thesis https:// d.lib.msu. edu/etd/1416

Want to learn more about canine nutrition? Check out the top 6 books on the subject (guess whose is at #1...?!)
www.bookauthority. org/books/best-dog-food-and-nutrition-books

Need some hand-holding?! We got you, Check out www.dcbholistic .com. We have all the tools, courses and resources you need to get started!

11/11/2023

Animal lovers dedicated to providing high-quality raw dog food to promote health and vitality.

29/03/2023

22/01/2023

Sounds like the perfect solution... kids itching to walk their new dog + over-stretched parents thrilled that their children are taking responsibility and lightening the workload! What's not to love?

Actually quite a LOT.

I can't tell you how many disappointed faces I see when I try to explain why a child walking a dog ALONE *might NOT be* the best idea for anyone!!?

And I get totally it.

If this is your first family dog, a quick spin around the block may look harmless enough - until you consider ALL of the things that can (and DO) go wrong.

Even (mentally and physically) FULLY-GROWN ADULTS get pulled down to the ground, or dragged over to squirrels, skateboards and the neighborhood cat. They accidentally drop leashes, or watch helplessly as their pup slips their collar. They struggle to control their dog around other dogs, or conversely, they panic or freeze when an off-leash dog comes sprinting full-speed towards them (friendly or not friendly.. who knows? They’ll likely find out when it’s too late!)

And this is ONLY a handful of the things that can happen to GROWN UPS… so for kids the stakes are simply exponentially higher.

As a trainer, I’m pretty calculated about where I go, and when I walk my dogs my radar is always activated. Even still, I’ve personally had to dash after my loose dog, I’ve been bitten by a dog who was attacking mine, I’ve seen a dog run over in a school parking lot, and watched a child be literally dragged for 50ft against her will!

So, I hope by sharing the potential risks with you, you can make informed choices about your family dog walking situation:

Here’s my hotlist of things to consider:

Size - of child and dog
Strength - of child and dog
Maturity - of child and dog
Training - of child and dog
Temperament - of child and dog

Then download, print and share our poster.
THESE are my questions to help families size up the COMBINATION of their dog and child to see whether WALKING ALONE together is a SMART call.

For more info for kids, dogs and making EVERYONE'S life SAFE and HAPPY - go to thefamilydog.com/families

17/11/2022

Worth the read! Well said

08/06/2022

Interesting read, answered some of my questions or atleast gave another perspective.

An evidence based guide to safe exercise in puppies. Narrated by board certified specialist Mike Farrell DipECVS.

02/01/2022

Shendau's mohawk summer cut. This old girl (12yrs) is rocking it and looks super cool. Had too much trouble with the ripgut seed and her fluffy, double coat, so decided to give her a cool haircut instead 😎

01/01/2022

May 2022 be a good year!

30/10/2021

Great article to read, as is the comments.

You have heard of the dark side of raising two puppies together, right?
I hope so.
Be it siblings or different litters.

I am not going to rehash thousands of articles on Google, you can do that yourself. I am going to share my personal experience.

Apart from being a full time behaviourist I also run a small exclusive boarding facility in my home. I am the proud owner of a puppy which overlapped with a clients boarding puppy for two weeks. They were of a similar age.

I honestly don’t know how people manage two puppies together! It was a pain in the ass to put it mildly.

As the days went by, I found myself continuously reducing time together, until eventually walks, sleeping, visual exposure and play was cut out COMPLETELY.

Why did I do this? :
-Play was wild with no thought process going on. “After lots of laughing comes crying”. It was going to end badly!

-Babies are not the best teachers for babies.

-On walks, both pups did little to no exploring and were unable to experience the world at large as they only had eyes for each other. They were blinkered to anything else around them. Leashing up and rotating was not effective.
This is a critical learning period in puppies lives and they were missing out!

-The experienced senior dogs disengaged completely and for the most part, were not interested in getting involved with the delinquent puppy play. The pups were missing out on the valuable lessons adult dogs teach!

-There was no off switch. The puppies would have continued play until they literally fell down exhausted. This is not healthy and had me constantly playing helicopter Mom being the party pooper. Far too much work and irritating at the best of times.

-Splitting the pups with a barrier was not terribly effective either as they continued to play ‘bitey-face’ or chase games along a fence line. I was not going to allow this to happen on my watch. I was responsible for my puppy’s learning as well as that of the boarding puppy.

-Recalls plummeted. It took a lot more effort to engage the puppies and have them acknowledge anything else other than each other.

The main reason the ill-informed push two puppies together is that “they will keep each other company and entertain each other”.
No kidding!!
There is however a lifelong cost to this!
It is the over attachment to each other that inhibits individual learning. Instead of creating individual puppies who reach their full potential, one could argue that puppies growing up together become half of what they could be.

Over the years, I have taken care of sibling dogs for owners. I see the emotional fall out as clear as day. The behaviours may not be irritating or of concern to the owner therefore there is no need to address it. I do ask myself quietly how much better the individual dog may have coped in our world if they were not one of two pups growing up together.

There is often pride and endearment when owners say their pups love each other so much that they can’t be without one another. As life is no fairy tale, I find this very sad, as the extent of trauma, should the second dog need a vet visit or passes away, would be amplified for the dog that remains. This is easily preventable.

It is as simple as having some self-control, a little patience, putting the work into one puppy first so when the second pup arrives the now older dog can assist in raising the new pup.

My personal recommendation is a two-year gap between puppies in pet dog homes.

If you got away with worst case scenario of two puppies fighting when together and panicking when split, you are the lucky ones. Speak to those who didn’t and hear their heartache.

If you are in the market for a puppy and the breeder or welfare organisation push two puppies onto you, ….. run! Say no! Pushing two puppies at the same time is irresponsible – if you experienced this in the past, were you ever informed about the down side? Probably not.

If you are wanting two puppies because you have two children and they each need a puppy; sit down and hear me when I say the puppies will NEVER belong to your children. You as the adult are solely responsible for the puppies – they do not ‘belong’ to the children. Your children can get their own puppies when they move out and are paying rent.

If you are still not ready to hear this advise that is ok. There is no judgement, and I will do all I can to help you make the best of a current situation.

If you have not obtained the puppies yet, I would like to ask “What is the harm in waiting?”
Hindsight is a funny thing.
Is it really worth taking the risk for your emotional benefit?

06/10/2021

Helderberg area but areas like Stellenbosch should also take notice.