Viva Pets, the pet food store that cares.

My super-dog husky/malamute cross Kai may be over 12 years old, but she still insists on outrunning my other dog, who’s many years younger than she is. She’s also extremely smart with fantastic eyesight and hearing, with no plans to slow down anytime soon. These properties can all wane with age, so as a pet food industry insider, these are the supplements I add to her raw food meals to help keep her going. (Check out our June post to find out what I feed her.) For her joints, she gets Tri-Acta glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM (just like humans take), Thrive Green Lipped Mussel (also packed with taurine for heart health), North Hound Life turmeric and black pepper (powerful anti-inflammatories), and Nature's Logic powdered bone broth (full of collagen). As a pro tip: I actually portion these powders all into one tub and scoop them onto one meal a day to save myself the time of opening and measuring several different products while my dog is drooling beside me, impatiently awaiting her dinner. Age comes with increased cancer risk, so I use supplements to support right down to her cellular health. To fight oxidative stress, I load up her antioxidant levels with Adored Beast's Vital Defense (a blend of spirulina, chaga mushroom and phytoplankton) and Myco-Biome turkey tail mushroom extract. Chaga mushroom is second only to cocoa as an antioxidant powerhouse, and turkey tail mushroom is not far behind. Spirulina and phytoplankton are also packed with nutrition, are highly digestible, and you only need a pinch to get their benefits. She gets a mix of organic sprouted seeds in her Carna4 Flora4, and her Back2Raw meals include the cancer-fighting champion that is organic broccoli, plus organic blueberries and cranberries for more antioxidant sources and urinary tract support. Dogs do best with a weekly rotation of at least three proteins plus some fish, so I make sure to include salmon and mackerel in her regular meals. Animals can synthesize many nutrients themselves, but essential fatty acids must be added to their diet. For both her brains and her beauty, she regularly wolfs down sardines (either frozen from Big Country Raw or dried from Wild Vibes and Granville Island Pet Treatery) for their incredible omega fatty acid profile. If the thought of supplementing seems daunting, you aren’t sure where to start, or simply need to keep a tight balance of nutrition and financial economy, it’s easy to start simple. Carna4’s Flora4 or Thrive’s Fortify are both great options to start with. Flora4 offers a host of nutrients, enzymes, probiotics, and fibre with their ground sprouted seeds, which is the highlight of their dog and cat dry food lines. Fortify boasts naturally sourced vitamins and minerals, plus apple pectin and digestive enzymes that specifically help to digest proteins, fats and carbohydrates. If you have any other questions or want some recommendations specific to your pet, come by and talk to us! Here at Viva Pets, not only have we studied these supplements, but we also use them with intentionality in our own homes. Much love, Jordan, Kai and Xaler Jordan has over six years of experience in the pet nutrition retail industry, and over ten years of experience raw feeding his rescue dogs. His dogs Kai and Xaler are never happier than when they’re running in deep snow or splashing in the North Saskatchewan.

My rescue dog Kai is a husky/malamute cross and is over 12 years old. She has never broken a bone, torn a ligament, needed an allergy pill or had a tooth extraction. She is a healthy weight, has a luxuriously thick coat, clear eyes, and at her last checkup, the vet referred to her as "an athlete." So what do I feed my senior dog to keep her in her prime? General rule: she never eats the same thing twice in a row. That’s not because she’s picky, but rather I feed her a well-thought-out rotational raw food diet to cover all of her nutritional needs. Chicken, turkey, duck, beef, pork, rabbit, lamb, bison, venison, arctic charr, sardine, salmon… These meats all have varying levels of important amino acids (the building blocks of protein), but also different fat and organ nutrient profiles. Red meats offer high levels of zinc and iron, whereas poultry has lower levels of phosphorus, which is easier on her kidneys, and is often lower in fat. What this means for Kai is that any deficiencies (or abundances!) from one protein will be balanced out by the others over the course of the week. On a more basic level, my little carnivore enjoys the different textures each brand offers, ranging from finely ground to hearty chunks. Each brand will also add different additional components like Artisan Raw Signature blend’s green beef tripe (a great source of manganese, often missing from raw diets), Big Country Raw’s wheatgrass and blueberries (nutritional powerhouses), Nature’s Premium’s elk velvet antler (great for joints), or Healthy Paws’ canine-specific probiotic blend (a healthy gut biome is a healthy immune system). Since she’s happy to eat a variety, there are no issues if a particular product is out of stock or suffers a production shortage. Kai's food freezer is routinely filled with Canadian raw food brands such as Artisan Raw , Healthy Paws, Big Country Raw, Bold By Nature, Back2Raw, Natural Instincts, Nature’s Premium, and Red Dog Blue Kat. I feed her twice a day, and she generally gets an evening treat of a Hero rabbit ear or a Puppy Love air-dried duck wing. Since she is a natural hunter, I often hide her meal or a frozen turkey neck in the backyard and make her sniff it out, fulfilling that instinctual desire. All of these products are available here at Viva Pets, and help to keep my little athlete sprinting through the trees at Buena Vista dog park, just like when she was a puppy! Much love, Jordan and Kai Jordan has over six years of experience in the pet nutrition retail industry and over ten years of experience with raw feeding his rescue dogs. His dogs Kai and Xaler are never happier than when they’re running in deep snow or splashing in the North Saskatchewan.

Most of us LOVE the summer heat! We thrive in it, soaking in the sun and enjoying every minute. Our dogs are the same, with one major difference - they don’t necessarily have the awareness, or the vocabulary, to let us know when they’ve had enough. Dogs are just as susceptible to heat stroke (and sunburn!) as children are, so it’s important to be conscientious when enjoying the hot weather with your pet! Here are a few summer fun tips to help you and your dog make the most of the season: Cold Water Play Spending time in your yard with your dog can be enhanced with some cold water accessory items. A kiddie or splash pool with fresh clean water makes for great fun for dogs to lay in, drink from, and retrieve their toys out of. Rope toys can be soaked in water (or better yet, bone broth for electrolytes) and frozen, and given outside. Much like a toddlers frozen teething toy, these are satisfying, refreshing, and wonderful for teething puppies as well! Cooling Treats Making healthy frozen treats is simple and fun! Use silicone molds and fill them with things like Goat’s Milk, Kefir, Bone Broth, or melted Coconut Oil. Add berries, hemp hearts, watermelon, or other dog safe goodies. You can even use a dog cookie, or a small bully stick as a ‘popsicle stick’ to finish it off! Freeze for a couple hours, pop them out and store in bags or containers in your freezer, and feed them outside for a refreshing and nutritious treat. Your dogs will love them! Cooling Apparel and Skin Protection If you are planning an outdoor adventure in the heat with your dog, there are a few options for ensuring their body temperature stays comfortable throughout the day. Cooling vests and bandanas are a great way for a long lasting cooling effect. They are designed to be soaked in cold water, and worn by your dog, and can be re-wetted throughout the day using a water bottle to ensure they stay cool. The vests will double as sun protection on light/thin coated dogs. There is also dog sunscreen! Dogs with white hair have very pink skin and are susceptible to burning. Light colored noses and ears are also quite vulnerable. Be sure to only use dog appropriate sunscreen, as the human formulas can be toxic to dogs. Aside from the kiddie pools, all of these options can be found in store, at Viva Pets!