Firebrand Boxers

Babies are 4 weeks old! Time flies when you’re having fun and these babies have been a blast!

Here are this week’s accomplishments:
- First time outside
- Nails were done for the third time (they hated it)
- Got bigger digs, started crate introduction
- We’re pooping in the potty box (and peeing in it… sometimes)
- We started turkey (second protein) and egg (third protein)
- We had visitors!
- Some have names!

GCH R&G N Belmar’s Take It to the Max SOM x CH Siglow & Firebrand’s Lightnin Strikes…Maybe Once

Breeders: Jessica Englund & Theresa Mitchell

Pre-made Raw… Does brand matter?

No matter which brand you decide to feed, most brands of pre-made raw are better than feeding kibble.

But did you know that some brands are more processed than others? As with human foods, nutritional value is eroded with any form of processing.

Most manufacturers claim necessity for food safety reasons, but in following proper food safety guidelines, these measures should be unnecessary.

Although the primary base for our raw diet consists of whole chicken backs, we do supplement ground premade raw for novel proteins as the easiest and most economical way to include larger animal protein, offal and bone into our diets.

Below we see examples from two different brands that we have fed at some point during our 25 years of feeding raw. On the left, a product that we no longer feed. The right is what we feed currently—The Butcher’s Hound Lamb & Duck Blend.

The difference between the two is visually obvious… but how? And why do they look so different?

It all comes down to processing, and the driving reason behind our choice to prefer the Butcher’s Hound for our pack today.

Butcher’s Hound does not use…

1: Mechanical separation: Mechanically separated meat (MSM) is a product created by extracting meat from bones using mechanical processes. This method is commonly used for poultry and certain types of pork. The resulting product is a paste-like substance that contains both meat and non-meat tissues.

This process is the one used for many fast food chicken nuggets—yes, including that one. Ba-da-ba-ba-ba!

2: High Pressure Processing (HPP) is a method used in dog food production that applies extremely high pressure to eliminate harmful bacteria without using heat, preserving the food's nutritional value and taste. This process helps ensure the safety of raw dog food by reducing the risk of pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli.

And while they state that HPP preserves the nutritional value (debatable, because we know certain nutrients can become unstable in certain conditions), as with killing of bad bacteria, so goes the good, which are the foundation for a healthy gut biome.

At Firebrand, we prefer to feed as whole as possible. And once I saw the whole chunks of offal and fat and muscle meat in The Butcher’s Hound’s products, the choice was made simple.

This is not a sales pitch—we receive no compensation for making this post. We just like to share products we love! Here are a few more:

https://thebutchershound.com/

https://www.mypetcarnivore.com/

Pure bred does not equal well bred. Of these two heads, one is very correct, the other is not.

Sometimes the difference is easy to see. Other times, the difference is hidden via health or temperament issues.

The best way to avoid all of it? Choose a breeder who…

- Leverages our breed’s standard to improve structure with each generation and competes in AKC’s conformation show ring to ensure they are objectively evaluated.
- Health tests their breeding stock for common conditions in our breed and carefully monitors the longevity reached with each generation of their lines
- Supports overall and general health, including epigenetic health via careful animal husbandry and breeding practices
- Temperament tests all puppies produced by a tested, tried and true testing platform prior to placement in their new homes
- Places puppies according to the jobs they’re best suited and follows through with support and training recommendations through it all

Many question the expense in purchasing a well bred dog. But in the context of the value provided above, this 10-12 year investment is priceless.