It is important to add as much "fresh" as you can to your pet's bowl. Variety is the spice of life and it's important because different foods contain different nutrients. At Odyssey, we always encourage rotation of proteins but you can add nutrition and interest to your pet's bowl with mixers, toppers, and hydrators. Hydrators are important because, according to renowned holistic veterinarian, Dr. Karen Becker, if you feed a dry kibble diet alone, "Your pet is in a constant state of dehydration." Here, we wanted to highlight some of our favorite hydrators: goat milk, bone broth, and kefir.
Goat’s Milk: Raw goat’s milk contains everything from vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, to protein, electrolytes, and fatty acids! Great for dogs and cats, and can even be used as a replacement for milk for kittens and puppies!
-Helps with digestive issues and is packed with prebiotics and probiotics. Plus, raw goat’s milk is so easily digestible, the digestive system requires little to no work & absorbs it within 20 minutes. This also makes it almost 100x’s better than probiotic powders or pills.
-Helps with finicky dogs, as well as dogs that are underweight or malnourished. Raw goat’s milk is extremely palatable and a great source of easily absorbable protein.
-Helps with arthritis or other joint problems. Helps alleviate inflammation, swelling and pain related to joint issues. Can also help speed up tissue repair and improve circulation.
-Helps with allergies. Raw goat’s milk contains high levels of caprylic acid. This acid helps fight yeast that often builds up in response to allergies.
Bone Broth: Scientifically shown to support healthy immune system, restore gut health, reduce joint pain, reduce bone loss, build healthy skin, hair, & nails, and reduce inflammation.
-Extremely easy to digest and provides over 25 easy to absorb vitamins, minerals, and essential & non-essential amino acids.
-Glutathione, found in bone broth, increases the elimination of heavy metals like mercury and lead.
Kefir: Kefir is similar to appearance of yogurt, however contains several major strains of friendly bacteria not commonly found in yogurt. Kefir is a great choice for dogs with digestive issues and helps promote normal function of the liver, kidney, immune, digestive, and nervous systems.
-Provides antibiotic and anti-fungal properties.
-Helps restore balance to digestive tracts after use of antibiotics, kills yeast, and relieves gas, bloating, and heartburn.
-Helps prevent and alleviate allergy symptoms.
-Packed full of many strains natural probiotics, is rich in B complex vitamins, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin K, and biotin as well as calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium.