Freeze Dried Dog Food - FAQ's

Natures Advantage is the freeze dried product of choice at BellasPainRelief.com!

Freeze dried dog food is a foreign concept to many dog owners. What exactly is it? Is freeze dried raw dog food good for my pet? We will answer these and other questions about the terrific healthy benefits of switching your pet over to a freeze dried pet food product.

Q1. What is the freeze-drying process and the advantages of processing the food this way?

Q2. Is this concept of feeding raw meat to dogs and cats a new philosophy?

Q3. Why can’t I make my own meat diet?

Q4. Is this concept of feeding raw meat to dogs and cats a new philosophy?

Q5. Why does this diet seem to be lower in protein and fat compared to dry food?

Q6. Will mixing dry kibble dog food with AFS Meat Diets be harmful?

Q7. Why is there such a difference in the stools on AFS Diets?

Q8. Why do some animals apparently do fine on commercial dry and canned food, and yet others do so poorly?

Q9. Can dogs and cats get worms or diseases from eating raw meat diets?

Q10. AFS claims that the an all meat diet may reduce bloat – why?

Q11. Is organic beef used in the product?

Q12. What does “4-D meats” mean and does AFS use them?

Q13. How do I start my dog on Nature's Advantage Freeze Dried Raw Dog food?

Q14. Does Nature's Advantage products cost more to feed than traditional foods?

Freeze-drying, though considerably higher in cost, is the only way to preserve meat without chemicals, irradiation, or heat damage to nutrition. It is yet another example of Nature's Advantage commitment to nutritional excellence.

A2. The concept of feeding dogs and cats on raw meat goes back into history. Unfortunately, when the domestic pet trade grew so rapidly the past few decades, most pet food manufacturers opted to go with the convenient methods of manufacturing, transportation and storage. Their emphasis was obviously more on satisfying their own interests and their customers’ convenience and less on the nutritional needs of the animals. Products made by AFS take the opposite approach and commit to nutritional excellence, and accepts the challenge to manufacture, distribute, and store a raw meat diet.

A3. You can! However, if it’s not done with the proper balance of nutrition, you could do more harm than good. The products we carry by AFS have over forty years of combined experience feeding meat diets to the world’s most expensive, exotic and endangered species (white tigers, snow leopards, timber wolves, etc.) under the most stringent scrutiny of zoo veterinarians and nutritionists. They’ve done their homework! Besides, by the time you accumulate all the proper ingredients and allow for your time and effort to grind, mix, package and freeze, you’ll learn that AFS and its distribution network have done all the work for you at a very reasonable cost.

A4. The answer is very simple – undamaged enzymes and amino acids! A raw meat diet contains natural digestive enzymes and the most complete amino acid profile (the protein building blocks) totally undamaged in this natural state. Many of the important amino acids and all digestive enzymes are destroyed by temperatures in excess of 120 degrees F.

Most processed and canned pet foods are cooked at temperatures in excess of 212 degrees F. Animals consuming these highly processed foods often become nutritionally compromised and manifest dry and itchy skin, dull coats, weight problems, lethargy, and many more not so obvious symptoms.

Enzymes are essential biological catalysts that enhance the quality and quantity of nutrient assimilation. This allows your favorite pet to conserve its own enzyme energy for other important life enriching health benefits such as longevity.

Wouldn't’t we all like our four legged companions to live long, healthy and happy lives? AFS has evidence of this happening!

A5. When comparing diets, one must always compare on a dry matter basis to get equivalent values. When compared on a dry weight basis AFS diets are not low at all, 44-50% protein and 29-35% fat.

The more important aspect of protein is the quality and source of protein, or the biological value (the measurement of how much of the protein is actually turned into body tissue). AFS diets are at the “top of the food chain” when it comes to digestibility and biological value.

A6. Not recommended for small breeds, but many large breed and/or multiple dog owners reportedly feed this way (when budget restraints are an issue) and quite successfully. The reason being is that AFS product ingredients are very rich in all the necessary nutrients, plus fortified with natural vitamins and minerals (because we cannot be absolutely certain the soil that the free-range cattle are grazing on is complete and balanced at all times and on all days).

Thus, AFS product ingredients over-compensate for whatever nutrients the other product may be lacking! For example, if I were to feed a 50/50 ratio diet, the kibble would probably not contain all the vitamin B elements necessary for a balanced diet, however the extra B elements would be in the AFS diet. (If there is ever too much of any one nutrient, the body simply discards it as waste material.)

The quality of the kibble should be considered (price is not a consistent indicator of quality). Even on a 50/50 ratio, in as little as 1-2 weeks, very positive changes will be apparent in your dog's appearance, mobility, behavior and stools (feces are greatly reduced in size and frequency!).

In less than 30 days, it will seem as though you have a different dog--apparent to you AND your neighbors! That's when you will want to make the final decision...stay on the 50/50 ratio, or go all the way and feed the Natural Advantage products 100%.

Kibble will primarily consist of indigestible grains and other ingredients that you are simply causing volumes of fecal matter in the yard. In addition, the meat source that goes into most kibble is “meat and bone meal, chicken meal, lamb meal, fish meal, etc.” These ingredients are NOT fresh or whole meats, but the animal waste materials picked up from meat packing plants, restaurants, hotels/motels, grocery stores, etc. by rendering companies--then, cooked once to extreme temperatures to destroy all the bacterial rancid garbage materials can hold, then only to be added grains and grain flours and cooked again. How much nutrition can be left after that? Check labels and use kibbles that are predominately meat based – not grain and/or animal meal predominant ingredients.

A7. The high biological value of the protein in AFS Diets will result in a large reduction in the amount and frequency of stool elimination. Digestion studies done on AFS diets showed protein absorption in the 90% range.

Most commercial pet foods are filled with indigestible (however palatable) ingredients that cause dogs and cats to overeat which creates the need to eliminate several times a day.

Animals on AFS Diets generally eliminate just once a day or even every other day. In addition, this kind of digestibility greatly reduces stool odor and is a healthy and more natural occurrence, just as in the wild. Simple test: stools from well-digested foods, when placed in water, “float like a boat.”

A8. Some dogs, especially when they are young, have an amazing ability to digest just about anything that looks like food and do well on it. However, even they have a tendency to degenerate as they grow older, usually at 4-5 years of age.

When the organs of the body, especially the all important digestive machine, the pancreas, starts to age, it is much easier on the animal’s system to be eating a diet with the digestive enzymes still intact and undamaged by heat processing. Raw foods provide this.

Numerous people from European countries who feed raw meat diets confirm the health benefits and longevity of large breed dogs, i.e. Great Danes, Rottweilers, Mastiffs, etc. to ages of 15 years or longer. This reality is nearly unheard of in our country, except those companion pets on raw meat diets like those produced by AFS. Wouldn't’t you want the same for your favorite furry companion?

A9. If fresh table meat (using common in-home processing procedures) is fed without cooking, processing, or freezing, diseases such as toxoplasmosis and intermediate stages of parasites such as tapeworms could be transmitted.

However... AFS' quality control methods include the instant freezing of products to a –40 degrees F which deactivates such agents; both freezing and freeze-drying procedures used in product manufacturing eliminate bacterial growth, as well.

Product ingredients are procured from a USDA certified meat processing plant in Northeastern Wisconsin (actually, within the same business complex as AFS), and manufactured using human grade environmental controls for the purpose of maintaining superior pet food product quality and freshness.

AFS (Nature's Advantage) Real Meat Diets Do NOT contain cow brain matter, spinal cord, hair, horns, teeth, intestines, hooves, beaks, bowel, etc.; nor does it contain other animal meats such as horse, pig, kangaroo, etc.

A10. There are various probable causes of bloat, but Animal Food Services has never known of a dog bloating on meat. Just the opposite seems true. AFS raw meat diets have a high digestion and rapid absorption rate, which reduces the chance for gases to form. Many of AFS's customers have reported bloat and flatulence disappearing after their dogs were fed on raw meat diets.

A11. There are so few truly organic beef processors that it is impossible to build a market from such small quantities. AFS does the next best thing. Rather than using feedlot beef in our diets (those raised in large numbers and in close proximity, loaded with growth hormones and antibiotics), we procure our meat source from a nearby USDA human grade meat packing plant that harvests retired dairy cows or free ranging beef cows.

A12. The term 4-D meat is used to describe dead, dying, disabled or diseased animals, which means animals that have died other than by slaughter.

AFS does NOT use any 4-D and/or rendered material in our diets. AFS uses whole, fresh organ meats and meaty bones sourced only from USDA inspected packing houses that have been passed for human consumption or passed by the inspector as suitable for animal foods.

A13. Most dogs and cats have been fed sterile (cooked) foods most of their lives, so we recommend the Patties & Nuggets be introduced slowly over the first week or so. Small pinches increased daily allow your animal’s digestive system to adjust to the new food. The product can be steadily increased to 1% of body weight if used as a supplement or 2% of body weight for a total fitness diet. This relates to one 8-ounce patty (per day) for a 25-pound dog..

A14. Most AFS (Nature's Advantage) customers did experience the health promoting diet as being slightly more costly – initially. Animals will often consume up to twice the recommended amount of product during transitional periods, until nutritional deficiencies are satisfied. Once nutritionally saturated, usually in the first 30 days, most pets will automatically cut their food intake to normal levels, resulting in costs per day just slightly higher than premium dry or canned foods. Most customers’ analysis of this cost report health promoting Nature's Advantage as the least expensive way to raise animals, especially when considering money saved on health care costs and supplementation.