The first 6 to 12 months of a puppy's life are the most critical because it is during this life stage that the pattern for the dog's future health is set. The development of the skeletal frame is especially vital for the large and giant breed dog.

It is interesting to note that the majority of the health problems that our puppies encounter are mainly nutrition related which is commonly caused by the continuous ingestion of heat-processed, commercial pet food diets.

After seeing the development of puppy growth patterns over the last 35 years, I have observed is that the ingestion of high levels of soluble carbohydrates found in most commercial pet foods cause these irregular growth spurts to happen at different intervals.

What basically happens is because of these sporadic growth spurts, the muscle and bone development is completely out of sync. This can generate major stress on the skeletal structure of the animal. If the muscles, tendons, cartilage and bone all develop at different rates the result is structural damage in the form of hip dysplasia, arthritis, and other musculoskeletal conditions.

By feeding puppies a raw food diet you tend to slow down these growth spurts and instead allow the muscle and bone development to happen at a slower, more defined pace. This minimizes the risk of developmental issues in the dog.

Puppies require more food than adults as they need the extra energy for proper body development. As your dog gets older and his or her activity level decreases, we advise that you adjust the formula to lessen the amount of food being fed to your pet to avoid weight issues.

Feeding your pet a completely balanced diet from puppy to adult to senior, you ensure that your pet has the best chance of a healthy and happy life. Plus, there's the added bonus of lifelong canine/human loyalty as you continuously show your animal companion just how much you really care.

We would recommend switching dogs to raw diet for many reasons. It will improve dog's immune system by providing all of the nutrients and living enzymes that your dog needs on daily basis. By doing this their immune system wouldn't have to work as hard to digest the food, making his/her immune system stronger to fight towards other things such as allergies, ear infections etc.

We all know that the healthier immune system the less challenges your dogs are likely to face down the road.