I'm so proud to share today my friend Wendy and I launch The Wholesome Dog, a website for dog parents and pet professionals dedicated to providing educational resources to help you give your furry friend the longest, healthiest life possible.
Since deciding to bring home my own dog almost six years ago, I was shocked by the lack of information and education out there for pet parents. Western veterinary medicine, much like our own human medicine, is extremely deficient at helping prevent disease and injury, while much better at fixing things when they go wrong, particularly with pharmaceuticals. This isn't a commentary on our extremely hardworking and dedicated veterinary professionals, especially since they give so much and are compensated so poorly, but rather on their educational system that is heavily funded by two of the world's largest pet food and candy companies, Mars (Pedigree, Iams, Royal Canin, etc) and Nestle (Purina, Friskies, Fancy Feast). They not only control and produce almost 80% of the pet food industry, but also provide lots of funding and gifts to many of the veterinary schools in North America.
Also like their human counterparts, most veterinarians receive a very small fraction of nutritional education, and so sadly, they are generally ill-equipped to provide sound nutritional advice to desperate pet parents. If a vet wants to learn more about nutrition, they must take it upon themselves after graduation to continue their own studies, with many going on to become integrative and holistic veterinarians. If you've been told to give your dog chicken and rice for their upset stomach, you're not alone. (Fun fact, rice is not great for most dogs) If you can't get nutrition advice from your dog's doctor, then where does one find it?
This lack of available information is maddening for any pet parent who is trying to help their beloved best friend deal with an upset stomach, terrible poops, itchy skin or any number of other ailments that are typically caused by improper nutrition or toxic products.
Wendy and I have both been a part of this awful cycle and it's miserable, even more so to watch your pet suffer because you don't know where to turn or what to try. We were forced to do the hard work of searching high and low for years for the experts, food and companies that we could trust to do best by our pups.
I (Julielyn) started offering classes to other pet parents, and Wendy found out about my class through Instagram and joined it (twice!), and we bonded over our passion and desire to make this world a little easier for everyone else and over time, the idea for The Wholesome Dog was born.
So who are we and what is The Wholesome Dog?
We are crazy dog moms who love our pups so intensely because they provide so much joy and love to us, and we want them to live forever and have the healthiest lives possible.
We believe that every dog parent has the right to have access to the information and knowledge out there to do as much as they can for their pup, and do what works for them.
We believe that every pet parent knows their animal best, and can and should ultimately do what works for their lifestyle, budget, and nutritional needs.
We believe that education and information is a right, not a privilege, and it is our intention and goal that The Wholesome Dog helps to make that right a little bit easier to access for you and your pup(s). We consider it an honor and a privilege to use our years of experience, training and industry connections to bring together the experts, the companies and the products that we believe meet our very high standards of being good enough for our pups to you, and empower you to make the decisions of what your pup needs. Welcome to The Wholesome Dog, and thank you for being a part of this journey with us.
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