This blog post is written in collaboration with The Farmers Dog but all opinions are my own.

Do you remember last year when we had a cancer scare with Ivy?  ????   A large growth popped up on the back of her leg and rapidly grew.  It went from the size of a pea to the size of a LARGE grape within three weeks.    Two doctors told us it was a mast cell tumor and that it HAD TO BE REMOVED.   The doctor thought for sure his diagnosis was correct the day of surgery but sent it to pathology anyway.  Thank God, both of the doctors were wrong and it was a benign tumor.

BUT, I bring all of this up because during that two week time frame of waiting, I asked for positive thoughts from my friends over on Instagram.  I had so many of my friends reach out and ask what type of dog food we feed her.   You guys… people are very passionate about this subject. ????  Just talk to 50,000 people over on Instagram and wait for their responses when you tell them you feed your dog dry kibble. ????????????

Our Personal Experience with Dry Kibble

First off, I am not here, whatsoever, to be Mrs. Judgy Pants on what you feed your dog.  You feed your dog whatever you want.  ????  It’s OK. ????  Secondly, I am also not here to bash kibble or any specific brand of dog food.   I am only here to bring to light our own personal story with Ivy’s food situation.

We have fed her high quality dry kibble since the day she walked into our lives.  In fact, every single dog we’ve ever had ate kibble.  It’s what everyone does, right?  I guess not.  (Ask my friends on Instagram. ????)   Ivy struggles with horrible allergies.   “Allergies” as in bright flaming red ears that were warm to the touch, a red tummy, itchy toes and paws, a runny nose, and vomiting bright yellow stomach bile.  Yummy!  ????  The vet suggested we switch her to a high quality grain free food and also prescribed her allergy pills.

Because of what I had heard from lots of folks, it was ALWAYS in the back of my mind that I NEED to get her on a healthy, fresh diet.  I know how much better I feel and how much better my body runs when I eat fresh ingredients over processed foods.  It is the same with dogs.   Several recipes came flooding into my inbox of how I can make my own fresh dog food and quite frankly got me so overwhelmed.  Not only with trying to figure out where to buy bulk ingredients, but would I be able to commit to the time it takes for me to make it all?  Let me answer that quickly… NO!  And, how in the heck would I know how much to feed her?  Blah Blah Blah.  The list of reasons go on and on of why I never started this healthy lifestyle.

The Farmer’s Dog

The Farmer’s Dog found us over on Instagram, and reached out to see if Ivy would like to try their dog food.  I quickly glanced over their website and saw that it was dog food company that makes fresh food that is delivered directly to your door within days of cooking.  They use human-grade ingredients sourced from restaurant suppliers and local farms, which means safer products with less processing.      Uhhhhhhhhh…. is this a sign?  I quickly answered all of the questions to get Ivy’s plan set up as it is customized specifically to her lifestyle.  The Farmer’s Dog sent me the food for her to try and wanted my honest opinion.

Here is what we have noticed since feeding Ivy fresh food:

• She loves it!    I mean LOVES IT!
• Good to the last drop.  Ivy has always been a grazer.  She would eat little bits of her kibble here and there, sometimes leaving it until the next day.  Not this.  ????   Her food is gone.  GONE!
• She is wearing a gorgeous coat.   This benefit kicked in after about a week.  Her coat looks shiny and not dry or greasy.  She used to have very greasy hair.  That is completely gone.
• She has had NO allergic reactions.  We haven’t had to give her one pill and she has not ???? one time.  We noticed less licking of the paws which is for sure a good thing for me.  ????  I hate that sound.  ????  I will for sure keep you posted on this to make sure this is a long term benefit.
• She doesn’t scavenge for food anymore because she is satisfied.
• Balanced weight.  This is self explanatory! ????
• Her face is not swollen.  This is something EVERYONE has noticed.  I really think it was an inflammation problem from the kibble that we didn’t notice until it went away.  And maybe because she drinks so little water now.  ????????
• She drinks LESS water.  I mean WAY LESS.   I was concerned with this and reached out to the company.  Come to find out, this happens to be normal because kibble actually dehydrates dogs.  I immediately thought of all of my friends who have dogs that slop water all over the floor and walls when they drink.  ???????????? This would be a perfect benefit for you.

UPDATE TWO MONTHS LATER

We have noticed a few more things that have happened a few months after I wrote this post and I wanted to update you.   All of the above still applies PLUS:

• Fresh breath.  I’m sorry but older dogs have stinky breath.  She chews bones on a regular basis and still had awful breath.  Her breath still has an “old lady dog” smell to it but on a scale of 1-10, it’s a 2 now.  Before it was a 7.  ???? That is something we just started noticing.
• Her ???? is very different.  I don’t like talking about number two on my posts, BUT, it is something that is WAY noticeable and I had to share.  Number one… the smell is 10 times less fragrant.  ????  And, number two… her piles are way smaller.  Now both of those things are something to write home about.
• She still hasn’t vomited once.  She used to vomit several times a week.  I really honestly think the kibble was making her sick.
• She acts and looks like a puppy.  Ivy is estimated to be around 7 1/2 years old.  She acted like a 7 1/2 year old when she ate kibble.  She acts like she is about 3 now.  She wakes up and literally RUNS downstairs and she trots when she walks on our walks.  She has lost a few pounds and is down to a healthy weight so maybe the trot is from that, but she sure acts differently.

NOTE:  There was a lapse in ordering her fresh food (my fault) and we had to go back to dried kibble for three days.  Her water consumption skyrocketed the very day we had to feed her the kibble and stopped the day our shipment arrived.   I didn’t like that at all.  ????

Here is a before and after picture side by side.  The BEFORE photo was taken November, 2018, and this AFTER was snapped from a video and someone sent these to me side by side because she noticed a HUGE difference.

Convenience

Like I said above, your dog’s blend is delivered directly to your door.  You can choose how much you want to receive at a time depending on your freezer storage.   I keep three in the fridge at all times and the rest in the freezer, replacing one each day to start thawing out after I feed her.  It is SOOOOO convenient and I love that.

The Farmer’s Dog is so passionate about their company (as am I)  that they are giving you 50% off of your first order of two weeks worth.  So basically it is a buy one week, get one week free deal.  All you have to do is click here to sign up!  (That link will automatically apply the discount.)

You need to just give it a try for two weeks.  You and your fur baby will be SO HAPPY with the results.  Please let me know in the comments below the benefits you see with the change in diet.  I suspect lots of you will notice very good changes.