Like many of you, we were a little bit startled yet intrigued when we first bumped into the term Whole Prey Feeding. What is whole prey and what are the benefits of feeding them?
“Whole prey” refers to feeding entire small prey animals as a meal, with feathers/fur, heads, feet, etc. all intact.
⭐️Nutritional Benefits⭐️
- Provides a balanced meal
- Fur, feathers, skin, nails, ears, beaks, paws, feet and stomach contents all provide fiber and roughage to the diet
- Helps with digestion, the gut micro biome, intestinal tract, and anal glands
- Manganese: essential for tendon and ligament health as well as to keep a healthy respiratory and cognitive function
- Vitamins E, D, and K2, some of which are low in homemade meals
- Collagen, Keratin, Elastin for healthy skin, ligaments, muscles, joints, and bones
- Omega-3 essential fatty acids. Adding oily fish to your pet’s diet helps address the deficiency in omega-3s in homemade diets. Whole prey provides omega-3a without adding marine sources to the meal.
🧠 Physical and Psychological Benefits
- Serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin are released by the brain when pets chomp, rip, and tear on whole prey and large chunks of meat and bone.
- Can help calm anxious and hyperactive pets
- Helps maintain healthy teeth and gums
- Dogs are scavenging animals by nature. Eating out of a bowl doesn’t provide any mental stimulation. Whole prey can help enrich mealtimes.
✅More Reasons to Feed Whole Prey
- Provides our pets with a biologically-appropriate meal that also enriches their meals
- Ensures that the animals we feed our pets do not go to waste. Many “byproducts” actually contain the much-needed nutrients that our pets need.
- Enables us to feed a quick and easy meal while on the go and not having to worry if our pets are receiving the right nutrients
We are by no means experts in this field but we’re constantly researching about dogs and species-appropriate diets. We would recommend you to do the same since you know what’s best for you and your pet. 🐾
