Pet Nutritional Counseling in St. Louis, MO

You are what you eat and so is your pet!

That’s our simple philosophy at Four Muddy Paws! Your pet’s behavior, health and overall well-being depend on what you feed them. Feeding an all-natural diet is the cornerstone to your pet’s health. Whether it’s a home-cooked meal or a combination of fresh ingredients together with an all-natural pet food everything your pet eats plays an important role in their overall well-being. Your pet’s good health starts here!
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Pet Nutrition Playlist

We focus on providing you with healthy options.

Our goal is for all of our pets to eat a more natural diet including the addition of fresh raw foods to their diet. The less processing the better for both ourselves and our pets. Even adding a little raw into your pet’s diet can have significant health benefits. We’re your local raw food diet source for dogs and cats!

Learn more about the incredible benefits of feeding a raw diet to your dog and cat – Click Here

• Feeding your pet an all-natural prepared diet has many benefits including:
• The convenience of a balanced diet with the proper proportion of essential proteins, fruits, vegetables, vitamins, minerals, and digestive aids.
• All-natural pet foods typically have higher animal protein instead of inexpensive grain-based fillers. Of course, we also have options if your pet needs a high-quality low-protein, or grain-free diet too.
• Your pet more easily assimilates the diet so that a far greater percentage is used by your pet’s body resulting in less waste (yea!) and smaller meal portions. You actually need to feed less food because of the higher quality and digestibility of an all-natural food.
• All-natural canned food is also very high quality either as an entire diet itself or rotated with a dry diet. Picky eaters and pets that don’t drink a lot of water also benefit from the ultra-rich moisture content of canned foods. An excellent way to add variety to your pet’s diet and essential for the health of your cat.
• A high-quality diet helps improve the alertness, the quality of the skin and coat, improved digestion, and an enhanced immune system helps your pet deal with stress and everyday activities. Plus your pet will get more nutrition in every bite and you can feed less food with every meal. Feeding a healthy diet can also help avoid expensive vet bills due to poor nutrition.

Not all dog and cat foods are created equal

The terms “natural, holistic and 100% complete” are used quite frequently by marketing teams. Use our What’s In Your Pet Food Guide to ensure your pet’s food is made from superior ingredients and not fillers and left overs from human food processing. Here are a couple of more links to help you make an informed decision about your pet’s food.

• The Truth About Pet Food
• The Dog Food Project
• FDA Food Safety Recall Updates
• Food Safety News
• eFoodAlert – Global Source for Food Safety Information
• Dog Aware – Diet & Health Information
• Feline Nutrition Education Society

What’s in Natural Pet Food? See the ingredients here!

Variety is the spice of life!

Don’t be afraid to rotate your pet’s diet. Feeding your dog or cat a variety of different foods is very beneficial in making sure they have a complete and balanced diet and there’s less likelihood of developing food allergies. Remember to make your food rotations gradual as your pet gets used to the increased variety in their diet. This ensures your pet is getting the highest quality nutritional benefits.

At Four Muddy Paws we can help you in finding the right diet for your pet. We have a broad variety of all-natural dog and cat foods including raw, frozen, freeze-dried and dehydrated diets, natural dry foods, grain-free diets and an extensive assortment of all-natural canned foods and natural dietary supplements.

Fresh is Best!

Don’t be afraid to spice up your pet’s mealtime with a few fresh ingredients too. Here’s a list of items that might be in your grocery basket that can easily be added to your pet’s dry kibble for added health benefits. Seriously consider adding at least some raw meats/organ/bone to your pet’s diet. See Raw Food for more on feeding a raw natural diet.

Vegetables: Carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, green or yellow beans, broccoli, parsnips, squash, leeks, kale, collard and mustard greens, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower. Vegetables also make great treats – use a carrot stick or broccoli stalk as a special treat. We recommend par-boiling your green leafy veggies and then putting them in a blender. This will release the phytonutrients your pet needs by breaking up the cell walls. Your pet will be better able to digest them.

Plus you can add fresh, non-fat plain yogurt or cottage cheese to their diet and 1 large cooked egg (for a 50 lb dog) can be fed with the shell and all.

• A pet-friendly pantry can also include the following:
• Beef & Chicken Broth (low or no sodium)
• Black Strap Molasses
• Brown Rice
• Canned Tuna
• Salmon (Wild Alaskan), etc.

But be careful – not everything we eat is good for your pet.

Please make sure you avoid giving your pet the following foods:

• Chocolate – Theobromine, an ingredient in chocolate can cause a variety of problems including diminished blood flow to the brain triggering heart attacks. It is more concentrated in dark chocolate and baker’s chocolate than milk chocolate.
• Grapes and raisins – These foods contain a toxin that damages the kidneys.
• Macadamia Nuts – These nuts contain a toxin that affects the nervous system and muscles.
• Onions – Both raw and cooked onions contain sulfoxides and disulfides, which damage red blood cells and can cause anemia.
• Artificial sweeteners – NutraSweet, Sorbitol, Sweet’N Low, Xylitol, etc.
• Avocado
• Candy
• Coffee
• Fatty Foods
• Mushrooms
• Seeds
• Yeast Dough

It’s on the label!

One of the first things as a responsible pet guardian is to read the labels – find out what’s in the food you’re feeding your pet and get a better understanding of the benefits of each of the ingredients in the food.

The key is to select a dog food that has at least two animal proteins in the first three ingredients. This is important. Also, review the ingredients before the first fat ingredient (e.g. oils) and salt these ingredients make up the majority of the food. At Four Muddy Paws we carry only foods with identified animal-proteins. We do not carry any pet foods that have non-animal proteins (e.g. wheat, rice or corn gluten) or mystery-meat meals or by-products as an ingredient. Plus no added sugar, food colorings, or preservatives commonly added to many of the pet foods on the market today.

Your dog deserves a bone today!

Not only will a great raw bone keep your friend occupied for a while, but their beautiful white teeth will also amaze your friends and smoked or raw bones keep their teeth and gums healthy. Giving your dog a raw beef or buffalo bone or chicken or turkey neck is a special treat.

At Four Muddy Paws we carry premium frozen bones. Just remember to never feed your dog a raw bone on an empty stomach! We also carry a variety of smoked bones too. Just remember to NEVER feed your dog or cat a cooked bone. They’ll splinter and can cause major problems if swallowed.