Minimal ingredients for dogs with allergies
Family-owned and operated in Canada, our raw, dehydrated food is handcrafted with fresh whole meats and organic, high-quality produce, making it ideal for dogs suffering from allergies or sensitivites.
If you're wondering whether Smack is the best choice for your dog, here's how our raw, dehydrated offerings can help support your dog's health and overall well-being:
Clean ingredient panels
True allergies are rare in dogs, but sensitivities and intolerances are much more common, and can result in similar symptoms such as gas and digestive upset, itchiness and skin issues. To reduce the likelihood of triggers, a simple ingredient panel is key and indicates a food that is free from inflammatory ingredients and hidden dangers.
Our food is minimal ingredients, minimally processed. Our handcrafted formulas contain a minimum of 65% meat up to 92% meat, with enough organic fruits and vegetables (and natural nutraceuticals) to meet the needs of nutrition and fibre for dogs and cats.
Minimal processing
Our technology of low temperature dehydration preserves the nutrients in our food through minimal processing, aiding digestion. Our techniques also ensure food safety while maintaining the natural, beneficial enzymes and bacteria needed for good gut health.
Our mission is to provide superior pet food products that taste good and deliver benefits to maintain energy, vitality, digestion, and overall pet health. Our products offer maximized health and performance, improved taste and aroma, and reduced illness and shedding for pets – all while maintaining utmost food safety and storage efficiency for pet owners.
Low carbohydrates
Ingredients such as high levels of unnecessary carbohydrates can elicit an inflammatory response and are much harder for our pets to digest than a biologically appropriate ingredient such as meat or vegetables. Whereas kibble can contain more than 40% carbohydrates of various types and qualities, our formulas have between 3-10% carbohydrates (all from organic fruits and vegetables). For dogs with allergies or sensitivities, starting with our fish or pork formulas is an excellent way to try an elimination diet. For cats, using our pork recipe might be the best way to start.
A safe choice
Unlike raw frozen or fresh food, you won't need to worry about bacteria or pathogens; our testing has proven our manufacturing process (combined with very low moisture content) inhibits their growth. We have never tested positive for any pathogens.
FAQs
Why is organic non GMO produce important?
Organic foods often have more beneficial nutrients, such as antioxidants, than their conventionally-grown counterparts and people with allergies to foods, chemicals, or preservatives may find their symptoms lessen or go away when they eat only organic foods. In essence, organic produce contains fewer pesticides.
What is ethoxyquin? And why should I care about synthetic vitamins and minerals?
Ethoxyquin (E324) is a synthetic antioxidant that is used primarily in animal feed. Globally, ethoxyquin is not approved for use as a direct food additive in foods for human consumption. Specific to the omega-3 industry, some krill meals and crude fish and fish oils for animal feed are preserved using ethoxyquin.
Naturally occurring vitamins and synthetic vitamins are different … really different.They’re not in the same chemical form … so your dog’s body will have trouble recognizing and using the fake, synthetic vitamins. These synthetic vitamins and minerals, even at the best quality, regularly have partially hydrolyzed protein carriers of unknown sources and are almost exclusively available from overseas sources. This means they can be contaminated with toxins, or at the very least, be a source of allergens to some pets.
Why is carbohydrate content and source important?
Dogs and cats have no biological requirement for simple carbohydrates. Some of these also contain a good portion of the food's protein levels, which are simply not easy to digest or particularly bioavailable. Basically a lot comes out the back end…in the form of excrement. So it may look like a high protein food, but much of it comes from peas or potatoes, not appropriate sources for dogs and cats. Some are more concerning than others, like peas, lentils and those in the legume family. They contain lectins (plant proteins) and phytoestrogens.They can damage your dogs gut, leading to leaky gut symptoms and they provide a continuous source of plant based estrogens which interfere with a normal endocrine system.
Why should I care if there is gluten in the food?
Dogs are usually sensitive to gluten, not grains themselves. Not only is it one of the top 5 allergens for pets, but it’s also inflammatory and can affect a dog's healthy gut biome.
Why is the amount fed important?
Calorie density is important. It’s very hard for your pet to digest and work on massive amounts of food consumed in any given meal. As illustrated above, when we’re feeding 3+ cups of food (vs ¾ cup) this indicates a large portion of low calorie fillers, which will be partially fermented in the gut and come out the other end. Simply put, excessive food tends to equal excessive excrement. It also indicates that a lot of the food’s ingredients are those hard-to-digest carbohydrates.
Why is Smack more expensive than kibble?
Although everyone has a different budget when it comes to pet food, if you factor in the importance of quality food as a form of preventative medicine, Smack is an affordable way to feed your dogs and cats. After all, when you feed your pet a raw dehydrated diet such as Smack, you’re not just feeding them; you’re giving them improved nutrition and positively impacting their overall health and well-being.
To help illustrate - we put 20 lbs of whole raw foods into every 5.5 lbs bag of Very Berry Chicken, which retails for $109.99 and contains 25 cups. Recommended feeding for an average 50 lbs dog is 1.25 cup, which works out to just $5.50/day! You will always be able to find foods which are which are both more and less expensive than Smack, but you won't find one that will match Smack’s quality, value, palatability, and positive impact on your dog's well-being! Better food = a healthier pet and less money down the road as your pet ages.
Why don't you offer a larger bag size?
Dry food oils and nutrients start to oxidize within 3 weeks. Smaller bags equal fresher, safer, more nutritious foods.