Tail Talk Grooming Chronicles with Hound Therapy

Pet Nutrition- Healthy Pets Starts In The Bowl & Understanding Pet Nutrition

• Shannon & Tanya • Episode 28

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What Can You Tell Us About Health Nutrition?

The bowl tells a bigger story than most of us realize. We dive into the choices that shape your pet’s health—how to feed puppies, adults, and seniors wisely, what those first five ingredients reveal, and why kibble size, hydration, and consistency matter more than marketing buzzwords. Alongside Shannon and Tanya’s grooming-room perspective, we unpack the noisy debate around raw, cooked, and kibble with a pragmatic lens: safety, balance, and what actually fits a real home.

We start with life stage nutrition—why puppies need higher protein, fat, and DHA, how active adults can handle more calories, and when seniors benefit from joint support and portion control. Then we walk the pet-food aisle with you, decoding labels so “chicken” means chicken and not vague byproduct meal. You’ll hear the case for mixing methods without chaos: adding water to kibble for digestion, using marrow bones carefully for enrichment, and supplementing home-cooked meals to avoid nutrient gaps.

Allergies and sensitivities get the spotlight too. We explain the difference between food triggers and seasonal issues, what a veterinarian’s allergy panel can confirm, and why switching foods demands patience—sometimes up to six months to see full skin and coat changes. Throughout, we keep the focus on outcomes you can track: coat shine, odor, stool quality, energy, and weight. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by aisles of bags and buzzwords, this conversation offers a calm, step-by-step way to feed with confidence.

If this helped you rethink what goes in the bowl, follow the show, share it with a fellow pet parent, and leave a quick review so more people discover it. And if you’re local, book grooming, daycare, or an academy tour at Hound Therapy—your pet’s health story starts with smart, simple choices.

To learn more about Hound Therapy visit:
https://www.HoundTherapy.com
Hound Therapy
3509 E Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
469-367-0009

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to Tale Talk Grooming Chronicles with Health Therapy, the podcast where we talk all things pet grooming, daycare, academy, and more. Hosted by Shannon and Tanya of Health Therapy, serving pet owners across North Texas. We're here to share expert tips, hilarious pet stories, and the inside scoop on keeping your furry friends happy and healthy. Our motto, humanity over vanity. And don't worry, we don't fight. Let's get started.

SPEAKER_01:

Shannon and Tanya break down the basics of pet nutrition and how to spot what's helping and hurting your furry friend. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Sophia Yvette, the co-host and producer, back in the studio with Shannon and Tanya, professional groomers at Hound Therapy. Hi, ladies. How's it going today? It's fantastic.

SPEAKER_02:

Cooling down from the fall.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. Love that time. Now let's get into it. Let's take it away with today's topic. Pet nutrition. Healthy pets starts in the bowl and understanding pet nutrition.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm gonna let Tanya take the first.

SPEAKER_03:

This is kind of her field. I'm a jam. Um the importance of proper nutrition for your pet in general, dogs, cats, it doesn't really matter. Um, it's just to improve and improvise their health and longevity of their lives. Um, a lot of that is understanding the life stages of your pet. Um, so we have puppy that's a year and under. Adults are one to seven years, and then we get into the senior ages that are seven plus older. Puppies need more fat and proteins in their diet. And puppy food also helps contribute to more calcium, um, vitamins. Yeah. For larger breed puppies, it has a lot of DHA, which helps with the hips, joints, that kind of stuff. So you don't run into that. You still can run into it later in life, but it helps prolong it.

SPEAKER_02:

There's a lot of formulas out there for different stages, and they're there for for a reason, right? Nobody's just making stuff up. Um hopefully. Yeah. Uh hopefully. And there's a lot of choices of pet food, and and that can be a problem. And it's it's it's understanding the ingredients that are on the bag is a big is a big bonus, not necessarily the brand. Although the brand matters because you want to have a strong brand behind you. But given the fact that there's probably 2,000 brands, depending on where you are located, it's it's difficult to be able to do um, you know, the math in your head. So reading the back of the bag should help you. And I'll let you know.

SPEAKER_03:

And a lot, and when you walk into a pet food store, it is kind of overwhelming by the amount of just sheer volume, volume, and products available. Um and you have all different sizes of dogs. You have different sizes of kibbles. Um, so if you have a small breed like a little Yorkie or something like that, you want a smaller kibble. It's easier for them to eat so they don't get choked. Um, a lot of the small breed dietary is a lot of a higher calorie. They have a higher metabolism for those little dogs. Big dogs has more glucosamine for those hips and joints. Um, it's a little bit bigger of a kibble. Again, it's easier for them to eat. And my dog prefers the small bites.

SPEAKER_02:

So sometimes it's yeah. She's a 60-pound vishla. So, but some dogs, you know, it's the way it feels and tastes, just like us. Like, you know, yeah, that's slimy or weird, like, ugh. I always add water to my food because I feel like it helps with gas.

SPEAKER_03:

Um I add water to my dog's food as well. Yeah. Um, hydration never hurts anything.

SPEAKER_02:

Um, I would say now there's there's a big controversy too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Um well, we can get back into brands later if we need to, but raw slash cooked. Um, if you're going to make your own dog's food, you do have to add vitamin supplements to that, um, whether you're feeding raw or you're cooking for them.

SPEAKER_02:

And and we have some pros and cons for both. So I'm gonna start with dog foods for me. I I I'm old school. I stick with uh a certain brand that I like because I know that you know it's a specialty need. Uh, and I know that it's not changed in over 70 years. And I know that yes, it's got some things in there that I that I don't like, but if I want to buy the specialty, if I want a duck product and I want specifically that, that I can go with that specific brand and pay the extra to get it. Um, I do cook for my dog as well. Um, and I used to solely cook for her. Uh, and then we went for, but I added vegetables and carbs and cranberries and you know, fruits and vegetables, all of those things your dog needs, just like us, you know, your body needs to have a well-balanced meal. Yes. Uh, oils and fats, and uh, we need to have all of those. It can't just be all protein. For me, raw is a great way to go if you it if you have that kind of a diet and you can throw some kibble in for that healthy fat and carb load. But I don't want raw chicken anywhere in my house in case my doctor and moves it around, then you know, I've got a raw chicken problem. So uh that didn't work out for me.

SPEAKER_03:

But you definitely can feed a kibble and supplement with raw and just give them like raw bones, things like that. That marrow is really good for them.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. And that a nutrient result uh cooked. You want to make sure that you cook your food, you know, thoroughly. If you are gonna cook it, just like what you eat.

SPEAKER_03:

Same as sweet.

SPEAKER_02:

And then make sure I don't want to ew food. Make sure that you're adding some other stuff with it. But kibble is, in my opinion, I and I'm not a vet, but uh, in my opinion, it's it's needed for a lot of the things that are that are in there. It's got a lot of byproducts that are in there. Uh for me, I was taught if you if you grab a bag of dog food and you read the ingredients, the very first five ingredients are the top things in your dog's food. That is true. So if the first thing you read is color number five or animal byproduct meal. That's the ground up parts of a chicken beak and foot. That's not chicken. Just because it says chicken on the bag, a byproduct is a byproduct of whatever uh it's in there. So uh salmon could be the bones of the salmon, it could be a couple of fins or the skin that's it's mashed up that somebody didn't want. So there's where you you have your problem. So if it says salmon or it says chicken or it says beef, um yeah, and that's your first clue.

SPEAKER_03:

Just kind of touching lightly on it, your dogs can have food allergies. Cats can also have food allergies. Um, if you do notice or think that your animal is allergic to a food, definitely ask your veterinarian. They can run an allergy panel on them and see exactly what they're allergic to. If you do think it is food related and you switch the food, it can take up to six months to actually see a difference just based on food.

SPEAKER_02:

And switching food on a regular basis can cause diarrhea. So be careful about that too. Um seasonal allergies are different than food allergies. So, you know, that that that's a big, big difference.

SPEAKER_01:

How can someone tell if their pet food is actually meeting their pet's needs?

SPEAKER_02:

Coat and condition. Um, we have people that call us every day and say, hey, look, my dog's not looking as healthy. Her fur feels uh, you know, it's patchy in places or it feels really dry. Um, others will call and say, Oh my gosh, my dog just constantly it smells like fish. A lot of people will add fish oil. And adding fish oil is great, but too much oil is not necessary. Too much of anything is not good.

SPEAKER_03:

Um, I would also say weight fluctuations as well. If they're losing weight, um, or on the flip side, if they're gaining a lot of weight, there's probably um too much. Some dogs need more protein, less fat. Some dogs need more fat, less protein. Kind of depends on your dog's activity level as well.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, kind of kind of like us. You know, if you're up and you're active, if you have a dog that's very active, they can have more calories. Um, and a fun thing that, yeah, uh if they're less active, they don't need as many. And they're just gonna store that fat and get fatter and fatter and fatter. And then you have barrel-shaped dogs and dogs that are just they have a health, you know, yeah. They're just fatty dogs. Like, I mean, God knows I've had some of that problem. And the older they get, you know, harder it is to walk. And you know, your body type changes, your chemicals change. So uh, you know, not feeling good. There's a lot of things there. But the if you've just changed recently, um, it could be due to your vet saying, hey, you might have, you know, allergies. It could be, hey, we, you know, are getting money, more money off this food. Uh, you should not be switching food based on price. Um, that is they're all typically equally expensive.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. All of them, they're all expensive.

SPEAKER_02:

So don't don't get the cheapest, you know, and then get the next cheapest because you have a coupon. That's gonna be really tough for your your your puppies and your your dogs, especially digestive. Yeah, especially the younger and the older. Um and then, you know, as they get older, they can develop a little bit more. Uh, you can supplement with some things that you know for sure that they're that they're getting if they need that, um, which is where that home cooked comes comes from. Um, but not switching often. And and a fun fact, if you've ever soaked, I used to when my dog was a puppy, I would soak a half a cup of food because she didn't need that much. And I fed her three times a day because her body, her metabolism was was pretty high. So I soaked it in water overnight, each one-third cup in a baggie. And when you look at it, it expands to three times its size. It's huge, it's a huge amount of food. So people often overfeed because they're giving them this dry kibble. Yeah, and it's they don't realize once it gets in their stomach, you know, and they're looking at one third cup does not look like very it doesn't, but it's dry. It does not look like it. It's like three cups of food. I mean, it's huge.

SPEAKER_03:

And it'll do the same thing in their stomach. So if they eat that food and then they go through a lot of water, it does the same thing in their tummy.

SPEAKER_02:

So you need to be, yeah, so feeding a little bit more often more often when they're younger, and then realizing what that food does. Now, if you're feeding a raw or you're making your own dog's food, you know, you could maybe do a cup or a cup and a half. Um, but you still want to spread it out through the day and know that that's not gonna expand, right? We don't eat cooked beef and it doesn't get bigger in our stomach. Um, but I would say it's it's three times the amount of pasta. Uh it swells. Like if you gave your dog raw pasta and you know, if you ate like a thing of raw spaghetti, you know how much that makes. Dog food does the same thing. It's it, I was just baffled when you look at that. And I'm like, it's such a small amount of food, I feel like she's gonna starve to death. And you know, she ate and she was full. Uh it it helps with potty training because you know exactly what's in their stomach. So I soaked it, I pre-soaked it so that I I I felt better.

SPEAKER_03:

Because it looks like more food. Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

So just some chips and tricks. Wow. Now that was really, really helpful information. Shannon and Tanya, thank you so much for helping us to rethink what we're scooping into those bowls and how much. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01:

You're welcome. We'll see you next time on Tale Talk Grooming Chronicles with Hound Therapy. Bye.

SPEAKER_00:

That's a wrap for this episode of Tale Talk with Hound Therapy. Ready to book your pet's next groom daycare stay or grooming academy tour? Call us at 469-367-0009. That's 469-367-0009 to schedule an appointment or visit us online at www.houndtherapy.com, serving North Texas with expert pet care. Until next time, keep those tails whacked.