Animal Fur
Fur and feathers. When I talk to pet parents about the benefits of feeding their dogs fur-on ears, wings or even whole prey birds like quail or guinea fowl, I almost always get a horrified look. They follow my advice up until I add “don’t forget to keep the fur on!” and then I swear they question the entire consultation they had with me. I get it though– ingredients on bags of kibble don’t dare show you if they use feathers or fur, but why not? What is everyone so afraid of? The richest sources of manganese are found in fur and feathers! Manganese is required for the development and maintenance of healthy ligaments. Fur is also an excellent source of fiber and helps clean your pup’s digestive tract. It’s even mentally stimulating for dogs as they learn a fur-on treat isn’t just a toy, and figure out how to eat them! Just like the rest of the animal carcass that is thrown into a vat of “byproducts” keeping the fur in the food has a lot of nutritional benefits that don’t need to be hidden – it’s a shame to see pet food companies shy away from being real with consumers.
