Veterinary News & Advice » Best Pet Food

Best Pet Food

marcussmithdvm — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:05:30 +0000

Whenever I get calls from veterinarians about Pet-Tao, I frequently am asked the question: “Can you give me concrete reasons why Pet-Tao is the best pet food on the market?” I reply, “Yes, I can and here they are!!!”

So here are the answers and explanations of why PetTao is the best pet food on the market. 1) We use only wholesome, unmodified ingredients. If you examine our ingredient label, this fact is apparent. 2) Our ingredients are included in each diet for a specific reason. This is the Eastern Food Therapy component that makes our diets one-of-a-kind and unique to the pet food market. We do not just combine a few meats with a few veggies and fruits and call it pet food. 3) We use no preservatives. Preservatives, additives, and dyes are all contributing factors to the nutritional perils we see in many pet foods today. 4) We strike a compromise between cooking and raw thru our pasteurization process. Pasteurization eliminates pathogenic bacteria from the food while simultaneously maintaining the foods’ nutritional value. Pasteurization denotes balance between cooking and raw. By the way, this is another Eastern influenced thought. Finally, 5) Pet Tao foods have been designed by veterinarians with over twenty five years of clinical experience. As veterinarians, we have seen, dealt with, and treated the ill effects of dietary indiscretions throughout our practices. Our concern with these consequences was the driving force for the development of PetTao. No other pet food on the market today can make these claims!!

Pasteurized Pet Food

marcussmithdvm — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:04:26 +0000

Since we launched Pet-Tao, I have had numerous people ask me about pasteurizing pet food- how, why , and what!!!!!!

Basically, pasteurization of pet food is similar to pasteurizing any food. The food is heated to a certain temperature to kill or retard the growth of certain bacteria known to cause foodborne illness. The most common bacteria are Salmonella, Listeria, and E. Coli, just to name a few.

At Pet-Tao, our process is unique because we first package the raw material in a boil-in bag and then submerge the food in the bag into heated water. The internal temperature of the food product is heated to 161F for 15 seconds and then submerged into a water bath for quick cooling. This is the pasteurization process. You can learn more at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization.

We pasteurize our food as opposed to actually cooking it for a couple of reasons. 1.) Pasteurization is a only mild insult to the quality and integrity of the food and its inherent nutritional value. 2.) Pasteurization strikes a balance between cooking and raw. We feel it is a perfect compromise.

Some of my raw food friends will disagree. However, there are three main criteria that have led us and caused us to have the firm belief that pasteurized is better: Western Food Hygiene and Food Science; Eastern Food Therapy and Energetics; and over 25 years of clinical experience in veterinary practice. Right now is not the time to get into debate over raw pet food versus pasteurized pet food. We will save that for another post.

Pet Tao Video

marcussmithdvm — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:02:50 +0000

At Pet -Tao, exciting things are happening! We are hard at work as we speak! Casey and I seem to be spending any extra time we might have on Pet-Tao.

Our staff is doing an absolutely great job preparing our integrated pet foods. We are now preparing and shipping about 300 pounds of food a day. We ship directly to customers all over the USA.

We have had some nice videos on Youtube and other websites for some time. Recently, our production company finished another video about Pet-Tao and our Preferred Partner Program. Please check it out right here!:

Thank you for watching!

Pettao Pet Foods Go Commercial!!!

marcussmithdvm — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:01:45 +0000

August 14,2009 was a big day in my life. Friend and colleague Dr. Casey Damron and I launched Pet-Tao pet food, the first and only pet food that combines the science of Western nutrition with the time tested theories of Eastern Food Therapy. It was a long time coming as it took over two and a half years from our initial creation to bring this product to market for pets all across the country to enjoy. We stayed up many nights working on the formulas, discussing packaging options, and trying to make decisions on how to best market our product. With those decisions behind us, we are ready to move on to the next level. Hopefully, our pet food will enhance the lives, health, and well-being of pets all across the country. Our next move is to develop our feline diets. We are almost there but we still have work to do, mostly on palatability issues. You know cats are pretty finicky eaters and sometimes their dietary likes and dislikes change for no apparent reason. Anyway, we are going to give it our best shot and move forward. Also, in the future, we are going to add specialized geriatric diets and cancer diets- to offer pets and their owners the optimal experience during the senior years. If you want to learn more about Pet-Tao and what we have to offer, visit us at www.pettao.com. Thanks!!!!

What is Integrated Veterinary Medicine?

marcussmithdvm — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:41:26 +0000

According to Webster’s dictionary, integrate means to form into a unified whole. In terms of veterinary medicine, integrate means to combine or unify two different types of medicine into one medical practice. The most common types unified are those of Western medicine with Eastern medicine. Western medicine is the type most thought of when considering your own personal health care. In basic terms, Western medicine arrives at a diagnosis by employing advanced technology such as radiographs, MRI, and Blood Chemistry analysis. After diagnosis, either surgery, pharmaceutical drugs or both are often used in treatment. Treatment often extends to the cellular level to induce the desired effect. On the other hand, Eastern medicine relies on a more holistic approach to arrive at a diagnosis. The diagnosis in Eastern medicine is vastly different because the Eastern practitioner tries to identify the pattern of disease. To discern the pattern, the Eastern practitioner may ask about the pet’s diet, emotional state, or behavior habits. Also, during the exam the Eastern practitioner will evaluate the pet’s pulse character and quality and the tongue for color and coating characteristics. The pulse and tongue aid in identifying the pattern of disease. After a pattern is identified, the Eastern practitioner uses acupuncture, herbals, and/or food in the treatment protocol. Sometimes all three of these modalities may be used in the treatment protocol.

The following is an example of how an integrated approach may be helpful:

Daisy is an eleven year-old female spayed Chocolate Lab. She is coming to the veterinarian today because she has trouble jumping onto the couch. The owner also reports that she cannot walk up and down the stairs like she once could. Her eating habits have also changed. Otherwise, Daisy is happy, playful, and energetic. On the Western exam, Daisy is painful over her back and her right stifle is slightly swollen but not painful on manipulation. Radiographs (xrays) reveal bony proliferation and arthritis in the spine. Blood Chemistry shows a mild increase in the liver enzymes. The Western diagnosis is spinal arthritis with age related liver enzyme elevation. The Eastern exam reveals deficient femoral pulses and a red, dry tongue. Daisy also continually pants while in the exam room. The Eastern diagnosis is kidney yin deficiency.

Concerning the spinal arthritis, what are the treatment options in Western medicine? The most logical choice is some type of anti-inflammatory. However, anti-inflammatories can sometimes elevate the liver enzymes and Daisy already has high liver enzymes. The other choice is some type of joint fluid precursor like Adequan. Adequan is a good choice, as it has minimal to no side effects in an older animal.

Concerning the Eastern diagnosis of kidney yin deficiency, my options for treatment include acupuncture, herbals, and/or food therapy. My choices are acupuncture and food therapy. The acupuncture points chosen release heat and provide immediate pain relief. Two acupuncture sessions are recommended two to three weeks apart. Also, as part of the second acupuncture treatment , Adequan is injected into the heat-releasing acupoints for a longer, more profound effect. As far as food is concerned, I recommend foods that have cooling energetic properties. Remember Daisy is showing heat signs as evidenced by her continual panting and dry, red tongue. Recommended cooling foods include turkey breast meat, celery, fish, tofu, cucumber, and barley. The question of the day: Why is Daisy showing heat signs? This is a tough question to answer! The most logical reason is due to her diet. Her whole life she has eaten a warming diet consisting of dry dog food loaded with carbohydrates, preservatives, and additives. All of these contribute heat to the body and ultimately cause disease from an Eastern perspective (see http://www.pettao.com).

We have now devised an Integrated treatment plan using the strengths of both medical systems. The beauty of this type of practice is that we can virtually eliminate the risk of pharmaceutical side effects, control Daisy’s pain, and improve her quality of life.

Daisy walking down the stairs after treatment!

Healthy Pet Food

marcussmithdvm — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:13:06 +0000

People ask me questions every day about healthy pet food! They want to know what pet food is the best; why it is the best; what the differences are between premium pet foods; and many other issues regarding this subject.

Well, below I have included a link to an article I just published on www.hubpages.com,one of the 120 most visited US sites on the Internet. Hubpages has more than 7.5 million unique views per month from the US alone and over 13.9 million unique views worldwide in 2009.

So, this article is my recommendation and perspective on healthy pet food:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Healthypetfood?done

I hope you enjoy it!

Healthy Pet Food Ingredients

marcussmithdvm — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:31:01 +0000

I think its important to discuss how and why we chose the ingredients in Pet-Tao pet food. Casey and I get this question all the time, and I will address the answer here.

As opposed to just taking different meats and putting them into a bag and calling the result a healthy pet food, we have chosen each and every ingredient for a reason. For instance, the ingredients in the Canine Balanced Diet are chosen according to the theories of Eastern Food Therapy, the energetic properties of hot and cold, and the Five Element theory.

Casey and I studied Eastern Veterinary Medicine at the Chi Institute in Florida and learned invaluable principles that we have incorporated into our practices as well as the creation of Pet-Tao pet foods. Our goal is to create healthy pet foods for dogs and cats that will revolutionize how we feed and care for our pets.

We feel that Food Therapy is perhaps the most important and effective branch of Eastern Veterinary Medicine. As I mentioned earlier, the ingredients in Pet-Tao are chosen according to these Eastern Food Therapy principles. This diet is balanced. In Western terms balance denotes meeting AAFCO standards. In Eastern terms, it denotes the balance of Yin and Yang. This is exactly what our foods do- balance the body!!! Due to these facts, Pet-Tao is arguably the only truly holistic pet food.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Xing

Healthy Pet Food Ingredients

marcussmithdvm — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:42:17 +0000

I think its important to discuss how and why we chose the ingredients in Pet-Tao pet food. Casey and I get this question all the time, and I will address the answer here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Xing

Five Reasons Pet-Tao is the Best Pet Food!

marcussmithdvm — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:46:10 +0000

So here are the answers and explanations of why we feel that Pet-Tao is the best pet food on the market. 1) We use only wholesome, unmodified ingredients. If you examine our ingredient label, this fact is apparent. 2) Our ingredients are included in each diet for a specific reason. This is the Eastern Food Therapy component that makes our diets one-of-a-kind and unique to the pet food market. We do not just combine a few meats with a few veggies and fruits and call it pet food. 3) We use no preservatives. Preservatives, additives, and dyes are all contributing factors to the nutritional perils we see in many pet foods today. 4) We strike a compromise between cooking and raw thru our pasteurization process. Pasteurization eliminates pathogenic bacteria from the food while simultaneously maintaining the foods’ nutritional value. Pasteurization denotes balance between cooking and raw. By the way, this is another Eastern influenced thought. Finally, 5) Pet Tao foods have been designed by veterinarians with over twenty five years of clinical experience. As veterinarians, we have seen, dealt with, and treated the ill effects of dietary indiscretions throughout our practices. Our concern with these consequences was the driving force for the development of PetTao. No other pet food on the market today can make these claims!!

Eastern Vet. Medicine, The Chi Instit. and Pet-Tao

marcussmithdvm — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:46:58 +0000

Since I integrate Western veterinary medicine and Eastern veterinary medicine into my practice, many clients and friends have asked about how and where I studied Eastern Veterinary Medicine. So I’ll explain it here. And I’ll pass on links to websites that explain more about what and where I have studied.

I began to learn about Eastern Veterinary Medicine back in the late 90s and on from classmates and veterinary colleague. During this time, patients began asking me about it as well, and I felt like I really needed to begin studying it.

So, for the last two years, I have been privileged to study Eastern Veterinary Medicine at The Chi Institute in Reddick, Florida. Eastern veterinary medicine is also called Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM). Eastern Veterinary Medicine is holistic and emphasizes the five branches of TCVM, which include food therapy, herbal therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic/massage (also called Tui-na) and Qi-gong.

The Chi Institute is widely considered the leading Continuing Education provider of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine study and training. Veterinarians and animal science workers from all over the world attend school there. Most of the teachers at Chi are related in some form or fashion to the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, which is also a top school. Here is a link to The Chi Institute: www.tcvm.com.

The Chief Instructor at The Chi Institute is Dr. Shen Huisheng Xie (his last name is pronounced “Shay”). Dr. Xie, from China, is an excellent teacher and veterinarian and is greatly respected around the world as one of the foremost Eastern Veterinary Medicine and Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine practitioners.

I and my fellow classmates at The Chi Institute have been fortunate to learn and study TCVM and its powerful, proven animal care theories and disciplines. My training in Eastern medicine has greatly enhanced my ability to diagnose, treat and provide optimal care for my patients, and my fellow classmates have said the same thing about their practices.

You can learn more about TCVM on The Chi Institute website as well as on the web. A good place to learn more is on the TCVm wikipedia page here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_Veterinary_Medicine

I was trained in veterinary school at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Science in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was a great experience, one that changed my life for sure. I am fortunate to have attended school there, where there are so many gifted and outstanding professors and teachers. Here is a link to the school’s website: vet.utk.edu.

Back to my training in TCVM. My friend and colleague Dr. Casey Damron and I studied at The Chi Institute together. Casey and I knew each other for years because we had both practiced veterinary medicine for large and small animals here in middle Tennessee.

We both learned a tremendous amount at The Chi Institute. It was during our time at Chi that we began to explore the idea of creating an integrated pet food combining Western and Eastern veterinary medicine.

Specifically, the class we took on Food Therapy taught by Dr. Xie was one of the classes that really motivated us to begin the journey of creating what later became Pet-Tao Pet Food.

At some point I will post a more detailed history and background of Pet-Tao. To summarize, we spent two years formulating and developing the Pet-Tao pet food formulas. Pet-Tao is the only all-natural, integrated pet food combining the science of Western nutrition with Eastern Food Therapy principles.

From our facility here in Tennessee, Pet-Tao is being shipped to pet-owners and pets all over the nation. It is available directly or through our nationwide network of veterinarians. One of the primary ways we are offering Pet-Tao is through veterinarians who can become part of our Preferred Partner Program, which we launched last month.

You can learn more about Pet-Tao and order pet food at www.pettao.com.

Well, thank you for reading! I am hoping the best for you and pets!