pumpkin for pet health

I seek out sources of nutrition that can prevent and remedy common pet issues and support holistic pet care, preferring the natural route whenever possible. Fall is here, so what better time to break out the pumpkin for our pets? Canned, natural, unsweetened pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, and cooked fresh pumpkin offer several health benefits to dogs and cats. 

What are the benefits of pumpkin for our pets?

• Supports digestive health. Pumpkin is a great source of fiber for dogs and cats and can help with both constipation and diarrhea. You can add a tablespoon or two to their food each day to keep them regular.

• Anal gland support. Some dogs and cats are more susceptible than others to anal gland issues. Adding pumpkin to your pet's diet can help the anal glands naturally express. Years ago, I had a dog who had to have his anal glands surgically expressed because they had become so impacted. After the fact, I learned about how pumpkin could help. I began adding it to his dinner, and he never had anal gland issues again. 

• Weight loss. Helping your pet maintain a healthy weight is essential to his health. If your pet is overweight, you may consider replacing some of his kibble with pumpkin. Pumpkin is low in calories and full of nutrition. Your pet will feel full and satisfied even though his calories have been reduced.

• Helps maintain urinary health. Pumpkin seeds and pumpkin flesh are high in essential fatty acids and antioxidants that are believed to support urinary health. You may consider adding pumpkin to your pet's diet if he has urinary issues such as incontinence or urinary tract infections. 

• Skin and fur maintenance. The essential fatty acids and antioxidants found naturally in pumpkin helps your pet maintain a healthy coat and skin.

• Cancer prevention. Pumpkin is a great source of Vitamin A, beta-carotene, iron, and potassium, all of which are thought to reduce the likelihood that your pet will develop cancer. 

These benefits can be achieved with just a small amount of pumpkin. Be careful not to feed your pet too much, as excess amounts of Vitamin A can be toxic. Be sure that the pumpkin you feed your pet is free of sugar and spices (you don't want to feed your pet canned pumpkin pie filling, for example). As with most things, moderation is key. Most dogs love the taste of pumpkin and consider it a treat. Cats can be more finicky about it (shocking, right?), but it's certainly worth a try. Some felines think it's divine! 

You can add pumpkin directly to your pet's food, or you can include it in homemade treats. here are a handful of recipes to get you started:

Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Dog Treats

Pumpkin Dog Biscuits 

Gluten-free Dog Treats with Pumpkin

Pumpkin Cookies for 4-legged Friends

It is recommended that you consult your pet's veterinarian before changing your pet's diet.

Do you include pumpkin in your pet's diet? What's the verdict?

This article, written by me, originally appeared on Hybrid Rasta Mama, for whom I create original content. It has been reposted here with permission.

life stages dogs and cats #infographic and pet parenting info. from petbrosia

We love Petbrosia pet food because of the high-quality, nutritious, natural ingredients that are free from artificial preservatives and synthetic dyes and flavors. We also love the fact that the food is customized to the needs of our pets. Petbrosia asks about your pet's age, weight, breed, and lifestyle in order to taylor the food to your pet's nutritional needs for optimum health. And your custom food is delivered right to your door!

Check out how Petbrosia stacks up:

Petbrosia is all about customizing the food to meet the needs of the individual animal at various life stages. They have created an infographic that clearly illustrates the importance of tailoring your pet's diet to these life stages:

Petbrosia keeps improving–I love that! They have recently developed and now offer a grain-free salmon recipe. They also recently began offering high-quality treats that fit with their mission to bring only healthy products to consumers, so their little family operation is becoming more of a one-stop shop. 

In keeping with their caring spirit, Petbrosia is also becoming a fantastic resource for pet parents. Check out these recent articles:

7 Questions to Ask Breeders Before Buying a Puppy

Making Car Rides Safer for Pets

5 Ideas For Making Your Cat's Bathtime Easier

If you haven't tried Petbrosia, yet, I encourage you to give it a shot to see what your pet thinks. N.A.S.H.A. loves it. She even gets excited when that box arrives. My little humans even groan a little, saying "Oh, man! Why is it always something for N.A.S.H.A.?" Sorry, kids, the magic toy fairy didn't make a special-for-no-reason delivery today. 

Has your pet tried Petbrosia? We'd love to hear what you think. If not, Well Minded readers can save 25% off their first box!

Click here to get started and enter coupon code RWMP225 upon checkout to receive 25% off!

Connect with Petbrosia on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.

Well Minded is an affiliate of Petbrosia, which means that each time you use our coupon code, Petbrosia compensates us for referring you. All proceeds go to bringing you free content on this blog, and we appreciate our reader support. Well Minded only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Petbrosia images courtesy of Petbrosia.

awesome 50% off #couponcode for you from our friends at #Petbrosia

We've been loving Petbrosia's custom pet food for quite some time, now. Their high-quality ingredients and options for grain-free diets are impressive, but the fact that they customize the food blend based your your pet's individual needs is truly unique. With the added convenience factor of having food delivered straight to your door and auto-ship options, we can't say enough about Petbrosia. 

Petbrosia is offering Well Minded readers 50% off a box of Petbrosia! So if you've been curious to try it, now is the time, my friends. I haven't seen a better offer. 

FOR 50% OFF YOUR BOX OF PETBROSIA, GO TO THE PETBROSIA WEB SITE BY CLICKING HERE AND USE PROMO CODE AUGL1D.

This promotion will EXPIRE on September 1st, so go now!

If you'd like to hear what we've had to say about Petbrosia in the past, here are links to our reviews:

giving petbrosia a try

petbrosia's new grain-free option

This offer applies to U.S. customers only. Well Minded is an affiliate of Petbrosia, but was not compensated for this post. Well Minded only shares information with our readers that we feel is relevant. Product image photo courtesy of Petbrosia.

petbrosia's new grain-free option: review and #giveaway

Have you been wanting to give Petbrosia a try, but hesitated because you want to keep your pet on a grain-free diet? We've loved Petbrosia for a long time, but we just got even more excited because they've introduced a grain-free option! Woo-hoo! Their web site says:

Petbrosia now offers salmon as a protein choice for your dog and cat. Raised and harvested in the U.S.A., Petbrosia's Salmon Diet is the ideal choice when looking for an alternative protein source to feed your pet. We start with a single protein source–real salmon–cut out the fillers commonly found in other dog foods (grain free–no rice, wheat, corn, soy, gluten, or white potato), and create the perfect blend customized to meet your pet's individual needs.

If you've not heard about Petbrosia, yet, let me fill you in! Petbrosia makes a high-quality pet food for both dogs and cats that is customized for your pet based on age, breed, and lifestyle. The custom blend is delivered right to your door, and shipping is free if you enroll in their auto-ship option. With each delivery comes a detailed profile of the food with an ingredient list, nutritional information, and feeding instructions.

Until now, all of their custom blends included high-quality grains, and the only protein option was chicken, a formula that works well for many, but not for those pets with allergies or grain sensitivities. Now everyone can enjoy the benefits of a custom pet food.

I'm not going to lie...the kids and I weren't thrilled the last time we purchased salmon dog food. My daughter would dry heave at the smell of it (or perhaps she was simply trying to get out of feeding the dog). She asked me to promise to never bring salmon food into the house again. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try Petbrosia's new protein source. We were pleasantly  surprised that the odor wasn't nearly as "fishy" as others we've tried. Sure, you can tell if you stick your head in the bag and take a deep breath (yes, I did that), but when going through our regular feeding routine, it smells just fine! Bonus!

Petbrosia is offering our readers the chance to win a 3-pound bag of their new grain-free salmon food. And–get this–just for entering, they will send everyone who doesn't win a coupon for $10 off their first box. So you win just for entering! So...go ahead...enter now...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

More information:

Petbrosia web site

Petbrosia grain-free salmon

Well Minded is an affiliate of Petbrosia. I received a box of grain-free salmon food in exchange for my honest review. Well Minded only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Petbrosia is not responsible for the content of this article.

increasing the vitality of your pet naturally with #SomaPet

Each night at dinner time our dog, N.A.S.H.A., gets Apple Cider Vinegar and UltraOil in her food. She's been taking these supplements for some time because they are natural and effective. Plus, she loves them. She now turns her nose up at any food that doesn't smell strongly of vinegar! I thought we were pretty set in our canine supplement routine, but then I learned about SomaPet, a supplement by SomaLife.

What is SomaPet? SomaPet is a proprietary combination of organic, pure free-form crystalline amino acids that help jumpstart your pet's natural processes of cell repair and regeneration.

I knew that we had to try it. It comes in powder form and contains only natural, 100% organic ingredients. It is sugar free, gluten free, and fat free, and contains no preservatives, additives, fillers, or artificial coloring. And it's vegan. Our family tries our best to keep chemicals out of our bodies, so I was thrilled to see that such an amazing supplement had been created for our pets. SomaPet can increase a pet's vitality and longevity by helping immune function, promoting natural healing, helping maintain healthy energy levels, improving the skin and coat and improving nervous function and bone strength. With N.A.S.H.A. on the eve of her ninth birthday, I was ready to kick things up a notch.

I learned that the supplement was created by Dr. Phillip White, who noticed his beloved German Shepherd, Rover, struggling with mobility as he aged. Dr. White wanted to help Rover's quality of life and began giving him SomaLife's Youth Formula. It helped Rover so quickly and dramatically that Dr. White developed SomaPet so all pet parents could experience the benefits.

I could see that there was nothing bad to be found in SomaPet (my first criteria) so I then wondered what it could do for N.A.S.H.A. Would it benefit her? The SomaPet web site described how it could:

The ultimate dietary supplement, SomaPet consists of a synergistic combination of free form L-amino acids designed to assist:

• strengthens collagen and bones

• improves immune system

• renews vitality

• helps reduce body fat

• healthier skin and coat

• promotes cellular energy

• increases healing

Wow. Sign me up. I mean, sign N.A.S.H.A. up.

As you probably already know, N.A.S.H.A. is quite picky, so I was a little bit concerned about whether she would take to another addition to her food. I added our usual ACV and UltraOil, then sprinkled a scoop of SomaPet onto her food and gave it a dazzling chef-like toss. She was impressed. I must have sold it, because she gave it a sniff, looked at me, then dove right in. She either loved the way the SomaPet tasted or didn't notice it there. Either way–winning.

Seriously. My scraggly dog is now silky thanks to SomaPet.

N.A.S.H.A. has now been taking SomaPet for two weeks. Though I can't tell how it's affected her bone density or immune function, I am amazed to see a transformation in her skin and coat. She's not an overly stinky dog, but she doesn't typically smell like roses, either. Since she's been on SomaPet, she has no odor whatsoever. This odor-fighting thing is not an advertised benefit, but I attribute that to the increased health of her skin. I also notice how her coat is really soft. She's a scraggly little thing, and her coat is pretty wiry and obnoxious no matter what we do. Even straight out of the bath, she looks like she hasn't been bathed in years. But, now, her coat is much softer, somehow. Perhaps my imagination, but this new look coincided with our introduction of SomaPet.

N.A.S.H.A.'s mobility seems to have improved. She's always been pretty spry, but I've noticed that in the past year, it's been more difficult for her to get up on our high bed (Of course she sleeps in the bed with us). She'd have to back up and take a running start, and she wouldn't always make it on the first try. It made me sad to see this change in her, but since she's been taking SomaPet, she springs right up with no do-overs!

Silky SomaPet supermodel.

I've also noticed that N.A.S.H.A.'s activity level has increased. She's a pretty playful dog, anyway, but lately she's been asking us to play more times each day and she plays for longer periods. This makes me so happy because she loves to play fetch and catch (yes, she throws back to us), and when I'd tried to engage her over the past few months, she wasn't as interested as she'd been in the past. I even started calling her my "little old lady." Since she's been on SomaPet, I've definitely seen an increase in her activity level. 

I'm thrilled to have discovered SomaPet and will definitely make it a permanent part of N.A.S.H.A.'s supplement mix. Though I can't see how it's benefiting her on the inside, I am confident that it is due to the big improvements I've seen on the outside. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a holistic supplement for their adult or aging pet. 

Join me for a SomaPet Twitter Chat on July 22nd from 8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. EST. Use #BlogPawsChat to join the fun and have a chance to win a bottle of SomaPet!

Purchase SomaPet here.

Check out the SomaPet web site here.

Learn more about the science behind SomaPet here.

SomaPet FAQ

Connect with SomaPet and SomaLife on Facebook and Twitter.

This post is sponsored by SomaPet and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about SomaPet, but well minded only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. SomaPet is not responsible for the content of this article.