Vital Animal News: November 16, 2025
Food, food, food! Actual research: kibble vs fresh in seniors; Processed pet food sales (oh oh, kitty!); Video: Food magic, no tricks! Seniors and EO freebie; Regen Ag Film Free Showing, and MORE.
Senior Dog Food Choices Matter!
Kibble Sales Tell Two Tales
Food Enhancement Magic (video)
Seniors and Essential Oils
Common Ground: Heal the Soil, Heal the Planet
Along the Natural Path
Senior Dogs: Fresh Food vs Kibble Study
We’ve got some nice research on a group of senior dogs, showing striking differences between kibble and a fresh food (though cooked) diet.
Done at Cornell and studying two groups of dogs, both of which started on typical extruded kibble (the very definition of “over processed!”) for 4 months.
Then, half the dogs were switched to a fresh “human grade” diet and compared to the control group that stayed on the kibble. The study went for one whole year.
They measured “metabolomics” a buzz word I could live without.
It means indicators of how efficient or messed up one’s metabolism is.
Wait. What’s metabolism?
Our vet school biochemistry professor was from Trinidad or some other Caribbean country, and left the class agog when he pronounced it “met a BOWL ism” on his first day lecturing. Wait, what’s he saying?
Giggles ensued once someone figured it out and it made the rounds.
MeTABolism is, per the dictionary,
the chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.”
Another way to say it: Metabolism is how cells convert nutrients into energy and building blocks to sustain life.
You might hear it broken down into protein, fat, or carbohydrate metabolism or hear it in the context of the tiny powerhouses in every cell called mitochondria.
Bottom line: what you feed (or eat) has a lot to do with how efficient this process of sustaining life is for your pets and you.
Ingredients Make a Yuge Difference!
(Sorry, couldn’t resist ;-) )
The two diets were wildly different in composition, as you’ll see if you view the study via this link.
I’ll just highlight those differences by listing the first several ingredients in each, using the “Salt Divide” as my breaking point, as everything following salt is pretty tiny.
The control diet, like a lot of kibble products everywhere reads as follows:
Ground Corn, Chicken Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Rice Flour, Porcine Meat and Bone Meal, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Poultry Fat Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Porcine Animal Fat Preserved with BHA and Citric Acid, Brewers Dried Yeast, Hydrolyzed Poultry By-Products Aggregate, Spray Dried Animal Blood Cells, Dried Egg Product, Dried Whey…
And the test diet, a commercial fresh (but cooked) offering lists the following before salt appears:
Chicken, Chicken Liver, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, Chia Seeds, Tricalcium Phosphate, Salmon Oil, Potassium Chloride…
Whoa. That second one sounds pretty good for humans, doesn’t it? Real food, what a concept.
The kibble version also has an old alarming preservative in it called ethoxyquin, long know to be a toxic one, while the fresh food?
Preserved by refrigeration.
Macronutrients: Wildly Different as Well
Worth mentioning the protein, fat, and carb contents are miles apart as well, as this screen shot indicates:
Basically, this data shows how much metabolizable energy (ME) comes from protein, fat, and carbs by percentage.
If you’ve followed my bent or that of many others interested in obesity and insulin resistance, you’ll see the winning diet (“Test”) had 1/10th the carbs as the kibble, almost twice the fat, and more protein.
And the fresh food had a whole lot less “energy” (read: calories that count) overall.
Both diets passed the AAFCO specs for dogs however, so neither group was starving.
Results
Both groups remained “systemically healthy” for the one year of the research. Body condition scores were stable in all.
But, from an analysis of the research,
Results revealed that dogs fed the fresh food experienced a rapid and sustained metabolic shift after just one month, marked by lower levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) – harmful compounds linked to aging and chronic disease.
These dogs also showed reduced sucrose and 1,5-anhydroglucitol (a glycemic control biomarker), and notably lower concentrations of specific AGEs such as N6-carboxymethyllysine and pyrraline—highlighting the benefits of avoiding high-heat-processed diets.
Note: good results began after just one month on the fresh food. And the betterment was sustained.
More input from one of the board certified vet nutritionists involved with the study:
Fresh, minimally processed food shifted the dogs’ metabolism toward a beneficial alternative metabolic profile in the aging dog with markers for improved muscle and neurological health along with implications for improved antioxidant defense, and diminished AGE formation
AGE’s? Bad news, as the prior quote shows. Lessening them is good.
Bottom Line
If you’re still using kibble as your basic pet food (but read the next piece, especially cat folks!), this is a clear indication that you’d not expect health to be enhanced by that food choice.
It’ll keep Sadie and Puff alive, but isn’t doing them any favors.
And, a big take away if you’re afeared of raw food: Even *cooked* food, with human quality ingredients blows away the food like particles commonly sold in bags.
And I get this, loud and clear, from years of hearing it in practice:
Oh, Dr. Falconer, I’d love to do raw food but I’m working and lucky to get food on the table for my human family!
So, be heartened: purchased fresh food, even if not raw, can make such a difference (and save money on vet bills!) that it’s well worth the price.
Or, you can grab a book or two and make your own. Your animals will bow and graciously offer thanks, guaranteed.
Processed Pet Food Sales
Cat Owners: Wake UP!
My goto source for what’s going on in the pet food world is Susan Thixton who, once again, digs into the trends for us.
She presents the past year’s sales of kibble, and it’s a mixed picture (half the mix causing my eyebrows to furrow…)
First, The Good News
Several of the big name kibble makers for dogs lost sales.
Purina, who totally covered up the vast swath of sickness and deaths their foods were causing in 2024 (even land fill dumped food killing wildlife!), dropped, though only by 1%. Clearly not enough of a slap to change their evil ways, but at least dog people are catching on.
Greater losses came to another pet food giant, Mars (yep, same outfit poisoning kids over Halloween but really every day). Their sales were down a whopping 10%.
The winner in the dog food sales losses was one I never heard of: KLN Family brands. Maybe you know them for their products, Tuffy’s and Nutrisource.
Cat Owners Brought the Bad News
Contrary to the hopeful drops in dry dog food sales, several cat kibble makers saw increased sales!
Purina (aka Nestle Purina), and Mars gained 3-4% selling food no cat should ever be offered.
Hills was up a whopping 10% and Royal Canin (Royal Felin?) even more at 15%.
Just let’s take a moment to bullet point the problems with kibble, in any species, shall we?
Kibble means:
Highly processed (high temps, high pressures) = dead food, lifeless.
Bottom of the barrel ingredients you’d never feed a human. Ever.
Byproducts, meaning everything from spoiled food to dead, diseased animals, to the waste material on the slaughter house floor
Euthanized animals (yep: pentobarbital residues found multiple times in various kibbles)
Preservatives
Slathered with grease to hide the off flavors. This could be restaurant grease after one too many sets of fries.
[True story: I worked a spell at Burger King as a high school kid. Fresh oil got used first for fish patties, probably a couple days at least. Then, it was moved to the next frier and used for a few more days for french fries, until it got gross and dark and was put out back in the alley for who knows who to collect.]
And, far from an isolated experience, I think every holistic vet colleague will share these stories with you: when ever a pet was changed from kibble to raw food, they literally shone with health!
Spark in their step, sweet breath, small stools with way less odor, and teeth that cleaned up and started to gleam, the way Nature intended.
But Cats and Kibble? Just NO.
I’ve written about this earlier, but it appears not enough cat owners (he said, euphemistically… we know who owns who, don’t we?) have read it.
It’s important to know who it is we’re feeding (a desert-origin water concentrating predator) and why kibble is such an insult to the species.
Here’s the article, and please share this issue widely to all who love this cool species:
And, if making the jump to raw seems impossible, here’s a great interview I did with Kasie Maxwell of San Francisco Raw on how it’s not only possible, but how she’s walked that path more than once. She lays it out step by step.
(You can also listen on my site, if you don’t want to mess with Spotify).
For more understanding of who’s being fed (wolves and wild cats) and some recommended food sources (including training to make your own), here’s a good resource.
Pet Food Magic!
I used to do Facebook Lives back in the day, and I saved a few for repurposing.
This one is all about pet food enhancements, with input from the audience in addition to my suggestions.
And it shows a cool “magic” trick!
I used to do this demo before live audiences when I’d go to town for an evening of teaching in Austin. Even did a day long one once for a fee, but most were freebies, as I was growing my budding homeopathic practice.
Once it dawned on me that Zuckerberg’s goal was to use me, the user, as his “product” and he started censoring the truth speakers, I bailed on Facebook.
But you can still glean plenty on enhancing your pet’s food bowl, especially if you’ve yet to make the jump to raw feeding.
Enjoy!
EOs for Senior Animals
My colleague, Janet Roark, DVM, The Essential Oil Vet I interviewed earlier on my podcast is presenting a webinar this week on Essential Oils for Senior Animals (timely, right?).
I pass this along, as I know from conversing with her that she’s basing this on first hand experience, which counts for a lot in my book.
She says,
Imagine seeing your dog acting more like a puppy again, your aging horse having optimal digestive health, not being as worried if there is a new diagnosis, and having solutions when issues come up as they age...
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Joint health
Kidney and liver support
Brain and cognitive function
Vision and hearing
Senior specific digestive health
What to do if and when issues arise
Here’s the deets and here’s how to get access, but don’t wait.
This is going LIVE on Wed, 19 Nov, at 7 pm CT
In case you can’t make the webinar, at least pick up her freebie PDF, “EOs for Aging Animals.”
Regenerative Ag Film: Free Showing
In case you’ve not heard of regenerative agriculture, it may just be the most inspiring movement on the planet, IMHO.
The soil that grows our food is critical to our well being, and that of our animals, be they livestock grazing or pets chowing down in your kitchen.
As you are likely aware, pesticides currently reign supreme in Big Ag, and they show up in our food, water, and even air.
Glyphosate (aka RoundUp) is probably the most ubiquitous, but every baby born these days starts out life with a “body burden” of chemicals that are toxic.
Breast milk is but one vehicle of delivery, and these nasties cross the placenta during pregnancy as well.
Enter a New, Sensible Ag System
A film that explains regen ag well is Common Ground, which, for the first time I’m aware of it, is now available for FREE.
The focus is changing the ways of farming to favor the microbiome of the soils, which, perhaps not surprisingly, affects the health of the plants grown to feed grazing animals and ultimately, us and our families.
The beauty of this approach is it decreases greatly farmers’ dependence on pesticides and actually increases the bottom line income for the farm.
Common Ground Redux (the 45‑min educational cut) is free for educators, farmers, and non‑profits. Request your viewing link via the official campaign form; approval may take a bit.
Meanwhile, here’s a short preview that’s pretty darned inspiring:
Along the Natural Path
There’s no mistaking the seasonal change here in Uttar Pradesh. Morning fog, late sunrise, and bundles of rice straw awaiting the whirling blade that’ll turn them into cattle and buffalo fodder are the norm.
Wool is back: sox, undershirts, head shawls, especially in the chilly mornings like the above before the sun gets a chance to dry and warm the air.
The coconut oil in my kitchen is now solid, the tap water bordering on icy, and the tile floor reminds you to find those cozy slippers or navigate throw rug to throw rug. Barring that, toes shudder and threaten to never warm up again.
Oddly, in this transition period, the temps swing 30º from pre-dawn (52º) to early afternoon (80º). Still, it’s dry, good rice harvesting weather and adequate for line drying a load of clothes.
When allowed, the gleaners are out in force in the fields, once the rice is moved off for storage or eventual sale:
The farmer of the field above has burned some rows of rice stubble, not all of it, and the tractor that will follow the gleaners by a day or two will turn the ash into potassium (aka “potash,” get it?) to help the fertility of the soil.
The egrets love gleaner days, as the cattle stir up chewy bugs as they chomp away at the stalks, a nice break from their boring fodder, likely left over from last year.
My morning bike rides are often smoky affairs, partly due to fields burning but to a lesser extent by people huddling around small fires in the chill of morning, out in front of their homes. From young to old, all the villagers like to extend chilly fingers towards a hot fire of rice straw, which catches fast and burns hot, as long as it’s fed.
I still am not sure what got into this bull the other day. He was snorting and digging and tossing his head into the pile of sand someone had undoubtedly left for a building project.
His younger cohort seemed at a loss too, until Mr. Big Hump had had enough of the pile and charged at Little Guy, uttering a guttural sound that was anything but friendly. The younger made haste and the big guy gazed my way, but from far enough away that it seemed pretty risk free to me.
I upped and rode off, as the show was over. Still wondering what that was all about.
As well as cattle seem to do wandering about (bulls especially stout and well muscled), horses rarely look well here in India.
Maybe more prone to intestinal parasites? Less cared for for some reason? Neither mare nor her foal here had quite enough flesh to cover their skeletons, and no shine to their coats. And that seems to be the norm.
Oxen or buffalo do the field work, if there’s no tractor coming or no money to pay the driver. Horses? Never seen them working fields and the handful I’ve seen dressed up for a wedding or such always look a bit abused to me.
Sad difference between our cultures.
Goats are still the healthiest looking of the livestock I see. Just haven’t crossed paths with any out for herd walks recently, but I’ll show you when I next see some.
The goats and cows obviously have food to offer, so maybe that’s part of the equation.
Anyway, I hope your seasonal transition has been a nice one (heard about the crazy early snow storms in the Midwest!).
And I hope you’re getting out, breathing deep, getting that good early morning sun in your eyes, and sharing some good leg stretching and exercise with your favorite hairy family members.
Till next time, keep on making wise decisions for those innocents in your care,
Will Falconer, DVM
Fabulous photo in this issue! The first one looks like a painting. I enjoy them so much. Thank you!
I switched my dog and cats to homemade raw a couple of years ago and the benefits have been off the charts. As one example I have a 16+ yr old cat who chases down a full flight of stairs to retrieve a ball and asks us to throw it repeatedly. This happens daily. If we don’t engage he drops the ball down for himself.
No lie, raw is more expensive and homemade is more work but like the vast majority of people who try it, once you see the difference it makes you wouldn’t consider stopping.
I feed my dog gently cooked and freeze dried raw. Despite this, he has nagging arthritis that refuses to go away. I use a recipe book from Dr. Judy Morgan, DVM, so his meals are balanced with no synthetic vitamins. Some dogs adjust quite well to de-sexing and thrive with fresh food diets; others do not and I think mine is one of those that really does require HRT th thrive.
I use the same food I purchase for myself, so he gets organic if available and pasture raised if available. Cooking is low temperature sous vide in an Instant Pot. I'm at a loss as to where to go from here if his vet won't do HRT. It requires quite a bit of prep on the part of the vet because the vet has to figure out where he's at and give both progesterone and go through regulatory hoops to get even bioidentical testosterone.