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Incorporating herbs into your dog’s diet can have many benefits! They can help with adding nutrients to their already existing diet, heal imbalances in the body, and create a strong immune system.

If you are looking to start adding herbs to your dog’s diet, a good one to start off with is the Daily Health herb mix! This herb mix has ten different herbs that work together in keeping your dog balanced and healthy from the inside out.  

Ingredients:

1. 
   Burdock Root: One of the safest and most beneficial medicinal herbs. Excellent in removing toxins from the body and improving liver function. Good for the digestive system and helps boost the immune system. Burdock root also has anti-inflammatory properties making it wonderful in the treatment of arthritis.
2. Cleavers: Beneficial to the lymphatic system. They help to rid the lymph nodes of toxins and flush out the urinary tract and kidneys.
3. Dandelion Leaf: Benefits the liver, skin, kidneys, urinary tract, as well as the digestive and circulatory systems.
4. Kelp: Helps to alleviate skin allergies. Maintain a healthy metabolism and immune system. Also used to improve oral health and reduce dental plaque.
5. Marigold: Helps to treat the inflammation of the digestive system and urinary tracts.
6. Meadowsweet: Has anti-inflammatory properties and acts as a natural pain reliever.
7. Milk Thistle: Help support a heathy immune system. Works in detoxifying the liver and kidney.
8. Mint: A reliable source of dietary fiber and protein. A powerful antioxidant, and a soothing herb to help with upset stomachs.
9. Nettle: Offers various nutritional benefits. Ranging from improving your dog's skin, reducing seasonal allergies, aiding in digestion and helping with the relief of arthritis.
10. Rosehips: Helps to regulate the digestive system and support immune system. Rich in vitamin C to help build strong bones and teeth.

Daily Health herb supplement mix ingredients are all herbs that work together as a whole to help keep your dog happy and healthy! While taking a holistic approach to your dog’s wellbeing can be very beneficial, if you have concerns about incorporating herbs into your dog's diet, reach out to your vet.

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Resources:

Natural Dog Health Remedies | Holistic Dog Care (natural-dog-health-remedies.com)

Healthy Food for Dogs | Canine Raw Diet | Volhard Dog Nutrition

The Many Benefits of Calendula for Your Dog - Whole Dog Journal (whole-dog-journal.com)

Milk Thistle for Dogs and It's Proven Benefits (Based on Science) (topdogtips.com)

Mint – an herb you can share with your dog | Animal Wellness Magazine

The Canine Nutritionist Dog Nutrition Consultant | The Canine Nutritionist

Let’s talk Healthy Coat herb mix.

The way your dog’s coat looks can tell you a lot about their health! With the skin being the largest organ of the body, the condition can range from soft and shiny, to coarse and dull depending on the nutrients and state of health your dog is in. A dog’s coat can also be a visual aid in helping to determine if your dog has any underlying issues. Some dogs may also be affected by the season’s changing and the humidity level in the area that you live in, causing seasonal allergies or a dry, flakey coat.

If you are looking to help keep your dog's coat soft and shiny all year long or want help in keeping their seasonal allergies at bay, then Healthy Coat is the herb mix for you! Healthy Coat is a mix of seven different herbs that when combined can not only help your dog’s coat, but their overall wellbeing.

Ingredients:

1. Dandelion Root: Can be used to treat skin problems, digestive issues, and help to boost the immune system. It also benefits the liver and kidneys.
2. Nettle: Provides nutrients to the whole body. Not only is it considered an herbal antihistamine, but also helps with aiding in digestion and arthritis relief.
3. Cleavers: Supports the lymphatic system. Helps to remove excess fluids, flush out the urinary tract and kidneys, and rid the lymph nodes of toxins.
4. Burdock: Improves liver function. Helps to flush wastes in the liver and helps to eliminate toxins through the skin. Can also help with skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, and mange.
5. Chamomile: Can aid in calming down irritated and inflamed skin.
6. Kelp: Helps with skin allergies, dry skin, and alopecia. Also helps the skin tissues repair.
7. Calendula: Has anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antibacterial properties. Improve liver and skin conditions and help calm the nervous system.

Healthy Coat is a great mix of herbs to help keep your pups coat looking amazing year around! If you are using Healthy coat as an aid in helping with seasonal allergies, make sure to start incorporating the herbs into your dog’s diet when the seasons start to change! Each dog is different, and the herbs may take some dogs longer than others to get into their system. While herbs can be very beneficial to your dog, it is always recommended to speak to your vet if you’re concerned about adding herbs into your dog’s diet.

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References:

Natural Dog Health Remedies | Holistic Dog Care

Dandelion: Great for Dog Liver Support | Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM

Dogs Naturally - Natural Dog Health And Nutrition (dogsnaturallymagazine.com)

The Canine Nutritionist Dog Nutrition Consultant | The Canine Nutritionist

Pet Health Articles from Veterinarians | Great Pet Care

Benefits of Supplementing Your Dog's Diet With Burdock Root (wagwalking.com)

The difference between dehydrated and freeze dried? Benefits and why you use both methods for different products?

We’re going to share why we freeze dry our Ruff Food. If you’d like to understand the differences between air dried and freeze dried, you can read more in an article by Petfood Express.

Both methods allow for the end product to be nutrient dense and shelf stable.

As some of you know, we started making freeze dried meat based herb treats early in 2018. Until later in 2018, we were still making Ruff Bars by hand. When we started working with a co-packer, the bars were (and still are) made in long strips, leaving end pieces.

We experimented with using the end pieces in dehydrated food, but it wasn’t the recipe we wanted.

We feed our dogs raw and were freeze drying backpacking meals for our daughter’s dog. With the freeze drying method, we could control the outcome.

We have added larger and more freeze dryers to our space and increased the volume we could handle.

We have considered offering an air dried version of the same now that we have a steady co-packer. 2023 has been a productive year. We’ll see what 2024 is like.

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Here's a fun way of feeding your dogs their daily herbs!

These simple dog treats have just two ingredients: Ruff Bar Supplements herbs and bone broth!

Mix 1 cup of herb mix of your choice (whatever your dog needs - here we are using 'Flex', our dog joint supplement) with 1 cup of broth, put into silicone molds and freeze. Once they are firm, pop them out and store in a container or plastic bag in the freezer until use. 

Thank you @sandi_n_aspen for this recipe and the wonderful photos! Let us know how your dog likes it! 

To not exceed the daily herb dosage for your dog, please follow these guidelines: 

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The idea for freeze-dried backpacking meals came when our daughter was backpacking with her dog in 2018. Our family are raw feeders, and my daughter needed meals for her dog for an upcoming trip. At the time, we had a medium-sized Harvest Right Freeze Dryer. 

We started with the meals we fed, formed them into pucks, and freeze dried them. While out backpacking, the freeze-dried meals were crumbled into a bowl and water added to reconstitute. 

At home, we combined raw meats, blended specifically for dogs, and add our base mix, other supplements and either warm water or bone broth. We shared a few of our home freeze dried meals with some of our ambassadors, and Kairos Pantry was born. This year, we rebranded Kairos Pantry to Ruff Food since it aligns well with outdoor adventuring.

Over time, the process for how we make our freeze-dried food has changed but not the formula. Our meals are 90% protein and 10% veggies, fruit and seeds. Ruff Food protein is made up of muscle, organ, and bone, but salmon and whitefish currently exclude bone and, of course, organs. Our recipe does not include potatoes, legumes or other fillers. 

We source all ingredients from the U.S. and many of the ingredients locally. Our meats are grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free. The fish we select are wild caught. We only use organic veggies, fruits and seeds. We freeze dry the meats separately and then add our base mix of veggies, fruit and seeds. 

Did you know freeze dried food will continue to be raw if the product is raw going into the freeze dryer? 

We started with 4 oz packaging and many customers requested larger size bags. We listened and added a 16 oz bag option. We’ve learned many customers use Ruff Food as a topper. In the future we will be moving to an 8 oz and the 4 oz size will only be available upon request. We are working on preprinted pouches made with PCR plastic and Ruff Food. 

Our meals are formulated using AAFCO standards and are third-party tested to provide guaranteed analysis.

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Spring allergies can affect our dogs, just like us! It's hard to watch our best friends suffer through seasonal allergies. From sneezing to sniffles and itchy skin to goopy eyes we just want to soothe their symptoms and make them feel better.

Have you ever asked yourself, what can I give my dog for allergies? How can I naturally help my dog's allergy symptoms. We completely understand. Sue created Ruff Bar Supplements to help her little dog, Jack, who was struggling with severe skin allergies. Read Jack's story, and how Sue was able to help him find relief.

Ruff Bar Supplements offer a variety of all natural herbal mixes to offer different options to help support your dogs health holistically.

When it comes to dog allergies and supporting your furry friend's overall health our Daily Health herb mix is a great place to start. This blend of ten all natural herbs is formulated to sustain a normal healthy dog. Daily Health contains nettle and burdock, which both help with seasonal allergies. Daily Health also supports joints and the immune, kidney, liver and lymphatic systems!

Daily health is a great overall blend, but let's talk dog allergies specifically. Several herbs can potentially help alleviate your dog's spring seasonal allergies. Some options include:

• Nettle: contains natural antihistamines and anti-inflammatory properties, which can help relieve allergy symptoms.
• Chamomile: has anti-inflammatory properties and can help soothe irritated skin and calm allergic reactions.
• Licorice: this root has anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating properties, which may help reduce allergy symptoms.
• Burdock: root can help cleanse the blood and support the liver, which may help with allergies by promoting detoxification.
• Turmeric: contains curcumin, which has strong anti-inflammatory properties and may help alleviate allergy symptoms.

Interested in learning more natural ways to support your dog's health? Here is our fully glossary of herbs for dogs which explains what each herb does for your pup.

We love our furry family members, we want to keep them healthy and support them however we can, but each dog, their symptoms and how they react to an supplement is different. Always consult with a veterinarian before giving your dog any herbs or supplements, as some may interact with medications or have side effects. 

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Maya Angelou said “We did what we knew to do, and when we knew better, we did better.”

We started Ruff Bar, Ruff Food, and Ruff Supplements, using all organic products, seeds, herbs, and antibiotic and hormone free proteins. Our salmon is wild caught in Alaska, purchased locally in WA.  

Our values include products that are free of preservatives. We have grass fed grass finished beef and bison available for our BSP Summit Bars. Ruff Bars are made with grass fed beef and bison. 

I encourage you to check out @TangenDraw. Their regenerative ranching practices are the future we all need to support. Regenerative ranching goes beyond sustainability. I’m grateful for the business relationships that connected us to Morgan and her family. 

Grass fed/finished isn’t affordable to everyone and possibly isn’t a priority for everyone, so we’ll try to maintain options for both. As pet parents / owners, we can only do what we know to do. 

In case you’re wondering about this information on our product labels, there are strict rules about using words like ‘organic’, ‘sustainability’, ‘regenerative ranching’. We can say we purchase organic carrots, but unless our facility is certified organic, carrots can not be listed as organic in the label ingredients. 

My ask is that we support local farmers when you can and purchase organic as often as possible. 

We’re friends with grass fed/finished ranchers in Oregon and would be pleased to share their names. If you have local farms and ranches you’d like to tell others about, let us know. 

One thing this business has taught me — there will always be less expensive versions of what we sell. I’m not willing to compromise by using fillers, preservatives, or any other harmful ingredients in our products. Ever. 

Let’s see if we can increase the life span of our canine companions and improve their health along the way, too. 

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Sometimes, I wish we only carried a couple of products (this is said with humor from the person who just launched a new product). It would be simpler to manage inventory, paperwork, and packaging. While the idea of carrying fewer products appeals to us, deciding which ones to discontinue is a challenging task.

During the pandemic, supply shortages led us to explore alternative packaging solutions. After thorough research, we opted for a compostable packaging that claimed to be airtight and maintain shelf stability for our products.

After nearly a year of monitoring, we've discovered that compostable packaging hasn't progressed sufficiently to meet our shelf stability standards. In line with our dedication to environmental responsibility, we've chosen to adopt Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) packaging.

In our pursuit of sustainability, we're actively working on transitioning all our products to preprinted PCR packaging. This process comes with an 8-10 week lead time, plus additional time for graphic design and approval. The new packaging will resemble the pouches used for our Salmon Mini Ruff Bars.

Until the preprinted versions are ready, Ruff Bar packaging will remain clear with labels, and our pouches will be white PCR with labels.

Other notes coming soon: Graphic design and labeling, along with ingredients sourced with a focus on environmental sustainability.

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