About  |  Frequently asked questions

Pronature Original is a high-quality brand, prepared with carefully selected ingredients and a unique mixture of herbs and plant extracts that make it an ideal dry food for your dogs and cats.

Other good reasons to select Pronature Original:

• Real chicken or lamb meal is the main ingredient in our dog and cat foods
• Contains no animal by-products
• Contains no artificial flavors or colors
• Vitamin E used as a natural preservative
• Perfectly balanced and rich in protein, vitamins and minerals
• Provides lots of energy and is easily digested
• Recognized as an excellent quality product

Your pet will love the taste of Pronature Original dog and cat foods. A great way to help your four-legged friend lead a healthy life!

All Pronature Original products meet very strict quality criteria. The nutritional value of our products respects the standards set by the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) guaranteeing your pet gets the optimal diet at every stage of its life.

Our company, located in Canada, is focused on quality. Our state-of-the-art facilities and equipment rival those of the most modern plants in the industry. Our laboratory verifies the quality of our products at every stage of the manufacturing process, from the arrival of the raw materials at the plant to the finished product. Our formulas are constantly reviewed to improve their performance. Our team of nutritionists and production technicians work closely together to ensure superior mixtures that taste great.

The unique blend of plants and herbs in Pronature Original Classic and Deluxe recipes helps promote your pet's good health.

Some of their benefits are:

• Spinach: Contains beta-carotene, favoring the integrity of the body tissues as well as the immune system.
• Source of omega-3: Flaxseed contains omega-3 fatty acids favoring a healthy immune system.
• Thyme: Stimulates gastric function and relieves of digestive problems.
• Cranberry: Cranberries help prevent urinary tract infections.
• Rosemary: Has antioxidant properties which stabilize the formula and facilitate good digestion.
• Yucca schidigera: Helps reduce unpleasant odors in animal urine and stools.
• Prebiotic: Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS) and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) help promote the growth of a healthy and beneficial intestinal flora for the well-being of the animal.
• Apple: An excellent source of antioxidants, acting as a natural cell protector.
• Blueberry: A powerful source of antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties.

The daily portion can change from one product or brand to the next. Food providing greater nutrient concentration is served in smaller portions since you need less food to meet all your pet's requirements. That's why portions are generally smaller for higher quality brands (super premium or premium) than lower quality brands.

Pronature Original is prepared with carefully selected quality ingredients including a unique mixture of herbs and plant extracts, making it 100% complete and the ideal dry food for your dog or cat.

Preservatives are additives used to protect nutrients in food from oxidation or mold. One of the ingredients contained in dog and cat food that needs to be preserved is fat. Pronature Original uses only tocopherols, which are natural antioxidants and also a source of vitamin E.

All Pronature Original recipes have a shelf life of at least 14 months. The expiration date is written on each package.

The first difference between these two products is that the size of the nuggets is adapted to the size of the animal. A nugget that is too small may be swallowed whole, which could cause digestive problems. On the other hand, your small dog might choke on a nugget that is too large, or even refuse to eat the food.

Also, growth for larger dog breeds must be controlled in order to prevent skeletal anomalies. This involves reducing the amount of fat in their food and ensuring the animals get an optimal amount of minerals (calcium and phosphorus) in their diets. Food for large breeds is often enriched with glucosamine and chondroitin. These substances, naturally present in a dog's body, help prevent joint damage and pain.

Very small dog breeds have small stomachs, so they tend eat less. Therefore, their food must have a higher energy and nutrient density to ensure they get everything they need - including protein, carbs and fats - to meet all their requirements.

Pronature Original recommends for adult dogs:

• Small and Medium Breeds, Maintenance, Classic Chicken Recipe
• Large Breed, Maintenance, Classic Chicken Recipe (with glucosamine and chondroitin)
• All Breeds, Maintenance, Classic Lamb & Rice Recipe (for dogs with sensitive stomachs)
• All Breeds, Maintenance, Deluxe Chicken Recipe - No Corn, No Wheat, No soy (for dogs prone to food intolerances or allergies)

Adult dog food does not meet a puppy's dietary needs. Maintenance formulas for adult dogs are not designed for growing animals because the amount of nutrients they contain is not adequately balanced in relation to their calorie content. A growing puppy needs up to twice as much energy as an adult dog of the same weight. Since a puppy would have to eat a greater quantity of adult dog food to meet its energy needs, it would be unable to eat enough of the adult food to get the energy and nutrients it requires.

Giving your puppy adult dog food may result in your puppy eating too much of certain nutrients, such as calcium. Excess calcium can lead to bone anomalies that slow growth, resulting in a smaller adult size.

Overeating may cause digestive problems, stomach pains and diarrhea. We recommend you give your puppy food that is specially formulated for growing animals.

A dog's growth rate is very rapid during the first 12 months of its life. After this time, the growth rate slows, so we recommend you give your dog a maintenance formula. For small and large breed dogs, this period may be shorter or longer, respectively. This means you may start to give your pet adult dog food earlier or later according to its breed requirements.

Pronature Original has developed different puppy recipes to suit your puppy's specific needs:

• Small and Medium Breeds, Growth, Classic Chicken Recipe
• Large Breed, Growth, Classic Chicken Recipe (with glucosamine and chondroitin)
• All Breeds, Growth, Classic Lamb & Rice Recipe (for dogs with sensitive stomachs)
• All Breeds, Growth, Deluxe Chicken Recipe - No Corn, No Wheat, No soy (for dogs prone to food intolerances or allergies)

Pronature Original puppy foods contain protein primarily sourced from superior quality chicken meal. Their fat content has been adjusted to promote healthy brain and nervous system growth while contributing to the development of good eyesight and healthy skin. The essential omega-3 fatty acids contained in flaxseed help strengthen your puppy's immune system. The prebiotics in Pronature Original puppy recipes promote the growth of beneficial intestinal flora to improve digestion. They also contain lecithin for a shiny, healthier coat.

Yes! Pronature Original has designed specially formulated recipes that are adapted to the needs of less active and senior cats or dogs that have a tendency to put on extra pounds. These recipes will help your pet achieve and maintain its ideal weight.

• For cats, Pronature Original suggests Senior, Mature or Less Active, Classic Chicken Recipe.
• For dogs, Pronature Original recommends Senior, All Breeds, Mature or Less Active, Deluxe Chicken Recipe - No Corn, No Wheat, No Soy.

Both Pronature Original Senior Cat and Dog recipes contain glucosamine and chondroitin, two natural supplements that help reduce joint pain caused by excess weight or deterioration due to aging. Also, they contain prebiotics, which promote a stronger immune system and easier digestion.

You should ask yourself the following questions when evaluating dog or cat food:

• Does it say on the package that the food is complete and balanced?
  This means that the food contains sufficient quantities of the nutrients required to meet the physical needs of your pet and meets pet food standards established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).
• Does the food taste good?
  Taste is a very important criterion since it will influence the amount of food eaten. A pet food may be complete and balanced, but if it tastes bad, a dog or cat will not be able to eat enough of it to satisfy its dietary needs.
• How digestible is it?
  Digestibility is an important criterion as it indicates the amount of nutrients that may be absorbed by the body. High-quality food is more easily digested than its lower-end counterpart because it contains more digestible animal protein, while lower-end food contains many ingredients that the enzymes of a dog or cat's system may not be able to digest as readily. Consequently, you must feed your pet larger quantities of less digestible food in order for it to satisfy your pet's dietary needs. This could lead to your animal eating more and defecating more frequently.
• How much metabolizable energy does the food contain?
  Each Pronature Original bag provides information about its energy density in kcal/kg. Sedentary dogs and cats should be fed calorie-reduced diets to avoid weight gain, while very active animals (e.g. sled dogs) need food with high energy density.

FLUTD refers to all conditions that affect a cat's lower urinary system (bladder, urethra), including infections, malformations and/or the presence of crystals. In all cases, symptoms range from more frequent or uncomfortable urination, to the presence of blood in the urine to a complete blockage of the urethra with non-existent urination if crystals are present.

To decrease the formation of struvite crystals, our cat food formulas are designed to reduce the amount of minerals (mainly magnesium) in your pet's diet. We also ensure that your cat's urinary pH is slightly acidic to help dissolve any crystals that may form in the urinary system.

You must ensure your cat has a constant source of fresh, clean drinking water served in a clean dish (cats are finicky!) since decreased water intake may be a predisposing factor.

Your cat must also have an easily accessible litter box with clean litter. Ask your veterinary about the available diets on the market that help prevent struvite crystal formation and seek veterinarian care if you suspect your cat is suffering from a urinary condition.

All Pronature Original cat food recipes are designed to maintain a slightly acidic urinary pH to help reduce the formation of struvite crystals in the urinary tract.

Some animals, like cats, swallow a lot of hair when grooming themselves. This hair can accumulate and form balls in their digestive tracts. As a result, the animals may have digestive problems or vomit regularly in order to eliminate the hairballs from their systems.

Hairball control recipes allow your pet to eliminate hairballs, thanks to the combined effect of fat and fiber in the digestive tract. Food with high fat and fiber content helps your pet continually eliminate hairballs from its system and prevents them from forming. The nuggets of food in this recipe are the perfect size for your pet, which means your cat will chew its food properly. Food with nuggets that are too large may cause nausea or vomiting.

If your cat has a hairball problem, Pronature Original recommends any of its adult cat recipes which all have an optimal ratio of fat/fiber in order to help your pet.

Intestinal gas can build up 4 different ways:

• Swallowing air
• Gas being transferred from the blood into the intestines;
• Acid-base neutralization reactions that produce carbon dioxide;
• Bacterial fermentation of nutrients in the digestive tract, which produces hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide.

How to treat flatulence:

• Control aerophagia (swallowing air) by feeding your dog at least twice a day or by ensuring there is always food in your dog's dish so that he may eat whenever he feels hungry. This prevents your dog from swallowing too much air and gets your pet used to eating a smaller quantity of food at a time. Place your dog's food in a quiet area, where your pet will not feel he is competing with other animals when eating. Doing so will also allow your dog to enjoy the health benefits of eating more slowly.
• Avoid foods rich in fiber and those containing soy or wheat gluten. Do not give your dog vegetables with lots of seasonings, vitamin or mineral supplements, milk, foods with high sulphur content or protein-rich foods.
• Give your dog easily digestible food.

With puppies, adult and senior dogs in mind, Pronature Original has developed an entire line of Deluxe recipes which contain no corn, no wheat and no soy. Some dogs may develop adverse reactions, such as excessive gas production, to specific food ingredients. That's why Pronature Original has replaced the wheat, the corn and the soy with rice, pearled barley and oat groats in all of its Deluxe recipes. These three grains are easily digestible and are a good source of energy. They also allow better absorption of nutrients and contain adequate fiber levels, noticeably reducing stool volume.

As these products are very tasty, some dogs may have a tendency to bolt their food, thus swallowing too much air when they eat. To remedy this, we recommend modifying your animal's behaviour to get it to eat more slowly (please refer to previous answer at question 16).

In the interests of promoting your pet's health, it is recommended you choose a formula that meets your pet's specific needs, based on the criteria below:

• Age: Puppy or kitten, adult or senior
• Size: Small, medium or large (dog breeds)
• Physical condition: Growing, healthy (maintenance), overweight, pet with allergies, working dog, pregnant cat, cat with a tendency to suffer from hairballs, etc.

When you must change your brand or type of pet food, you should introduce the new brand progressively by giving your pet a small quantity of the new food and slowly increasing its amount while reducing the quantity of the old food. The transition period should last anywhere from 4 to 7 days. Introducing a new brand or type of food progressively will avoid having your pet suffer from digestive problems.

Varying the pet food you give your dog or cat is not recommended. Feeding your pet the same food on a consistent basis ensures that your dog or cat's digestive tract will function properly and that your pet produces firm, well-formed stools. Changing your pet food simply for the sake of varying its diet may result in your pet suffering from an upset stomach. Careful changes to your pet's diet are only recommended if it develops any reactions to its usual food.

However, our adult cat recipes are formulated in very similar ways. For this reason, it is possible for you to diversify your cat's diet by switching from one flavor to another without causing any undesired effects or reactions!

No. If an animal has a complete, balanced diet, it does not need any dietary supplementing. Feeding your pet table scraps, which often contain a lot of fat, may result in your pet becoming overweight.

No. A dog or cat with a complete and balanced diet does not need dietary supplements. What's more, the excess of some specific nutrients on the diet may lead to malabsorption of other elements, resulting in a dietary imbalance. That is why all Pronature Original recipes are 100% complete and perfectly balanced to meet the specific needs of your dog or cat.

In order to measure and control the quantity of minerals in pet foods, they must first be burned. Ash is what is left after this procedure. The amount of ash in a pet food represents almost exactly the quantity of minerals it contains

Good quality pet food generally contains between 5 and 9% ash. You should always check the quantity of ash in the food you give to your dog or cat.

It is also important that the minerals in the food be balanced. Excess minerals in the system can be harmful to your pet because unabsorbed minerals may combine with other minerals and prevent them from being absorbed by your pet's body. This could lead to a mineral deficiency or imbalance. In addition, excess minerals in your pet's system can cause various physical problems.

Coprophagia (eating of excrements) is a natural phenomenon in animals. It often indicates boredom or a habit adopted by the animal at a young age.

To resolve this problem, we recommend disposing of your pet's stools as soon as they are produced, playing with your pet more and feeding it a balanced and easily digested food. You can also add a product to your pet's food that will give the stools an unpleasant taste (available at pet stores).

Eating stool is not dangerous for your pet, unless it contains parasites. However, it may also be a sign that your pet needs to spend more quality time with you, or that he needs better quality nutrition.

The presence of beet pulp in pet food does not make a dog's skin or fur change color (especially that beet pulp is grey!). Normally, your pet's diet is not the cause of any changes in its fur color. When the fur of a white-haired animal develops a reddish tinge, it is usually due to a copper deficiency and is considered a symptom of anemia, a rare occurrence in dogs. Other symptoms include skin lesions and dull, tired-looking fur. Very few studies have been conducted on this condition because very few dogs show all of the symptoms. Generally speaking, reddening of the fur is usually the result of several things:

• Dietary factors
  A lack of certain nutrients can affect hair pigmentation. The addition of free available tyrosine (an amino acid) can prevent the coat reddening and optimize hair pigmentation in dark coat breeds. This could be beneficial even for diets that have a level of tyrosine above current recommendations.
• Foreign substance on the fur
  Foreign substances on the fur are the most common reason a dog's fur reddens. For example, shampoos or creams often contain insecticides that can affect the color of fur. Exposure to the sun can also make your pet's fur take on a reddish hue. However, if your dog has black fur, there may be another reason. The tips of older hairs in a dog's coat that have not been shed early enough will often take on a reddish tinge. Once the dog sheds, the color of the fur returns to normal.
• Porphyrin
  Another frequent cause of red fur is porphyrin, a substance present in dog's saliva and tears. Reddening of the fur around the eyes occurs frequently in small dogs with white fur after exposure to the sun because of the porphyrin in their tears. Also, dogs that suffer from allergies lick themselves repeatedly. This results in porphyrin being deposited on the fur, which can trigger a color change.