Life’s Abundance All Natural & Holistic Pet Foods Frequently Asked Product
Questions (These FAQ’s are updated Regularly)
This page is NOT a substitute for medical advice. If you feel (use your
gut instinct) that something physically may truly be wrong with your pet,
don’t hesitate to drop off a stool/urine sample to your veterinarian or even
get your pet to an animal hospital ASAP.
Is your food safe for my pet, in light of the many
pet food recalls over the years?
Yes, our pet foods and all our pet
products are safe and APHIS certified, which means that all our ingredients
are tested and certified by a third-party agency to ensure its highest,
human grade quality. Our dog and cat food products have never been on any
recall list, which is something we are extremely excited to share with pet
parents.
We have never used corn, wheat, glutens or dairy in any of
our pet products, and we also maintain the highest standards in quality
control in the pet food industry. Every single batch of food we manufacture
is carefully documented before, during and after the quality control
testing.
Our hearts continually go out to all the pet parents who
have been directly affected by any of these recalls. If your beloved pet
ever shows signs of any possible health issue after having eaten any of the
pet foods listed on any recall list, please do not hesitate to call your
veterinarian ASAP.
We believe you have found us because you are
looking for a healthier and safer alternative to the food you are presently
feeding your pet. We congratulate you on your desire to do the research for
your pet’s well-being and longevity. Please take your time in reviewing our
website, and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact
us.
What makes your food and products stand above the rest of the
natural pet foods on the market today?
Life’s Abundance pet food
formulas and all other food products are, in my honest opinion, the highest
quality holistic health products for dogs and cats available in the pet
industry today. I feel confident sharing with you why I believe this.
First and foremost, we have never been on any recall list because our
products undergo the strictest quality control testing of all pet food
manufacturers. In addition to being
APHIS Certified, our products are also
tested scientifically through Eurofins as being SAFE! I compare this to
Germany, as no other country meets their high standards for quality control.
Basically what this means our pet food products could be sold in Germany if
we exported them. This says a lot, and I’m not sure any other pet food
manufacturer could pass these types of standards.
We also have the luxury
of one of the top, nationally-recognized holistic veterinarians,
Dr. Jane
Bicks, as our product formulator. She brings with her well over 30 years
experience in the pet health industry, and is one of the most meticulous
people I have ever met that puts her entire heart and soul, including backed
by scientific research and evidence, into every ingredient she chooses to go
into all of her formulas. Dr. Jane has graciously made herself available to
the public to answer any questions about our products. If you wish to
participate, please contact us for details of her next scheduled conference
call.
Unless you are preparing your pet’s food fresh, from scratch, you
will never receive a fresher pet food than Life’s Abundance. Our pet foods
are prepared in small batches and shipped directly to you within 6 weeks of
preparation. This is the #1 reason you will NEVER find our pet foods
available in large chains, clubs or supermarkets. We pride ourselves on our
freshness. A very sad fact, but it is widely known that the majority of
commercial pet foods could already be 18 months old before stores stock
their shelves. Prior to this, most of these so-called pet foods are stored
in hot trailers with no air conditioning and no rodent/insect control.
Pretty disgusting, if you ask me.
As previously mentioned, we do NOT
skimp on ingredients. So many pet food manufacturers are still adding poor
quality ingredients to their formulas. We have NEVER used inferior
ingredients in any of our pet food formulas or products, and this includes
corn, wheat, gluten and dairy.
I really could go on and on here, but
I wanted to include the most important highlights of why I believe Life’s
Abundance pet products are the highest quality for the health, well-being
and longevity of your precious pets.
Where do your ingredients come
from?
Most ingredients that are used to formulate our Life’s
Abundance pet foods and products are obtained from ethical sources in the
United States. In fact, we do our best to obtain local ingredients right
from Florida, where our corporate office is located. The only ingredient we
obtain from non-U.S. sources is the organic chicken used to prepare our
delicious
Instinctive Choice Canned Cat Food. We receive this organic
chicken directly from New Zealand.
I find the price of the food to be
a bit on the high side. Why is it said that it is cheaper in the long run,
to feed Life’s Abundance over other popular commercial pet foods?
Life’s Abundance pet foods are highly nutrient-dense, which means, because
there are no fillers and only high quality ingredients, the food is purely
concentrated, allowing for each and every ingredient to be absorbed by the
body rather than heading out the back end. Imagine being able to feed less
food and finding your pet very satisfied after each meal. You will be amazed
at the smaller size poo to clean up, as well as much less odor. You will be
able to feed up to 40% less of Life’s Abundance than many of the other
popular commercial pet foods.
To give you an example, what used to
only last approximately 2 to 3 weeks when feeding a regular commercial dog
food, now lasts about 4 to 5 weeks. This is based on feeding 2 adult Boxer
dogs, 68 pounds and 86 pounds, sharing a 40 lb bag of Life’s Abundance.
When you feed a high quality food such as Life’s Abundance, you will be
able to notice an improved difference in your pet’s health along with a
shinier coat, healthier skin, brighter eyes, increased energy and just an
overall improvement in your pet’s quality of life. Most important, due to a
healthier pet, you’ll be visiting your vet much less…and we can all do
without the extra and unexpected veterinarian bills.
OK, I’m almost
convinced that feeding Life’s Abundance is the best food I can feed my pet,
but please, I need to be 100% convinced. Can you help me?
Sure!
Obviously, you have not read the two articles mentioned on this site’s home
page. The first article is entitled, “What’s Really For Dinner? The Truth
About Commercial Pet Food.” It is written by Tina Perry, who is an animal
advocate with the Animal Protection Institute. The second article is a
Report by the Animal Protection Institute About What’s Really in Pet Food!
Right now, check the ingredients on the current food you are feeding. Would
you eat the food? Your answer is ‘Probably NOT!’ Then why feed it to your
pet? Life’s Abundance is made of all natural, human-grade ingredients. This
means that if Life’s Abundance was the ONLY food you had left in your home,
you could eat it, and it would nutritionally beneficial to your overall
health. WOW! Can you say this about the food you are presently feeding your
pet?
The most important thing to take into consideration is that all Life’s Abundance products are formulated by highly respected
and nationally-recognized holistic veterinarian,
Dr. Jane Bicks! Dr. Jane
hosts her very own product call monthly, where prospective
customers and existing customers can ask ANY and ALL questions, as it
relates to the products, as well as the health of your pet! Can you say this
about the product line you are presently feeding?
What are the factors that make up a high
quality food such as Life’s Abundance?
Wholesome fresh natural high
quality ingredients:
That means that our chickens were not given
hormones or steroids.
Our fish is farmed raised cat fish because the
ocean and fish are contaminated.
The chicken meal, turkey meal, fish
meal and liver meals are extremely high quality. High quality protein is
essential to meet your pets protein requirements.
All our ingredients
are natural. You wont find any artificial preservatives in any ingredient in
our food.
Our wholesome ingredients come from the same place as our
own food does. We don’t use dead, diseased, dying or decayed animals in our
pet food.
Our ingredients are delivered just prior to making the
food. While purchasing large quantities of ingredients will save money and
is often done, we believe that storage of ingredients decreases their
nutritional value.
What is Life’s Abundance Formula Based on?
Our formula based on science that will deliver optimum nutrition:
The amount of protein and fat in a pet food will determine the type
of nutrition a pet receives. We believe that our formula contains a moderate
amount (not too high and not too low) of high quality proteins to deliver
optimum nutrition.
Science has demonstrated that antioxidants are
vital to enhance the immune system. Our foods are rich in natural
antioxidants including fruits, vegetables and the scientifically backed
grapeseed extract, patented by Activin.
A healthy intestinal tract is
key to the absorption of nutrients. If the intestinal tract is not healthy
then no matter how good the ingredients and formula is, the pet will not be
able to absorb it properly. To ensure a healthy intestinal tract we decided
to use a fiber that produces the nutrients the intestine require. We have
included 5 types of friendly bacteria to maintain the health of the
intestinal tract as well.
Science has shown that minerals are better
absorbed when they are tied to protein (chelated minerals). We use chelated
minerals.
What are Life’s Abundance Manufacturing Procedures?
Good Manufacturing Procedures are vital to make a healthy nutritious food:
Accountability and high quality control standards is reflected in a good
product. Our plant cares about the type of food they produce because they
have been making food for a long time — three generations to be exact.
Buying and testing ingredients, and cooking is done with the care of a
family members. Its more then just a job. The food quality control starts
with incoming ingredients – visually and chemically tested prior to use,
quality control check points during the cooking, and samples of every batch
kept as controls. A sample of every batch is also kept at the warehouse
facilities.
Our foods are cooked at low temperatures for a short
period of time. Our temperatures are only at about 210 degrees and cooking
time is not much longer then 12 1/2 seconds.
What exactly is the
definition of ‘Meal’ as a pet food ingredient?
‘Meal’ means reduced
in size…meaning the food is cooked, most of the water removed and reduced in
size (ground) in order for a more uniform mix of the meat, veggies, fruit,
vitamins and minerals. Just because you see the word ‘meal’ in an
ingredient, do not assume that the food itself is whole and untampered with!
There are many popular commercial pet foods that list ‘chicken meal’ as an
ingredient. BEWARE!!! This ‘chicken meal’ may contain by-products such as
beaks, feathers, intestines and other unfit-for-consumption ingredients.
Read the ingredient label carefully. If you’re still not sure, call the
company! An ethical company WILL give you an honest answer! If the company
is being evasive in ANY way, you can be assured you will NOT receive an
honest answer! Since Life’s Abundance does NOT contain by-products, you can
be assured that our ‘meal’ is 100% high quality human-grade (fit for human
consumption).
How Fresh is Life’s Abundance?
Our food is made,
shipped to the warehouse, and then directly to our customers. When customers
receive our food, it is normally less than 6 weeks old. Every bag has a date
on it…most people think it is the expiration date; however, the date on the
bag is the date the food was manufactured. We pride ourselves in knowing
that your pet has the freshest food in the world. To further insure
freshness we pack the food in special bags designed to hold freshness, with
zip locks. These bags are imported from Germany, which are of extremely high
quality. They are designed to protect the food from moisture and also do not
contain a lot of the chemicals that other plastic bags have that leach
contaminants into the product.
I’m Concerned About the Food Spoiling, Since it’s Made
with All Natural Ingredients!
When properly stored in a cool place
away from moisture, Life’s Abundance all natural foods can be fed for about
11 months. However, the ideal period is 5 to 6 months. After six months the
product value declines quickly. This is because there are no harmful
chemical preservatives added to the food, as with most commercial foods.
Natural foods attract moisture – which can turn into mildew spoilage quickly
in the summer weather and areas of high humidity. Store pet food in a dry,
cool place (even in the $5.00 tubs you can pick up at Walmart or Home
Depot).
Why 26% Protein in the Dog Food?
It is not the amount
of protein in a dog food that is important, it is the type of protein and
how easily it can be digested. The protein is the right amount for all
stages of life. In some cases of working dogs or dogs under high stress, the
addition of meat protein can be considered.
My dog has health issues,
and my vet has her on prescription food! I am concerned, however, over the
lack of nutrients and the quality of the ingredients in this food. Can I
switch to Life’s Abundance?
Unfortunately, we cannot make this
suggestion, even though many dogs do very well on our food, depending on
their health issue. Any dog with an existing health condition should be
under a vet’s care, and it has to be the vet’s decision whether your dog (or
cat) can safely be switched to our food IF your vet has him/her on
prescription food. Again, it depends on the health issue AND the your
veterinarian’s approval. Believe it or not, but MORE harm can be done to an
animal by switching their food without the vet’s consent. Many times, a
problem may be something that can be brought under control by a prescription
diet and then the vet can be able to recommend slowly switching them over
while monitoring to make sure the animal is maintaining it’s health during
the process. Sometimes they must remain on these diets as much as we wish
they didn’t. If you feel so strong about not wanting to feed your pet the
prescription food, then please print out the product specs of our
Life’s
Abundance Dog Food and/or
Life’s Abundance Cat Food, and share this
documentation with your vet, and let your vet make the final decision.
HELP! My Dog is Scratching Like Crazy?
First of all, make sure
your dog does not have fleas. You might consider having your Vet check
him/her because they can easily be missed by the untrained eye. Second, your
dog may very well be allergic to one or more ingredients in the current food
you are feeding. Many dogs are allergic to wheat, corn, glutens and/or
chicken, and may even be experiencing a reaction to the by-products or
another ingredient, if you are still feeding a popular commercial dog food.
Remember that healthy skin, coats, eyes and even breath start from within
first, what we feed out pets. Life’s Abundance is corn, wheat and dairy
free!
Why does your cat food contain Sodium Selenite?
Dr. Jane
is awaiting the decision by AAFCO to stop using sodium selenite in her cat
food. She will change as soon as they allow her to. AAFCO sets the
nutritional guidelines that pet food companies must use. She has stated that
they are looking at it and will probably change it in the future, but for
now, in order to be able to sell her food and meet their requirements, she
must use it. Sad, but true!
How Do I Introduce Life’s Abundance to my
Pet?
Complete details on how to introduce Life’s Abundance (or to
make any pet diet change),
click
here:
I would like to order and take advantage of wholesale pricing, but need
to know the feeding guidelines so I can figure out how often to have the
food shipped. Can you give me this information?
Cups per bag for the
dog food are:
8 lb bag – 32 cups 20 lb bag – 80 cups 40 lb bag
– 160 cups
Suggested feeding guideline for dogs is:
Weight
(lbs.) Suggested Daily Amount 3 to 10 1/4 to 2/3 cup 10 to 20 2/3 to 1
cup 20 to 30 1 to 1 1/2 cups 30 to 40 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups 40 to 60
1 3/4 to 2 1/2 cups 60 to 80 2 1/2 to 3 cups 80 to 100 3 to 3 1/2 cups
Over 100 3 1/2 cups + 1/3 cup for each 10 lbs of body weight over 100 lbs.
Cups per bag for the cat food are:
6.6 lb bag – 26-1/2 Cups
16.5 lb. bag – 66 Cups
Suggested feeding guideline for cats is:
Weight (lbs.) Suggested Daily Amount
3 to 6 1/4 to 1/3 cup 7
to 12 1/3 to 1/2 cup 13 to 18 1/2 to 3/4 cup
Yes, we do
have samples of our dog and cat food formulas, as well as our treats.
Samples are great to see and smell the foods, and to offer your pet a
taste-test. You can order a variety of samples
right here.
On the other hand, a trial-bag of Life's Abundance
dog or cat food will give you a much better idea how your pet will take to
Life's Abundance, and will also give you just enough food to make the transition
from his/her old food over to Life's Abundance while waiting for your
full-size bag to arrive, if you decide to make the switch. You can
order your trial-size
bag here or see if you qualify to receive a free trial-size bag of
Life's Abundance dog or cat food.
Why can’t I find your
products in my local pet chain?
Dr. Jane will never allow our food to
be sold through mega store chains. How on earth does it make sense to put
forth the effort she does to produce a safe, fresh, and high degree of
nutrition and then let it be purchased in mass quantities by some entity and
subjected to poor storage and who knows what else that would jeopardize the
quality, safety, and reputation that she and Life’s Abundance have worked so
hard to build. Not to mention, we would then become like the rest of these
companies that are making a profit at the possible expense of the animal’s
overall health and existence.
I'm a breeder. Do you have a Breeder
Program?
YES, Life's Abundance has a dog and cat breeder program. It
is unique, unlike any other so-called program any other pet food
company would ever offer you. If you'd like to know more, please
contact me or call/text me at 609-607-7580.
You'll be very happy you did, as well as your puppy and kitten buyers!
Do you ship to Canada?
Unfortunately not! We are currently only shipping Life’s Abundance products
in the United States. Believe me, we know the demand for our products in
Canada, and hopefully one day, we will be expanding to include Canada. In
the meantime, if you have a family member or friend in the States, and they
would be willing to ship to you (please check customs regulations first),
then you could have your order shipped directly to them.
I Have More
Questions…Who Can I Contact?
You are more than welcome
to contact us directly with your questions.
If we don't know the answer, we will find out for you.
Medical Advice
We do not provide medical advice; this is left up to your Vet who knows
your animal. The industry is blessed with many fine Vets that truly care
about animal health. However, regardless of professional advice, it is up to
each pet owner to read and understand pet food labels.
Veterinary
schools do not require students to take courses in nutrition. Consumers are
electing to no longer support manufacturers that have little regards for
their pet’s health. The professional, both in the veterinary practice and in
the food they recommend, are aware of this concern and are following a
national trend for a healthier lifestyle. Much of the widely advertised dog
foods contain by-products and the remains from the human garbage chain with
harmful chemical additives. These packages should have the skull and
crossbones added to the label!
When you feed
Life’s Abundance
Pet Foods,
you are feeding the very finest food available! 100% satisfaction,
guaranteed!
My name is Bree Weasner, and I’ve been bringing pet owners like you
valuable information on pet nutrition and natural holistic alternatives to
conventional pet care since 2001.