Vital Bites

07/19/2025

🤔How do you calculate how much to feed your dog?
🥄What tool are you using to measure out their food, a scoop that came with a bin, a measuring cup, a cup from your cabinet, or just fill the bowl?
🏷️Are you just reading the back of a food label and going off the companies recommendation?
⚖️Are you measuring by volume or weight?

😐Now, what about if you are feeding a homemade diet or raw meals?
📖How are you calculating the amount per day?
Some will say you feed 2-3% of their body weight and convert that to ounces and that's the amount.
🤔O.K. wait, let's think about that…There are so many variables that go into the calculation of your dog’s daily caloric intake, such as age, gender, intact or not intact, weight, stage of life, their activity level, and body score. ❕All these varibles play a crucial role in knowing how much to feed them.

✅The true way to understand how much to feed your dog is knowing how many calories to feed them daily.
💡Once you understand how many calories a day to feed your dog, you then remove the guess work of under or over feeding them.
✅Just remember your dog's diet and the amount they eat daily plays a vital role in ensuring the longevity of their life.

👀🐶 Here at Vital Bites we will help guide you to a longer and healthier lifestyle for your dog. It’s time to take control of your dog’s diet with confidence and build a vital life for them!

https://www.lbk9solutions.com/vital-moments-k9-health-solutions

07/12/2025

🤔 Can I still feed my dog commercial dog food?

Absolutely, you can! Life gets busy with family, work, and traveling. 🤯 But, did you know the average dry dog food contains up to 30 to 50% carbohydrates and fillers. Fortunately, reducing commercial dog food by 20% and adding fresh whole foods can make a significant difference in your dog’s overall well-being. With that said, you don’t have to make every meal homemade with fresh ingredients! Just start to make better choices when purchasing commercial dog food, aim for the bulk of the nutrients coming from protein and fat, and minimally processed.
✅ Instead of kibble look for gently cooked, raw, or freeze dried!

❔Did you know that carbohydrates are not listed on the packaging of your commercial dog food?

👇 To have a better understanding of what to purchase when you can’t make a fresh homemade meal, use this formula below:

• Go to the “Guarantee Analysis” label
• Protein + Fat + Fiber + Moisture + Ash = ❌
• 100 - ❌ = Carbs %
• if Ash is not listed, for dry use 6%, for wet use 2%. Ash is mineral content, calcium, phosphorus etc.

✅ the number, percentage you want to see is 20 % or lower for carbohydrates! Under 10% is even better.

👍 Coming soon... "A Vital Bite For All Seasons" recipe E-Book for your canine!
https://www.lbk9solutions.com/vital-moments-k9-health-solutions

06/20/2025

🌱🌿 How often do you go outside and notice the burnt patches of grass in your yard?

It’s ok, we hear this from our clients all the time! This more common than you think.

🤔 Quiz Question!
What is the best way I can stop my dog’s urine from damaging my grass?
A. Train Your Dog To P*e In Designated Spot
B. Water Lawn Immediately/Dilute Urine Spot
C. Choose Urine Resistant Grass
D. Start Feeding Fresh Homemade Diet
E. Adding more Hydration To Your Dog’s Diet

👍If you answered D and E you are CORRECT!!

❓What causes the urine to burn the grass?
The answer is HIGH concentration of NITROGEN in your dog’s urine. Highly processed dog food and low quality protein sources found in an average to cheaper bag of kibble is less digestible for your dog and results in an increase of nitrogen being expelled in their urine.

✅ Dogs, require a high-protein diet. Protein is broken down into amino acids, which are then used by the body or excreted as nitrogenous waste, primarily in the urine.

✅ The quality of the protein source matters. High-quality proteins are more easily digested and utilized by the body, leaving less to be excreted as nitrogen. That’s why a raw or gently cooked homemade diet with quality protein, and fresh whole foods can lower the amount of nitrogen in your dog’s urine.

✅ Don’t forget dehydration can also concentrate urine, making the nitrogen more potent. Dry kibble doesn’t keep them hydrated!

💦 Water is NOT the only source to keep them hydrated. You can also add, watermelon, cucumber, broth, kefir, yogurt, cantaloupe, melon, and celery etc.

👀Looking for knowledgeable tips, balanced recipes, and holistic support to help your canine thrive?
Coming soon... "A Vital Bite For All Seasons" recipe E-Book for your canine!

https://www.lbk9solutions.com/vital-moments-k9-health-solutions

06/13/2025

🤔Did you know that your dog’s gut is home to trillions of bacteria, both good and bad? Their micro biome plays an important role in their overall health and well being. There are beneficial bacterias 🦠 out there like probiotics that can “save” and help maintain their balance in their digestive system, which supports many bodily functions.

One of the most accessible probiotics are yogurts! But, are all yogurts the same? And how do we ensure which yogurt gives our dog’s the most benefit? 🥛🐶

🚫While Yogurt and Kefir are both fermented, but that does not make them equal. There are by far many more beneficial bacterias in Kefir than traditional yogurt, or Greek yogurt. Kefir alone exceeds 60 different strains of bacteria and billions to trillions of CFU (Colony-Forming Units), which yogurt might have roughly 6 different strains of bacteria.

✅Recently, studies have showed over the years that dogs who were given Kefir in their diet daily had a healthier micro biome in about 2 weeks. 👍Therefore, Kefir could be used as a supplement and as a beneficial probiotic to improve a dog’s gut health and their vitality.

💡Tips For Reading The Labels:
* Live and Active Cultures- which guarantees presence of beneficial bacteria
* Specific Strains- some examples: Bifidobacterium (various strains), Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei
* CFU Count- if listed, check the CFU count per serving and observe its probiotic strength

🥄How much Kefir do I give my dog?
A good rule of thumb is 1 Tbs per 10 pounds of body weight.

💚Whether your dog has digestive issues, or just finished a round of antibiotics, looking to help with allergies, or just want improve your dog’s overall gut health the consumption of fermented foods that have probiotics, such as Kefir is a great place to start!

👀Looking for knowledgeable tips, balanced recipes, and holistic support to help your canine thrive?
Coming soon… “A Vital Bite For All Seasons” recipe E-Book for your canine!

https://www.lbk9solutions.com/vital-moments-k9-health-solutions

*research study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030219301961

06/11/2025

🔄 What is Rotational Feeding?:
Rotational feeding is a systematic approach to a pet's diet that involves alternating between different types of food. The key is to mix it up so that your dog is fed a variety of proteins, vegetables, fruits, and so on. By changing up the different types of food in their diet, you can help improve their overall health, avoid food allergies and intolerances, maintain the correct nutrients they need, as well improve their gut health.

🤔 How often can I rotate their homemade diet?:
You can rotate their “homemade or home-cooked” diet as often as once a week, to biweekly, or even once a month. The reason you can change their diet so often with a homemade meal is because you already have done the work and introduced a variety of foods overtime that their gut and digestive tract are used to, and you have already eliminated what does and doesn’t work for them. It’s different versus only giving them the same kibble every day and all of sudden you give them new foods in their diet that might upset their GI because of an intolerance, sensitivity, or allergic reaction you didn’t know about.

🥩🥬🍎 How do I introduce new foods?:
You start off slowly and gradually. Good rule of thumb is typically start by mixing 10% “new” with 90% “old” food. If your dog is known to be sensitive you can even go as low as 5% to start. But, check for signs if your dog’s GI is upset along the way. Take your time!

Day 1 & 2:
Old 90% and New 10%

Day 3 & 4:
Old 70% and New 30%

Day 5 & 6:
Old 50% and New 50%

Day 7 & 8:
Old 30% and New 70%

Day 9 & 10:
Old 10% and New 90%

💡Supportive Suggestion:
If you feed the right diet and understand what your dog needs, you can start practicing rotational feeding without upsetting your dog’s system.

✅ Looking for knowledgeable tips, balanced recipes, and holistic support to help your canine thrive?
💥Coming soon… “A Vital Bite For All Seasons” recipe E-Book for your canine!

https://www.lbk9solutions.com/vital-moments-k9-health-solutions

02/23/2025

Thank you EVERYONE for all your support and we are looking forward to our growth with the expansion of Vital Moments K9 Health Solutions

02/12/2025

🍓🥦🍊LOCAL MARKETS in St. Augustine & St. Johns County:

📍County Line Produce: Open daily seasonally at 9260 State Road 207 in Hastings, Florida

📍 The Feed Mill, 6400 County Road 214, St. Augustine, Florida — Farm store with local produce, meat, eggs, dairy, hay and feed for animals, handcrafted pizzas on Saturday. Hours: 9-5 Tuesday–Saturday

📍(PICTURED) Wednesday Pier Farmers Market: Every Wednesday — Fresh produce, arts and crafts, and prepared food from local vendors is available from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the St. Johns County Ocean Pier, 350 A1A Beach Blvd., St. Augustine Beach

📍St. Augustine Amphitheatre Farmers Market: Every Saturday — Find fresh produce, plants, bread, cheese, handmade products, fine art and crafts from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, 1340 A1A South

📍Nocatee Market: Third Saturday of the month — The Nocatee Farmers Market features more than 70 vendors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every third Saturday of the month in the Nocatee community

📍Palm Valley Market: Produce, micro-greens, bread, beef, shrimp, prepared meals, honey, tea, local artisans and other vendors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Tuesday at 148 Canal Blvd., in Ponte Vedra Beach

📸: Photos from

10/10/2024

🔥 Hot Topic! Is my dog a carnivore? To only eat meat or not? That is the question.

✅ Check out our latest article below! 👇

How many times have you heard those claiming that our modern-day dogs are carnivores? Only to be followed up with the statement “…they only need to eat meat because our domesticated dogs descended from wolves, therefore must be meat eaters only.” Let us dive into the controversial topic of whe...

07/24/2024

Come check out Leash & Beyond K9 Solutions!!

Live interview with top Jacksonville dog trainer, Lee Talmage with Leash & Beyond K9 Solutions. We will discuss why Jacksonville is one of the most dog-frie...