Welcome to the inaugural interview of our Holistic Animal Chats. We are excited to bring you an interview with Rob Ryan, founder of Gussy’s Gut, a new fermented whole superfood topper for dogs that’s transforming canine nutrition.
From rubbish to revolution!
It was a crisis (as with many “light bulb” moments), that prompted nutraceutical and longevity expert Rob Ryan to develop a missing piece of the canine nutritional jigsaw.
Tina Hyde talks with Rob about how he came to be at the leading edge of canine nutrition development with his new product, Gussy’s Gut, named after his beloved dog, Gus. Rob goes into more details in the chat, but let’s say there was an incident with the trash and poor Gus came off worse!! Gus was already raw fed, but it soon became clear that something extra was needed to help Gus back to full health.
Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food
“We are what we eat” so optimising our dog’s nutrition is fundamental to keeping them in the best of health. Most experts now believe that around 80% of the immune system resides in the gut so it’s inevitable that a healthy gut microbiome is paramount to overall health. If a healthy gut = a healthy dog, then both need feeding well to optimise the health and longevity of your dog including their mental state and behaviour!
It turned out that the missing piece in Gus’s diet was fermented food. This proved such an exciting idea that it brought the “Father of the raw food movement”, vet Dr Ian Billinghurst, out of retirement to work with Rob in developing the formula he’d been experimenting with in the aftermath of “trashgate”!
Evolving on the rubbish heaps of humans!
Fermentation made perfect sense. As Dr Billinghurst points out on the Gussy’s Gut website, the dog’s ancestors were naturally adapted to consuming the fermented vegetable contents of the gut and colon of their prey for millions of years. Furthermore, these wolves effectively evolved into dogs on the rubbish heaps of humans, increasing the amount of scavenging they did. Burying the odd bone and digging it up once suitably stinky may well be a hint from the dog world!
Gussy’s Gut
Gussy’s Gut was formulated as a result of Rob and Ian’s collaboration. It’s an innovative fermented, freeze-dried and nutrient rich raw food topper containing 19 enzymatically activated whole superfoods for dogs. Tina and Rob cover several key aspects of the Gussy’s Gut story including:
- More about trashgate and the inspiration behind Gussy’s Gut
- The key changes Rob observed in Gus and other dogs
- What is it about fermented food that makes it so good for dogs?
- Does Gussy’s Gut work well with dog food other than raw?
- With canine food intolerances on the rise, can it improve life for affected dogs?
- What precisely is it about fermented foods than can make a difference to dog health?
- Is it suitable for any dog?
- How to find out more
As Dr Ian Billinghurst says:
“Gussy’s Gut is the single most important upgrade to dog food in over 25 years.”
In summary, Gussy’s Gut is:
- A whole food topper
- Packed with functional ingredients
- Nutrient dense
- All-natural
- Derived from soil-rich organic or regenerative farms
- Made from 19 enzymatically activated whole superfoods
- Able to increase food digestibility, bioavailability and nutrient absorption
- Able to fulfil the need for pro, pre and postbiotics in the canine diet
Check out the interview to find out more about this fascinating story and an insight into how to improve the health of your canine companions.
Useful links
Gussy’s Gut website
Seasonal Feeding, Making the Most of Fresh Ingredients blog by Caroline Hearn of Hedgerow Hounds
Talking About Raw Food with your Vet blog by Sarah Griffiths from The Adored Beast Apothecary
Isobel Hunt
Isobel is a Co-Founder and active CAM4animals supporter along with her Jack Russell who has integrated veterinary care. She has a background in wildlife conservation and writing, and is passionate about the importance of addressing animal welfare and environmental issues.
Disclaimer – Where blogs have been created by a guest author, CAM4Animals has reproduced this in good faith but cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies of information in it or any use you make of this information.
This blog may also contain an element of consumer opinion. Whilst CAM4animals welcomes positive recommendations for holistic healthcare products, we don’t necessarily endorse the product or the author’s opinion. We acknowledge that each animal is an individual and may react differently to the highlighted product/s. There may also be other products available that produce similarly positive results.
The veterinary Surgeon’s Act 1966 restricts the treatment of animals (usually other than your own*) by anyone other than a qualified vet. Always consult a veterinary surgeon if you are concerned about your animal’s health. *For full details visit the RCVS website