I want to order Virchew! What areas are part of Greater Vancouver?
We deliver to your dog's door if you live in:
Vancouver
North Vancouver / Deep Cove
West Vancouver
Richmond
Burnaby
Coquitlam
Port Moody
New Westminster
Delta
Langley or Fort Langley
White Rock
Pitt Meadows
Surrey
Maple Ridge
NOTE: JANUARY 2021 - We have a waitlist for a short few weeks. But Virchew is still delivering tasty samples!
JOIN our waitlist
HERE.
What is the 'form' of Virchew food? Dry or dehydrated? Kibble?
Virchew is a new-fashioned form of food. Consider it an easy peasy meal kit for your dog! Since dogs need moisture in their diet to possibly prevent health issues and to promote optimum health, Virchew set out to create plant-strong foods that have been either dehydrated, airdried or produced in a dry form. Virchew is convenience without compromise. All you have to do is dish it up, add warm water, mix well and serve to your happy pup!
Virchew has been created to ensure your dog eats a wet diet. There are many, many beneficial reasons which we will begin to list as we grow our FAQ page, however, one of the main reasons is proper hydration. Hydration could prevent kidney or digestive issues.
*NOTE: Illustration is for visual fun only. Our foods are a dry blend of the illustrated ingredients.
INGREDIENTS
Virchew's 'General Maintenance' recipe has been made with nutritious, delicious, plant-strong ingredients. We called it, The LOVE Bowl, because it's good for our dogs, good for our earth and good for our hearts. What's not to love?
This bowl is filled with green and clean proteins, beneficial and essential fats, healthy and low qlycemic carbohydrates, and vital nutrients to ensure it's 'complete and balanced' based on veterinary nutrition standards.
VIRCHEW GENERAL MAINTENANCE INGREDIENTS:
Pea Protein Isolate, Shelled Hemp Seeds (Hemp Hearts), Oats, Potato, Dehydrated Spinach, Organic Dehydrated Carrots, Dried Golden Algae (Source of DHA), Salt, VIRCHEW Custom Supplement: Calcium Carbonate, Rice Hulls, Dicalcium Phosphate, DL-Methionine, Taurine, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Niacin Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Calcium D-Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D2 (vegan) Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement
100% Plant-Based / Vegan Ingredients
100% Non-GMO
100% Soy, Corn and Gluten Free
100% Love and Kindness
Virchew is formulated in consultation with Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists. Virchew is also complete and balanced based on AAFCO guidelines for canine nutritional needs.
*NOTE: The illustration is for visual fun only. Our foods are a dry blend of the illustrated ingredients
Directions: How do I make dinner for my doggo?
Virchew has been made as a 'convenience without compromise' food for your dog. Consider it an easy peasy meal kit! Here's how to make your dog dinner tonight:
1. Dish it up. 2. Stir it up - add equal parts warm water and stir well. 3. Serve it up to your happy pup!
Tips:
Some dogs prefer Virchew wetter, some prefer drier, therefore you can add more or less water. Either way, be sure to stir well so that all of the tasty ingredients are moist.
You can make a full day of food in the morning and reserve half in the fridge for dinner. You may want to add a bit more warm water before serving after being refrigerated. Heck, you can even make a couple of days worth and keep refrigerated until dishing it up!
*NOTE: The illustrations above are for visual fun only. Our foods are a dry blend of the illustrated ingredients.
The meal portions seem large. Will my dog poo more?
We have worked diligently to ensure we've created a healthy, plant-strong food that is also balanced in fiber.
First, your dog's meal will definitely be larger since once you add water to Virchew, it will have at least 50% more water than a usual kibble. The good news is, your dog will most likely drink less water since he or she is getting more water in their Virchew daily diet.
Next, your dog will likely have larger stools, however, he or she should not have to go more frequently. This has been our experience with our own dogs and most of the dogs who have tried Virchew. Our dog's stool is absolutely perfect and healthy looking! ;)
We strongly encourage all of our new customers (who have typically fed their dog kibble) to transition their pooch slowly over a 7 - 10 day period. We provide directions for this transition. This way, it should be a smooth and happy change from the present diet to Virchew.
Can I share Virchew with my friends?
We could not ask for a better compliment than a referral to a friend. Thank you! :)
Yes, please share Virchew! Have them go to
www.virchew.com/freesample to join our mailing list! We'll send them a sample and invite them to one of our upcoming events. We can't wait to meet more Greater Vancouver cool dogs and their hoomans!
Can I share Virchew with my veterinarian?
Yes, please share Virchew with your Greater Vancouver veterinarian!
If we've not met your veterinarian, we would welcome a warm introduction for sure! Ask them if they would like me to contact them directly to buy them lunch or present Virchew to their clinic. Thank you!
We have interviewed dozens of vets in the Vancouver area over the past few years and in fact, we're thrilled that Virchew has 12 veterinarians who are now shareholders and a big part of our business development model. Nine of those veterinarians are based in Vancouver.
Each Vancouver veterinarian is also very vegan-friendly and a few are vegan. If you want a list of these veterinarians, please get in touch:
woof@virchew.com
Can dogs thrive on plant-strong foods?
This is, of course, the most asked question in canine nutrition. This is a small dive into the hours of information we could share on the subject, but let's start here.
Similar to us, dogs are actually considered omnivores or non-obligate carnivores.
Just as we've witnessed through the evolution of plant-based diets and their immense benefits for people, we're now at the beginning of the same learning curve in canine nutrition.
Ask any veterinarian what they were taught about dogs. Their answers should be similar to this (based on our many years of experience as we interviewed veterinarians): "Dogs are NOT considered 'true' carnivores".
Here are facts, taken right from Hill's Pet website:
Nutritional, behavioral and physical factors that separate the omnivores [dogs] from true carnivores:
Dogs have teeth (molars) with relatively flat surfaces designed to grind up bones as well as fibrous plant material.
Dogs can digest almost 100% of the carbohydrates they consume.
Dogs have a small intestine that occupies about 23 percent of the total gastrointestinal volume, which is consistent with other omnivores; the small intestine of cats occupies only 15 percent.
Dogs can create vitamin A from beta-carotene found in plants.
“Some folks have come to the erroneous conclusion that dogs must be carnivores because they fall under the order Carnivora. A close look at the anatomy, behavior and feeding preferences of dogs shows that they are actually omnivorous — able to eat and remain healthy with both animal and plant foodstuffs.” – Hill’s Pet Foods
"Compared to true carnivores, dogs produce more of the enzymes needed for starch digestion, have much lower protein and amino acid requirements, and can easily utilize vitamin A and D from plant sources, just as people do." - Cailin R. Heinze, VMD, MS, DACVN Tufts Clinical Nutrition Service
It's important to note: Vegan diets are not new to veterinarians. Many commercial or prescription diet producers offer a vegan option. They have been typically recommended or even, prescribed, for dogs with food sensitivities. Thousands of dogs have eaten these foods for several decades.
Here's what we do know: When properly balanced with supplementation and developed with a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist, a 100% plant-based diet is considered a healthy, safe choice for your dog's health.
It's Virchew's mission to bring forth as much evidence-based data from clinical case studies as possible as we work in collaboration with our veterinarian business-business partners.
Is there research showing the benefits of plant-based foods for dogs?
Yes, but we need more.
We're just at the beginning of a plant-based nutrition era for dogs. The research is limited, which is why Virchew's commitment to partner with veterinarians and universities to produce the long-term, clinical and case study evidence, is critical.
There is
one very good study that demonstrated a carefully balanced meat-free diet (100% vegan) can maintain normal hematological values in exercising, sprint-racing dogs.
Another more recent and
intriguing study showed the evolution of a domestic dog’s digestive ability vs a wolf. Domesticated dogs have evolved alongside us for thousands of years. Therefore it makes sense their diet has evolved, too.
V-Dog food was used in a
recent study which showed promising results.
In our own veterinarian-guided trials held here in Vancouver with partner veterinarians, we saw very positive results. After several months on our fresh, plant-based foods, the dogs, indeed, thrived. However, we are dedicated to
long-term research and excited to see what the future will hold. (See more under the FAQ question about Virchew's own research.)
It's important to note; vegan diets are not new to veterinarians. Many commercial or prescription diet producers recommend or even prescribe, a vegan option. They have been typically used for dogs with food sensitivities. Thousands of dogs have eaten these foods for several decades.
Here's what we do know: When properly balanced with supplementation and developed with a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist, a 100% plant-based diet is considered a healthy, safe choice for your dog's health.
It's our company's mission to bring forth as much evidence-based data from clinical case studies as possible.
Is Virchew planning to research plant-based food for dogs?
Yes. In fact, it's in our company's mission to create some of the first plant-based canine nutrition research through clinical case studies here in Greater Vancouver and beyond.
We may look like we're all play, but we also mean business. Our dog's health is a serious subject. We intend to offer nutritional solutions and programs that have never been experienced in the canine nutrition industry and are long overdue.
Virchew is putting the foundation in place to pioneer this much-needed research. We have already held veterinarian-guided trials here in Vancouver with partner veterinarians, and saw very positive results. After several months on our fresh, plant-based foods, the dogs, indeed, thrived. See
Dr. Gavin Myers' summary of the trial below.
This is just the beginning of a long and important journey. We're deeply dedicated to long-term research and excited to see what the future will hold for canine plant-based nutrition.
"We’ve just finished conducting a 12 week informal trial for Virchew (Previously Dogg) here at Yaletown Pet Hospital. The trial was initiated by the company to assess the response of a group of 20 randomly selected dogs to a solely plant-based diet. The dogs in the study came from all breeds and ages, some were healthy whereas some had minor, non life threatening medical ailments. These were most commonly obesity and allergies, manifested as either skin or gastrointestinal problems. Three examinations were performed over the 12 week period to assess clinical health, weight, body condition and fecal quality. Blood and urine samples were obtained from all dogs at the beginning and end of the trial to assess systemic health.
As a whole the trial has been really successful in demonstrating how well dogs can do on a nutritionally balanced, plant-based diet. All dogs that completed the trial managed the transition to the new diet without any difficulty, and in many cases actually improved medically while on it.
The most exciting improvements we saw were in those pets with food hypersensitivities problems demonstrated as either skin or gastrointestinal ailments. In small animal veterinary medicine this subset of patients account for a large majority of the cases we see everyday, therefore having an extra tool at our disposal to manage these animals is greatly welcomed.
With the success of this initial trial I look forward to further investigating feeding our dogs a plant-based food with full traceability which concurrently adds sustainability to the pet food industry. We are delighted here at Yaletown Pet hospital to be a part of this new possibility and look forward to what the future brings." -
Dr. Gavin Myers
If you are a veterinarian in the Greater Vancouver area and we've not had the opportunity to meet with you yet,
please get in touch.
Could vegan dogs help solve climate change?
When I'm not delivering Virchew (and getting hugs from pooches!) or in business development, I'm writing and researching to prepare for our new website and FAQs. A new blog/vlog series I'm working on will include the negative impact that typical animal-based dog food has on our earth's environment and as always, our hearts.
Back in 2017,
CBC contacted us for an interview soon after a in-depth research study came out. Four years later, you can imagine this issue has certainly escalated.
When people ask me, "Why Virchew or vegan dog food?", when it comes to climate, I share this study, which has opened some eyes.
"Notably, dogs and cats actually consumed about 33% of the animal-derived calories that humans did, perhaps because their diets are generally more meat-heavy than ours, Okin said. On the other end, they also produce about 30% of the feces that humans do (and much of that gets thrown in the trash in plastic bags, instead of treated the way that human waste is).
In short, Okin concluded, American dogs and cats eat enough animal product to account for about 64 million tons of methane and nitrous oxide, two other powerful greenhouse gases. That’s about the same impact on our warming climate as driving 13.6 million cars for a year."
https://www.latimes.com/.../la-sci-sn-cats-dogs...
Full study here:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0181301
Watch our blogs and posts for more updates on this crucial topic.
