Not the air kind.

The inside kind.

The kind that builds up when we feed too much of the wrong protein, or the right protein in the wrong way. The kind that turns dinner into debris if the system isn’t supported. The kind that turns clean eating into a clogged filter.

But don’t panic.

This isn’t a guilt trip.

This is a flashlight. A mirror. A quiet hike up the side of Pawsitivity Peak™ - where instinct meets intention, and clarity breathes.

The City Inside Your Dog

Your dog is basically running a whole city inside.

Not a sleek, high-tech metropolis with robots and hovercars, but an honest, blue-collar city:

• Janitors
• Plumbing
• Traffic flow
• Sanitation crews
• Power plants

Each bite of food is like a delivery truck pulling up at the gate.

If the roads are clear and the workers are ready, everything moves smoothly.

But if the roads get backed up, the crews go on strike, or the trash doesn’t get picked up?

The whole city starts to suffer.

And unlike humans, your dog can’t tell you when their city starts to shut down.

What Even Is the Nitrogen Trap?

The nitrogen trap is what happens when protein gets broken down into amino acids, and the leftover nitrogen has nowhere to go.

Normally, the liver converts that nitrogen into urea, and the kidneys flush it out through urine. That’s called the urea cycle.

But if your dog’s low on moisture, missing key nutrients, or the kidneys are overwhelmed, that waste builds up like uncollected garbage.

You won’t see it, but it’s there, raising BUN (blood urea nitrogen) levels quietly in the background.

It’s not because raw food is bad. Or protein.

But even the best things fail if they’re out of context.

Most dog food marketing wants to shove you into a binary:

• Raw vs. kibble
• Good vs. bad
• Premium vs. poor

But biology doesn’t play by those rules.

The nitrogen trap isn’t picky.

It can show up on raw, kibble, home-cooked, or canned.

The issue isn’t how your feeding.

It’s how the body handles what’s been given.

Why Raw Dogs Aren’t Off the Hook

Raw feeding is a beautiful thing. It’s alive, unprocessed, ancestral.

But raw doesn’t mean bulletproof.

Protein still needs cofactors:

• Organs
• Moisture
• Enzymes
• Variety

Without them, even a perfect piece of meat can weigh the body down.

Try eating nothing but steak for a week.

No fruit. No fat. No greens. No broth.

Just slabs of meat.

Sound extreme? It is.

Now imagine flushing that through your system with no help.

There are people who swear the carnivore diet is the best thing since sliced bread (ironic, since they avoid bread like it’s toxic).

But even the science shows too much protein, with not enough variety or cofactors, builds up nitrogen and taxes the kidneys.

Funny how the same folks praising ribeye purity are double-fisting electrolyte drinks, adding in raw milk, and fresh fruits on the sly.

Even lions instinctively lick mineral-rich dirt.

The nitrogen trap doesn’t care how natural the food is.

It only cares if the system can break it down and take out the trash.

The Simple Fixes Your Dog’s Organs Are Praying For

1. Moisture.

• Add water. Clean water, which is usually not from the tap. If you live somewhere that you can get spring water, even better.
• Bone broth, raw goat milk, and cucumber juice are all creative ways to add flavor and, more importantly, flow.

2. Organs and Glands.

Liver and heart aren’t extras. They’re the keys that unlock protein digestion.

Without them, the body stalls like a car with no ignition.

In addition organs like brain, kidney, spleen, lung, thymus (sweetbreads), and cartilage-rich cuts like trachea or gullet can offer powerful nutrients that support detox, boost immunity, and help the body process and eliminate excess nitrogen more efficiently.

Bonus Tip:

Feeding just muscle meat can overwhelm the system with nitrogenous waste. Organs offer co-factors (like B-vitamins, enzymes, and antioxidants) that help the body metabolize and excrete nitrogen more effectively - essentially turning “debris” into usable energy or flushing it out cleanly.

3. Fiber from the Earth.

Add some lightly cooked spinach, kale, zucchini, or pumpkin to support digestion and detox. Cooking helps break down fibers and reduce anti-nutrients like oxalates in greens. Pumpkin is especially soothing for the gut and rich in fiber.

Incorporate fermented veggies like plain sauerkraut - in small amounts - to introduce beneficial microbes and support nitrogen elimination through improved gut function.

Bonus Tip:

You can ferment your own dog-safe veggies like zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli stems, cucumbers, and carrots. Just make sure:

• You use only sea salt and water (no vinegar).
• Avoid onions, garlic, or any spices - they’re toxic to dogs.
• Start with a tiny amount (1 tsp for small dogs, 1 tbsp for large dogs), and observe for sensitivity.
• Drain off excess brine to reduce salt intake.

*From my own experience fermented vegetables, when used properly, can act as natural probiotics and support the liver by improving gut microbial balance. But remember, more isn’t better. With detoxification, especially in pets, the goal is gentle and consistent, not aggressive. Always introduce slowly, and rotate the vegetables to provide a variety of nutrients and support different detox pathways.

4. Gentle Natural Support.

Celery. Cilantro. Wild blueberries. A sliver of burdock root. Fresh thyme.

These aren’t just garnish - they’re cleanup support.

Whole-body helpers that don’t overwhelm or confuse the system.

5. Protein Rotation.

Stop worshipping one protein like it’s holy.

Chicken, beef, turkey, duck, lamb, fish - they each have their strengths.

Dogs are built for variety.

Don’t feed them like a vending machine with one option.

Oh…please have patience! Just because they don’t gobble up a new protein right away doesn’t mean they don’t like it. Dogs aren’t picky! They’re intelligent!

But I Feed Kibble. So Am I Screwed?

Not at all.

But to be real, kibble does make the nitrogen trap easier to fall into:

• Low moisture
• Synthetic additives
• Overcooked proteins that are harder to break down

But this isn’t about judgment. It’s about support.

If kibble’s what you’re feeding right now, you can still build in simple wins:

• Rotate proteins every few weeks
• Add hydration (filtered water, broth, raw goat milk)
• Fresh add-ons, like sardines in water (no oil, no salt), pure pumpkin, or raw eggs
• Sprinkle our Vascular Vitality™ or offer fermented veggies in tiny amounts

These little tweaks help your dog handle the load more gracefully.

Every drop of effort counts.

And your dog?

They’ll feel it. Fast.

A Message From Your Dog

If your dog could talk, they wouldn’t beg for expensive.

They’d beg for flow. For simplicity. For food that actually loves them back.

They’d say:

“Please don’t panic. Notice, have patience, and the understanding that health isn’t a straight line. Love me like you mean it - through the bowl.”

This isn’t just digestion.

This is energy and communication, which equals long-term vitality.

Full Circle

Let’s circle back to that city inside your dog.

It’s still running. Still working. Still hoping you’ll lend a hand.

You don’t have to overhaul everything.

You just have to care enough to notice.

This isn’t about detox fads.

It’s about rhythm and flow. Maintenance and prevention.

Your dog doesn’t need fixing.

They need your support.

They need you to understand how to see the signs and shift when it matters.

Lead with love.

You already know how to do that.

Sources

• Journal of Animal Science. “Protein and amino acid bioavailability estimates for canine foods using the cecectomized rooster assay.”
  https://academic.oup.com/jas/article/94/8/3121/4791511
• Dr. Karen Becker & Rodney Habib. The Forever Dog.
  https://foreverdog.com/ & https://www.amazon.com/Forever-Dog-Surprising-Companion-Healthier/dp/0063002604
• Veterinary Partner. “Chronic Kidney Disease in Dogs and Cats: Where to Begin.”
  https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/doc/?id=4951452
• Raw Feeding Veterinary Society (RFVS).
  https://rfvs.info/

Addendum (7/10/25): Some Will Call This Section Science…

Here’s what was never said out loud.

Protein isn’t the problem. It never has been.

What wears your dog down isn’t the food itself. It’s the structure built around it. A structure that forgot flow, forgot rhythm, forgot that feeding was once a sacred exchange, not a calculation.

We don’t bring this up to argue with the old system. We bring it up because we’re already gone.

Here’s what happens.

When your dog digests protein, nitrogen is released. That’s normal. That’s biology doing its job. The liver converts it into urea. The kidneys send it out. All good — unless the exits are blocked.

Not enough hydration. Not enough co-nutrients. Not enough movement. Not enough microbial diversity in the gut to process and pass the load.

That’s when it backs up. That’s when waste builds. Not in a dramatic, visible way. Quietly. Molecule by molecule. Names like indoxyl sulfate and p-cresol don’t show up on pet food labels, but they’re very real. They’ve been studied. They linger in bodies that are trying to do their job without enough help.

This is what we mean by the nitrogen trap.

Not because protein is too high, but because support is too low. Because context was removed and replaced with convenience. Because no one told you the system still needs flow.

So when we speak about broth, about organs, about fermented vegetables, about rotation, about life in the bowl — it’s not lifestyle advice. It’s engineering. It’s the new foundation.

This isn’t about feeding less protein. It’s about finishing the equation.

You don’t need to detox aggressively or jump into extremes. You need to restore what was removed. Hydration. Enzymatic activity. Microbial balance. Co-nutrients. You need to bring back the parts that carry the load out, not keep it stuck inside.

Most people were taught to read the front of the bag. We’re teaching you to read your dog.

There’s no product that can do this for you. There’s only presence. Rhythm. Support.

You don’t fight the old system. You stop feeding it.

You build a better one, and never look back.