Feeding Dogs with Facts, Not Folklore

From the land of saunas and science comes a no-hype, meat-first approach to feeding dogs—built on decades of experience, grounded in biology, and curated for the modern world.

We Finns are known—not just as the happiest people on earth (which is odd, given how melancholic and grim we often are)—but also for:

• not doing small talk,
• being punctual and keeping our word,
• trusting facts and reason,
• and having a high level of general education.

We are also a nation of dog lovers. While there aren’t as many dogs as saunas, dogs are incredibly common as pets. And since they are pets—not strays—we don’t have issues like feral dogs or widespread puppy mills. Instead, we actively engage in dog sports and hobbies.

This has led to a strong tradition and solid expertise in dog care and nutrition in Finland. At the same time, our worldview keeps us grounded—common sense plays a key role, as long as it aligns with what science and research tell us.

That’s the foundation of what Poochie Revival aims to offer to a global audience.

30+ Years of Dog Nutrition

The need for clear, justified, and evidence-based information on successful and healthy dog feeding is what launched the Finnish site Katiska.eu. The name is nearly impossible to translate—it literally means “fish trap,” but culturally, it refers to the Finnish saying of “explaining something so clearly that even a child can understand.” The site was meant to be accessible—but once you’re in, you’re hooked. Just like a fish trap. Yes, our sense of humor is weird.

When I started building the site back in the ’90s, the web was in its infancy and Google was still a search engine, not an ad platform. At the time, dog feeding was caught between two extremes: BARF diets full of mystical claims and bone obsession, and dry foods marketed with equally wild promises, both lacking one essential thing—meat.

I was involved in greyhound racing—not the industrial kind in the UK or Ireland, but the hobbyist, European type where dogs live on sofas and still race their hearts out. Though the spirit was amateur, the commitment was professional. But despite my background with dogs and some knowledge of nutrition, we had problems: poor recovery, cramps, and supplement use based on guesswork. Clearly, the feeding wasn’t right.

And it wasn’t just our dogs—many started developing digestive and skin issues, often misattributed to “allergies.”

Old Sins of Dog Feeding

BARF was like a religion. Dry food companies aimed to cut costs using the cheapest ingredients. Much of what was called “scientific” was just human nutrition applied to dogs. But dogs aren’t humans. That’s the danger of anthropomorphizing—especially in kibble.

So we went back to what was actually known about canine nutrition. We stripped away parts based on kibble formulation instead of canine biology. We borrowed from all relevant sciences. We kept the meat and liver from BARF—and discarded the rest.

Fun fact: I was the first in Finland to publicly say dogs and cats don’t get vitamin D from the sun or licking their fur. It wasn’t my idea—research already confirmed it. But vets and experts insisted otherwise.

The Renaissance of Knowledge

Once we fixed the feeding, performance improved. Cramps vanished. Digestion normalized. Skin issues healed.

Did we invent something new? No. We simply returned to what dogs always needed—before feeding became industrialized or twisted into a belief system based on low-grade scraps. BARF works great—for a hyena. Even then, meat is still required.

Our approach is based on researched carnivore needs. Or more simply: we added back what was missing.

Want to raw feed? I can teach you in three minutes—no paid course needed. Want to improve kibble? Easy—just add meat. In Finland, that’s called “50/50 feeding.”

We didn’t invent this. Others have done the same. But we made it public.

That entire knowledge base is what Katiska offers in Finnish—and Poochie Revival brings it to you in curated English.

On the Struggles of Translation

I speak one of the hardest languages in the world. From my perspective, English—with all its prepositions—is a nightmare. Most Finns speak English decently. Many speak two or more languages. I manage with English and Swedish.

But our language skills are often overestimated. Sure, we can manage “rally English”—understandable, but full of accent and grammar issues.

I lived in Ireland for a few years, so I can speak English—though not well. I read it fluently, but writing? That’s tough.

That’s why I haven’t translated everything myself. It’s too big a task.

AI changed that.

I’ve been planning this project since the early 2000s, but only now—thanks to AI—I can finally do it. Yes, I use AI for translations, and it shows.

So if something feels robotic, it’s not because the text was written by AI. All content is 100% human. But the translations were assisted by AI, and that comes with quirks.

Apologies for awkward sentences and grammar mistakes. If it gives native readers a headache—well, it’s a necessary evil to bring this content to you in English.