Hello and welcome to Tanker Tots Natural Dog Blog!
I started my homemade dog treat business in 2011 after three years of being a general manager for a pet supply store. Operating that store was a delightful experience as it was incredibly rewarding. There was so much information to learn about the pet industry that it kept my business aspirations fulfilled, and the interaction with customers made for satisfying community involvement. I got the opportunity to help many people find the right food, treats, training equipment, and toys for their dog. It taught me that I am not alone in treating my pets as a member of the family. That’s right, I am a proud pet-parent! My husband and I don’t have real children yet, but we affectionately call each other Mom and Dad in relation to our dog and two cats.
If this sounds familiar, then this page is meant for you! I will be blogging twice a month to help navigate the life of being a pet-parent. There will be an annual dog food comparison info-graphic (big box & independent retailer options) so that you won’t have to do the exhaustive research online. I’ll be performing toy and training equipment reviews with Tank’s help. There will be a plethora of relevant nutrition and health articles. All of this, of course, will be from a natural perspective. So here it goes…
Lesson #1: Definition of NATURAL is contingent on the integrity level of the entity responsible for product development and manufacturing.
These days NATURAL is a buzzword that, in my humble opinion, is used rather loosely. It seems like every treat and food product in the pet industry places that word somewhere on the packaging. MY dog treat company has that word on our logo and on the package. The general consensus of premium manufacturers is that we must put that word on packaging/marketing for it to resonate with consumers. Tanker Tots treats are as natural as a dog biscuit can get. We source the best ingredients from human grade food companies and then make everything from those raw ingredients in our kitchen. So it makes me furious to see that word on undeserving products. The way we produce our treats makes it impossible for a mass-market approach. We would have to change something about the product so that there would be an economy of scale, and then be able to have success at a high volume of output. Having experienced this first-hand (and having a bit of insider information) makes me very suspicious of products made on a larger scale. IT CAN BE DONE- there are larger companies that produce wonderful natural products. However, there are many more that are just looking to make a quick buck with a half-baked product.
Pet food, including treats, is big business. This market totaled more than 14 BILLION dollars in sales, according to Pet Business Magazine’s publication called The Pet Aisle (Nov. 2014 issue). One of the areas of consistent growth over the past 5 years is the ultra/premium/natural segment. This growth has occurred mostly outside the mass market, until now. Mass retailers have jumped on the bandwagon out of necessity because a core segment of consumers moved to independent stores to find premium pet food products. Purina (Nestle) and Science Diet (Hill’s) were slow to react and must have lost market share to other premium brands. By the way, both Purina and Science Diet have launched natural premium product lines in the last year. You will see more information on those and other products in my forthcoming dog food comparison!
Considering that you are reading this blog, you are more than likely one of the consumers that created the demand for natural pet products. I bet you have had trouble figuring out which products are good, better, and best. Gosh, the amount of choices are so overwhelming when you walk down a pet food isle. The treat section alone in the Lynchburg PetsMart is 40 feet long (not counting all the end cap displays near the register). One of my goals is that this blog will be able to teach you how to tell the difference between the pretenders and the real deal. But all of those details are for a later blog entry!
A good rule of thumb is to not be afraid to ask questions of the big manufacturers! Use the website contact forms and toll free customer service numbers. I certainly asked my fair share when screening products for the store and for my dog. It will feel fantastic to be able to report my findings to all of you.
So what's the bottom line when it comes to finding out if a product stands up to its "natural" label? In my experience, companies with integrity will answer your questions. The companies with the best products will give you satisfactory answers.
This first blog post is dedicated to Gordon Shafer, a mentor who taught me how to spot the pretenders.
