Ingredients

The #1 ingredient in every blend is boneless skinless muscle meat - like chicken and turkey breast & thigh, beef round, lamb shoulder, pork loin, and wild salmon filet. Our blends vary from 86%-99% protein FROM MUSCLE meat. There's no need to add artificial meat flavor to our blends. We use real meat, not just meat flavor.

All proteins are boneless and skinless. Never any pre-ground or mechanically deboned meat – our cuts are the same ones you recognize in your grocery store or on your menu. One of our company perks is employee purchase of meats and other ingredients at cost, because our team knows the quality of our ingredients is at least as good as what they can buy in the store.

Muscle meat is naturally rich in all essential amino acids, including Taurine, so you’ll ever see synthetic Taurine or any other synthetic amino acid on our ingredients list. Values for Taurine and all essential amino acids are included in the nutrient profiles on our website, so dog and cat owners can rest assured their pets are getting all the nutrients they need.

All vegetables are as fresh and delicious as any you’d find in a farmers market or vegetable stand. All are inspected and certified by USDA for human consumption. We locally source to the extent possible. (Cranberries aren’t grown in our area, but Ocean Spray Cranberry is just down the road, so we have no problem getting fresh cranberries!)

Raw vegetables are rich in nutrients, as well as live enzymes and powerful antioxidants. While not listed in AAFCO nutrient profiles as essential nutrients, enzymes and antioxidants play an important role in aiding digestion and helping to build a healthy immune system.

Fine grinding helps to break the vegetables down to be more digestible and make it easier for the pet’s system to absorb the nutrients.

Every vegetable contributes to the nutrient profile, as well as adding enzymes and antioxidants and other substances that contribute to a healthier immune system. While whole potatoes often get a bad rap in pet food, a properly baked and flash cooled potato is rich in many essential nutrients. Flash cooling makes the starch resistant, meaning that while still highly digestible, it breaks down more slowly in the digestive tract, avoiding the glucose spike associated with processed potatoes or potato by-products. Even the Glycemic Research Institute endorses the use of freshly baked and cooled whole potatoes when blended with high quality meats.

You will never see scrap potatoes, potato powders, or potato starches in our blends. Every whole potato is hand inspected to ensure there is no hint of green or sprouts, washed, baked and flash cooled. Our potato suppliers tell us we are pickier then any restaurant, as we will reject an entire pallet if we see any potatoes that have even a hint of green. We remind them that we accept nothing but the best. Learn more about why we use potatoes.

Whole grain brown rice is rich in many essential nutrients as well as antioxidants. You will never see brewer’s rice, rice hulls, or rice starches in our blends. Our whole grain rice is soaked, then rinsed, then baked until tender, then flash cooled to make the starch more resistant. While still highly digestible, resistant starch breaks down more slowly in the digestive tract, avoiding the glucose spike associated with processed grains or grain by-products. Even the Glycemic Research Institute endorses the use of cooked whole grain brown rice when blended with high quality meats. Learn more about why we use whole grain brown rice.

Studies show the absorption, bioavailability, and tolerability of nutrients from fresh, whole, natural foods to be higher than synthetic supplements, and so to the extent possible we use natural, fresh whole foods that are easily digested by dogs and cats, and add natural vitamin and mineral supplements only as needed to meet the nutrient profiles. All supplements are human grade and individually sourced and selected to be the most digestible and easily absorbed by dogs and cats.

The absorption of certain minerals is significantly higher when compounded or chelated (compared to natural sources such as clay, etc.) so mineral supplements may be compounded to be more easily digested and absorbed.

Calcium Carbonate: Highly absorbable source of calcium. While calcium is naturally present in whole foods, calcium must be supplemented to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles. Ground bones and bone meals may also contain fluoride, lead, or other minerals stored in bone. While nutrient profiles for products containing ground bones may be approximated, actual values vary from batch to batch due to the variation of mineral content in the bones. Cooked ground bones are more difficult for dogs to digest and can be abrasive in the dog’s digestive tract. Because our proteins are cooked and because of the variation in nutrient profiles for ground bones, we use a Calcium supplement instead of ground bones in our products.

Choline Chloride is a form of chloride that is compounded to make it easier to absorb. Primary sources of choline include beef, chicken, turkey, and liver. When necessary for a particular blend, we add trace amounts of Choline Chloride to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles.

Coconut Oil: Organic coconut oil is rich in Vitamin E and polyphenols which contain antioxidant properties). Almost half of the fat in coconut is lauric acid, which helps destroy active bacteria in the stomach and mouth.

Copper Gluconate: Trace mineral copper chelated for better absorption. Primary food sources include turkey, chicken, liver, whole baked potato, and whole grain brown rice. When necessary for a particular blend, we add trace amounts of Copper Gluconate to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles.

Ferrous Sulfate: Highly absorbable iron supplement, gentle on the digestive tract. Primary food sources include chicken, turkey, beef, liver, whole baked potato, and whole grain brown rice. When necessary for a particular blend, we add trace amounts of Ferrous Sulfate to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles.

Fish Oil: While many whole foods are naturally rich in Omega-3’s, we add organic fish oil to some blends to increase the Omega-3’s and other fatty acids. Our fish oil is in its natural TG (triglyceride) form and is derived from anchovy (Engraulis ringens), a sea-harvested small planktivorous pelagic fish high in EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid).

Kelp: Organic dried kelp is added as an Iodine supplement.

Potassium Chloride: Trace amounts are added to blends where volume of potatoes, yams, or other potassium rich foods are insufficient to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles. Food sources include green vegetables, and meats.

Safflower Oil: Primary food sources include muscle and organ meats. Some blends contain organic safflower oil which is naturally rich in linoleic acid along with other fatty acids.

Salt: Both Sodium and Chloride are essential nutrients in dog and cat diets. In addition to both Sodium and Chloride, iodized table salt supplies Iodine which is also an essential nutrient. While salt is often considered to be a preservative, our blends only contain enough to meet nutrient profiles.

Tricalcium Phosphate: Highly absorbable source of calcium and phosphorus. Ground bones and bone meals contain both Calcium and Phosphorus, but may also contain other minerals stored in bone. Because our products are lightly cooked and because of the variation in nutrient profiles for ground bones, we do not include ground bones in any of our products. Our calcium supplement is certified human grade, kosher, and free of fluoride, lead, and other potentially toxic minerals.

Vitamin B12: Primary sources of Vitamin B12 include muscle and organ meats. When needed Vitamin B12 is added as a supplement.

Vitamin D3: Very few food sources include Vitamin D and so we supplement with in all blends.

Vitamin E: Food sources include Safflower Oil, Fish Oil, and Fresh Vegetables. When needed to meet nutrient profiles, we supplement with D-alpha tocopherol.

Zinc Sulfate: Trace mineral zinc chelated for better absorption. Primary sources of zinc include chicken, turkey, beef, liver, whole baked potato, and whole grain brown rice. When necessary for a particular blend, we add trace amounts of Zinc Sulfate to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles.