It’s been six interesting years since we wrote about getting into the dog food industry. We learned that nothing can make us believe that processed food is better than real food. We also learned that we still have a ways to go and we cannot do it alone. So if you have a dog, listen up. Make sure your money goes to the right place because you’re just as much involved in this industry as we are. We want you to know what you are getting into and what you are a part of. Each of the points I make below can easily branch into separate articles on their own, but I will do my best to keep it simple to share what we have learned, what we are working on, and how we plan to stay on track going forward.

Fresh and canine-appropriate food can eliminate 6 out of the 10 most common vet visits. When we started, we just couldn’t understand why it was so difficult for people to switch to fresh food. We believe feeding a fresh variety of real unprocessed food will help dogs live a longer, healthier life. We now see that dog owners have simply been missing key information because kibble brands and veterinarians own all of it. As a result, dog owners are left in the dark, or at best, sent into a virtual tailspin when they get curious about what food to feed. When dog owners ask legitimate nutrition-related questions to big kibble brands, they are constantly being told to consult with their veterinarians. There is no interest in educating their customers or taking responsibility for their crappy food or when something goes wrong. Not only do they not take responsibility, but they also heavily influence veterinarian schools, clinics, and the agencies that set the rules for dog food.

Even the FDA will send you to the vet before the nutrition expert, but here’s the thing: vets are not regularly trained in dog nutrition. They receive general education on all small animals and must choose to specialize in nutrition, specifically for canines. There are only a total of 80 Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists in the world. Of these, many are employed directly by kibble companies. Only 24 of the Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists are currently available for dog owners to contact — in the world! The “Go ask your vet” approach hurts veterinarians as much as it hurts dogs. So many veterinarians in America feel hopeless, treating disease rather than preventing it, often leading to depression or career changes.

The reality is — kibble isn’t real dog food. It is made up by ‘Big Food’ and approved by AAFCO, whose board is made up of the companies that make processed food and fund the schools that teach veterinarians. It is based on a narrative that was created to support feedlot food, The dog food industry is controlled by corporations that specialize in candy and prepackaged food. Dog owners are uncertain, overwhelmed trying to understand what is best for their dogs and have no one to ask. Allergies, obesity, cancer, and poor dental health are on the rise. Costly surgeries and treatments, euthanizations due to dog owners not being able to pay bills, all contribute to compassion fatigue and even vet suicides. So many of these things can be prevented with real, fresh food.

We are not alone in our fight. There are conscious dog food companies who are also trying to prevent dog food-related illnesses, but the challenges they face are far more than just making dog food. Companies also have to battle with authorities like AAFCO to make their formulations around feedlot principles, and ‘Big Food’ lobbyists pushing hard against raw food. All of these disabling factors prevent companies like us from helping dogs and fixing the industry. Last year we lost our good friend Gary Novosel, the founder of Raw Dog Hawaii. I was extremely interested in working with Gary and I would have loved to bring him into Real Dog Box as a Dog Longevity Officer. His last words to me were to “increase your prices.” Gary single-handedly healed thousands of dogs and knew the uphill battles we would face. We miss you, Gary. You will not be forgotten and…

We will not be deterred.

We make products that solve problems that dog owners didn’t think could be solved with fresh food. There was no demand for single-ingredient air-dried dog treats and chews when we started. We popularized it nationally and globally and created a new category in the dog food industry.

Before us no other companies: promoted air-dried meat for dogs; was talking to their customers directly; showed or shared their food-making recipes and processes; did AMAs; offered SMS customer service; promoted sharing food with your dog; said chews can save your dog’s teeth; made single-ingredient products and called them the actual ingredient instead of some fancy name; said the secret to dog health is variety; or normalized feeding dogs animal parts. Before us, air-dried meat parts were only for the rich, and considered a luxury for middle-class Americans.

Our food philosophy is clear: food is medicine and fresh food should not travel far. With food, we can heal dogs, and prevent costly health problems. But creating a new industry standard comes with great responsibilities. We must create a picture of what is possible for the companies joining this category. To understand how we got here, you should read Part 1, written by Ruby when we first started.

Thank you for being part of the #feedreal movement these last 6 years. We’ve learned a lot and are taking fresh food further than even we could have imagined. As you continue to support us, let’s tell you about where we are going.

Our processes are recession-proof and uncancellable.

Everything in existence must first be efficient, then be reproduced to survive. It took us 6 years of feeding dogs real food to understand how to effectively produce with minimum waste. We learned how to build discrete manufacturing processes and software, fulfillment processes, member management software, e-commerce software, commercial meat dryers, a storytelling studio, and we turned all our customer service agents into certified dog nutritionists.

We have always been committed to making our own food, that is the only way we can make it accessible to middle-class citizens. Did you know that every person on our team, regardless of their duties from builders to storytellers, has to experience making food in our kitchen? It’s the only way to ensure the quality of our food and accurately talk about our products. No one is more qualified to talk about our food than we are. We make it, we need to represent it, it is part of our integrity.

The majority of our time outside of the kitchen is spent educating dog owners through workshops and nutrition consultations, instead of running social media ads. We turn our research and experience into articles, videos, and Q&As to support our members. We build complementary websites such as feedreal.com (dog food glossary, calculator, and nutrition course), canine.care (easy to follow dog care education), shortleash.co (bite-size dog news) to help and empower dog owners to take control of their dogs’ health.

There is no gap between our production and the consumption of our food.

We learned to build a microfactory and operate within the city limits so people can see where their food is coming from. Our operations are zero waste. Our business covers everything in the goods-services continuum except pure commodities which we leave up to farmers. We built a nearly frictionless manufacturing process with individual batch production and there is no gap between our production and the consumption of our food.

Our other super strength is that there is zero influence on our decision-making. Ruby and I are still 100% owners of RDB, with no other shareholders, partners, or people with hidden agendas. We are not a part of a startup accelerator (YCombinator, partners of AirBNB and DropBox, showed an interest but rejected us after the interview; it felt at the time that they wanted us to be the middleman for dog food, instead of manufacturing our goods). There is no board above us, no mentors to influence us, no special interests groups nor anyone that has a financial gain to protect. We are a group of minorities, immigrants, and first-generation Americans, who are just trying to leave the world a better place for dogs.

In just 6 years, we have sold over 1 million bags of dog treats and chews nationwide, and we are still hand-making and hand-packing our food, hand stamping our boxes. We are servicing 5000 members monthly from Alaska to Puerto Rico with a group of 36 full-time team members. We opened up to Canada and became an international company last year.

But it wasn’t an easy ride. Since we started, at least 30 companies cloned us nationally and globally. The city we started Real in refused to relocate us into the proper zone, and we had 2 weeks to move our entire facility without a hiccup in operations. Covid happened and we were short-staffed, with many of our members facing their own financial hardships. Then supply prices skyrocketed from fresh meat to packaging supplies, with shortages and delays everywhere. We didn’t increase our prices once, nor did we let 1 person go due to these events. Then we got canceled by social media influencers (read more here real.dog/toxic-cancel-culture). We still didn’t give up or choose to use our time to retaliate. Our mission is bigger than any city or influencer and we are still standing.

Each event made us stronger and made our place permanent in the market. I can now confidently say Real Dog Box is here to stay beyond our lifetimes and will provide millions of dogs with better healthcare that many others failed to do.

Stay tiny and repeat.

Now we will learn how to always remain a tiny company and replicate what we’ve created. We’ll continue to focus our resources on educating and empowering dog owners — this is what creates longevity. Other companies pour their dollars into ad space, focusing on marketing ploys and not educating the masses. We are not data-driven, we are data-aware. We give people what they need, not what they want. We know that the best customers are informed to make better decisions for themselves and their dogs, rather than being told what to do.

We’ll continue to make, pack and deliver all of our own food. Real food alone isn’t “expensive,” but every hand that touches it drives up the cost. Other companies that make their own food often only sell to distributors, and never talk to their consumers. Every person on our team knows exactly how our food is made and their nutritional benefits, and every customer service rep is also a certified dog nutritionist, to better understand our members. We are also building a canine nutrition certification course to help guide dog owners through their transition to fresh food and educate veterinary professionals about the benefits of fresh food that they never learned at their kibble-funded university.

As first in the market, we will continue to set an example for newcomers to the industry and keep real food accessible. After seeing so many new companies with similar offerings, we truly couldn’t be happier. The more fresh food is out there, the more dog owners are likely to make the switch. But we said it from the start — real food is not a luxury. Our mission is to bring whole foods for dogs to the masses and we cannot do that if the cost is beyond the average dog owner’s means.

Everything we have done is a proven concept: creating highly efficient processes, making, packing, and delivering our own food allows us to keep fresh food affordable and accessible.

We cannot ignore the disadvantages of staying small, but our strength lies in the relationships we build in our local community.

Staying small is a purpose, not the role of a single individual or leader. By staying tiny, we can foster a better work culture, be closer to our customers, partner with other small businesses, and impact the lives of the forgotten.

Growth creates redundancies and unnecessary complexities, which often leads to vertical organizations. After experiencing the government and corporate worlds, Ruby and I committed to steer away from bureaucracy and give everyone on our team a voice. We coach and grow our staff, identify their personal goals to align them with their professional development, guide them toward different opportunities within our company, and build them up as productive members of our community. We inspire our team to continuously invest in their future selves. We don’t get paid well, but fairly. Every team member can see our books and how much everyone earns. We strive to complement each other and to be our best selves.

Staying tiny also helps us connect better with our members. We forget about the competition, focus on improvement over time, push ourselves to stay one step ahead, and give our customers dedicated and personal, customized support.

Of course, we cannot ignore the disadvantages of staying small: the lack of resources, especially in times of unexpected events. But our strength lies in the relationships we build in our local community. In addition to our weekly community pack walks, we now serve our local San Diego community through farmers’ markets and DIY food workshops. We are building our small team of food makers up, so they can help raise awareness about real food. We want to expand our pack-walks and pop-up shops to other cities and states. We have learned to scale our one on one relationships because we know how important it is to build trust and share our knowledge with our community.

Taking investment in our community to the next level.

After all these years, we’ve learned quite a few things about running a business. Everybody says small businesses are the backbone of the economy, but no one is really helping them — banks offer loans only after 2 years of a revenue-generating business (come on, who needs the money by then?) and the local SBA/chamber of commerce can barely keep up with changes in technology.

Here’s what we learned:

2016 (Our first year) Diversification. We learned how to manage our supply chain. When we got into the industry, we learned of many small dog food startups failing because bigger buyers were squeezing them out of the supply chain. So we built operations and sourcing protocols to diversify our supply chain and circumvent big food exclusivity agreements. We learned to pivot and design a faultless model for production.

2017 — Independence. Now that we established ourselves in the industry, we learned that all startups face the same challenges in entering the market — no software suited our needs and telling our story was more powerful than ad campaigns. We began building a customized CRM, CMS, E-commerce, and manufacturing tools.

2018 — Community. We began to lean into our local community. We started packwalks, community events, and industry-partnered projects. We understood that no one could tell our story better than we could, and started laying the foundations for a strong storytelling team.

2019 — Scale. It was time to grow our footprint. We learned how to successfully scale our operations into a location 9x larger than we were in. We began to build our teams and implement co-department leadership roles.

2020 — Survival. The pandemic hit. We learned how to survive pandemics/national disasters. Our mindful operations allowed us to be recession-proof.

2021 — PR. We got canceled and lost ⅓ of our customer base. We operated under a loss, but we learned how to build assets to sustain our presence in the market and outlive us. We also learned that marketing is telling people what they want to hear and public relations is telling people what we are working on. A strong brand goes nowhere if nobody knows about it.

We see most people are looking at creating businesses from the wrong angle. Rather than starting with “cool” emerging technology like Blockchain, NFTs, and Artificial Intelligence, aspiring business owners need to start with what their customers need and don’t need. We know every company will eventually become an AI company. And every business must use blockchain or a similar decentralized system for transactional security. Using these technologies is inevitable, and not much different than the databases or servers we use today; it’s more important to know why these technologies need to be implemented than it is to actually use them. Yet, nobody is around to guide these young businesses.

We haven’t figured it all out yet… but we want to share what we have learned so far! We are taking the teams and the processes that helped us overcome some of the most challenging parts of starting Real Dog Box — our Builders (tech) and Storytelling (marketing) teams — and moving them into a nonprofit organization to help innovative business owners bring their ideas to fruition. Beast Village, our newly formed 501c3, is a nonprofit holding company designed to provide digital tools and resources to help other small-batch manufacturing companies.

Business owners, at any stage, should be able to focus on the products they create, not the platform they will sell it on or how they will connect with their customers. Beast Village will help startups create tiny, yet highly efficient teams, build discrete manufacturing and fulfillment processes, storytelling (marketing) campaigns, and e-commerce platforms to sell their product/services. Besides re-investing the revenue we generate from our digital tools, we also invest in these new companies by sharing what we know works and teaching others how to replicate it.

We created this organization as a nonprofit because we want our team to be comfortable and not worry about making stockholders happy or fear that they will be bought out. There is no higher purpose than making people happy. That is why we promise to always keep it real with you. This is not about money, our integrity cannot be bought with currency, nor is this “just another job” for us. We hope this concept of helping other businesses to succeed outlives us.

Just like Real Dog Box, our ethos at Beast Village are designed to limit company politics, friction, and bureaucracy. You can read more about our philosophies at https://beastvillage.org and https://real.dog

I hope you will continue to be part of our journey! It may be another 6 years… but stay tuned for Part III.

Kibble Isn’t Real Food was originally published in Real Dog Box on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As part of our mission to make dog food healthy and convenient, our biggest challenge has always been to source quality meat, prepare it in the most nutritious way and make it affordable. The truth is that the raw materials, supplies, and transportation we use to make your treats and chews have experienced significant cost increases. For most businesses, these costs are inevitable. We had a strategy in place to avoid passing these costs on to you over the last 3 years and feel it’s our duty to explain our decision.

The good news is…

We have been working on educational resources to complement your dog’s nutritional needs: Canine Care (Everything you need to take better care of your dog), Short Leash! (Bite-size dog news), #Feedreal Movement (Real dog food glossary). Because you are an active subscribing member these resources will always be available to you at no cost going forward.

Effective Oct 8th, at the release of our next box, for the first time since we started, we will be raising Real Dog Box prices by approximately 10% ($2–4).

As always, you can rely on us for our quality food, fast and free delivery, and world-class customer service. If you haven’t yet, take advantage of our text message customer service. We’re here to help you and your dog navigate your nutritional journey. We look forward to continuing to serve your dog even better.

The rest of the article is the journey of our price increase, step-by-step.

• Our goal has always been to bring affordable real food to the average household.
• When we pivoted from food to treats, we compared our product prices to every online and offline brand in the U.S. regardless of their quality. We wanted to make food competitive, not luxury. We turned food into a service to promise the quality, price and value. Without service, there’s no commitment from a business — as consumers ourselves, we were looking for that promise.
• Our strategy was to quickly increase our buying power to purchase raw supplies at a discount to keep your boxes at the current price.
• By not paying ourselves (Ruby and I), we were able offer a low-cost, high quality products. We’ve given every penny you’ve spent to our amazing team that services you.
• But because of increases in distribution, postage and raw material, our plan backfired. The increase is out of our control — postage has gone up 38%, meat 30%, supplies/packaging 20%, electricity 10–15% since we started. We did our best to avoid passing these costs on to you.

Here’s what we tried:

| We attempted to diversify our meat suppliers among various ranchers to bring the price down on our raw supply.

| We postponed our move into a larger facility and instead expanded into the unit next door.

| We postponed automation and customization of our bags and boxes — yes, they are all hand stamped and hand-labeled.

| Despite our startup maturing into a rapidly growing company, we chose not to spend a dime on paid advertisement. We relied on our grassroots approach and organic growth by word of mouth and instead created additional online resources to help our members with their dog’s health and wellness, and guaranteed your access to fresh treats and chews.

• The decisions above even limited our ability to offer our kitchen staff better tools to work with and to compensate them fairly for their hard work to service you. They deserve all the credit.
• Most small businesses fail within 3 years or their quality drops because they are unable to scale their service or product offerings. It’s a tough transition during growth phases. We understood that we had to give up quality or convenience, neither of which we wanted to sacrifice because of money.

After all that, we are still standing thanks to you.

We are 100% customer funded and want to continue offering you the same service as we grow. Most importantly, we believe our pricing is fair. And we hope you continue to see the value in the food and service we offer you and your pup.

It’s no secret that traditional dog food companies are ripping you off. You can do a simple price comparison of the quality, quantity, and variety we provide to see that our products are still the most affordable on the market. Should this increase in pricing be a difficult transition for you, there is still an option to switch your pup to a smaller box to fit your needs.

We will continue to provide the very best quality food, fast and free delivery, and world-class customer service. Transparency and honesty is everything to us. We hope you like the new websites we’ve created for you!

Thanks to Ruby for reading the draft of this.

Why Increasing Our Prices is Good For You was originally published in Real Dog Box on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Short Leash! #8 by Real Pet Food

Did you know… Omega-3 is called an essential fatty acid because neither our bodies nor our pups’ bodies can produce it itself? This means that all omega-3s must come from diet.Fatty acids you’ve heard of -eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) contribute to healthy brain function, a healthy heart and joints. The most beneficial omega-3 fats occur naturally in oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel and sardines. Find salmon skin & chunks in this month’s box!

Watch us unbox the new Real Pet Food! Pork loin, turkey liver, salmon skin and chunks, chicken neck, lamb ears, beef tendon. Made fresh, order now!

Dogs & toddlers show similarities in social intelligence and communication. A study at UA looked at how 2-year-olds, dogs, and chimpanzees performed on cognitive function tests. Chimps performed well on tests involving physical environment and spatial reasoning, but not with cooperative communication skills, such as following a finger. Dogs and children performed similarly on these tests, highlighting their understanding of benefits and rewards for more cooperative social behavior. This could help with understanding human disabilities that cause a lapse in social communication development, such as autism.

What’s the #1 subscription for dogs on the market? Yours truly ♥️ Check out the Raw Feeders’ Top Five by Kimberly Gauthier, and tons of other awesome tips for pup parents to keep the tails wagging!

Veterinarians are taking a stand against over-vaccination. Earlier this week, we shared a powerful video about veterinarians pleading with state government to change the laws that require the same dosage of vaccines for chihuahuas and great danes. “There are technically no rules as to how many times you can vaccinate pets for the same disease. Vets worldwide are now seeing terrible reactions due to over-vaccinating.” Find out more here.

The Uber of Pet Care has arrived. U.K.-based on-demand company,Pawsquad, mobilizes the vet experience through its service. Whenever a pet owner wants to find out just what is wrong with their animal they can callPawsquad for a home video or help via video.

U.S. pets are getting fatter with pet owners disagreeing with vets on nutritional issues. According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP), pet obesity in the U.S. continued to steadily increase in 2016, affecting nearly 54% of dogs and 59% of cats. APOP also found pet owners and veterinary professionals disagreed on key pet food issues such as the benefits of corn and grains, value of raw and organic diets, and the best sources of pet nutritional advice.

South Korea closes biggest dog meat market in preparation for 2018 Winter Olympics. On Monday, officials began removing butchery facilities and cages at Moran market where live animals are kept before they are slaughtered. Moran market in Seongnam sells more than 80,000 dogs, dead or alive, every year and accounts for about a third of South Korea’s dog meat consumption. Dog meat will still be on sale at the market, but the display of live dogs and killing at onsite slaughterhouses will be stopped.

Nissan just released a concept car optimized for dogs. The X-Trail 4Dogs is aimed directly at dogs, and it’s probably the most ingenious thing you’ll see today. It comes with a dog ramp, 360-degree pull-out shower, two-way doggie cam via a 10-inch LCD in the rear cabin and even an integrated doggie drying system. Mind. Blown.

Pro tip: Make your pup’s meals a little more exciting with meal toppers.Sprinkle some Real treats on top of your pup’s regular meals to add a boost of nutrition and flavor. After all, they’re made with 100% meat, no additives or preservatives. Cue your inner #saltbae

Bonus: Love yourself a big dog? Enjoy.

Wanna show your pup some ♥️ ? Sign-up for Real Pet Food!
-Real Pet Food Team

Want to know more about The Short Leash!?
At Real, we look beyond our walls to make sure we are staying up to date with anything that can nourish the connection between humans and dogs. There is no other example of unconditional love and companionship between two species. We’re passionate about learning and sharing every bit of info we can to improve this connection. Feel free to pass this along to dog lovers like yourself who share this passion. We’d love to hear from you. Hit reply to give us feedback, your ideas and suggestions to help improve our bi-weekly emails.

What did the salmon say when it swam into a wall? was originally published in Real Dog Box on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Beware — Metal fragments & euthanasia drugs found in dog food 😢 The Short Leash! #7 by Real Pet Food. You can now get your dog news twice a month without worrying if you missed something important. We bring fellow dog lovers helpful tips, educational info, and news in the dog world. Life is better with dogs!! Show images for a better experience.

Did you know… kids with pets have fewer allergies? For everyone whose sig other isn’t sure about raising a dog with the baby… you’re welcome :) My mom always said letting kids play outside helped build a strong immune system. Johns Hopkins did a study.

Pentobarbital, drug used to euthanize pets, found in Evanger’s dog food.FDA announced Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food has recalled five lots of its canned Hunk of Beef dog food. To date, one dog has died after eating the food, and four others were sickened. The first four dogs to get sick belong to the samefamily, ate food from the same can of food and one passed away. Thetoxicology results: both the dead dog’s stomach contents and the open cancontained pentobarbital. Pentobarbital is also used to treat insomnia, seizuresand anxiety in humans. A lot of controversy has followed.

Top 5 most scandalous pet foods of the year…. We always report pet food recalls as they come, but CANTV put together a great video you should know about. From metal fragments to euthanasia drugs, the crap we’re finding in processed pet foods is disturbing. Is your pet food on this list?

And this is why we #feedreal food… just 12 more days left to get our elk game meat treats! That’s right, 100% grass-fed New Zealand elk meat. Plus pork kidney, Alaskan pollock, duck feet, beef backstrap and lamb trachea all in this month’s Real Pet Food box. #howbowdah

Tel Aviv, the dog-friendliest city in the world, launches Digi-Dog. Part of a powerful initiative to foster community engagement the municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo launched a mobile app that gives dog owners access pet-friendly events, lists of nearby vets and dog walkers, vaccination reminders, training courses and even directions to the nearest dog park or beach.

Survey Reveals People Love Their Pets More Than Their Partners. Obvio.Are you shocked? Neither are we :) According to a survey by Petcube, 84% of pet owners said they show more affection to their pet than to their partner. In 2016, $681 million was spent on pets for Valentine’s Day. A few more fun results of the survey: 76% of people find a romantic partner more attractive if they’re pet-friendly, 9% have broken up with a partner over a pet, and 25% of people have taken their pet on a date. What did you do for your Valentine?

Medical marijuana and splitting a weed brownie with your dog are not the same thing. While edibles intended for human consumption usually contain THC, those for dogs and cats more commonly use CBD from industrial hemp, which has almost no THC — in other words, they don’t get your pet “high”. But the Animal Medical Center in New York reported a 144% increase in pet marijuana overdose calls from 2010 to 2015. NY has generated more calls than any other state except California. There are true benefits to treating a pup with seizures or cancer with medicinal marijuana (see statement from American Veterinary Medical Assocation), but blowing smoke in your pup’s face canabsolutely cause discomfort. Know the difference! #themoreyouknow

Pro tip: Need an extra long-lasting chew? Stick this month’s beef backstrap in the freezer for 20 minutes. Kick off your shoes off and enjoy a movie!

Wanna show your pup some ♥️ ? Sign-up for Real Pet Food!
-Real Pet Food Team

Want to know more about The Short Leash!?
At Real, we look beyond our walls to make sure we are staying up to date with anything that can nourish the connection between humans and dogs. There is no other example of unconditional love and companionship between two species. We’re passionate about learning and sharing every bit of info we can to improve this connection. Feel free to pass this along to dog lovers like yourself who share this passion. We’d love to hear from you. Hit reply to give us feedback, your ideas and suggestions to help improve our bi-weekly emails.

Beware — Metal fragments & euthanasia drugs found in dog food 😢 The Short Leash! was originally published in Real Dog Box on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Lemme see ya grill 😬 The Short Leash! #6 by Real Pet Food. You can now get your dog news twice a month without worrying if you missed something important. We bring fellow dog lovers helpful tips, educational info, and news in the dog world. Life is better with dogs!!

Did you know… the longest dog tail in the world is 2 ft & 6.2 inches? The original purpose of the dog’s tail was for balance, to prevent falling over during sharp turns or while walking along narrow structures or leaping. Over time, the tail adapted itself to playing a vital role in communication. Check out Keon, the long-tailed Irish Wolfhound.

February is National Pet Dental Health Month. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) reports 80% of dogs have some kind of oral disease by the age of 3. Eeeek! And periodontal disease doesn’t always stop there. Check out Tom Lonsdale’s Science Death Experiment of raw fed dogs vs. kibble fed dogs in just 17 days. Shocking!

A few tips for keeping your pup’s grill disease free: Perform routine teeth inspections. Feel along the gum line and look for unusual bumps and built up tartar. Just like when you look at your own teeth in the mirror or smell a little funk on your breath, you know when you’re due for a flossing. Flossing can come in the form of fully digestible chews or raw bones to scrub off built up tartar and dirt in between teeth.

Pro tip: offer fully digestible, high-quality dog chews that do not contain any additives, preservatives, flavorings or dyes. Try the beef backstrap or lambtrachea in this month’s Real Pet Food box (also comes with elk meat, pork kidney, pollock and duck feet).

You can also offer recreational, raw bones to grind off tartar by mechanical chewing. Check with your vet first if your pup suffers from pancreatitis, has weak or fractured teeth or is a gulper.

KEEP FLUOROURACIL OUT OF REACH! The FDA reported a cream used to treat and prevent skin cancer has killed five dogs who accidentally ate some. The cream is called fluorouracil and is sold under the brand names Carac,Efudex and Fluoroplex. Why a toxic cream is being prescribed for canines is beyond us… since you know, dogs like to lick everything. Please keep it and any other toxic medications out of reach.

Your dog might like Bob Marley more than you. A study by the Scottish SPCA and the University of Glasgow suggests music affects dogs’ behavior. Particularly when soft rock or reggae was played, dogs exhibited a lower heart rate and spent “significantly more time lying and significantly less time standing,” showing a decrease in stress levels while the music played.

The makers of M&Ms and Snickers now own the biggest animal-hospital chain. Candy giant Mars Inc., agreed to buy the animal-hospital chain VCA Inc. for about $7.7B! Mars, maker of Pedigree is already the biggest pet food company in the world, followed by Nestle, the maker of Purina. The company owns Banfield Pet Hospital and BluePearl Veterinary Partners, and the acquisition of VCA will add almost 800 animal hospitals to its network of more than 900 clinics. This means that the biggest pet food manufacturer will also own the hospitals most likely to treat our pets. Could this be the end of independent medicine?

And don’t forget, Mars & Banfield Hospitals are both facing a class action lawsuit for conspiring to falsely promote ‘prescription’ pet food.

Senior dogs don’t care about that baby talk! Scientists at the University of Lyon have shown that puppies find our high-pitched goo-goo ga-ga talk much more exciting than older dogs do and that this way of talking may help them learn more words as puppies.

Ever wondered why small breeds live longer than large breeds? A team of undergrad students suspects harmful “oxygen free radicals” which are molecules generated while breaking down food for energy. “These molecules are missing electrons, and as they try to poach them from other cells in the body, they can quickly damage cell membranes and eventually contribute to cancer and other diseases. Molecules known as antioxidants neutralize these free radicals. But ultimately, the more energy a body produces (especially in larger breeds), the more free radicals it makes, and consequently, the more antioxidants it needs.”

Ready to take 3-D printing to another level? Mark Zuckerberg did.

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, sign-up for Real Pet Food and show your pup some ♥️.
-Real Pet Food Team

Lemme see ya grill 😬 The Short Leash! was originally published in Real Dog Box on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Feeling Presidential? The Short Leash! #5 by Real Pet Food. You can now get your dog news twice a month without worrying if you missed something important. We bring fellow dog lovers helpful tips, educational info, and news in the dog world. Life is better with dogs!

Did you know… Abraham Lincoln’s pup, Fido, was the first presidential dog to be photographed. Every president except James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson has owned a pet for at least part of his term in office and 32 U.S. Presidents have kept dogs as their furry companions.

Don’t leave your pup’s nutritional goals behind while reaching your new year’s goals. Start 2017 with the freshest treats ever. This month, we’ve gotturkey breast, beef spleen, anchovies, pig ear, lamb gullet & chicken feet. Check out the unboxing here!

Note: Our local supplier delivered a fresh batch of wild-caught anchovies last weekend, which were larger than expected! They look great, but are taking slightly longer to dry, delaying this week’s shipments. Don’t worry, your pups will think they were worth the wait!

Cannabis dog treats — the next big thing? Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, a chemical compound extracted from the marijuana plant, for dogs has doubled its sales over the last two years to treat pups suffering from pain and anxiety. Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), CBD doesn’t create a euphoric sensation, so it won’t get your dog high. Though the FDA hasn’t approved marijuana use in animals, some veterinariansrecommend their use, and producers say pet stores are increasingly beginning to carry CBD treats.

Court rules police can shoot a dog if it moves or barks when officers enter a home. Sad, but true. Mark and Cheryl Brown petitioned the court to hold the city and police officers from Battle Creek, Mich., accountable for shooting and killing their 2 dogs while executing a search warrant of their home in 2013, despite the Beware of Dog sign posted. The 6th Circuit sided with police officers, stating that the plaintiffs failed to provide evidence showing the first dog did not lunge at police officers and that the second dog didn’t bark. The two pitbull terriers were named Isis and Baby Girl.

But the court system in Colorado has found a unique job for working dogs. When a child has been hurt or sexually abused or seen a horrible crime, they can feel overwhelmed and a bit too traumatized to talk. That’s when Pella, a Labrador-Golden Retriever mix, comes in to provide a little distraction and comfort, helping kids feel safe enough to tell their stories. Pella has played a role in 450 cases since she began her career, being present during interviews and even in the courtroom while children take the witness stand.

Will recall training be a thing of the past? Link’s AKC smart collar was named one of the most interesting products to showcase at CES 2017 in Las Vegas last week. The collar monitors your dog’s location, body temperature, exercise and eating habits, and even has a remote-controlled light so owners can locate their pets in the dark. GPS is literally taking over.

Dogs may go gray when stressed, just like US presidents. Premature graying in dogs may be an indicator of anxiety and impulsivity, according to a study published in this month’s edition of the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science. Researchers took two photos of each dog and asked each dog’s owner to complete a 21-question survey, which included questions about the dog’s anxious or impulsive behaviors, then an independent party scored each dog for its “grayness.” The results indicated a correlation between a high grayness score and anxiety.

Pro tip: How to stop your dog from snoring.

Wishing you and your pups good health in 2017.
-Real Pet Food Team

Want to know more about The Short Leash!?
At Real, we look beyond our walls to make sure we are staying up to date with anything that can nourish the connection between humans and dogs. There is no other example of unconditional love and companionship between two species. We’re passionate about learning and sharing every bit of info we can to improve this connection. Feel free to pass this along to dog lovers like yourself who share this passion. We’d love to hear from you. Hit reply to give us feedback, your ideas and suggestions to help improve our bi-weekly emails.

Feeling Presidential? was originally published in Real Dog Box on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Need a last minute gift? The Short Leash! #4 by Real Pet Food. You can now get your dog news twice a month without worrying if you missed something important. We bring fellow dog lovers helpful tips, educational info, and news in the dog world. Life is better with dogs!

Can’t think of a gift for a dog lover?? Shoot us a text or email anytime to add a gift box to your order. We’ll cover shipping anywhere in the U.S. and you’ll be the best gift-giver. Ever.

Did you know… Holly, mistletoe and lilies can be toxic to dogs? Make sure to keep these items out of your dog’s reach, but don’t forget to steal a kiss ;)

Keep some chews handy to keep those paws occupied! Just 10 days left for this month’s box! Pork hearts, chicken liver, salmon skin, turkey neck, pig skin, beef aorta. Check out the unboxing here!

When your dog has better gear than you… Trakz, a Britain-based startup, has added Fitbit technology to its GPS tracker. While The 5-Second Dog Parka, just released on Kickstarter, gets your pup ready to brave the winter winds in record time. Although some startups have hadtrouble gaining traction in the market, computerized accessories are certainly the bling of the future with exciting and innovative technology helping to step up the game. We’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.

A 3D printed labrador’s dog nose may help with bomb detection. Wait, what? Yes, you read that right. A team of government and university researchers fitted a dog-nose-inspired adapter, made with a 3-D printer, to the front end of an explosives detector, and found that “active sniffing” improved odorant detection by up to 18 times! Read more about the study here.

Do you feed prescription dog food? You’ll want to know about this. A class action suit has been filed against Mar’s, Purina, Hills, Petsmart, Banfield Pet Hospital and Blue Pearl Vet Hospital, alleging that these companies “conspired to falsely promote ‘prescription’ pet food.” The complaint states that “prescription” pet food sold by Mars, Purina, and Hill’s are not evaluated by the FDA and contain no drugs or other legally controlled substances — so selling the expensive pet food as requiring a prescription is unfair and deceptive under California consumer protection laws.

If you’ve purchased any of these brands, you can contact the leading law firm for more info: Hill’s Prescription Diet, Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet, Iams Veterinary Formula.

Your dog’s genes could be the answer to why you come home to chewed up shoes! At home DNA testing is helping scientists determine links between canine behavior, personality and genes. The data collected could also help dog owners better understand how to tailor train their pups or help decide whether a certain breed is better suited to be a guard dog rather than a family pet. Note to self: doberman pinchers are more prone to OCD behavior!

Did someone say #poochparty? To help meet the growing demand for explosive-detection dogs on college campuses, increased federal funding is now available to get dogs through Homeland Security and the Justice Department training. It’s hard to imagine a college being the primary target for a bomb threat, but it never hurts to have another working pup around.

Texas Lowe’s hires veteran and his service dog. A beautiful thing to see big companies valuing the importance of service dogs.

Love big breeds? This photo collection is sure to melt your heart.

Warm holiday wishes and love for the New Year!
-Real Pet Food Team

Want to know more about The Short Leash!?
At Real, we look beyond our walls to make sure we are staying up to date with anything that can nourish the connection between humans and dogs. There is no other example of unconditional love and companionship between two species. We’re passionate about learning and sharing every bit of info we can to improve this connection. Feel free to pass this along to dog lovers like yourself who share this passion. We’d love to hear from you. Hit reply to give us feedback, your ideas and suggestions to help improve our bi-weekly emails.

Need a last minute gift? was originally published in Real Dog Box on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Make your old toys new again! The Short Leash! #3​ by Real Pet Food. You can now get your dog news twice a month without worrying if you missed something important. We bring fellow dog lovers helpful tips, educational info, and news in the dog world. Life is better with dogs!

Did you know… Most canines have a trait that favors new things or novelty — it’s called neophilia. Dogs get bored with old toys and are drawn to unfamiliar scents, sounds and textures. This is why the new toy is always the favorite toy. #timetoswitchitup

Here’s a tip: Change the scent of your pup’s old toy — just place the toy in a gallon ziplock filled with your pup’s favorite treats!

We used pork heart from this month’s box. There’s also chicken liver, salmon skin, turkey neck, pig skin and beef aorta.

Simon says… pick up your toys! A new study found that your dog actually remembers every move you make and better yet, you can teach them to copy your actions! Cleaning up just got 10x easier.

The raw food diet for pets is becoming mainstream. As with most trends that are actually good for you, the U.S. is still far behind on the transition to real food, but an overwhelming number of veterinarians in England are signing up for responsible raw feeding training courses to learn more about the concept of a raw diet to better serve their patients.

Remember those 1400 dogs that got sick from Purina Beneful? The federal judge on the case found that Purina was not responsible for disclosing the amount of mycotoxins, propylene glycol, heavy metals and lead in the food because they were “within regulatory limits — that is, within limits permitted by the FDA” and there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that Beneful actually caused those 1400 pups to get sick or die. The plaintiffs were unable to persuade the judge that if consumers knew the levels of mycotoxins and industrial grade glycols that existed in the food and that they could be harmful, that they would not have purchased Beneful for their pups. Would you have?

ICYMI. Polar bears don’t love dogs as much as we thought. Recently, a video of a polar bear petting a dog went viral. But what you may not have seen was the report of a polar bear killing and eating a dog on the same property just last week. Yes, it happened. We hate to be Debbie Downer here, but the takeaway is this: while many animals can peacefully coexist, sometimes nature takes its course. It’s the circle of life. Nonetheless, remember to keep your eyes open and your pups close!

Synthetic dogs replace cadavers in vet tech program. WATC is the first in the country to use synthetic dogs to train their veterinarian technician students. Its heart rate and blood pressure can be controlled as students do routine procedures, like check for a pulse, perform intubations and catheterizations, so students can hone their skills and practice diagnosing before moving on to real pups.

Time to step up your running game. Now you and your dog can run triathlons together! So far only in Europe — Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany and the U.K. — organizations like Iron Dog and Tridog are challenging us to run, swim, bike AND compete with our pups.

(NSFW) Smile! You’re on candid camera! What do your pups do when you’re not home?

Looking for the perfect gift? Don’t forget you can shoot us a text or email anytime to add a gift box to your order. We’ll cover shipping anywhere in the U.S. and you’ll be the best gift-giver. Ever.

Want to know more about The Short Leash!?
At Real, we look beyond our walls to make sure we are staying up to date with anything that can nourish the connection between humans and dogs. There is no other example of unconditional love and companionship between two species. We’re passionate about learning and sharing every bit of info we can to improve this connection. Feel free to pass this along to dog lovers like yourself who share this passion. We’d love to hear from you. Hit reply to give us feedback, your ideas and suggestions to help improve our bi-weekly emails.

Make your old toys new again! was originally published in Real Dog Box on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Thankful for another day with our pups! The Short Leash! #2 by Real Pet Food. You can now get your dog news twice a month without worrying if you missed something important. We bring fellow dog lovers helpful tips, educational info, and news in the dog world. Life is better with dogs!

Did you know… The current world record holder for world’s oldest dog is Bluey, an Australian Cattle Dog owned by Les Hall of Rochester, Victoria, Australia. Bluey was a working dog, lived among sheep and cattle from 1910 to 1939, and died at the age of 29 years and five months. #themoreyouknow

#mannequinchallenge Check out this month’s unboxing, Black Beatles style. Highlight: We’ve got green tripe patties! Pro Tip: Mix green tripe in with yogurt to make your stuffed frozen chew during Thanksgiving dinner. See puppy eyes below. You’re welcome.

And here are a few more of our favorite dog mannequin challenges, 100000x better than the human ones.

The secret to avoiding puppy eyes while enjoying your turkey dinner? Frozen chews make for mentally-stimulating busy time. And stuffed frozen chews will drive your pup bonkers. Here’s what you do: Mix a cup of plain, nonfat yogurt with your pup’s favorite treats. Take this month’s @realpetfood beef trachea chew (or dog-safe hollow rubber toy), wrap the bottom with plastic wrap and spoon your treat mixture in. Freeze for at least 2 hours before dinner time and serve while you enjoy your family dinner.

Science gives us more time with our dogs. Researchers with the Dog Aging Projectfrom the University of Washington are testing a promising drug, called rapamycin, that could slow down the effects of aging in dogs.

In honor of National Pet Cancer Awareness Month, we’d like to share how important nutrition and lifestyle are in keeping our pups healthy. Check out Missy’s journey, From Cancer to Health with a Raw Diet by Barbara Rivers.

Feeling guilty for making your dog wait? Dog Parker, a new startup based in NYC, is a service that lets you park your dog outside while you shop. And yes, it’s thermo-controlled and there’s a webcam. Fancy!

Want to read your dog’s mind? Designed to help better understand your pups, Inupathy has created a harness covered in LED lights that change color based your dog’s mood.
And here I thought, the tail said it all.

Hunt together, eat together. Now you can one-up your friends’ #hikingwithdog posts of beautiful scenery and their incredibly photogenic dogs. You and your pups can now enroll in truffle hunting training and learn how to harvest and track down quality truffles! Yes, it really is a thing!

Smile: While we’re here arguing over politics, dogs are saving dogs. Two dogs donate blood to help save the life of an Idaho Police Dog. As we always say, we should all #bemoredog.

Looking for the perfect gift? Don’t forget you can shoot us a text or email anytime to add a gift box to your order. We’ll cover shipping anywhere in the U.S. and you’ll be the best gift-giver. Ever.

Want to know more about The Short Leash!?
At Real, we look beyond our walls to make sure we are staying up to date with anything that can nourish the connection between humans and dogs. There is no other example of unconditional love and companionship between two species. We’re passionate about learning and sharing every bit of info we can to improve this connection. Feel free to pass this along to dog lovers like yourself who share this passion. We’d love to hear from you. Hit reply to give us feedback, your ideas and suggestions to help improve our bi-weekly emails.

Thankful for another day with our pups! was originally published in Real Dog Box on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Welcome to The Short Leash! by Real Pet Food. You can now get your dog news twice a month without worrying if you missed something important. We bring fellow dog lovers helpful tips, educational info, and news in the dog world. Life is better with dogs! We want our best friends to live long, happy, meaningful lives.

Did you know…
During the Civil War, General Ulysses Grant reported hearing what he thought to be a pack of wolves, only to reach and find just two wolves making all the noise. When two or more wolves howl and rapidly change their tone, it becomes almost impossible to tell how many are there. This phenomenon is called the Beau Geste Effect. #themoreyouknow

Halloween might be over, but we’ve got candy for dayyyys. Sad face for no more cuties in costume, but happy face for lots of extra sweets laying around the house! Be weary of human treats falling in the wrong paws… they may contain artificial sweeteners and other ingredients that can be toxic to your pup. Look for single-ingredient treats or make your own that your pup can enjoy with the whole family instead!

The Big Scoop! We have 3 New Mini Products Available — Custom Fit for Your Dog’s Needs

Mini Treat & Chew Box $21
Treat Only $19 Box
Chew Only $21 Box

Every dog is different, but for all dogs, the need for outstanding nutrition and fresh food remain the same. Why feed fillers, processed food and ingredients your pup does not need? To accommodate varying breeds, sizes, activity levels and treating habits, we’ve created 3 mini boxes! Just like our regular Treat & Chew Box, each mini box is made fresh and delivered free with a new combination of fresh treats every month. The future of dog treats is here.. great things do come in small packages!

A day in the life of…… Frank, a 4-year old’s favorite blanket. We deliver, Frank gets treats. He is the first “star” of our first member profile. Kim shares her story of how she cares for Frank, her mobility service dog, with holistic remedies and a 100% raw diet.

Red or blue pill? Scientists are now researching whether dogs experience a placebo effect of medication, as many humans do. Dogs that were given a placebo treatment demonstrated an improvement in their seizure frequency compared, suggesting that their condition was improving even in the absence of medicine!

Lost puppy? We are only beginning the era of using tech tools to care for our dogs, from feeding to training and health. Findster Duo just came up with the 1st GPS Pet Tracker without any monthly fees!

Dog food is changing. Another dog food delivery service wants in on the game. Ollie, based in NYC, just raised $4.4M to ship dog meals to your home.

Tsk tsk… it’s about time. The class action lawsuit filed against Mars Petcare by its former employees for failing to warn or remove toxic levels of phosphine gas in its pet food facilities is finally going to trial on January 2, 2017. While quite serious allegations of negligence on behalf of one of the largest pet food manufacturers are at stake here, there isn’t much coverage on this case.

Do you let your dog lick your face? Mmm… probably not the best idea. While a dog’s saliva has proteins that may help cleanse or heal its own wounds… “[t]here are some organisms unique to dogs that we were simply not meant to tolerate or combat.”

Something to make you smile: Boy makes heartwarming connection with service dog.

About The Short Leash!?

At Real, we look beyond our walls to make sure we are staying up to date with anything that can nourish the connection between humans and dogs. There is no other example of unconditional love and companionship between two species. We’re passionate about learning and sharing every bit of info we can to improve this connection. Feel free to pass this along to dog lovers like yourself who share this passion. We’d love to hear from you. Hit reply to give us feedback, your ideas and suggestions to help improve our bi-weekly emails.

Welcome to The Short Leash! was originally published in Real Dog Box on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.