DAIRY-BASED DOG CHEW

Abstract

A dog chew formed from a dairy-based material, wherein said dairy-based material is a mixture of one or more dairy ingredients combined with a binding agent, and said mixture of one or more dairy ingredients comprises the largest portion, by weight, of the dog chew, and said binding agent is added in a sufficient quantity to allow the dairy-based material to be pliable and stable. In the preferred embodiment, the dog chew also includes a flavoring material wherein the dairy-based material comprises the majority of the exterior surface of the dog chew, and said flavoring material includes meats from poultry, mammals, or fish.

Claims

1. A dog chew formed from a dairy-based material, wherein said dairy-based material comprises a mixture of one or more dairy ingredients combined with a binding agent, and said mixture of one or more dairy ingredients comprises the largest portion, by weight, of the dog chew, and said binding agent is added in a sufficient quantity to allow the dairy-based material to be pliable and stable.

2. The dog chew of claim 1, wherein said dairy-based material comprises a thin sheet rolled into a cylinder.

3. The dog chew of claim 1, wherein said dairy-based material comprises one or more thin strips made through sheeting or extrusion, and said thin strips are tied or twisted into a final shape.

4. The dog chew of claim 1, wherein said dairy-based material comprises a molded shape.

5. The dog chew of claim 1, wherein said dairy-based material comprises an extruded shape.

6. The dog chew of claim 1, further comprising a flavoring material wherein the dairy-based material comprises the majority of the exterior surface of the dog chew, and said flavoring material includes meats from poultry, mammals, or fish.

7. The dog chew of claim 6, wherein the dairy-based material comprises a thin sheet and the flavoring material comprises a separate thin sheet, and said thin sheet of dairy-based material and said thin sheet of flavoring material are super imposed and rolled together into a cylinder.

8. The dog chew of claim 6, wherein the dairy-based material comprises one or more thin strips and the flavoring material comprises one or more separate thin strips, and said thin strips of dairy-based material and said thin strips of flavoring material are rolled, twisted or tied together into the final shape.

9. The dog chew of claim 6, wherein said dairy-based material comprises a molded shape, and said molded shape further comprises a cavity, wherein said cavity is filled with the flavoring material.

10. The dog chew of claim 6, wherein the dairy-based material comprises an extruded shape, and the flavoring material comprises a separate extruded shape

11. A method for manufacturing a dog chew comprising: Heating a mixture of one or more dairy ingredients and at least one binding agent at a temperature sufficient to form a liquid mixture, wherein said one or more dairy ingredients comprises the largest portion, by weight, of the mixture; pouring the liquid mixture into thin sheets; allowing the thin sheets to cool and dry into a semi-pliable state such that each thin sheet of dairy-based material can be shaped into a final product.

12. The method for manufacturing a dog chew of claim 11, further comprising: providing a flavoring material, wherein said flavoring material includes meats from poultry, mammals, or fish; forming said flavoring material into a thin sheet; layering the thin sheet of flavoring material on top of a thin sheet of dairy-based material; and rolling said layered sheets into a cylinder such that the thin sheet of dairy-based material comprises the majority of the exterior of the dog chew, and the majority of the thin sheet of flavoring material is enclosed within the dog chew.

13. A method for manufacturing a dog chew comprising: Heating a mixture of one or more dairy ingredients and at least one binding agent at a temperature sufficient to form a liquid mixture, wherein said one or more dairy ingredients comprises the largest portion, by weight, of the mixture; pouring the liquid mixture into thin sheets; allowing the thin sheets to dry into a semi-pliable state; cutting the sheets into strips of dairy-based material; cutting said strips into various lengths; and forming a plurality of said strips into a final products by twisting or tying the strips together.

14. The method for manufacturing a dog chew of claim 13, further comprising: providing a flavoring material, wherein said flavoring material includes meats from poultry, mammals, or fish; forming said flavoring material into a thin sheet; cutting the sheet into strips of flavoring material; cutting said strips of flavoring material into various lengths; twisting or tying one or more strips of dairy-based material together with one or more strips of flavoring material to form the final product.

15. A method for manufacturing a dog chew comprising: Heating a mixture of one more dairy ingredients and at least one binding agent at a temperature sufficient to form a liquid mixture, wherein said one or more dairy ingredients comprises the largest portion, by weight, of the mixture; forcing said mixture through an injection nozzle and into the cavity of a mold; allowing the mixture to cool and harden within the mold; opening the mold and removing the final formed product from the mold.

16. The method for manufacturing a dog chew of claim 15, further comprising: creating at least one secondary cavity within the cavity of the mold; at the same time the liquid dairy based mixture is forced through the nozzle into the mold, a flavoring material is forced, through a separate injection nozzle, into the secondary cavity, such that a majority of said flavoring material is encapsulated within said liquid dairy mixture; allowing the mixture to cool and harden within the mold; opening the mold and removing the final formed product from the mold.

17. The method for manufacturing a dog chew of claim 15, further comprising: creating at least one secondary cavity within the cavity of the mold such that when the liquid dairy mixture is forced into the mold, none of the mixture enters the secondary cavity; allowing the mixture to cool and harden within the mold; opening the mold and removing the formed product from the mold, said formed product containing a hole or opening where the secondary cavity was located; filling said hole or opening with a flavoring material.

18. A method for manufacturing a dog chew comprising: Heating a mixture of one more dairy ingredients and at least one binding agent at a temperature sufficient to form a liquid mixture, wherein said one or more dairy ingredients comprises the largest portion, by weight, of the mixture; pouring said mixture into the cavity of a mold; closing the mold and applying force such that the liquid mixture is forced into contact with all areas of the mold; allowing the mixture to cure within the mold under heat and pressure; opening the mold and removing the final formed product form the mold; allowing the final formed product to dry until the desired pliability is reached.

19. The method for manufacturing a dog chew of claim 18, further comprising: creating at least one secondary cavity within the cavity of the mold; at the same time the liquid dairy based mixture is poured into the mold, a flavoring material is poured into the secondary cavity, such that a majority of said flavoring material is at least partially encapsulated within said liquid dairy mixture; allowing the mixture to cure within the mold under heat and pressure; opening the mold and removing the final formed product form the mold; allowing the final formed product to dry until the desired pliability is reached.

20. The method for manufacturing a dog chew of claim 18, further comprising: creating at least one secondary cavity within the cavity of the mold such that when the liquid dairy mixture is poured into the mold, none of the mixture enters the secondary cavity; allowing the mixture to cure and harden within the mold; opening the mold and removing the formed product from the mold, said formed product containing a hole or opening where the secondary cavity was located; filling said hole or opening with a flavoring material; and allowing the final formed product to dry until the desired pliability is reached.

21. A method for manufacturing a dog chew comprising: Heating a mixture of one more dairy ingredients and at least one binding agent at a temperature sufficient to form a liquid mixture, wherein said one or more dairy ingredients comprises the largest portion, by weight, of the mixture; forcing said liquid mixture through an extruder head using a spindle in order to form extruded strips of dairy-based material; cutting said strips into various lengths; tying or twisting said strips into a desired shape; and placing said shapes on to baking trays where they are dried to a moisture content of no more than 25%.

22. The method for manufacturing a dog chew of claim 21, further comprising: a thin strip of a meat based material; twisting or tying one or more strips of dairy-based material together with one or more strips of meat based material to form the final product, such that when the final shape is formed the meat-based material is encapsulated within the dairy-based material while still having some of the meat-based material visible on the exterior of the dog chew.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the preferred embodiment for a molded or extruded dog chew of the present invention;

[0033] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of layered sheets which can be formed into an alternate embodiment for a dog chew of the present invention;

[0034] FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an alternate embodiment for a rolled dog chew of the present invention;

[0035] FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of an alternate embodiment for a tied dog chew of the present invention;

[0036] FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of an alternate embodiment for a twisted dog chew of the present invention;

[0037] FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of an alternate embodiment for a molded or extruded dog chew of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT

[0038] In the preferred embodiment a dairy-based chew material (10, 11, 21, 41) is created by combining at least one dairy ingredient with binding agents and preservatives. These binding agents can be starches like potato, of animal origin like gelatin, or plant based like wheat gluten. In addition preservatives or water stabilizers, like vegetable glycerin, may be added to the formulation for shelf stability. The binding agents added to the dairy are only added to a level that allows the material to reach a pliable texture that can be molded, extruded, or formed. The percentage, by weight, of binding agents in the formula shall not exceed the percentage of the combined dairy ingredient(s) in the formula. Other binding agents and preservatives may be used in addition to those listed above. The below three example ingredient lists show the components of three possible embodiments for the dairy-based chew material of the current invention, and provided are for illustrative purposes, and are not intended to limit the present invention to the ingredients listed. [0039] Example 1: Cheese (Skim Milk, Enzyme's, Salt), Potato Starch, Glycerin, Sorbitol. [0040] Example 2: Whey, Casein (Milk Protein), Glycerin, Gelatin, Cheddar Cheese Powder, Natural Liver Flavor, Smoke Flavor, Cheese Flavor, Sodium Propionate. [0041] Example 3: Casein (Milk Protein), Potato Starch, Glycerin, Gelatin, Cheddar Cheese Powder, Water Sufficient for Manufacturing, Natural Chicken Liver Flavor, Palm Oil, Smoke Flavor, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium, FD&C Yellow #5

[0042] In one embodiment the dairy-based chew material is formed into thin sheets (21). These thin sheets (21) can be manufactured through extrusion, compression, rolling or dehydrating the material on large trays until it reaches a semi-pliable or non-pliable state. These sheets can then be rolled into the shape of a cylinder (30) or cut into shapes or strips (41). The sheets may be cut into thin strips (41) which can be cut and then tied, twisted or rolled into a variety of shapes, such as a bone (40) or twist (50).

[0043] In another embodiment the dairy-based chew material can be formed using injection or compression molding. The dairy-based chew material can easily be molded into desirable shapes, such as a molded bone (11).

[0044] For injection molding, the dairy-based chew material is heated and then forced through a nozzle into a formed cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity. When the mixture has sufficiently hardened, the mold opens and the fully formed chew is removed. For compression molding, the dairy-based chew material is pre-heated and then placed onto an open heated mold cavity. The mold is then closed and pressure is applied to force the material into contact with all mold areas. The heat and pressure is maintained until the dairy-based material has been cured. Once this material is cured it is removed from the mold. Additional drying and cooling may or may not be necessary following the molding of the shape to make the material hard enough to be sufficient to withstand dog's chewing, depending on the target dog category for the specific chew being manufactured.

[0045] In certain embodiments the dairy-based material can be made through extrusion. In this iteration the dairy-based material is heated and forced through a die. The product shape can then be changed by using a different die on the extruder head. Once the material is forced through the die it is then cut to the appropriate length and dried.

[0046] In each of the above embodiments, a second layer of a flavored material may be added to the dairy-based material. This second layer can be a piece of dried or dehydrated poultry, meat or fish or a combination of ingredients like meats and other binding agents to make the material pliable enough so that it can be formed. This secondary material is then formed or cut into a second sheet. The dairy-based material and the flavored material are then formed together into chews and then hardened through baking, dehydration or other manufacturing techniques to create a chew/treat combination.

[0047] In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a sheet of meat or jerky (22) is placed on top of the sheet of dairy-based chew material (21), and the sheets are rolled together into a cylindrical dog chew (30). The dairy-based chew material sheet (22) creates an exterior material, with the sheet of meat or jerky (22) on the inside, further encouraging the dog to chew to access to meat rolled within the chew.

[0048] In another embodiment the sheet of dairy-based chew material (21) and sheet of meat or jerky (22) can be cut into strips (41 and 42 respectively). Alternatively, the dairy-based material and secondary meat or jerky material can be extruded into similar thin strips. When extruding, the mixtures are heated to a temperature so that the material does not burn, yet is fluid enough that it can be forced through an extruder into strips.

[0049] These strips can then be tied into the shapes like a dog bone, rolls, cylinder or twist. The strips can then be shaped into a variety of treats, such as being formed into twists (50) or tied into a bone-shape (40).

[0050] A second layer of a flavored material may be added to the molded dairy chew materials as well. When using injection or compression molding, a secondary cavity is added to the mold for the injected/compressed dairy chew material. At the same time the dairy-based material is injected (or poured) into the mold, a secondary flavored material (as outlined above) is also injected (or poured) into the cavity contained within the primary mold (the cavity serves as a second mold). The combined chew is cooled and hardened together to create a single chew for dogs, with the dairy material on the exterior, and the flavored material at least partially encapsulated within the molded chew.

[0051] Alternatively, the flavored material can be added as a separate process. In these embodiments, a hole can be created in the center of the injection or compression molded dairy-based chew. After molding, this hole can then be filled with a secondary flavored material via a secondary application.