Rawhide-Free Highly Digestable Dog Chew

Abstract

A dog chew is described made from plant-based ingredients (excluding the common allergens, corn, wheat, soy and gluten) and binding agents (such as bone-based gelatins, humectants and preservatives), coated with a flavored material (such as poultry, meat or fish and other flavorings), and being entirely free from commonly used poorly digestible ingredients (such as rawhide, reconstituted rawhide, synthetic materials and gums).

Claims

1. A dog chew comprising a plant-based material and a binding agent, and excluding rawhide and gums.

2. The dog chew of claim 1, wherein the binding agent comprises one or more selections from the group consisting of gelatins, humectants and preservatives.

3. The dog chew of claim 2, wherein the dog chew further excludes corn, wheat, soy and gluten.

4. The dog chew of claim 3, wherein the dog chew is coated with coating ingredients comprising protein.

5. The dog chew of claim 3, wherein the dog chew is coated with coating ingredients comprising flavoring.

6. The dog chew of claim 3, wherein the dog chew is coated with coating ingredients comprising protein and flavoring.

7. The dog chew of claim 4, wherein the protein is selected from the group consisting of mammal proteins, fish proteins and poultry proteins.

8. The dog chew of claim 7, wherein the coating ingredients further comprise binding agents and humectants.

9. The dog chew of claim 8, wherein the dog chew is hardened by dehydration, baking or cooling.

10. The dog chew of claim 1, wherein the dog chew is at least 90% digested by dogs within 18 hours of consumption.

11. The dog chew of claim 10, wherein the digestibility is measured using the in vitro procedures developed by Boisen and Eggum in 1991.

12. The dog chew of claim 1, wherein at least two ingredients are processed into an intermediate form.

13. The dog chew of claim 12, wherein the intermediate form is processed into a thin sheet, and wherein said thin sheet can be formed into the final form by cutting, hand tying, robotic tying, rolling or layering.

14. The dog chew of claim 13, wherein the thin sheet is formed by extrusion.

15. The dog chew of claim 13, wherein the thin sheet is formed by compression molding.

16. The dog chew of claim 13, wherein the thin sheet is formed by rolling.

17. The dog chew of claim 13, wherein the thin sheet is formed by dehydrating the ingredients on large trays until said thin sheet reaches a desired level of pliability.

18. The dog chew of claim 12, wherein the intermediate form is heated and processed into the final form by an extrusion process.

19. The dog chew of claim 18, wherein the extrusion process utilizes a single extrusion die head.

20. The dog chew of claim 18, wherein the extrusion process utilizes multiple extrusion die heads, wherein one or more variety of intermediate forms are combined resulting in a final form having a variety of colors, flavors and textures in layers.

21. The dog chew of claim 12, wherein the intermediate form is processed into the final form by a compression molding process in a mold cavity, wherein the intermediate form is pre-heated, placed onto an open heated mold cavity and wherein the open heated mold cavity is closed and pressurized.

22. The dog chew of claim 12, wherein the dog chew is formed by injection molding.

23. The dog chew of claim 12, wherein a hole can be formed in the intermediate form and subsequently filled with a flavored material.

24. The dog chew of claim 3, further comprising a protein ingredient.

25. The dog chew of claim 24, wherein said protein ingredient is chicken meal.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following Figure drawings:

[0023] FIG. 1 is a photograph that shows an end-view of one embodiment of an uncoated, sheeted, rolled, highly digestible, rawhide-free dog chew (either as an intermediate form yet to be coated or as a final form of an uncoated dog chew);

[0024] FIG. 2 is a photograph that shows a perspective-view of one embodiment of an uncoated, sheeted, rolled, highly digestible, rawhide-free dog chew (either as an intermediate form yet to be coated or as a final form of an uncoated dog chew);

[0025] FIG. 3 is a photograph that shows a side-view of one embodiment of a coated, sheeted, rolled, highly digestible, rawhide-free dog chew (as a final form of a coated dog chew);

[0026] FIG. 4 is a photograph that shows an end-view of one embodiment of a coated, sheeted, rolled, highly digestible, rawhide-free dog chew (as a final form of a coated dog chew);

[0027] FIG. 5 is a photograph that shows a side-view of one embodiment of an uncoated, sheeted, cut and tied, highly digestible, rawhide-free dog chew (either as an intermediate form yet to be coated or as a final form of an uncoated dog chew);

[0028] FIG. 6 is a photograph that shows a side-view of one embodiment of a coated, sheeted, cut and tied, highly digestible, rawhide-free dog chew (as a final form of an uncoated dog chew);

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The invention shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 is a rawhide-free, gum-free, allergen-free highly digestible vegetable and bone-gelatin based dog chew.

[0030] In a first preferred embodiment, a combination of plant-based materials not including corn, wheat, soy or glutens are combined with binding agents like bone-based gelatins, humectants and preservatives. In addition, preservatives or water stabilizers, like vegetable glycerin, may be added to the formulation for shelf stability. Other binding agents and preservatives may be used in addition to those listed above. A flavoring may also be added to the material to increase palatability. As shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, a coating of flavored material may be added to the plant-based material (1) in a secondary process to improve the palatability of the product. This coating can be poultry, meat or fish or a combination of ingredients like meats, flavorings, preservatives and other binding agents to make the material pliable enough so that the plant-based material (1) can be coated. These two materials are then hardened through baking, dehydration or other manufacturing techniques to form a texture suitable for dog chews.

[0031] In certain embodiments the plant-based materials not including corn, wheat, soy or glutens are combined with binding agents like bone-based gelatins, humectants and preservatives and then formed into thin sheets. These thin sheets can be manufactured through extrusion, compression molding, rolling or dehydrating the material on large trays until it reaches a semi-pliable or non-pliable state. These sheets can then be rolled or layered into the shape of a cylinder (roll) as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 or cut into various shapes. Thin strips may also be cut, tied and or layered into shapes, such as a dog bone as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. A coating of flavored material may be added to the sheeted plant-based material (1) in a secondary process to improve the palatability of the product. This coating can be poultry, meat or fish or a combination of ingredients like meats, flavorings, preservatives and other binding agents to make the material pliable enough so that the plant-based material (1) can be coated. These two materials are then hardened through baking, dehydration or other manufacturing techniques to form a texture suitable for dog chews as shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 6.

[0032] In certain embodiments the plant-based materials not including corn, wheat, soy or glutens are combined with binding agents like bone-based gelatins, humectants and preservatives. The ingredients are heated and then extruded through a single or multiple die heads to form a shape. A coating of flavored material may be added to the sheeted plant-based material (1) in a secondary process. This coating can be poultry, meat or fish or a combination of ingredients like meats, flavorings, preservatives and other binding agents to make the material pliable enough so that the plant-based material (1) can be coated. These two materials are then hardened through baking, dehydration or other manufacturing techniques to create a texture suitable for dog chews.

[0033] In certain embodiments the plant-based materials not including corn, wheat, soy or glutens are combined with binding agents like bone-based gelatins, humectants and preservatives and are then formed using compression molding. In this iteration the plant-based material (1) 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. This heat and pressure are maintained until the plant-based material (1) has been cured. Once this material is cured it is removed from the mold it is coated in a secondary process through dipping or enrobing the product with a coating made from poultry, meat or fish or a combination of ingredients like meats, flavorings, preservatives and other binding agents to make the material pliable enough so that the plant-based material can be coated. These two materials are then hardened through baking, dehydration or other manufacturing techniques to make the material hard enough to be sufficient to withstand dog’s chewing.

[0034] In certain embodiments the plant-based materials not including corn, wheat, soy or glutens are combined with binding agents like bone-based gelatins, humectants and preservatives and are then formed using injection molding.

[0035] In certain embodiments a hole can be created in the center of the dog chew. This hole can then be filled with a flavored material via a secondary application. In a further embodiment still, after the secondary application of filling the central hole with a flavored material, the dog chew can still be coated as above (with protein and/or flavoring).