The Gourmet Dog Treats Option – Gourmet dog treat labels are outlined below for those considering starting a dog treat bakery. And even if you’re not starting your own bakery, understanding what your gourmet baker knows can help you make more informed decisions. If you are the designer of your own sweets, we hope that this section will be of great help to you.

So, you want to start your own gourmet dog treat business. Dog treat bakeries are becoming a booming business. Getting started can be very easy. You need some ingredients, some way to package or ship your produce, and you need some basic kitchen equipment.

Since dog treats are intended to supplement a dog’s diet and not be the complete source of a dog’s nutritional intake, all of the strict requirements for dog food manufacturers do not affect treat manufacturers. For example, if you are making dog food, you should run feeding trials over several months or years to confirm that your dog food will adequately support dogs. For the gourmet dog treat baker, you simply need to have proper labeling for your product. Product claims like all natural and organic are often made about dog treats.

This is where there are minimal expectations for dog treats. Our expectations (having been in the human food industry) are much higher than what is required in the dog treat industry. Rest assured, all of the treats we make are labeled in accordance with human food labeling requirements. We encourage you to do the same.

When you have your product, you will need to provide on your label:

Product name

Ingredient Statement (a list of all ingredients ** see our notes below)

Net weight (minimum weight of your package)

Your bakery’s contact information (name, address, phone number)

minimum % crude protein

minimum % crude fat

% maximum humidity

% maximum crude fiber

Information on protein, fat, moisture and fiber will need to be obtained by submitting your product to a laboratory for analysis. This series of tests in a laboratory is called a proximate analysis. When we do our upcoming analysis, we also request Ash’s content. This allows us to calculate the approximate number of calories (kcal) in our treats. You are not required to do this, but it might be helpful to your customers.

The cost of this test varies, usually around $40, plus shipping costs. If you need to rush through these tests, most labs can do it at a much higher cost.

That ingredient statement
Regarding the ingredient declaration, this is where we disagree with what is allowed today. Here’s what most people are doing and how it’s different from the food industry.
Most gourmet bakers simply list the ingredients in the recipe. This is not an actual ingredient statement. What do I mean? Here is an example. Let’s say your gourmet dog recipe has the following ingredients:

1 cup of wheat flour

1 egg

¼ cup chicken broth

Most bakers will list their ingredient statement like this on their gourmet dog tags:

Wheat flour, eggs, chicken broth.

And, most bakers will call this “All Natural.”

However, if this was for human consumption, it would not be allowed to be called “All Natural”. Many of the flavors and chemicals in this product are not considered “all natural” by the FDA or USDA (government agencies of the food and meat industry). And, ALL the ingredients would have to be listed. Chicken broth is NOT a single ingredient. It has a lot of MANY things that are in it.

For example, if you used Swanson’s Chicken Broth in the Gourmet Dog Recipe above, this is actually what’s in your treat and how we recommend you label it:

Wheat flour, eggs and chicken broth (chicken broth, salt, monosodium glutamate, dextrose, flavoring, hydrolyzed soy protein, carrot, hydrolyzed corn protein, celery, onion, chicken fat, sugar, disodium guanylate, extract of autolyzed yeast).

Now all of these ingredients are fine for people to eat, and probably for your customers’ dogs too. But you may not want to feed your dog monosodium glutamate (MSG) if you don’t eat it yourself. The same can be true for your customers. If you don’t tell your customers that the chicken broth you use has MSG in it, how will they be able to make an informed decision for their beloved pet? Again, current requirements for gourmet dog treat labels would allow you to simply list “chicken broth.”

OUR POSITION: Regulations around gourmet dog treat labels are lacking and may, in fact, be contributing to the rise in canine obesity. We recommend that you list EVERYTHING on your treats, if you can, including the ingredients in your cheeses, broths, applesauces, and peanut butters.