Now how did I miss this? Two of my favorite subjects...

(In my mis-spent youth, I did market research - and somehow once found myself doing a customer satisfaction focus group for a dog food company. Trade secret: in blind taste tests, 10 out of 10 dogs preferred carrion to all other flavors... )

But to the question at hand:

Several of my mutts are on special diets so I have to be careful what they eat. Both clear ingredient declaration and analysis (protein, fat, mineral content, calories, etc.) are very important to me. I need to know exactly what is in the product, and where the ingredients came from.

(For instance, it drives me nuts when commercial products list things like 'Fleischmehl'... dear doG, what exactly is that? Usually skin, beaks, and leftover unmentionable bits of whatever critter happened to cross the road...)

It's also very important to me that anything the mutts eat is made with human quality ingredients.

Would you consider treats made to order?

As an example: I've been searching for a long time now for something for one of mine to gnaw on - problem is, he has no teeth. I'd like to find a hard biscuit that he could gum for a while, but would eventually dissolve. Most I've seen are far too big, or to easy to swallow whole and potentially choke, or the wrong shape for his mouth.

I don't imagine too many owners would want the same thing that I do... but I imagine there are lots of owners out there with specific needs. Perhaps if you had a couple of recipes that you could alter on request, or make different shapes and sizes to order?

ETA: As you are doing your research, I'd recommend looking through the last year or so of the Whole Dog Journal, an American magazine. Since the melamine scandal, WDJ has been published a series of articles to discussing product safety, and alternatives to commercial foods. It's one of the best resources for balanced information, IMHO.

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/

(WDJ is available by subscription only, but the website publishes sample articles from various issues.)


(My crew think your idea is a wonderful one, as your treats sound far tastier than the carrot sticks their cruel mum gives them. )