Pet Product News Staff Jun 17, 2020 / — Independent Pet Partners (IPP), the parent company of pet wellness retailers Loyal Companion, Chuck & Don’s Pet Food & Supplies, Kriser’s Natural Pet and Natural Pawz, has introduced Food Finder, an online interactive tool for customizing a dog’s diet.
“Just as we consider our own wellness and diets, we encourage pet families to put that same thinking into our pets’ nutrition to ensure they are eating properly based on their lifestyle and needs,” said Brad Kriser, IPP’s chief education officer. “This tool can help educate pet parents to think differently about how we feed our pets so they can live their best life.”
Since each dog is different with unique nutritional needs, officials noted, Food Finder takes pet owners through a quick, seven-step questionnaire that covers a dog’s age, gender, breed, weight or body shape, home state, level of activity, current diet and the pet’s special conditions.
From there, the Food Finder serves up a solution to inform pet owners of a customized diet for their dog, officials said. This may include a nutritionally-balanced base (like dry kibble, raw, freeze dried raw, wet or lightly cooked); a topper (small nibbles or raw toppers that add variety and flavor); hydrator (a liquid to add more hydration and/or enhance palatability and consumption); and supplements (to address any specific conditions or symptoms, and can include vitamins, herbs and superfoods), according to officials.
The launch of the Food Finder follows other guides IPP has recently introduced, including the customizable pet emergency planning guide, “Things My Human Knows,” which serves as a handbook for pet families to document and provide caregiving directions for their pet in case of emergency, or for when pet families call on family or friends to care for their pet.
Officials said that the tools and guides have been inspired by IPP’s 5 Pillars of Pet Wellness, which were developed through a collaboration between IPP and the University of Denver.