Gourmet chefs, kindly avert your eyes. There's a convincing argument being made that presentation has little to do with gourmet eating.
And it's coming from our four-legged friends.
Sure, they eat all their meals out of a round, metal bowl. But those bowls can contain dining selections about as glamorous as the ones we put on our fancy china plates, with plenty of health benefits to boot.
And it's all available right here in Concord. The Insider did a little digging and tracked down the scent of better eats for man's best friend at outlets like Sandy's Pet Food Center, Bark Now! and Charlie's Paw Wash, all of which offer natural food and supplements for dogs, and at prices that often rival the larger box stores.
As with human food, moving to more natural selections is a growing trend in the pet food industry, and options with fewer fillers can improve a dog's coat, temperament and weight control, Adam Burr-Mecum, owner of Sandy's Pet Food Center, said. Such foods can alleviate allergy problems and improve the overall health of your pet, too, according to Bark Now! assistant manager Meg Borden.
Burr-Mecum said Sandy's has been selling such selections since 1984, “back when you just couldn't find it anywhere.” The store focuses on all-natural foods and supplements without byproducts and fillers.
Bark Now! on South Main Street similarly features mostly holistic foods, according to Borden, and includes many grain-free options. Both stores feature a variety of brands that you often can't find at larger outlets.
Education is an important part of a trip to these local retailers. Both said they enjoy spending one-on-one time with new customers, learning the specific needs of the pet and pointing the owner in the appropriate direction.
Also, as the trend toward natural food continues to grow, more and more companies are manufacturing the product, with differing degrees of quality.
“It seems like every company in the world is coming out with their own version of natural food, but even things that are labeled as natural can still have byproducts and fillers,” Burr-Mecum said. “Foods that have always been mediocre are still mediocre foods, regardless of the way they're packaged. Now that there's a market, everyone's trying to sell it, but customers need to educate themselves on what's in the food and not how it looks on the bag.”
Borden said everyone at Bark Now! is trained to understand the ingredients in each dog food and can help customers make better selections. She said ensuring that none of the top three ingredients are corn or wheat is a good place to start, and she also encouraged people to find a meat protein that is a meal (chicken meal, for instance).
“The No. 1 thing is we can educate the public,” Borden, who has a college education centered on pet nutrition, grooming and training, said. “We have some clients that keep coming back just for advice, and we don't mind giving it to them.”
Bark Now! is also a full-service grooming outlet, and that allows the staff more time to make personal connections with both pets and owners, which helps when it comes time to dispense advice.
“It's good because we know what's going on with a lot of dogs. We can ask the owners about their camping trip, their first time swimming. We get to know the owners, and they feel comfortable when they know who they are dealing with,” Borden said.
