IIPTF PET FESTIVAL PUNE Vol 12 Issue No 10 October 2019 | Page 34

Industry Speak
CANINE
CRAVING
NATURAL AND HEALTHY
DIETARY OPTIONS FOR PETS
Mr. Sundeep Dhar, CEO and Co-Founder and Ms. Swagata
Paul, Client Engagement and Co- Founder of Canine Craving
recently sat down with Ms. Priyanka Tanwar, Editor of Creature
Companion Magazine to discuss their company’s pet food
supplies – ingredients, processing and preservation techniques,
nutritional benefi ts and future plans. Excerpts . . .
• Tell us the story of how
Canine Craving came to be?
Canine Craving’s story started with
the adoption of our boxer “Cassius”,
adopted from CUPA when he was
approximately 14 months old. We
noticed his digestive disorders
after bringing him home. Initially
the vets suspected it to be the side
effect of the antibiotics due his tick
fever medications. This continued
long after the medication was over
but none could fi nd the root cause.
We tried every prescribed medicine
and gastro meal available, but
none helped. Then, one of the vets
diagnosed him with EPI (Exocrine
Pancreatic Insuffi ciency) for which
there was no effective medication or
food available in India.
The diagnosis compelled us to
interact with more holistic vets and
nutritionists to fi nd the right course
of action and more importantly “the
right diet” for him. This initiated us
to learn more about canine nutrition
and create the food products that are
pet appropriate and hypoallergenic
for gastro sensitivity in dogs. As luck
would have it, we had to adopt to
34
save a 20 days old abandoned Cocker
Spaniel pup with liver failure and
hip joint defect. We dwelled further
than gastro into the science behind
canine health.
The signifi cant improvement in the
health of our pets was noticed by
other pet parents in our community
and they demanded the same
diet for their pets. This was the
beginning of our venture and as
the encouragement grew further,
we started participating in events
and realised the uniqueness of
our products and launched them
commercially.
• What food formulas does
Canine Craving offer for
the varying nutritional
requirements of dogs at
different life stages?
We offer a variety of foods – general to
condition specifi c treats, chews and
diets. These can further be classifi ed
into 3 broad categories according to
canine life cycle – Puppyhood, Adult
and Senior.
Though the nutritional requirement
Creature Companion | October 2019 • Vol. XII • Issue 10 • Noida
differs at these stages due to their
physical condition, however, our
approach behind these formulas
remains same – make the products
from ingredients that are appropriate
for canine gastronomy:
-Use high quality appropriate meat -
no meat fi llers or by-products
-Enhance the food through natural
supplements
-All ingredients to be human grade -
if we can’t consume it, they won’t too
-Keep all products grain free with
minimum starch content
-No chemicals added for stabilisation,
enhancement of colour or fl avour,
preservation.
• What challenges do Canine
Craving products help to
resolve?
The two major challenges that our
products help to overcome are
Lack of right nutrition: Unfortunately,
most of the modern pet food is mass
produced with cheapest sources,
packed with chemicals to enhance
fl avour, appeal and increased shelf
life. There is no functional regulatory