9 minute read
Dog treats made to human standards
All About Pets
Wednesday, March 17, 2021 |
The Berkshire Eagle | BerkshireEagle.com
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SPONSORED CONTENT
The Berkshire Dog, a family recipe for healthy dog treats
Lanesborough, Pittsfi eld-made products good enough for humans but made for pups
BY NOAH HOFFENBERG Eagle sponsored content editor
PITTSFIELD — What’s good for Milo is good for your dog, and even you, too.
The Berkshire Dog, a maker of all natural and organic dog products, is a local business borne of necessity. Back in 2017, Kalee Tart, Milo’s owner, sought counsel from her mother, Debra, on how best to settle the upset stomach of her 8-year-old black Labrador.
“We wanted to give him all natural and organic food and treats to help him. From there, the idea of The Berkshire Dog grew,” recalls Kalee Tart in a recent interview with The Eagle. Now of Hatfi eld, Tart grew up in the city of Pittsfi eld.
The women say their family didn’t want to buy off-the-shelf products with uncertain ingredients anymore. “We thought, ‘We eat very healthy as a family, so why not do the same for our pets?’” says Debra Tart.
Moreover, they decided to do it themselves. The co-owned business has been growing ever since, with their products now found in some 40 regional grocery stores.
Debra Tart lives and runs the business in the city. She says, right around the time Milo wasn’t feeling well, she was hearing a lot of bad news regarding the pet food industry and pesticides, and artifi cial preservatives and coloring.
“They can just about put anything into a dog treat, and that really scared me, and Kalee felt the same way,” says Debra Tart. “When you look at the dog treats in the supermarket, the colors, the reds, it's all artifi cial dyes. People don’t want to feed it to their children, but they don’t think twice about feeding it to their pets.“
Dogs: They are what they eat
Tart notes that what dogs eat has a direct effect on their overall health.
“Everything, right down to their coat, their skin, their digestive system, is affected by what goes in. The more we learned and educated ourselves, the better off Milo was, and now our customers’ pets are, too,” says Debra Tart.
What started as a stovetop exercise is now a wholesale operation with some 30 different fl avors across several product lines. Just the other day, Tart received a brand new 60-quart mixer that will help with production of bigger batches. The Berkshire Dog also serves individual customers from its website, and offers free delivery in Berkshire County.
Its handmade items include Berkshire Barkscotti, with blueberries, unsweetened applesauce, bacon, honey, cinnamon and diatomaceous earth among its ingredients. Or Ruff Day Relief, which, on top of whole food elements, has organic, full-spectrum cannabidiol, or CDB, oil; CBD is reported to have some anti-infl ammatory, antianxiety and other benefi cial properties.
Peer pet tested and approved
The Berkshire Dog conducted its own beta testing with more than two dozen dog breeds, for three to four months each, with pet parents receiving a new sample batch of treats weekly. They fi lled out forms to gauge dog excitement level with the treat; how long it lasted; whether they ate it immediately or hid it for later; as well as which were the fan favorites.
“It was very helpful. Right away, we were able to fi gure out that bacon and peanut butter are the No. 1 fl avors. Pretty amazing, though, is that one of our really popular fl avors is lavender. Who would think that a dog would actually like lavender?” says Debra Tart. “It’s amazing when you really start to pay attention to the dog’s likes and dislikes, what they fi nd to be very pleasurable.”
One fl avor not on the menu: “Black beans. That was one that the dogs were not too crazy about.”
The Tarts grow a lot of their own fruits and vegetables that go into the products, such as their own peppermint.
Find them at your local market
Nowadays, you can fi nd The Berkshire Dog products at organic markets, like Berkshire Food Co-op in Great Barrington; Atkins Farms Country Market in Amherst; Guido’s Fresh Marketplace in Pittsfi eld and Great Barrington; and The Old Creamery Co-op in Cummington, but also at purveyors small, like Sangar General Store in Windsor, and large, such as Big Y, with supermarkets across the region.
Debra Tart says she and Kalee have been trying to whittle down the fl avors to make choosing easier for store buy-
PROVIDED PHOTO
The Berkshire Dog, a maker of all natural and organic dog products, is a local business borne of necessity, say coowners Debra and Kalee Tart. Daughter sought counsel from mother on how best to settle the upset stomach of Milo, her 8-year-old black Labrador. “We wanted to give him all natural and organic food and treats to help him. From there, the idea of The Berkshire Dog grew,” recalls Kalee Tart.
ers, but The Berkshire Dog still will keep up the full array on its website.
“Every time I pull a fl avor off the menu, people call and say, ‘What are you doing? That was my dog’s favorite,’” notes Tart.
Special orders are easy for the company, too, in case your dog is fi nicky or has dietary restrictions.
“Because we do everything custom made, it’s not a big deal to whip up a batch of someone’s favorite dog treat,” says Tart. “If a dog has an allergy to dairy or wheat, or any item, we can formulate a treat specifi cally for that dog’s needs and likes.”
A family aff air
There are two part-timers who help the small business, but it’s truly a family affair, the women note, with Debra’s niece, Jennifer Rhinemiller, helping with social media; her mother, “Nanny” Pat Arseneau, also assisting in the kitchen; son, Kevin, building displays for retail stores; and dad, retired Pittsfi eld Fire Department Deputy Chief Ray Tart, doing deliveries.
“We’re all a part of it, and it’s a great time to be together. It brought us even more together as a family,” says Kalee Tart.
Kalee Tart, a former school teacher, works part-time with her mother and also as a nanny; her goal is to eventually work at the bakery full time.
Certifi ed pet nutritionist
Debra Tart’s knowledge about pet food stems from being a certifi ed pet nutritionist, which she earned through an online course and related testing.
“It really broadened my knowledge of what’s important for the dogs to have,” says Tart.
Her most basic advice: “Keep them away from salt, sugar, artifi cial, preservatives, colorings. All natural, all the way.”
From poor quality store-bought kibble to table scraps, there are many foods that are just plain unhealthy for dogs.
“Their stomachs can tolerate it, but it shortens their life and mobility. It really does matter what you feed our dogs,” says Tart.
Through her study, Tart learned to scrutinize the labels on dog food and treats. One thing you can’t unlearn about meat byproducts: “In many countries, that can mean roadkill. There’s such little regulation on these treats.”
Turmeric root, Tart learned, is benefi cial for humans and pets, as is cinnamon, and so are some of the same joint supplements that people take.
“We do a hip and joint product, which I formulated for a neighbor’s dog, a 12-year-old yellow Lab that couldn't get up and down the stairs anymore. She gave this treat to her dog, three times a day. Within the fi rst week, it started to climb the stairs again, and in and out of the car, and just running around like a puppy,” recalls Tart. “We tried it with a few other dogs. When they get these ingredients on a regular basis, the improvement in mobility is incredible.”
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Hand-ground, -picked, -cooked and -pureed: nothing but the fi nest ingredients go into The Berkshire Dog treats.
SPONSORED CONTENT
Fun facts from The Berkshire Dog, makers of organic and all-natural treats and products
The Berkshire-based company: • goes through about 250 to 300 pounds of fl our and oats a week • grinds up 30 pounds of fresh peanuts into batches of its peanut butter treats • uses 15 pounds of bacon and two large turkeys every week • processes 20 pounds each of green apples and carrots weekly • hand-presses 400 to 500 large individual dog bones each baking day • packs up 200 8-ounce bags of treats on any given day • once shipped a single order of 4,000 dog
treats
• reports that bacon and peanut butter dog bones are its top fl avors • says lavender calming treats and
Pup-pur Mints cookies are unusual but also very popular • can be found in 38 stores throughout the commonwealth
SOURCES: DEBRA AND KALEE TART, THE BERKSHIRE DOG CO-OWNERS SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Berkshire Dog mascot, Milo, the reason the motherdaughter team started their business.
Human-grade food that passes the taste test
The Berkshire Dog produces baked, dehydrated and other whole food pet products, including fortifi ed peanut butter, turkey and chicken jerky, and biscuits, which go through the oven. It’s all human-grade food, and customers ask to try them all the time, says Tart.
When she had her original store on Pecks Road, there was an older customer who asked that the biscuits be baked a little softer, so they wouldn’t hurt his teeth.
Even though the items are meant for canines, their looks are designed to attract people, such as their colorful dog birthday cakes, smaller “pupcakes” and goody bags. Even the peanut butter biscuits sport “the little criss-crossing on it,” notes Tart.
Most of the treats are crunchy and dry, which aids in their shelf life of nine to 12 months.
For older dogs, The Berkshire Dog can produce softer treats, “but those have a shorter shelf life,” says Tart.
Other fresh Berkshire Dog products should be kept in the fridge after opening; loose treats stay fresh up to about four weeks. These can be found throughout the region at variety and liquor stores, which are some of the company’s biggest customers.
“We change those over every week, because they sell out so quickly,” says Tart.
Tinctures, shampoos, balms and more
The Berkshire Dog is more than dog treats, and via its website, theberkshiredog.com, it sells a variety of pet health and wellness products, such as balms, shampoos and CBD tinctures. These, like its food and treats, are made from whole and natural parts: castile soap, coconut oil, and cedarwood and lavender essential oils, to name a few.
Meanwhile, it turns out that Milo the Lab is great for the company (he’s on the logo), just not as a lab assistant or product tester, says Kalee Tart. Because the production area is like a buffet, the Tarts have to make sure that all the ingredients and fi nished treats are out of his reach.
“Not a picky eater,” Milo won’t turn down an offered treat, even if he’s not hungry, says Kalee Tart.
“If he’s fi lled up on treats, he’ll sometimes bring them to his bed, and he’ll leave them there,” she says.
To fi nd the nearest seller of The Berkshire Dog biscuits and other products, go to theberkshiredog.com/ visit, or order directly from the site.
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All About Pets
| Wednesday, March 17, 2021
The Berkshire Eagle | BerkshireEagle.com
