FAQ'S

It is an alternative approach to provide nutrition to your furry babies using whole foods.

Right for Paws Pet food is the next generation of pet food as it is minimally processed using the sophisticated Multi Factor Controlled Dehydration (MFCD) Technique where the food is gently dehydrated while preserving the characteristics and nutrients of the ingredients. It combines benefits of natural food with the convenience (open & serve) offered by commercial dry-kibble pet food.

Right4Paws pet food is versatile whereby, it can be served dry or in re-hydrated form which is akin to fresh food.

Right4Paws pet food is vet formulated, complete & balanced and species & biologically appropriate food made using human grade ingredients. It does not use any synthetic preservative or supplements. It is the goodness of nature delivered in an easy to use package.

“Species appropriate” & “biologically appropriate” food replicates a near natural whole food diet which the species would have found in their natural setting

Dogs were believed to be “omnivores” however, scientists have classified them as “facultative carnivores” which means they have all the characteristics that define carnivores both mentally and physically, yet they can eat small amounts of other food stuffs like fruits and vegetables. Their digestive system is almost identical to the wolf. Their diet requires a high proportion of meat including organs and bones in combination with vegetables, fruits and botanicals in order to meet their daily requirement of nutrition.

Our product suite is a culmination of the daily recommended nutritional requirements through whole foods suitable for the species and the convenience demands of contemporary society.

Whole food – Food that has none of its natural features taken away and has no additives.

Human Grade Ingredients – Ingredients that are suitable for human consumption

Human Grade Whole Food is therefore food that retains its natural features without any additives and is suitable for human consumption.

This is a proprietary slow dehydration and preservation process developed by Right4Paws whereby the total dehydration cycle is split into multiple combinations of 4 factors namely (1) air flow, (2) humidity, (3) temperature, (4) time, which are calibrated to remove targeted amounts of moisture from the fresh ingredients. This process contributes towards preservation of the pet food for long periods of time. It also ensures that the basic characteristics and nutrition of the ingredients are not altered and pet food is 100% natural and chemical preservatives free, requiring no artificial fortification.

Processed Pet Food – Ingredients processed using high temperature & pressure or are cooked, where natural characteristics of the ingredients undergo a change and there is a drop in the availability of natural nutrients. Artificial fortification of nutrition will be required in this case to meet nutrition guidelines as prescribed by AAFCO/FEDIAF (For e.g dry kibble)

Natural Pet Food – RAW -Ingredients are available in raw form in this tyoe of food. Although enzymatic activity and bioavailability is the best, risks of pathogens harmful to human beings pose a threat of cross contamination and perishability. Typically, not in line with FEDIAF/ AAFCO recommendations.

Cooked – Enzymatic activity is destroyed. While there is no risk of cross contamination, there is a high risk on perishability. Typically, not in line with FEDIAF/ AAFCO recommendations.

Minimally processed - The food retains their natural characteristics & nutrition. Artificial fortification may not be required or in certain cases may be depending on technology and ingredients.

Bioavailability describes the extent to which nutrients are actually available for a dog to absorb and use. Bioavailability depends on the food type, as well as other factors like the levels of other nutrients that might be present

The bioavailability of processed pet food ingredients is lower than that of ingredients that are minimally processed like our products. For example- processed protein sources will provide 3.5 kcal per gram, whilst the unprocessed equivalent will provide 4 kcal. This equates to an expected 13% increase in fresh/whole foods compared to processed alternatives.

This is one of the reasons that explain why minimally processed foods tend to be better for our pets. It’s also common that dogs on the minimally processed food diet have shown improved digestion and decreased poo volumes.

Right4Paws Philosophy is based on the fact that a nutritional supplement is provided to a diet only when there is a lack of a that particular nutrient in comparison to the daily recommended allowance.

At Right4Paws we meet the daily dietary requirements through wholefoods. The Marginal shortages in any micro nutrient is met organically through minerals bound to proteins commonly known as "chelates". Chelates offer much higher bio-availability because of their organic form when compared to chemical supplements.

○ ‘Antioxidant’ is a term used to describe nutrients that prevent a process called ‘oxidation’. When oxidation occurs, it causes free radicals. Persistent/repeated damage from the free radicals that are not ‘mopped up’ properly can lead to some cancers, inflammatory diseases and even ageing.

○ Vitamin E, selenium and Vitamin C are well known antioxidants, but a broader variety of antioxidants called Phytonutrients that come from fruits and vegetables are vital in providing optimum protection from oxidation. In kibble foods, 66% of these phytonutrients are lost in the manufacturing process. Since they are not considered ‘essential’ in the regulations, most kibble manufacturers do not consider them necessary to replace, despite their broad benefit to canine health.

○ Our foods contain sources of multiple kinds of antioxidants (Blue berries, Cranberries, Carrots, Mooringa, Whole pumpkin with seeds, Pomegranates, sweet lime, apples and botanical herbs) and since our food is not heated or subjected to pressure, you can be sure that your dog is most certainly getting their 5 a day!

A malliard reaction takes place when proteins and carbohydrates are heated and they bind together in a way that is not natural. This reaction can commonly be caused during the manufacturing of kibble as the ingredients are heated or processed under pressure. Consuming products that have undergone this reaction can lead to an increase chance of inflammatory diseases or cancer in your dog. This issue can be eliminated by using the minimal processing method, making it much better for your pet.

The feeding guide of any food is based on the caloric requirement of the pet for growth and maintenance as recommended by the FEDIAF, AAFCO and NRC guidelines. These recommendations give the minimum and maximum (on certain items) permissible levels of essential nutrients. Therefore, in order to maintain the pet, different foods are fed to them in different quantities. The feeding guide on the Right4Paws pack gives clear guidance on the quantity of food to be fed to the pet, depending upon the weight and activity levels of the pet.

The Right4Paws pet food offering is adjusted to deliver the energy required by the pet in such a way that the quantity required to do so is 25% - 35% lesser than other dry-kibble offerings. The second aspect to consider is that whole foods on a dry matter basis are denser in nutrition compared to dry kibble. Our energy sources are predominantly from higher quality ingredients

like protein and fat rather than carbohydrates. In Right4Paws pet food, carbohydrates contribute between 5% to 25% of the total energy depending upon the life stage and formulation.

Lastly, our whole foods based pet food is 100% natural, because of which it is easy for the body to access nutrition when compared to any dry kibble.

Ingredients found in conventional dog food brands include animal by-products and meat meal (typically unsafe for human consumption), eggs, grains, peas, soya and vitamin & mineral supplements. These can be seen in dry kibble that is manufactured for the budget consumer. Higher priced variants of dry kibble include, in addition to human grade meat and ingredients like peas that are cheap sources of protein, starchy vegetables that are rich in carbohydrates, supplements and probiotics.

Right4Paws on the other hand, makes use of human grade meats, eggs, fruits & vegetables and exercise pathogen control on their ingredients to prevent harmful bacteria. We abstain from using cheap sources of protein and carbohydrates which allow our food to be denser in nutrients as compared to dry kibble that is commonly found in the market. Furthermore, since the nutrition comes naturally from the minimally processed ingredients, vitamin & mineral supplements and probiotics are only added into certain formats of our product based on the life stage of the dog.

At Right4paws we believe in Clean labelling and we list all the ingredients used in the products. It is easy to recognise and understand by consumers, while maintaining complete transparency. AAFCO/FEDIAF prescribe the limits of essentials only, therefore there are recommendations for Macro and essential Micro Nutrients.

The difference in the classifications between toy, medium and giant for us is based on the herbs and botanicals which are non essentials. These benefits are seen in the antioxidants and nutraceutical benefits ( eg, liver stimulation, vitality, blood circulation etc)

Unlike in Kibble, we do not need to add non- essential amino acids like glucosamine or other vitamins like Vit C as we are species and biologically appropriate and these are present and balanced in our formulations via the ingredients itself and they do not denature ( eg: Vit C as a Co-factors in the food helps in absorption of Iron).

A more obvious case for better understanding is the details of the performance diet in our website, the calorie delivered per kg is only 234 kcal higher than the adult maintenance food but the outcome is considerably different owing to the co-factors and energy source which is mainly coming from the percentage of fat in performance diet.

As you rightly observed about the feeding guide, it is based ME requirements of dogs depending on size and classification of dogs. The food is balanced for FEDIAF per calorie with all the macro and micro nutrients (not just limits as in the guidelines but also one step better in terms of proportions).

Our Recipe declaration section on the packs clearly states that our food meets the FEDIAF recommendations in every calorie. We are very happy to state that this is the first-time disclosure of this kind by any company in the world.

We also do have an all breed puppy and adult variants in bulk packs.

Minimal Processing is a term used worldwide for preserving food using Dehydration. Technologies are varied ranging from Freeze drying to conventional heat drying. The extent of sophistication brings out the different levels of process losses from fresh ingredient values. For example, the kibble manufacturing process losses an average between 50 -70% of values of the ingredients.

Our food is minimally processed using our proprietary slow dehydration and preservation process, MFCD ( Multi Factor Controlled Dehydration Technique). Here food is gently dehydrated over 18-21 hours while preserving the nutrients of the natural ingredients. The nutrient losses in values of ingredients due to preservation for us ranges from .05% to 8% bringing the average nutrient values close to 95-97% of natural ingredient. This Is why on rehydration we can still see the product regaining its meaty texture flavour and veggies showing back natural color etc.

Thus we have after dehydration a stable product without preservatives and our pathogen control has eliminated all spores and bacteria.

Moisture content is brought down to 4-10% and water activity 0.4 -0.6 resulting in a stable product and ensuring a long shelf life as it will not support microbial / fungal growth.

Vacuum packing is done after that which removes air from the package prior to sealing and creates an excellent barrier preventing contact with air and degradation of the food quality.

Being a 100% natural and whole food based product each ingredient would change in terms of values due to seasonality, however the formulation takes care so as to meet FEDIAF recommendations at any time by having sufficient safe limits over the requirements. This is expressed and undertaken in our Wholefood declaration on the back of the pack (again a first time disclosure by any company in the world).

We also undertake periodic analysis and audits by the team in UK.

Right4Paws is Species and biologically appropriate this means that we provide the nutritional requirements by balancing the different wholefood this ensures maximum delivery of nutrients through natural forms. This also means that the essentials have along with the naturally paired co factor nutrients that help better bio availability.

The marginal shortages in any micro nutrient is met organically through minerals bound to proteins commonly known as ‘chelates’. Chelates offer much higher bio-availability because of their organic form when compared to chemical supplements. In any of our formulations we would not use chemical supplements and we would restrict the use of organically bound supplements to two. All other balancing would have to be done from ingredients itself. This is an effort to enhance best bioavailability.