First and foremost it is important to know that presently, the pet food industry is largely without any regulation, government or otherwise. Many nutritionists & veterinarians are becoming increasingly concerned with the rendering practices of the pet food industry, including artificial taste enhancement, colors, chemicals & denaturing products (fuel oil). The volunteer organization AAFCO publishes a guideline of "acceptable" ingredients, however, AAFCO has no power to enforce its recommendations and no longer tests any pet food.

1. In the pursuit of "Excellence" Happy Paws uses all natural, nutritious ingredients combined to make a total holistic, healthy food for the complete wellness of your “extended” family.
2. Happy Paws is not only the best tasting food in the market place, our one year survey proved it, but also uses more meat & fish than most other brands and has active enzymes for natural digestion.
3. The production plant for Happy Paws is inspected by the CFIA & many other government agencies for human grade ingredients so it is quality & safety assured.

Holistic in simple terms means “the importance of the whole”, in pet food terms, it means “natural, wholesome, with all the ingredients being digestible & nutritious”.

• A very high quality Vitamin & Chelated Mineral pack - Chelation binds the minerals to a protein for best absorption.
• Ocean fish meal - we use only top quality BC ocean fish for essential Omega 3 fatty acids for healthy skin, coat and joints.
• Sea Salt - real food from the ocean also provides great minerals.
• Cranberries - for more vitamin C and is an excellent kidney flush for toxins to help combat urinary tract crystals.

• White rice - Happy Paws uses quality brown rice only, not half brown & half white, like some other Holistic pet foods. Brown rice is nutritious & digestible. White rice is a processed food, a simple carb, plain starch and low in nutrition which causes rises in insulin & contributes to overweight cats & dogs.
• Corn - ground corn is not very digestible even though grinding corn does help pets digest it. Corn gluten meal, which is the protein finnings of corn, is digestible however some cats & dogs are allergic to the proteins or carbs contained in corn.
• Potatoes - some companies use white potatoes - another simple carb, a starch that has very little nutritional value for pets.
• Unidentifiable Ingredients - Happy Paws specifically states type of meat, grains, oils, vegetables etc. used.
• Natural or artificial flavours or colours - no need for any of these, our quantity & quality natural ingredients stand alone without these additives.

One and the same. Our great products are sold under the brand name of Happy Tails^® in Canada and Happy Paws^® in the USA. Same formulas. Same quality.

Always check ingredients lists. Happy Paws is fresh and naturally preserved with vitamins E & C, does not use artificial colors, flavors or chemical additives and uses brown rice instead of white rice. Happy Paws uses Top Grade chicken, BC fish meal (fresh ocean fish) and 100% New Zealand free range lamb meat and bone cooked & dehydrated into meal - not rendered by-products meal.

Happy Paws uses vitamins E and C, nature's antioxidants. Vitamin E occurs naturally in plant oils to protect against oxidation and protect the original flavor, aroma and color of our fresh meats. Vitamin C occurs in the natural form of citric acid.

We recommend that pet foods be consumed as soon as possible after cooking, although our dry food maintains its nutritional value and taste for up to 18 months unopened. After opening the food should be kept cool & dry and eaten within 6 months for best freshness. Watch for preservatives such as Ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT as they are synthetic chemicals used in making tires and other rubber products as a stabilizer. BHT is banned in several countries. From documents available - daily use of these synthetic preservatives may cause serious health problems.

Such formulas are different in fat content, a high fat content in puppy/kitten named foods & lower fat in senior dog/cat named foods, and are produced by the pet food companies mostly for market share. CVMA studies show that the digestion system in our pets changes very little from birth to death. The document goes on to say a high-density food with a sufficient amount of protein, as our product does with over 80% of protein derived from our quality meats & fish, is satisfactory for all life stages. CVMA documents are available here.

“Diet” formulas from other companies generally lower the fat content to 10% or below and not the carbs, this in effect will just starve the pet, leaving them always feeling hungry and eating everything in site, including eating their own stool as well as others - whatever they can find to fill the gap.

Always, always, read the LABELS! Happy Paws always uses the best quality, freshest ingredients available, as stated. Only New Zealand free range Lamb (no steroids etc), BC Chicken & BC ocean fish, with BC vegetables & cranberries, and organic flax & spelt from Alberta. We use unprocessed sea salt and yucca plant supplementation for additional natural health enhancers. All of our nutritious, high quality brown rice is grown and shipped from California.

Please Note:  We DO NOT recommend "clumping" type kitty litter due to cats ingesting the litter when licking their paws, causing possible intestinal tract problems!  We DO recommend natural wheat or corn hull litter for healthy cat digestive tracks available at most pet stores.