A Refreshing Idea
K9 Water Company brings designer water to the dogsby Nicole Feliciano
The temperature had soared above 90 degrees, and Shadow had worked up a powerful thirst after giving chase to tennis balls all afternoon. "Slurp, slurp, slurp." That's the sound this thirsty black Labrador made while enjoying a special beverage.
Shadow wasn't guzzling tap water, Evian, or even purified water from a Brita filter. This thirsty pup was sampling the K9 Water Company's lamb flavored "Hose Water." The Original K9 Water was designed especially to meet the dietary needs of active dogs like Shadow. While he was busy savoring his drink, Shadow was also replenishing his body with vitamins.
During a recent phone conversation, K9 Water Company (www.k9waterco.com) co-founder, Susan Goldberg, chatted with me about the company's past, present and their future. Don Magier and Susan Goldberg founded the K9 Water Company in 2004 with a goal of bringing healthy hydration to dogs.
The idea was born when Magier and Goldberg were out on a weekly group dog walk. Magier and Goldberg regularly hiked the trails in California's Woodland Hills (a suburb of Los Angeles) with a group of 5-10 energetic dogs and their owners. The excursions often lasted more than two hours. On one of these walks, Goldberg said, "Why isn't there a Gatorade for dogs?"
Long after that fateful outing, Goldberg couldn't shake the thought that she was on to something. What if she added vitamins to water and created a sports drink for dogs? After all humans had been reaping such benefits for years, toting bottles of sports drinks and Vitamin Water wherever they go to stave off thirst and balance their eletrolytes. Goldberg thought dogs deserved a similar product.
Goldberg did a bit of research to see if this type of product already existed in the pet marketplace. While she found dog supplements in powder and pill form, she couldn't find a premixed liquid. Her idea was to craft a premixed formula combining purified water, a dog-pleasing flavor and vitamins. For the next year, Goldberg studied the science of the dietary supplements. She read about canine nutrition and came up with a tentative list of vitamins specifically targeting dog's needs. For the next six months, Goldberg hunted for a veterinary nutritionist to assist in her quest to create wholesome dog water.
The nutritionist developed a special mix of human-grade vitamins. Goldberg used an independent laboratory to test the product for any harmful effects (unlike many sports drinks this product is guaranteed to be free of preservatives and artificial colors). Once the veterinary nutritionist gave Goldberg and Magier the green light to start testing the product on dogs, the fun work began. Goldberg and Magier held "tasting parties" to test their recipes. The founders relied on feedback from their doggie playgroup and their own pets (Magier has an American Eskimo and Goldberg a border collie) when settling on their final recipes.
Originally, the creators thought they'd create only one flavor. Gracie, Goldberg's border collie, favored liver water. But other dogs went wild for lamb or chicken. Goldberg and Magier decided to offer four flavors to appease the discerning tastes of their doggie consumers. When they agreed on the flavors--beef, chicken, lamb and liver--Magier and Goldberg made plans to market their new product. Each flavor was given a dog-friendly name like "Puddle Water" liver flavor, or "Toilet Water" chicken flavor.
Today The Original K9 Water can be found in all fifty states as well as parts of Asia. The bottles are being tucked into goody bags for pets at luxury hotels and are even the featured "cocktail" during Yappy Hour at Echo, a five-star California restaurant.
The water is sold as packs of 4, 12 or 24 and K9 Water will customize your case depending on your dog's flavor preferences. Prices start at $7.49 for a four pack of water (shipping and handling are extra). The company recommends storing the bottles in a cool place out of direct sunlight.
I decided to put the water through some unscientific taste testing. Shadow was the first dog to give the water a shot, next up was a brother-sister set Portuguese Water Dogs: Ciarnait and Finn. On the same balmy June day that Shadow tasted the lamb water, Maureen Nowak gave her two enthusiastic pups the beef-flavored "Hose Water."
Nowak poured the beef flavored water into the pups' normal water dish. Both dogs ran to the dish and looked puzzled at first. Finn was the first to dive in and lapped up a generous taste. Not willing to miss out on a something good, Finn's older sibling took over the bowl. According to Nowak, "Ciarnait behaved as if the bowl of water were her favorite bone from the butcher."
After a brief bout of growling and pacing around the bowl, Ciarnait downed the contents in a matter of seconds. Once the water was polished off, Ciarnait found the K9 Company water bottle and proceeded to chew on it as if it were a cherished toy.
A melee ensued. Finn started chasing Ciarnit around the house trying to get a turn at the highly regarded water bottle. Nowak said, "Before long there was a complete frenzy in the house!" as the two dogs battled over this treasure.
While the K9 Water isn't intended to be a plaything, it did seem to give the dogs a pleasant break from tap water. According to Goldberg, the flavor encourages dogs to drink more water. Goldberg says dog owners and trainers like that the water is easy to transport in the convenient travel sizes bottles (each bottle is 16.9 ounces--the same size as a standard water bottle for people).
Goldberg explained the benefits of K9 Water: "When dogs exercise and play they are losing important vitamins. Rather than supplementing a dogs' diet with vitamin tablets and powder, drinking K9 Water is an easier way for owners to guarantee their pets are getting all the nutrition they need."
