Ancestry

FOOD FOCUS: QUALITY AND VALUE WITHOUT THE JUNK

In 2010, when Dolittle’s first started selling Ancestry (then Sammy Snacks) it was sold in a simple food-grade brown bag and had the phone number of the owner right on the front. The idea of transparency in pet food was just starting and Ancestry had the jump on it. We found the whole idea refreshing and very appealing. Today you can visit Ancestry’s website and check out where every one of their ingredients is coming from. Pet food manufacturers often use ingredients from a global market. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, the China market has had a less than stellar history. Because of this, Dolittle’s focuses on companies that are transparent with their sources. Some companies will say they are “sourced in the USA.” Unfortunately, there is a loophole in that claim. Manufacturers can buy ingredients from US sources, but those ingredients can come from anywhere. An example of this is the vitamin mix. A pet food manufacturer can easily buy a vitamin mix that is made in the USA but the vitamins in that mix can come from all over the globe. Tricky, right? Not with Ancestry.

Aside from the transparency of ingredients sourcing we have always loved the short and simple ingredient list from Ancestry. Their leading food is chicken, rice, and oats and that’s about it. All that remains is the fat, some more meat based proteins, and a collection of fruits and veggies and vitamins and minerals. We also love seeing an ingredient like rice listed just one time and not listed like: rice, brewer’s rice, ground rice, rice bran, rice flour, rice gluten. Listing multiples of the same ingredient is known as fractioning. In the end all those fractions can add up to more than the ingredients before them.

Skip Brewer’s Rice: Rice fragments are collected during the processing of rice and sold as brewer’s rice. It is often used in fermentation, hence the name. Generally speaking rice carries more carbohydrate than protein. Brewer’s rice is an inexpensive way for companies to add low value protein to your pet’s diet. You will not find brewer’s rice in any food from Dolittle’s

Another thing that impressed us about Ancestry was the value. Ancestry allows us to introduce quality food to customers accustomed to grocery brands or leading market choices like ProPlan of Blue Buffalo to something that is better quality and more beneficial for about the same cost. It’s easy to show customers the difference in whole ingredients vs those that have been processed even before they make it to the food. Of course the biggest benefit is the improvement in your pet’s health. An improvement in diet often results in improvement in dogs coats, energy levels balance out, and there is less stool. Removing unnecessary fillers from your pets diet will do wonders. Of course we still recommend that you add water to any and all kibble. Adding canned food, and fresh foods can really add to your pet’s daily moisture intake and get them in great shape as well.

Try Ancestry today. Drop the grocery store junk food and move to a wholesome alternative without wrecking your budget. Your pet will thank you for it. Also, you can reward your best friend with Sammy Snacks, the good ol’ treat line that started the whole thing.