About Flint River Ranch Baking Process

Why Oven-baked Dog Food?

A dog’s intestinal tract is short; it functions in the most efficient manner when their food is concentrated and can be quickly assimilated. Flint River Ranch Natural, Super & Ultra Premium Canine Formulas are slowly oven-baked under carefully controlled conditions and optimum temperatures to address your dogs’ unique nutritional needs. Our unique baking process converts the hard-to-digest raw starches into easy-to-digest dextrins. Acting as a pre-digest, our oven-baking process benefits your dogs in less strain on their digestive system and produces a greater degree of nutritional absorption. Our unique oven-baked technology allows the important vitamins, minerals and proteins to be easily absorbed through your dog’s digestive system. Any company can just mix ingredients and make a pet food. Along with quality ingredients, our strength is in the total preparation and cooking process. This is one of many reasons other manufacturers can not easily duplicate the results of our formulas or our unique oven-baking processes.

Flint River Ranch Oven-Baking Process!

In our oven baked process, 2-inch sized biscuits are formed & molded and then twice oven-baked, moving slowly through a computer-controlled oven. These biscuits are then broken into small irregular-shaped open-edged, cracked kibbles ranging in size from fine morsels to about a 1/2 inch kibble. The large and small kibbles provide nutritional benefits and are both working together to enhance your pet’s health in different ways. The smaller morsels are very important because they digest quickly in the dog’s body delivering nutritional vitamins, minerals, proteins, healthy amino acids and fats to your pet’s system faster for immediate health and energy benefits. As dogs do not chew their meal, they tend to “wolf it down,” the larger crunchy kibbles and nuggets will assist to clean teeth, exercise gums and freshen your dogs breath. Just one more aspect that makes our formulas so great!

Color and Feel of our Food!

Oven-baked food is food in its natural state; so it will naturally have various shades of colors from the soft light tan to heavy brown, crunchy outside. Like other natural things in our world, the color of our kibbles will vary from time to time as we don’t use any coloring agents, but be assured that the same great taste and wholesome natural ingredients are always consistent.

No oils or other flavor-enhancement ingredients are sprayed on our foods to encourage your pets to eat…we don’t need to! We encourage you to run your hands through a fresh bag when you get it. You won’t come away with greasy hands! Your pets will taste the natural goodness of our formulas with each and every bite! Not come away with a coated tongue of sprayed flavoring.

Digestibility and Palatability

Because of our natural ingredients and oven-baking process, Flint River Ranch canine formulas score in the mid 90’s for digestibility and palatability. Generally, most commercially extruded food is in the low to mid 80’s on a scale of 100. This means our wholesome and natural ingredients reach your pet’s system faster, providing healthy benefits quickly and more completely, and you feed your pet less food to get equal nutritional value.

SMALL / FINE MORSELS: The smaller morsels are very important as they digest very quickly in the dog's system helping create immediate nutritional value for your pet. Dogs don't eat food - they "wolf' it down - small pieces digest easier in the dog's system. This is what makes the food so great! The larger, crunchy kibble naturally cleans teeth, exercises the gums and freshens breath.

WHY 23% PROTEIN? It is not the amount of protein in a dog food that is important, it is the type of protein and how easily it can be digested. The protein is the right amount for all stages of life. In some cases of working dogs or dogs under high stress, the addition of meat protein can be considered.

BAKING TEMPERATURES? Any cook can mix ingredients - the secret is in the total cooking process. This is one of the reasons our food is not easily duplicated by other manufacturers.

COLOR OF THE FOOD?  An oven-baked food will have various shades of colors - from the soft light inside to the heavy brown crunchy outside crust. Oven-baked food is food in its' natural state. No oils or liver digest is sprayed on the food to encourage a dog to eat. Like all natural things in our environment, as well as the baking process - color of the food will vary from time to time. CONCENTRATED TO FEED LESS Since the food is concentrated, there is more value with less food consumed. Feeding oven-baked foods require 20-25% less food than steam-extruded foods. Pet owners will find fewer odors and stool clean up. Feeding Flint River Ranch quality products, you will be able to see the difference in your pet's health, skin, coat, energy level and quality life-style.

OVERWEIGHT DOGS? We find many pet owners still feed the amount of oven-baked food they normally would feed with other brands - about 3-4 cups for a 55 lb. dog. With concentrated premium foods, it is best to feed about 25% less. Dogs may require a little adjustment over a period of time to shrink their stomach and reduce their food intake. Lightly cooked vegetables of all types can help while the dog's system adjusts. Improper feeding is the greatest cause of a dog being overweight, not the quality of the food.