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A Natural Fit

Pet Age Staff//May 2, 2016//

A Natural Fit

Pet Age Staff //May 2, 2016//

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Pet Age’s Alexandra Wepner spoke with Laura Jones, financial officer of Jones Natural Chews, about the company’s long family history, the importance and benefits of responsibly-made chews, and their products formulated specifically for breeds of different sizes.

Alexandra Wepner: The Jones family has a long history with the meat processing industry. Can you tell us more about the family behind Jones Natural Chews?

Laura Jones: The Jones family has been in the meat industry since the 1800s. Each generation passed down their meat cutting experience to the next generation. There are currently three generations of meat cutters involved with Jones Natural Chews Co. Because the family began in meat cutting, there is an asset in extensive knowledge regarding proper meat handling and safety for the production of our dog chews and treats.

Alexandra: How do chews benefit both pets and their owners?

Laura: Chews help satisfy a dog’s urge to chew while keeping them busy for a longer period of time. It also helps to keep their teeth and gums healthy and clean and aids with a healthy coat.

Alexandra: What about your products makes them “natural”? Why do you feel it is important to produce natural chews and treats?

Laura: We follow the AAFCO definition of natural, which is “a feed or ingredient derived solely from plant, animal, or mined sources, either in its unprocessed state or having been subject to physical processing, heat processing, rendering, purification, extraction, hydrolysis, enzymolysis, or fermentation, but not having been produced by or subject to a chemically synthetic process and not containing any additives or processing aids that are chemically synthetic except in amounts as might occur unavoidably in good manufacturing practices.”

We source our ingredients from natural sources and do not subject any products to any synthetic materials or processes. Our products are oven baked. It is important for the health and safety of the dog to keep the ingredients simple and natural.

Alexandra: Why is it important to test and make treats for a range of breed sizes?

Laura: There are so many sizes of dogs that it is important to have treats and chews that are appropriate for each size. This maximizes the customer audience that our treats and chews can reach and the dogs to which we can provide enjoyment.

Alexandra: Jones Natural Chews partners with several charitable organizations. What role does giving back play in the company’s mission?

Laura: It is very important to give back as a company. It is one of our company focuses. We currently support PACT for Animals, an organization that aids military and hospitalized people to provide care for all their pets. We also support our local animal shelter, Noah’s Ark.

Alexandra: What are the latest products offered by Jones Natural Chews and when were they introduced?

Laura: We introduced five new products at the Global Pet Expo this year. We have four exciting new combination products: the Bully N Bacon is a curled bully stick with a pork skin wrapped around it, the Bully N Beef is a beef trachea with a bully stick tied through it, the Bully Bacon Twist is a bully stick twist with a pork skin spiral wrapped around it, and the Frank N Woofer is our soft chicken sausage with a beef patty wrapped around it. We also introduced the Heart Breakers, which is a pork heart sliced in pieces.