How spending a little more will benefit your dog's health
Today, I’d like to focus on a topic I don't directly touch on very often – the price and value of our products.
We hear two concerns from some people:
- That our company sells products in general.
- The price of my supplements is too high.
If you’ve been with our community for a while, you’ve probably noticed I’m a direct communicator.
When it comes to our company’s mission, I trust no one doubts that I love my work. In fact, I love it so much I don’t plan to retire or sell Dr. Dobias Natural Healing to someone else unless my health fails.
My work is such a big part of me, so I think I’d be quite unhappy if I could not stay in touch with you and help you look after your best friends.
Some people object to us selling products but that would mean I’d just talk about your dog’s problems, but often couldn’t offer a solution that reflects my philosophy of healing. It would be similar to a writer talking about writing books but not writing any...
The products I’ve developed were a natural consequence of my evolution as a veterinarian. I love to come up with new ideas that solve old problems. To be honest, I expected good results, but I never dared to dream our products would be so highly rated by you and have such a huge impact.
When I read your stories and testimonials, I often can’t contain my tears because I know how much your dogs mean to you. There is no better job for me than giving you the gift of extra time with your best friend, but naturally, it comes with some pressures and negativity. Some people would love less expensive products, which can only happen if we source our ingredients from countries that do comply with our high quality standards.
The beauty of this system is it allows us to answer everyone’s questions for free and help every dog that needs it, despite the fact that 98 percent of dog lovers never buy our natural supplements for dogs. We get rewarded by helping you build your dog’s health as opposed to treating disease. That can’t happen in the traditional veterinary clinic model.
Setting the price of our products
I must confess that coming up with prices for our products has not been easy. Most people love to buy things that are top-quality, but our society has lost the perception of fair trade value. Our market is flooded with cheap products made in countries where standards for ingredients and organics do not meet our high quality standards and you and I know how dangerous they can be.
Where do we source our ingredients?
If you spoke to any of my team members, they would tell you I stubbornly defend sourcing the best quality, human-grade ingredients. That's why we remain committed to sourcing only the highest quality, whole food ingredients that are certified organic whenever possible. I know this is what most of you want and it seems our community understands that quality ingredients and top-notch manufacturing safety cost more.
Quality of ingredients
One of our greatest achievements has been producing the only certified-organic multivitamin for dogs, SoulFood®, and our USDA certified as made with organic ingredients, canine-specific probiotic, GutSense®.
Not all ingredients can be sourced organically. Spirulina, found in GreenMin®, is a perfect example. In the Western world, regulations exclude natural Chilean nitrate from organic ingredients, but spirulina can’t be grown without it. Therefore, even high-quality Californian spirulina can’t be certified organic. The crazy part is the market is full of ‘organic' spirulina! It’s obvious the organic certification process in some countries is flawed at best.
Natural fermentation process
Perhaps some of you aren’t aware our manufacturing process involves a natural fermentation process that allows us to make whole food and highly bioavailable nutrients.
This once again is a unique process that, as far as I know, no other dog supplement company uses.
It’s another reason why so many of you see the clear and visible difference in your dogs when you start using our multivitamins and supplements for dogs. The process of fermentation is proprietary, more costly, but well worth it when it comes to the results.
Glass packaging
A few months ago, I wrote an article on plastic toxicity. Plastic packaging leaches estrogen-like substances into supplements and food, causing havoc in the body. However plastic is also cheap and light, which is why so many supplement companies use it.
Glass is much more costly and is heavier to ship, but, in my mind, it’s the only responsible solution. That’s why we package all our supplements in glass* and we pay more money when you use our free shipping method.
No fillers or preservatives
When it comes to our products, they don’t contain any fillers or preservatives, except FleaHex® Spray, which includes an emulsifier for even consistency of the ingredients.
Is it full?
I’m sure you too have opened a big bag or a bottle and realize it’s half empty. Potato chip bags are inflated with air and some products are full of fillers to make the volume appear larger. GreenMin and SoulFood are powders that settle so can look like they are not "full" when you open the jar. We can promise that the weight of the powder in the jar is equal to, or greater than, what is posted on the label. We do recommend shaking it well with the lid closed to decompress it a bit, prior to measuring it out. This will help loosen the powder that may have compacted in the jar.
How long do the products last?
When it comes to our products, some ‘savvy’ business people have told me I should make the products last a shorter time, but I am stubborn!
Here are some examples of how long our products last:
GreenMin® lasts for 40 to 160 days
SouFood® for 30 to 90 days
FeelGood Omega® has a shelf life of one year and once open it's recommended it be stored in the refrigerator and used within 90 days. The bottles are filled with a protective layer of nitrogen to preserve the oil during storage and shipping until it's opened. Isn’t that cool?
GutSense® is the only product we have purposefully made not last as long. Probiotics need to be fresh and they should not sit in the fridge for long.
Commenting on and comparing other products
From time to time my team and I are asked to comment on the quality and efficacy of another company’s product, but we never do. I know most companies work hard on what they do and it’s against our business practices to comment.
Product formulation can be compared to composing music. We all like something different, but when it comes to mastery, we recognize it and value it more.
Just a few days ago, I attended an Ennio Morricone concert, a famous Italian composer who conducted the concert for 17,000 people in Prague. The tickets were not cheap, but the experience was breathtaking. I hope you’ll enjoy this piece below.
*All our products are packaged in glass except flea and tick products as they are used in bathrooms and breakage could result in injuries. Our FleaHex and TickHex bottles are BPA free and 100 percent recyclable.
© Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM
