According to the American Pet Products Association, Americans love their dogs. There are approximately 78.2 million owned dogs in the United States with 39 percent of U.S. households owning at least one dog.

Choosing what to feed your dogs can be overwhelming with so many choices bombarding us at the grocery store and stores specific to pets.

Advertisers would like us to believe pet food is filled with nourishing and delectable cuts of meat and poultry with vegetables and whole grains thrown in as well. The reality of pet food is very different and leads one to wonder, what exactly is meat meal or animal digest, two ingredients commonly found in dog food and treats.

According to the Association of American Feed Control Officials, meat meal is the rendered product from mammal tissues, exclusive of any added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents, except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices.

Animal digest is the rendered remains of any type of animal, including but not limited to: dead, dying, diseased, and/or decomposed cows, chickens, horses, turkeys, pigs, from slaughter houses or euthanized animals, including dogs, cats and even rats.

New Philadelphia resident Cheryl McIntyre was concerned about the ingredients she read on the commercially prepared packages of pet treats she was feeding her dogs, including the synthetic preservatives used to increase shelf life.

“I was at a point in my life where I was ready to switch careers. I was in banking for 25 years and I wanted to do something fun and different,” said McIntyre. “I stumbled across a homemade pet treat recipe I had clipped from a magazine years earlier and it got me thinking. I researched to see if anyone in the area was making pet treats and it has turned into a business for me.”

Pawsitively Scrumptious, Ltd. is McIntyre’s dog bakery. She works out of her home where she creates dog treats from locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. “I get most of my ingredients from Swiss Village Bulk Foods in Sugarcreek. They grind fresh peanuts for the peanut butter I use in the biscuits I call Peanut Butter Delights.”

McIntyre uses chemical-free whole wheat flour, premium natural white flour, molasses, honey, organic oatmeal, spices and herbs she grows in her own garden to create one-of-a-kind dog treats in sizes appropriate for small and large breed dogs. For dogs with allergies to wheat, she can substitute rice flour in all her creations.

Her Doggone Good Gingerbread Treats are easily mistaken for cookies with the scent of cinnamon, ginger and cloves. “I have a customer who has to hide them from her husband because he eats them before she has a chance to give them to the dog,” said McIntyre.

Some of McIntyre’s other dog treats include carob balls, carob wheat germ cookies and biscotti.

“I have created my recipes through trial and error. It has been challenging to find ways to extend the shelf-life of the treats without using preservatives. I have found honey to be a great natural preservative. I am using a food dehydrator to remove moisture from the treats after they are baked and that has helped a lot,” said McIntyre.

In addition to the various sizes of biscuits, McIntyre also makes cakes for dogs that are perfect for birthdays or other special occasions. The Peanut Butter Carrot Cake is bone-shaped and comes in two sizes. It is made with premium natural white flour, carrots, eggs, natural peanut butter, honey, vanilla and is covered in cream cheese frosting sweetened with agave nectar. “I am currently working with a local vet to start a birthday club for dogs,” she said.

Licensed by the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), Pawsitively Scrumptious, Ltd. has to submit a sample of each product so that it can be verified that it contains the state mandated amounts of crude fiber, crude fat, crude protein and moisture. “It’s as complicated if not even more so than a bakery that produces food for human consumption,” said Erica Pitchford, spokesperson for ODA.

“I make treats people feel good about giving to their dogs,” said McIntyre. A retail location is something she has considered as a dream for much later on. She currently sells her treats and cakes from her home, at craft shows, the Tuscarawas Valley Family Farm Market during their June-October season and at Swiss Village Bulk Foods and Heini’s Gourmet Market, both at Sugarcreek, Nature’s Market at Berlin, Ann’s Grooming and Doggie Boutique at New Philadelphia and Dover Healthy Alternatives at Dover.

Pawsitively Scrumptious accepts custom orders and can be reached at 540-537-8177.