Ōamaru company McLeod Nutrition hopes the latest product it has unleashed on the market will have a positive effect on canine wellness.

The company’s first two products, released late last year, are Whey Protein Concentrate and a prebiotic soluble fibre called Prebiolax.

The target market for these supplements is the elderly and people with health challenges, who need extra attention paid to their nutritional needs, but they have always been suitable for pets as well, McLeod Nutrition founder Andrew McLeod says.

"Everybody can benefit from good nutrition when they're ill."

However, Paw Shakers is a range of three supplements created exclusively for dogs and designed to help with joint health, gut health, and skin and coat health.

“We also have a fourth one under development for anxious dogs. So that's taken a little bit longer because MPI (Ministry of Primary Industries) needs to be reassured that it's not a medicine, it's a dietary supplement,” Andrew says.

The idea of the Paw Shakers came after his daughter and son-in-law adopted a retired racing greyhound, Petal.

They were trying to help her ailing joints with green-lipped mussel powder, but it was a messy process.

“She said to me, ‘oh, it's so gross, Dad, you've got to put your hand into the bag and pull it out all covered . . . it'd be nice if we could do something like that, but have it in a form that is easy to use’.

“So we came up with the idea of doing them in a sprinkle form that you can sprinkle over the top of your dog's food - wet food or if you have kibble, sometimes people put water with the kibble then you can sprinkle it over that.”

And although it’s early days - the products have been on the market just over a week - and Andrew thinks judging from the pre-trials, dogs (and their humans) will be lapping them up.

“[Petal] wanted it every meal. She looked forward to it. She would happily eat all the kibble and drink all the water and lick the bowl clean. 

“So we thought, ‘wow, we're onto something here’, because the dogs really like it.” 

Dogs are the first port of call, because they’re less fussy than their feline counterparts, but cats won’t be left out in the cold and there are already products under development for them, Andrew says.

“Our cat, our ginger Tom, he's very particular about what he likes and doesn't like . . . So we spent a lot of time working on a flavouring that cats seem to like and so that's been successful and we’re now moving on to the next stage for cats.”

Trials are now being carried out, and Andrew expects the cat supplements to be out in the next four to six months.

Ingredients for the Paw Shakers are all South Island sourced, and the blends are created here in Ōamaru at the former NZ Pet Foods factory in Orwell Street.

Joint Health contains freeze-dried greenlipped mussels and fish bone powder, Gut Health is made with a yeast prebiotic and De-Oderase (yucca plant extract), and Skin & Coat contains vitamin E, zinc and has a hoki base, so is ideal for dogs sensitive to beef and chicken.

The products have been almost two years in the making. During trials some owners, whose pets had allergies, were trying to avoid beef and chicken, so changes were made to the Skin & Coat to accommodate that, Andrew says.

“So I did a major reformulation at that point . . . which is good, that was a big deal for everybody.”

The “biggest and best response” was to the Joint Health and the fourth product - Calm. 

“The Calm one, people were raving about it. It's got things like ashwagandha, valerian, passionflower . . . 

“So, we'd like to launch it, but . . . we're going to have to work through with MPI about how you describe the ingredients and how you describe the conditions it can help with on the label. We'll get there.”

Andrew is using the same rationale with his pet products as the human ones: “they have to be delicious, nutritious, and innovative”. 

It's better if a consumer enjoys a product, whether it's a dog or a person, he says.

Paw Shakers are available online and through NZ Pet Foods' Ōamaru and Timaru stores, with plans to expand into vet clinics, dog groomers and other pet stores.

Photo: supplied

Meanwhile, impressive results are being seen in rest homes with McLeod Nutrition’s initial product Whey Protein Concentrate, Andrew says.

“They've found that it works when people who are elderly, frail, ill, are given the whey protein, especially in a rest home setting, their chronic wounds that have been struggling to heal, are healed.” 

Patients at Ross Home in Dunedin, Ranui Home in Alexandra, Iona Home in Oamaru, and Strathallan in Timaru have shown that with the extra protein added to their diet, persistent wounds such as pressure sores are healing more quickly.

“It went from being just an observation with one patient to now, it's becoming a standard sort of process,” Andrew says.

The whey is given to the residents in a four tablespoon dose in 200mls of milk. 

“They shake it up and they have it at breakfast time without any flavouring or sweetening. They say it reminds them of how milk was when they were a child, you know. It makes it creamier.

"They've had no problems with compliance, and the results are amazing.”

The findings are going to be the subject of an article to be submitted to the New Zealand Medical Journal by the dieticians, doctors and nurses involved in the care of these people, to help inform other health professionals, he says.

“People know that good nutrition helps with healing, but they don't really know it that profoundly, and oftentimes nursing staff tend to be putting things on wounds, you know, the sort of dressing and antibiotics that are needed, but if you're not well nourished, your body doesn't have the building blocks to heal itself, right?”

Not only are the wounds healing faster, but the skin around them is also healthier, and stronger, he says.

“So it's a whole body effect. You're going to get stronger muscles, heal up wounds, and also have stronger skin to prevent injuries in the first place.”

A recent business win for McLeod Nutrition is the whey and Prebiolax are now being distributed by ProPharma, a pharmaceutical wholesaler, and are gradually being stocked in more pharmacies as word spreads, Andrew says.

Find out more about the background of McLeod Nutrition, and how it began in Ōamaru here.