Activa Pet Food Original Formulas
webmaster2020-02-25T09:28:46-07:00
A well-balanced and nutritious diet produces a strong boned, well muscled, healthy dog. When it comes to working your dog up the nutrition ladder, Activa Pet Food Original formulas are the way to go. With the protein source as the first ingredient, your dog will enjoy the higher digestibility of the food than that of grocery store brands.
What protein options are available?
Activa Original comes in variety of proteins to provide not only a diverse line up of flavors, but to lessen the chances of your dog developing any protein allergies or intolerances. Activa Original is made with very high quality ingredients and it is formulated to fit any dog’s needs due to it being appropriate for all life stages. Activa Original is comparable to many grocery store brands and in some cases the formulation is more agreeable to a dog’s digestive cycle and body distribution of nutrients.
Why Activa Original?
• Activa comes direct from our Texas factory, so it’s guaranteed fresh.
• All Activa formulas can be customized to fit your dog’s needs.
• It is the best option to transition your dog from grocery store brands due to its formulation.
• It is well priced for the quality of the food. • Dogs and cats fall in love with it once they try it.
• It is locally made in the Pet’s Barn owned maufacturing plant which allows full control of the ingredients and process of the food being made.
• Activa Pet Food is tested hourly to guarantee quality.
How does pricing compare to grocery store brands?
In a lot of cases, Activa Pet Food can be cheaper than your grocery store brands based on the price per pound. However, all depends on the brand and place of purchase. Sometimes coupons come in handy with grocery store brands yet are not always available. With Activa, we have a multi bag price break daily and a rewards program on top of it to ensure that Activa Pet Food remains wallet friendly.
Let’s talk customization!
Activa Original is also 100% customizeable! Activa is the only food that’s formulated to fit those little extra needs that make you pet special and unique. Each pet has its individual requirements which can change at various stages of its life. Most pet foods have added supplements and enrichments that get eliminated due to extreme high temperatures in the cooking process. With Activa Custom, they are added fresh in store. The Activa Custom process starts at our plant and ends at your nearest Pet’s Barn location!
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New Activa Original Formulas
webmaster2019-10-22T11:03:48-06:00Activa Original Turkey Formula
Turkey is packed full of great vitamins and nutrients! Turkey is not only low in calories but is a highly digestible protein which can make it a great choice for pets with digestive issues. With high levels of Tryptophan and Selenium, our new Original Turkey formula can also be great for immune support!
We are so excited to announce the addition of two new formulas to our Activa Original line! Our Activa Original formulas are crafted to provide your pet with a variety of vitamins and nutrients to support a healthy lifestyle.
Activa Original Rabbit Formula
Rabbit is an excellent source of protein! As an exotic protein, Rabbit can be a great choice for pets with allergies or other food sensitivities. Rabbit is naturally high in protein which helps provide fuel for your pet’s muscular system and is also great for immune support. Our new Original Rabbit formula is completely chicken free and made with canola oil.
A Look Into The Pet’s Barn Biscuit Bakery
webmaster2019-09-25T14:03:05-06:00Located in El Paso, Texas our Pet’s Barn biscuit bakery is where our pet’s favorite biscuits are made.
Throughout a business day, at least 7,500 biscuits are made daily! Whether your dog likes blueberry or bacon, we have a biscuit for them!
The History
Our gourmet dog treats are just a part of what Pet’s Barn is about. The story begins more than 50 years ago, when Dean Travis’s dad was managing a feed store in El Paso. Eventually, he became the owner of the store. Today, his son Dean owns and operates 22 Pet’s Barn stores in El Paso, San Antonio, and Las Cruces.
“This is very personal,” says Dean Travis. “This was my Dad’s business, now it’s mine, and my son Eric is running our pet food plant. We make it a point to buy every ingredient from U.S. farmers and producers… and we only use high-grade ingredients that we would want our own pets to eat.”
Fresh USA Origin Ingredients
It may surprise you to find out that our gourmet biscuits are comprised of human-grade commodities. If you ever get curious, try one yourself! They are perfectly safe for pet AND human consumption. The best part of making our own gourmet dog treats is that we can ensure your pets receive them nice and fresh! Biscuits are on the Pet’s Barn shelves within days from coming out of the Pet’s Barn Bakery oven.
Meet Our Head Biscuit Baker!
Some would call our head baker, Bobby Ladday a dog’s best friend. Bobby has been the head baker for Pet’s Barn for the past 9 years.
Bobby makes thousands of fresh, delicious biscuits every day and is passionate about bringing the very best treats to dogs all over! Although, if Bobby had to choose, he’d recommend our Blueberry, Maple or Mint biscuits!
The Life of a Fresh Baked Biscuit
Our head biscuit baker Bobby carefully weighs out every ingredient according to our top secret biscuit recipes. Once mixes all of the flours, scrumptious flavors and other ingredients Bobby places all ingredients into our industrial mixer and starts mixing.
Once the ingredients have bonded to become a dough, they are placed in our biscuit creation machine. This machine is where the magic happens. The dough will be wrapped around the biscuit dough mold, that securely holds in it place until it is ready to be pressed into one of our many biscuit shapes.
At the flip of a switch, the conveyor belt will start to turn and the dough will start to be pressed into a rotary mold of the biscuit shape we are making. These rotary molding shapes each cost up to $6,000 to have manufactured, and are created specifically for our very own machine.
Once the biscuits are pressed onto the mold, they stick onto the conveyor belt which will meet up with our baking tray at the bottom of the belt. Each tray will travel down a series of rollers until they are placed onto our baking racks ready for the oven.
Each size of biscuit is baked at a specific temperature and time to ensure the are perfect every time. Once finished, we allow our biscuits to dry and cool for 24 hours to make sure all moisture is gone from our biscuits. This step will help prevent mold and allows us to have a longer shelf life without adding preservatives.
After a strict quality control check, our biscuits are stored in our refrigerated biscuit storage room ready to be sent out to our retail stores within a week of being baked.
Fun Facts!
Our dog biscuit baking equipment was once used to make dog biscuits for Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Dean Travis stopped into a boutique dog biscuit shop while attending a conference in Orlando, where he started chatting with the owner. She was baking dog biscuit products for Disney World… but was ready to get out of the business.
With a handshake, and within a few days her commercial baking gear was on a truck headed to El Paso and Pet’s Barn was producing its first Gourmet Dog Biscuits.
A Deeper Dive Into Rotational Feeding
webmaster2019-08-23T13:49:42-06:00We have all heard it before. “Don’t ever switch your pet’s food!” “This is a diet for life.” “Stick to this food and don’t look back!” Unfortunately, this is a common myth that we have been told over and over again. In this blog posting, we are going to explore rotational feeding and the benefits that can accompany this method.
What is Rotational Feeding?
Essentially, rotational feeding is about introducing diversity into your pet’s diet. This means that you don’t stick to the same food for every single meal. For instance, one of the most common methods is to change the protein source (chicken, duck, lamb, etc..) of your pet’s food.
What are the cons to feeding the same diet every day?
One of the biggest cons to feeding the exact same food constantly is that the risk for food sensitivity and/or allergy increases. Food sensitivities can be responsible for a vast amount of ailments in our furry loved ones. When a pet has a food sensitivity, this can manifest in the form of eye discharge, raw paws from excessive licking, overall dry and itchy skin and an upset digestive system. Essentially, the longer you feed a specific diet to your pet the more likely they are to develop an allergy or sensitivity to one or more of the ingredients in that diet.
What are the benefits of rotational feeding?
In reference to what was mentioned above, perhaps the largest benefit is that rotational feeding will condition your pet to be able to handle multiple proteins. Not only will your pet be accustomed to a much more diverse meal plan, but their risk of food sensitivity and allergy significantly decreases.
In addition, you are making mealtime for your pets much more enjoyable! Think about it in terms of humans. If we ate turkey every single day, we would eventually grow to be extremely tired of turkey. By feeding different protein sources, you are strengthening the GI Tract of your pet while giving them a delicious variety
How do I begin rotational feeding?
Starting your pet has never been easier, especially with our full Activa Pet Food lines. Keeping foods that are similar in their formula but that offer multiple protein sources makes the process much more streamlined. We would recommend a gradual 4-step transition plan.
Step 1
25% New Food
Step 2
50% New Food
Step 3
75% New Food
Step 4
100% New Food
Changing your pet’s diet is not dangerous like the many myths we have heard. You just want to make sure that you do it safely. Drastic and sudden changes in our pet’s diet can cause upset stomachs and issues like vomiting and diarrhea.
Now finally, you may be asking, how often should I be changing their protein source? That is completely up to you and also based on your pet. One of the more common timelines is to change their food every 3-4 months. However, we do have many customers that will feed their pet’s different protein sources for every meal. Rotational feeding is becoming more and more popular, and the science behind it is only growing. We recommend trying it out and we are certain that your pet’s body, appetite and taste buds will thank you for it!