Patent Application
20130000564
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Pet treats and dog/cat treats in particular have become very popular. Treats on the market are often composed of high caloric combinations of meat, meat by products, and sweeteners. Ingredient information is difficult to find and understand, and information on calories is even more difficult to find.
Pet treats are also relatively expensive especially when you consider how quickly the pet consumes the treat and potential adverse health effects. Some common beef-like treats are 20 cents each and last 8 seconds. This comes out to over $1 per minute of enjoyment and at a high cost in terms of calories. Pets are now often overweight causing the same adverse health effects that humans feel: arthritis, diabetes, stress on joints, backs, and cardiovascular issues. Many pet treats also have a surprising level of sugar adding to potential tooth decay.
There have been attempts to solve these problems, including flexible balls having slit into which the owner inserts a treat. Because the ball is flexible, the slit closes after the owner inserts the treat into the ball. This forces the dog to maneuver the ball to open the slit to get the treat. Unfortunately, this limits the treats that can be used and dogs often become bored and ignore the ball, defeating the purpose of the treat. Another solution is a ball with an opening into which the owner can place spreadable food. While this reduces the cost of the treat, and works the pets dexterity, it does not work the dog's jaws. In addition, this treat toy has a pliable exterior that can be destroyed by the dog. Frozen pet treats made from broth of different flavors have also been created, which do have lower calories. These tend to be messy and shatter when the dog chews on them.
Thus there exists a need for a refillable treat that costs less money per serving, has fewer calories, is a known healthy choice for the pet, and lasts for minutes rather than seconds.
A refillable pet treat that overcomes these and other problems has a rigid housing with a first face and a second face. A first cavity is in the first face of the rigid housing. A second cavity is formed in the first cavity. A solid surface forms the second face. In one embodiment the rigid housing is in the shape of a bone. The owner spreads their choice of dog food or other spreadable food in the first and second cavities. This allows the owner to select a low calorie food their pet likes. It also allows the owner to select a pet food that does not cause any adverse reaction in their pet. In one embodiment, the treat is frozen after the food is spread into the cavities. This increases the time it takes the pet to extract the food, which works their jaw calming the dog while significantly reducing the cost of the treat.
The invention is directed to a refillable pet treat that has a rigid housing with a first face and a second face. A first cavity is in the first face of the rigid housing. A second cavity is formed in the first cavity. A solid surface forms the second face. In one embodiment the rigid housing is in the shape of a bone. The owner spreads their choice of dog food or other spreadable food in the first and second cavities. This allows the owner to select a low calorie food their pet likes. It also allows the owner to select a pet food that does not cause any adverse reaction in their pet. In one embodiment, the treat is frozen after the food is spread into the cavities. This increases the time it takes the pet to extract the food, which works their jaw calming the dog while significantly reducing the cost of the treat.
Note that while the invention is shown with the second cavity inside the first cavity, cavities may be formed in both faces of the housing 11. The advantage of having the cavities all formed in one face is that it makes it easier to freeze the treat without making a mess.
The device is inexpensive because it is made of a durable pet safe material that can be refilled and reused multiple times. The treat is also inexpensive because it uses a small amount of canned food. The treat is a healthy choice because it can utilize the same food the owner has carefully chosen and the pet is used to eating. The system takes the pet a long time to consume relative to standard treats. In one example, a pre-packaged treat costs an average of 20-cents and a small dog can gulp it down in 8 seconds or less. This device allows a pet owner to provide a healthy treat for pennies that will last many minutes.
While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alterations, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations in the appended claims.
