The low-carb boom led to an increase in the number of similar products for pets. Interest in raw-food diets has prompted some owners to put their animals on the bones and raw food (BARF) diet, with a number of manufacturers now offering kits with raw, meaty bones, raw vegetables and yogurt. However, the most growth has been seen in products fortified with vitamins and minerals, particularly calcium. The use of calcium in pet foods more than doubled between October 2004 and June 2005, according to the GNPD, and many products are adding antioxidants, including bottled water from Doggie Springs.
Vitamin Dog Water is fruit-flavored bottled water promising the full daily allowance of vitamins, plus Coenzyme Q10, the antioxidant that promises to help the cardiovascular system. The spur in bottled water for humans in recent years likewise has prompted a variety of such products for pets. Pawier Inc. has developed a vitamin concentrate for consumers to add to purified water for their pets, while K9 Water Co. has launched a range of flavored waters. Susan Goldberg, K9 Water's founder, recalls working with nutritional specialists to find the proper combinations of vitamins, supplements and flavorings: “In the first batches, the flavor was so concentrated that it was like chicken stock.” She finally settled on four curiously titled flavors: Hose Water, Gutter Water, Puddle Water and Toilet Water, flavored with lamb, beef, liver and chicken, respectively.