Rawhide-Free Dog Chew Composition for Hardness and Digestibility

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing dog chews, particularly those made from rawhide, reconstituted rawhide, synthetic materials, and vegetable-based products, face issues such as slow digestibility, potential for intestinal blockage, indigestibility, allergic reactions to common allergens, and palatability concerns, leading to consumer dissatisfaction and stagnant market growth.

Innovation Solution

A dog chew composed of plant-based materials, starches, animal proteins, and bone-based gelatin, without rawhide, gums, or common allergens, combined with a protein or flavor-based coating to enhance palatability, is developed, ensuring at least 90% digestibility within 18 hours and avoiding harmful additives.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If rawhide is used to make dog chews, then hardness and durability are improved, but digestibility deteriorates and intestinal blockage risk increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovehardnessVSAvoiddigestibility

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the material composition parameters by replacing rawhide with a formulated mix of plant-based materials (potato starch, wheat starch, corn starch), animal proteins (beef, chicken, fish), and binding agents (gelatin, collagen, egg whites). This parameter change maintains the necessary hardness and durability for dental benefits while dramatically improving digestibility to at least 90% within 18 hours, eliminating the intestinal blockage risk associated with rawhide.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a composite material system combining multiple ingredients: starches for structure and hardness, animal proteins for flavor and digestibility, and binding agents to hold the formulation together. This composite approach allows the chew to achieve both the required mechanical strength for dental cleaning and high digestibility, resolving the contradiction between hardness and digestibility that plagues single-material solutions like rawhide.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Duration of action of stationary object

If rawhide is used for dog chews, then durability is improved, but safety deteriorates due to chemical exposure and manufacturing concerns

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovedurabilityVSAvoidchemical exposure

Core Design Contradiction:

Duration of action of stationary objectVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and removes the harmful elements from the traditional rawhide manufacturing process by completely eliminating animal skin products and their associated chemical treatments. The formulation uses only plant-based starches, safe animal proteins, and food-grade binding agents, removing the source of quaternary ammonium compounds, tannery chemicals, and other harmful additives while maintaining durability through the starch-protein-gelatin matrix.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent employs food-grade, easily digestible ingredients that can be safely consumed by pets, treating the chew as a temporary, fully digestible product rather than a persistent material. The formulation uses ingredients like potato starch, wheat starch, corn starch, and gelatin that are safe for animal consumption and completely break down in the gastrointestinal tract, eliminating the safety concerns associated with persistent rawhide materials.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Strength

If rawhide is used to make chews, then structural integrity is improved, but palatability deteriorates due to flavorlessness

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestructural integrityVSAvoidpalatability

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality enhancement by incorporating highly palatable animal proteins (beef, chicken, fish) and flavorings into specific portions of the chew formulation. The protein-rich composition and added flavors concentrate the desirable taste properties in the chew material itself, making it inherently appealing to dogs without requiring additional palatant coatings or supplements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

4Reliability

If vegetable-based materials are used for dog chews, then digestibility is improved, but hardness and durability deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovedigestibilityVSAvoidhardness

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a composite material system combining plant-based starches (potato, wheat, corn) with animal proteins and binding agents. This composite formulation achieves both high digestibility from the plant components and sufficient hardness from the protein-gelatin matrix, resolving the contradiction where vegetable-based chews alone tend to be too soft or lack structural integrity for effective dental cleaning.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

Data Source

PatentUS20260013471A1Rawhide-Free Highly Digestible Dog Chew

Publication Date: 2026.01.15 GLOBALONE PET INC

AI summary

A dog chew is described made from plant-based ingredients (excluding the common allergens corn, wheat, soy and gluten), binding agents (such as bone-based gelatins), humectants and preservatives, then coated with a flavoring material (such as poultry, meat or fish and other flavorings), and being entirely free from commonly used poorly digestible ingredients (such as rawhide, reconstituted rawhide, synthetic materials and gums). A preferred formula and method for producing a hide-free dog treat is disclosed, ensuring high digestibility and avoiding the risk of sharp edges while retaining a chewy and flavorful profile.