As happy as Harry

Martina Woods grew up with farm dogs, but between work and living in Drogheda, having a dog of her own never suited. “It would have been left alone for too long every day,” she says. “When Harry arrived we had moved home to Derrynoose, a small townland on the Monaghan-Armagh border. Our family farm straddles the border with Mammy living in the Republic where the dog treats are made, and we are over the border in the North.”

So just who is Harry? Harry is a Cocker Spaniel who turns eight in October and owner, Martina is besotted with him. “Harry was a surprise from my husband Sean and I got him as a little puppy. He is my first dog and I just cried when I saw him. It was love at first sight. We don’t have children so he is my big hairy child.”

No liking for a desk job

Martina’s background is in catering and her first job was working in a B&B during school holidays. She went on to catering college in Newry, completed her City & Guilds exams and worked as a chef in hospitals, hotels and restaurants. “I was never one to sit at a desk and I really enjoy catering. I get a great buzz when we have a full house of happy diners. And this is where Harry comes in.”

Homemade treats

Harry is susceptible to ear infections, a common complaint with Cocker Spaniels. He has a sensitive stomach, is a martyr to vomiting and he was forever on antibiotics. He was always on good food, but he seemed to react to shop-bought treats

“We were told to stop the treats which we did. I thought I could bake something for him so I began messing around with recipes. Then I heard about a course in Monaghan Institute of Technology which was all about animal care. It covered everything from anatomy, grooming, welfare and nutrition so I took a year out to do it.”

While completing the course Martina came across a vet who was into natural remedies and the two linked up to try solve some of Harry’s issues.

Recipe development

While his core diet worked well, Martina wanted to offer him homemade treats that didn’t upset his sensitive stomach.

By the time Harry was two years old, Martina had developed a list of ingredients that worked for him.

These included brown rice flour which is the base of her treats and sourced from Doves Farm Foods in the UK, as it is difficult tot find an equivalent here. Locally produced carrots, Armagh apples, Donegal rape seed, peanut butter also all got the thumbs up. However, it was a no to bananas as Harry wouldn’t eat the treats that included them.

By 2016 Martina had developed five recipes for her newly fledged Harry’s Dog Bakery, and was getting good local feedback. She had the treats tested for their nutritional value and the results were good. Low in fat, no added sugar or salt, the treats had health benefits as well as being natural; adding fresh ginger which she says eases arthritis and stomach issues in dogs.

Martina mixes the ingredients and hand cuts every treat. They are slow baked for two to three hours and bagged and boxed from the kitchen table. They have a 12 month shelf-life. In the same year (2016) she had her first dog bakery stand at the Taste of Monaghan. “I wish I had a video camera to capture the reactions of people to my dog treats. They were really sceptical.”

Building stockists

A successful Ploughing Championships in 2019 brought in more orders and before she knew it, Martina had an online market and 16 stockists in counties Cork, Dublin, Kerry, Roscommon, Meath, Monaghan and Limerick. All bar one came to Martina looking to stock her dog treats. Winning Enterprise Ireland’s Women Fuelling Ambition award in 2018 also created more awareness.

“Enterprise Ireland has been very good to me. They helped with mentoring and my website and I also get great support from the Monaghan Women in Business group.

Post COVID-19

The COVID-19 lockdown proved to be a boost to the business as pet shops remained open. Her online orders increased and her stockists grew from 16 to 25. Martina is now working almost full time in the business and has employed one person part time. She has declined offers of outside investment or partnerships.

“The business is very much my baby and I want to retain its core values. But as it grows then perhaps different decisions will need to be made.” Meanwhile, Harry has lots of new treats to try while 5% of sales go to animal charities.

Harry’s Dog Bakery can be contacted at NI 078-58818257 ROI 087-699 6609 or email harrysdogbakery@gmail.com.

Visit the website at www.harrysdogbakery.com

Big business

It’s estimated that almost two thirds of Irish households have a cat or a dog. On family farms, the presence of a cat or a dog is even more likely than it is for urban dwellers. We love our pets so it’s no surprise that most pet owners are willing to spend plenty of their hard-earned cash to provide them with the very best veterinary care and nutrition. It may operate below the radar but the global pet food industry is big business.

In Ireland, we talk a lot about the lucrative infant formula sector. However, according to an article by our agri business editor Lorcan Allen (Irish Farmers Journal, issue 5 October 2019), global sales of infant formula stood at €69bn in 2018, which is significantly smaller than the €82bn global market for pet food. In 2018 the total “pet economy” in Europe, including pet food, was worth €39.5bn up from €36.5bn in 2017 – an 8.2% year-over-year increase.