Canbrands expands with new dog litter

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John Austin and the crew at Ralston Purina are counting on the fact that dogs can be litter trained, just as cats are.|ret||ret||tab|

Austin, founder of Canbrands, said the company's ability to produce the type of litter that would be used for dogs was a big factor in Ralston Purina's decision to buy his company last fall.|ret||ret||tab|

"We'd worked with Ralston Purina for some time, before the purchase, to help them develop their dog litter," Austin said.|ret||ret||tab|

Austin is now president of the Canbrands division of Ralston Purina. Canbrands has two plants: one in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, and one in Springfield. Both plants are now producing secondna-ture, a dog litter product Ralston has developed, Austin said.|ret||ret||tab|

"The plant in Springfield will be a major producer of this product. About 75 percent of the dog litter produced for Ralston will come from this plant," Austin said.|ret||ret||tab|

The Springfield plant in the Partnership Industrial Center will nearly double its production to accommodate the increase. The expansion, which includes the hiring of about 10 to 15 more people, will be complete by May. |ret||ret||tab|

The product hits the market this month, Austin said, and will enter the grocery store market in April. |ret||ret||tab|

The Springfield plant recycles newspapers from the area to manufacture cat litter a brand called Yesterday's News that it now produces and will also use recycled newspapers for the dog litter, which will be the same type of product, but have a larger pellet than the cat litter, Austin said.|ret||ret||tab|

"What's been discovered through research is that the traditional, clumping litter used for cats will not work for dogs. It will not absorb as much and is generally not fitting for dogs," Austin said.|ret||ret||tab|

The litter made from recycled newspapers is considered a better fit for dog litter, but much of the product's success depends on dog owners' ability to train their dogs to use a litter box, Austin said.|ret||ret||tab|

"The only product that has really worked for dogs so far has been ours," Austin said.|ret||ret||tab|

Springfield veterinarian Dr. Tedd Hamaker said that his clients have had mixed success in litter training dogs.|ret||ret||tab|

"At this point, there have been so few cases of dog litter training among my clients that I don't know that I can draw any conclusions," Hamaker said.|ret||ret||tab|

Hamaker added that he can see the need for a dog litter product and that he uses Canbrands' Yesterday's News litter for cats recovering from surgery.|ret||ret||tab|

Cats outnumber dogs as pets in part because in many cases it's too difficult to keep dogs, especially for city dwellers, Austin said.|ret||ret||tab|

"In the major urban centers you find many people are unwilling to keep dogs, simply because it's difficult to keep up with; you have to hire someone to walk the dog during the day and worry with pooper scoopers and cleaning up after the dog," Austin said.|ret||ret||tab|

Part of the expansion of the Springfield plant is based on whether enough newspapers can be gathered for use as raw materials, Austin said.|ret||ret||tab|

"We know there is product available in the area, we just don't know if we're getting all we can," Austin said.|ret||ret||tab|

The plant is now reaching farther into Missouri to get more of the newspaper it needs, Austin said.|ret||ret||tab|

Prior to the Ralston Purina purchase, Canbrands considered producing dog litter itself, but did not have the market resources of the larger company. Ralston is the largest producer of dog and cat food in the country, and the largest producer of traditional, sand-like, clumping cat litter, Austin said. |ret||ret||tab|

"We simply didn't have the reach into the market that Ralston Purina did. Now, we can avail ourselves of those resources and also have behind us the Ralston Purina name," Austin said.|ret||ret||tab|

The Canbrands division of Ralston began producing the dog litter at the end of January and is incrementally increasing its production, Austin said. The division is now scouting a site for a third plant, he added.|ret||ret||tab|

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