The dog was not a piece of equipment. It was the point. The whole thing.

Growing up hunting the mountains of Utah with my grandfather — chasing pine hen, dusky grouse, through the aspens of Fish Lake National Forest — I learned something before I could put words to it. My uncle's Vizsla was out front, a rust-colored streak moving through the white trunks, covering country fast and working the wind.

The country was everything: the elevation, the October cold moving in off the ridgeline, the way light came through the aspen canopy in the late afternoon. I can still place myself in those woods. I can still smell them. Those hunts became the standard — not just for what a hunt should feel like, but for what a dog deserved from the people responsible for it.

I've spent my adult life studying dogs — every breed, their history, what they were built to do and why. But the hunting breeds are where my heart has always been. Not because of the hunting alone, but because of what these dogs are: athletes with a job. Animals with a purpose written into their genetics and expressed through their bodies. The Vizsla covering ground in those aspens. The Labrador making its fortieth cold-water retrieve. The Gordon Setter methodical in heavy cover, locked on scent.

These dogs are the reason KENAI exists.

That's the origin of everything KENAI stands for. Not a market analysis. Not a product gap. A feeling in the aspens, a grandfather, a Vizsla working the timber edge, and a bird that made us earn every step.

Built for dogs that work.
For handlers who give a damn.

That's not a slogan. It's the spec sheet. Here's what it means.

01 — Wild Game Protein

Elk, bison, and mule deer harvested from Western states through legal, ethical hunts only. No feedlot. No factory farming. No compromises on where the protein comes from.

Free-roaming wild game is a leaner protein with a different amino acid profile than commercial feedlot beef. Wild animals move constantly, build lean muscle under real physical stress, and carry none of the hormonal and antibiotic load common in commercial livestock operations.

We source wild game because it's the right protein for a working dog. Full stop.

02 — Active Compounds Only

Every compound in a KENAI formula earns its place. No filler ingredients. No proprietary blends that hide underdosed actives behind impressive-sounding labels.

Joint Guard Wild Game contains Glucosamine HCl 500mg, Chondroitin Sulfate 250mg, Sea Cucumber 250mg, and MSM 200mg — each at a meaningful amount, each listed clearly on the label.

If we can't tell you why a compound is in the formula, it doesn't go in the formula. That's the standard.

03 — No Artificial Preservatives

What goes in the bowl matters as much as what stays out. KENAI formulas contain zero artificial preservatives, zero artificial colors, and zero synthetic flavor enhancers.

A working dog's routine is demanding — travel, irregular feeding schedules, field conditions, and high physical output. We use natural preservation methods that protect product integrity without adding anything synthetic to what you're feeding your dog.

04 — Seasonal Supply Integrity

Wild Game Formula products are produced in seasonal batches tied to ethical harvest windows. When supply runs out, we don't substitute a cheaper protein to keep shelves stocked. We wait for the next harvest. That decision costs us revenue. We make it anyway.

We're a bootstrapped company building deliberately. As we grow, we're adding Smokehouse Beef, Smokehouse Chicken, and Duck formulas — a year-round line held alongside the wild game so a seasonal gap never means an empty bowl. (Coming after our first production run.)

05 — Built for Working Dogs

KENAI formulas are dosed and designed for high-output working dogs — not sedentary pets. The activity levels, joint stress, caloric demands, and recovery needs of a gun dog in season are categorically different from a house dog on the couch.

We don't dilute our formulas for the mass market. We don't add fillers to reduce cost per unit. We build for the handler who gives a damn — and trusts that what's in the bag matches what's on the label.

Questions about our sourcing, our compounds, or our standards? We'll answer them directly.

Contact KENAI →