STERLING – John Williamson and Andrew Knapp are mindful of the food they eat.

The same goes for what they feed their dogs.

They’ve seen how diets heavy on kibble can sap some of the pep from a pup, compared to dogs with better food in their bowls. If you ask them, a healthier dog is a happier dog — and if you ask their customers, they’ll tell you the same thing.

But it’s not always easy to find healthier dog food in aisles packed with processed products. So they decided to put their money where their dogs’ mouth is and invest in starting a business of their own, and in the process they created their own Bully pulpit: a business where they can tell people all about the benefits of all-natural dog food.

Williamson and Knapp are the business partners behind Bully House Raw, a Sterling-based business that packages and sells all-natural raw meat and treats with essential nutrients for dogs — no chemicals, no filler, just flavor. The meat they use is 100% food grade and USDA approved. With beef-and-chicken meat blends, as well as treats such as dried anchovies, chicken feet, pig ears and smoked and dehydrated beef knuckles, the pair are doing their part to help dog owners be more mindful of what their pets eat.

They started the business two years ago, after putting their own dogs on a healthier diet and seeing how it helped them. So far, the response has been good. Word of mouth — and wagging tails — have helped get the business off the ground and their products in more locations, with their treats available at local gas stations and convenience stores and their raw meat at area meat markets. Their dogs still play a part in their business, as Bully House’s taste-testers and quality control inspectors. Before they roll out a Raw Blend or try out a new treat, they test them on their own dogs first.

The two enjoy hearing from customers about the changes they see in their dogs after adding Bully House’s products to their diet.

“I can’t believe that something we did just for our own dogs, putting it out there for someone else, and everybody’s like, ‘Man, I love it,‘” Williamson said. “[They’ll say] their dog had a sensitive stomach but now it doesn’t have any more issues, or had hair problems and now have no more issues. Those are great reviews, hearing stuff like that. At the end of the day we just want everybody to have an option for their dog to have a better life.”

Knapp also enjoys seeing the impact their products have had on dogs and their owners.

“I like that people like our product, and it lets us know that we’re doing the right thing with our product and it’s working,” Knapp said. “That’s what I like about it, when people like what we’re doing, and it makes me feel good.”

Williamson and Knapp are big believers in keeping dogs off the kibble — the ground-up meats and vegetables that are processed and pressed into pellets in dry dog food. Many pet owners don’t pay as much attention as they should to what’s in the bags they lug into their shopping carts. It may be easy to keep a big bag around to fill up the dog bowl, but the fats in the food aren’t always the healthiest, and shelf life can be an issue, too.

Before he and Knapp started their business, Williamson, who also breeds dogs, heard about a fellow dog owner who didn’t know his bag of dog food had mold growing in it.

“I had a customer buy a bag of dog food not knowing that it had mold; all of the dogs got sick and one dog died,” Williamson said. “That’s what started to push us toward wanting to show people a better way to feed their dogs. It’s an all-around healthier way to feed your dog and have them live a long, happier healthy life, versus kibble.”

Another benefit is the dog’s bathroom habits. Williamson said he’s heard from customers that their dogs tend to relieve themselves less, and when they do, they leave less of a mess because the all-natural food allows dogs to retain more of the nutrients and proteins, and not just pass it through their system.

Williamson and Knapp started off selling raw meat, then added their line of treats. The raw meat comes from Eickman’s Processing Co. in Seward in Winnebago County. The working dog blend is made up of 70% chicken and 30% beef, and the carnivore blend is 60% beef and 40% chicken; they’re sold in two-pound rolls and their serving size is 2-3% of a dog’s body weight. The carnivore blend caters to dogs who are underweight and recovering from pregnancy.

“We’ve sold to those who have dogs that have had litters,” Williamson said. “A lot of times, puppies will take nutrients and proteins from their mother, whose body weight drops drastically. When you put them on the carnivore blend, their body comes back very quickly.”

Williamson and Knapp are considering selling a turkey blend of raw meat in the future, as well as finding an economical and safe way to sell their meat products via mail order. Healthier food typically comes at a higher price, but they aim to buck that trend: “A lot of people want to transition over to raw,” Williamson said. “The biggest hurdle for people is thinking that raw is so expensive. We charge $3 a pound for both of our blends.”

The dried anchovies are rich in omega-3 and is among their best sellers — and they aren’t just for dogs. Williamson said he’s had customers buy them for their cats as well.

“With anchovies, their bones are pretty much like piece of your hair; if I pull a piece of your hair, especially after being dehydrated, it’s like pulling a bone from an anchovy,” Williamson said. “When it comes to treats, you can’t use a long fish because of the amount of mercury that builds in the fish’s body, so you have to use a small fish, or one that has a real small lifespan.”

Locally, their treats are sold at Sterling’s Shell Expresslane gas stations on North Locust Street and East Lincolnway, as well as the one on U.S. Route 30 in Rock Falls. Other Shell Expresslane locations with their treats include those in Dixon, Fulton, Grand Detour, Oregon and Port Byron; they also can be found at the 301 North convenience store in Dixon, Fulton Meat Market and Eickman’s — the latter three locations also carry Bully House Raw’s raw food. Williamson and Knapp are looking to add more locations to sell their treats, and will post them on their Facebook page. Treats also are sold on Amazon.

Williamson and Knapp also set up at area pop-up markets, which are good places to not only introduce people to their products, but help them determine which of their products would be a good fit for their dog. One thing they’ve found at the markets is that people are surprised to find out their products come from right in their neck of the woods.

“Nobody really knew we were from Sterling, they thought we were from out of state just coming for the event,” Williamson said. “If you create something and you get someone who comes up to you and asks, ‘You’re the person who makes these?’ It’s great, and I like to hear what they have to say about it.”

“A lot of companies that sell this type of product outsource their product and have it already packaged for them, but that’s not what we do,” Knapp added. “We let them know that.”

Williamson said he’s proud of how their product has performed, and make a difference in customers’ dogs.

“You want to feel success with what you do,” Williamson said. “It makes you want to keep going it and love it more.”

Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.

More information

Find “Bully House Raw LLC” on Facebook to learn more about the Sterling business’ dog food products and an updated lists of places to purchase their products.