Whatever happened to Ken-L-Ration?
By Gina Spadafori
December 20, 2006
For reasons unknown, I woke up humming a Ken-L-Ration advertising jingle, from the ’60s, I’m guessing. Baby-boomers, sing along:
My dog’s better than your dog
My dog’s better than yours
My dog’s better ‘cuz he eats Ken-L-Ration
My dog’s better than yours
A couple hours later, I’m still humming it. Usually, my trick for getting some little bit of music out of my head is to replace it with something else, typically “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” (In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight. … there! now it’s in your head as well. Aweemohweh to you, too!) That song (a No. 1 hit in 1961) will knock anything out of my head usually, but this time, no go.
My dog’s better than your dog
My dog’s better than yours
My dog’s better ‘cuz he eats Ken-L-Ration
My dog’s better than yours
Instead, I got to wondering whatever happened to Ken-L.Ration. When last I thought about Ken-L-Ration, it was owned by Quaker Oats, which is now apparently owned by Pepsi and is completely out of the pet-food business. Based on brand recognition alone, Ken-L-Ration must have been the biggest thing in dog food at one time. After all, the only other pet-food jingle I can sing from memory is a fake one, the “Canine Crunchies” ad from the original (and still the best) “101 Dalmatians.”
But Ken-L-Ration … what happened? I remember the Ken-L-Ration kennel at Disneyland and the Ken-L-Ration Dog Hero of the Year. Ken-L-Ration used to host a delightful open bar and buffett for judges and journalists in the famous Hotel Pennsylvania (phone: PEnnsylvania 6-5000!) across the street from Madison Square Garden for Westminster. And then … poof! Ken-L-Ration seems to be reduced to a bunch of listings on eBay.
Maybe the name itself just couldn’t keep up with the times. My dogs don’t sleep in a kennel. Do yours? I know sure as heck the ingredients of the original Ken-L-Ration wouldn’t cut it today. By some accounts, the company started as a way to deal with all the horses removed from service (to put it euphemistically) after the rise of the automobile. I think I remember seeing canned horse meat for dogs on the grocery-store shelves when I was young. Can you imagine the outrage today? (Now of course, there’s a huge fight to end slaughtering horses for meat entirely, although the market for the horse meat is people in Europe, not pets here.)
The whole pet-food industry, of course, was a completely brilliant business solution to two problems: 1) What to do with the leftovers (meat and grain not fit for human consumption) from the industrial production of food for people; and 2) How to satisfy the desire of the middle class to have an easier way to feed pets. This except (the longer version of which probably exceeds the amount that can be posted under “fair use” guidelines, by the way) from Mary Elizabeth Thurston’s “The Lost History of the Canine Race: Our 15,000-Year Love Affair With Dogs”
The notion of a mass-produced, machine processed pet food - inexpensive, easy to serve and touted as superior to home cooking - was increasingly appealing to busy urban consumers and commercial pet food became part of the new status associated with being “modern.”
A lot of that “modern” emphasis remains today, with foods boasting extensive testing and rigorous science remaining intensely popular. These days, though, there’s a wide diversity of thought and action when it comes to feeding dogs. Providing a home-prepared diet (sometimes raw, sometimes not, sometimes grain-free, sometimes not) is an option chosen by a small but dedicated population of pet-lovers, people who argue that if a single, processed product isn’t good for people, why would it work for pets? Others choose commercial products — everything from dehydrated whole foods to frozen grinds of meat and vegetables — that seek to appeal to people who want to feed a more “natural” diet but haven’t the time or confidence to prepare everything from scratch at home.
Still, probably most of the people who read a blog like this are feeding a “premium” kibbled pet food, recommended by a veterinarian, breeder or by a source such as the Whole Dog Journal
We’ve come a long, long way from a couple of dominant national brands, and maybe that market segmentation is what really doomed the dominance of Ken-L-Ration, more than its outdated name.
My dog’s better than your dog
My dog’s better than yours
My dog’s better ‘cuz he eats I won’t tell ya
My dog’s better than yours
Thanks for the information. My mon asked me to find the words to this ol’ jingle. Thanks again!
JB
Comment by Joe Bridges — February 5, 2007 @ 7:37 pm
Urgh! Now you have that jingle back in my head…which, by the way, dates us!
Comment by Diana Guerrero — February 10, 2007 @ 10:07 am
That is Funny! I got up this morning to take my dogs out for a walk and started humming the Ken-L-ration song for no appearent reason. I was still thinking about it when I got home and found this article.It’s nice to know that I’m not the nly one with that song stuck in my head!!!
Comment by Bruce Clayton — February 15, 2007 @ 8:13 am
When i was growing up we had a Dachshund who would only eat Ken-L Ration. I also remember playing with salt and pepper shakers, plastic, that my mother sent for. they were free. the ‘salt’ was a yellow dog that looked like the dog on the can, the ‘pepper’ was a black cat. they were my favourite toys!
Comment by Chris Finch — July 6, 2007 @ 8:40 am
Interesting to have this particular post pulled up from December 2006 - given what was about to happen (what - in fact was ALREADY happening, unbeknownst to all of us).
Comment by The OTHER Pat — July 6, 2007 @ 10:52 am
yes, other pat, hideously ironic.
Comment by explodinghed — July 6, 2007 @ 11:40 am
I have often wondered what happened to Ken-L-Ration as well. My first introduction to the world of showing dogs was in the parking lot of the Just-Rite grocery store at the age of 5. Ken-L-Ration sponsored a dog show there. My beagle won for having the longest tail(I still have my little plastic trophy). Now 47 years later I am still showing dogs. And that party spoken of at the hotel Pennsyvania during the Westminster dog show is still going on. But now is sponsored by Pedigree, The Canine Chornicle and Jack Daniels.
Comment by Suzy — August 1, 2007 @ 10:59 am
Hi
I believe that this company was started by friends of my parents…in Toronto
Their names were Ken and Bobbie( his wife) Ellis and they raised Standard poodles and yorkies ( and did rescue)
I dont ever remember the song but think I did feed it to my Manchester terrier..YEARS ago in the 50s and 60s
Comment by Pamela — January 20, 2008 @ 1:29 pm
I’ve been thinking about Ken-L-Ration and Ken-L-Biskit (the company’s kibble product) a LOT lately, what with all the problems many of us have been having with the new, ‘designer’ dog foods. If the Ken-L-Biskit were available, all of my show and performance dogs would be ON IT, instead of on several, different ‘designer’ labels as they are now, in the interest of avoiding various allergies/sensitivities to some of the ‘kitchen sink’ additions du jour thrown into the newer foods. I had dogs with no such problems on Ken-L-Biskit and the occasional can of Ken-L-Ration for over 25 years. I miss those products! (And yes, Hill’s sold frozen horsemeat - which I used to purchase at the Houston SPCA!)
Comment by Mary B — May 15, 2008 @ 1:25 pm
The H. J. Heinz Company purchased Ken-L-Ration in 1995. Seems the brand just faded into obscurity as Heinz continued its venture into pet food. Today, Heinz owns numerous brands including 9 Lives, Amore, Kozy Kitten, Gravy Train, Jerky treats, Meaty Bone, Skippy Premium, Reward, Nature’s Recipe, Tuffy’s, Cycle etc…..
Comment by Joy — May 15, 2008 @ 2:04 pm
Don’t you wonder if the last owner of the brand just decided the name wasn’t a match with the move many dogs have made to being family members?
Kennel … not where dogs live anymore.
Ration … lack of abundance, as in “rationing.”
The new “pet parents” would be choosing brands that suggested high-quality, health and abundance … whether that was true or not.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 15, 2008 @ 2:09 pm
Yeah Gina, I bet Ken-L-Ration is still around…just under a more modern name. Maybe Gravy Train? …rollin’ rollin’ rollin’…keep them doggies rollin….
Comment by Joy — May 15, 2008 @ 2:18 pm