Serious Science

At Happy Scratch, we like to have fun. But despite our silly name, the science behind our products is serious. Our pet allergy products were invented by university researchers and are supported by veterinarians. The innovation behind Happy Scratch was developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is backed by four U.S. patents. Learn more about the research and studies below.

Picture of a dog and graphics

A Picture is Worth a Thousand ‘Woofs’!

Before and after comparison photos of canine dermatitis
  • SIgA deficiency commonly affects many pure and mixed breeds.
  • Scientific literature indicates SIgA deficiency may cause dermatitis.
  • Replacing the missing SIgA with naturally-occuring SIgA in pork mucosa may be a way to improve your pet’s quality of life.
  • Happy Scratch is made up of pork mucosa containing SIgA, and is a cost-effective way to improve companion animal health
    And they love the taste too.

Benefits

  • Supports itch relief for canines and felines

  • Aids in the immune response

  • Pets love the taste!

How it Works

  • Happy Scratch is Rich in IgA

    Our product is made from pork mucosa, which is known to naturally contain large amounts of IgA.

  • Reduced IgA is linked to dermatitis

    IgA is known to be an anti-inflammatory antibody. Scientific literature demonstrates that pets with reduced amounts of IgA are more susceptible to gut problems, recurrent infections and dermatitis. Certain dog breeds do not make enough of their own IgA.

  • Daily Immune Support

    Happy Scratch dietary supplement adds back an essential element of your pet’s immune system. Our product ensures that the right antibody interacts with the right allergen at the right time. Because of your pet’s genetic immune deficiency, daily administration is highly recommended.

Animal Products Become Valuable for Pet Health

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Sand had a mission to create new and valuable products from animal agriculture.

  • Up to 70% of the animal is consumed as meat
  • The 30% that is not consumed is largely what keeps the animal alive

Our hypothesis was that these products would contain large amount of bioactive molecules that could be used in human and animal health.

Through years of testing, we proved that pork mucosa derived Secretory Immunoglobulin A (SIgA) was able to improve gut barrier function and reduce the need for interventions for dermatitis.

Illustration of swine mucosa
CLINICAL STUDIES

Ulcerative Dermatitis Relief with Happy Scratch

  • Animals diagnosed with Ulcerative Dermatitis were fed Happy Scratch (1g/Kg diet).
  • Clinical symptoms were monitored for six weeks during Happy Scratch administration.
  • Over the six week period of Happy Scratch administration, the severity of the Ulcerative Dermatitis disease was reduced.

Animals with ulcerative dermatitis (UD) consuming Happy Scratch were monitored daily for UD score. Numbers are an average of the weekly total UD score/number of days/ the number of animals. There is a significant decrease in UD score with the mice consuming Happy Scratch.

pet itch relief

Animals diagnosed with ulcerative dermatitis consumed either a 1/3 dose of Happy Scratch or a full dose of Happy Scratch, and were monitored daily for scratching. Each animal was watched for one minute to determine how frequently they were scratching. Numbers in the graph above are an average of the weekly total number of scratches/the number of days and the number of animals. There is a significant decrease in scratching with the animals consuming the recommended daily amount of Happy Scratch.