Viscous liquid dietary supplement for animals

Abstract

Fish oil ( 100, 310, 410 ) is thickened using a thickening agent ( 300 ), such as one or both of silica and wax ( 400, 500 ) dispersed in the fish oil to thereby facilitate ease of delivery of the fish oil to an animal. The fish oil and the thickening agent form a viscous liquid blend that functions as a delivery medium of nutrients naturally present in the fish oil. The thickening agent is inert to the animal and chemically inert to the fish oil so that the naturally present nutrients of the fish oil are not substantially degraded by the thickening agent. The viscous liquid blend may also be used as a carrier liquid to deliver an added dietary supplement ( 110, 200, 320, 420, 510 ) to the animal.

1 . A liquid dietary supplement that is suitable for ingestion by animals, comprising:
 a viscous liquid blend of a carrier liquid and an amount thickening agent dispersed in the carrier liquid;   the carrier liquid including fish oil and functioning as a delivery medium of nutrients naturally present in the fish oil, the carrier liquid characterized by a carrier liquid viscosity at ambient temperature; and   the thickening agent imparting to the carrier liquid a viscosity that is greater than the carrier liquid viscosity at ambient temperature, and the thickening agent being inert to an animal ingesting the liquid dietary supplement and chemically inert to the fish oil so that, when the thickening agent is dispersed in the fish oil, the naturally present nutrients are not substantially degraded by the thickening agent.   
     
     
         2 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 1 , in which the carrier liquid includes an added dietary supplement suspended therein and functions as a delivery medium of the added dietary supplement, the thickening agent being chemically inert to the added dietary supplement, the viscous liquid blend being held in a container having a bottom, and the thickening agent inhibiting the added dietary supplement from settling to the bottom of the container. 
     
     
         3 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 1 , in which the amount of thickening agent is in a range from about 0.5% to about 30% by weight of the viscous liquid blend. 
     
     
         4 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 1 , in which the thickening agent includes silica. 
     
     
         5 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 4 , in which the silica is in a range from about 0.5% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend. 
     
     
         6 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 1 , in which the thickening agent includes precipitated silica. 
     
     
         7 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 6 , in which the precipitated silica is in a range from about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend. 
     
     
         8 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 6 , in which the precipitated silica is an amorphous hydrophilic silica. 
     
     
         9 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 1 , in which the thickening agent includes fumed silica. 
     
     
         10 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 9 , in which the fumed silica is in a range from about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend. 
     
     
         11 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 1 , in which the thickening agent includes a combination of precipitated silica and fumed silica. 
     
     
         12 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 11 , in which the precipitated silica is in a range from about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend and the fumed silica is in a range from about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend. 
     
     
         13 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 1 , in which the thickening agent includes a wax. 
     
     
         14 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 13 , in which the wax is in a range from about 0.1% to about 30% by weight of the viscous liquid blend. 
     
     
         15 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 13 , in which the carrier liquid is characterized by a relatively dark brown color and the wax functions to lighten the color of the carrier liquid to a lighter shade. 
     
     
         16 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 1 , in which the thickening agent includes a combination of silica and wax. 
     
     
         17 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 16 , in which the silica ranges from about 0.5% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend and the wax ranges from about 0.1% to about 15% by weight of the viscous liquid blend. 
     
     
         18 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 1 , in which the thickening agent includes a combination of precipitated silica, fumed silica, and wax. 
     
     
         19 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 18 , in which the precipitated silica is in a range from about 0.1% to about 15% by weight of the viscous liquid blend, the fumed silica is in a range from about 0.1% to about 15% by weight of the viscous liquid blend, and the wax is in a range from about 0.1% to about 15% by weight of the viscous liquid blend. 
     
     
         20 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 1 , in which the viscous liquid blend includes a flavoring additive to enhance palatability of the viscous liquid blend. 
     
     
         21 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 1 , in which the viscous liquid blend includes a scent additive to mask a natural scent of the fish oil. 
     
     
         22 . The liquid dietary supplement of  claim 1 , in which the viscosity of the carrier liquid imparted by the thickening agent is in a range from about 90 cP to about 250,000 cP when the viscous liquid blend is at ambient temperature. 
     
     
         23 . A method of delivering a liquid dietary supplement to an animal, comprising:
 providing a viscous liquid blend of a carrier liquid and an amount thickening agent dispersed in the carrier liquid, the carrier liquid including fish oil and functioning as a delivery medium of nutrients naturally present in the fish oil, the carrier liquid characterized by a carrier liquid viscosity at ambient temperature, the thickening agent imparting to the carrier liquid a viscosity that is greater than the carrier liquid viscosity at ambient temperature, and the thickening agent being inert to an animal ingesting the viscous liquid blend and chemically inert to the fish oil so that, when the thickening agent is dispersed in the fish oil, the naturally present nutrients are not substantially degraded by the thickening agent;   providing an edible item to be ingested by the animal; and   applying the viscous liquid blend to the edible item, the viscous liquid blend forming for the edible item a viscous dietary covering that stays on the edible item to thereby allow an appreciable amount of the viscous liquid blend to be ingested by the animal.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , in which the viscous liquid blend includes an added dietary supplement suspended throughout the viscous liquid blend to thereby enable accurate dosing of the added dietary supplement to the animal. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 23 , in which the viscous liquid blend is held in a container and is applied to the edible item by pumping with a fluid displacement dispenser the viscous liquid blend out of the container and on the edible item. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 23 , in which the amount of thickening agent is in a range from about 0.5% to about 30% by weight of the viscous liquid blend. 
     
     
         27 . A method of improving dispensability of a liquid dietary supplement that is suitable for ingestion by animals, comprising:
 providing a carrier liquid including fish oil and functioning as a delivery medium of nutrients naturally present in the fish oil, the carrier liquid characterized by a carrier liquid viscosity at ambient temperature; and   mixing a thickening agent with the carrier liquid to form a viscous liquid blend of the carrier liquid and the thickening agent, the thickening agent including silica in powdered form that absorbs the carrier liquid and imparts to the carrier liquid a viscosity that is greater than the carrier liquid viscosity at ambient temperature, the thickening agent being inert to an animal ingesting the viscous liquid blend and chemically inert to the fish oil so that, when the thickening agent is mixed with the fish oil, the naturally present nutrients are not substantially degraded by the thickening agent, the viscous liquid blend being held in a container, and the thickening agent enabling a user to dispense a controlled amount of the viscous liquid blend from the container.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , in which the viscous liquid blend includes an added dietary supplement suspended throughout the viscous liquid blend to thereby enable accurate dosing of the added dietary supplement to the animal. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , in which the thickening agent includes a wax that is in liquid form when mixed with the carrier liquid. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , in which the silica in the viscous liquid blend ranges from about 0.5% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend and the wax in the viscous liquid blend ranges from about 0.1% to about 15% by weight of the viscous liquid blend.