Answer: Wysong is the last name of Dr. Wysong, the founder of the company, and his family who works with him. The name has an interesting history, as do most if one could only gather the details. Because the Wysong name is unusual, some of the holders of it have done quite a bit of genealogical research. It seems the name originated as Vinzent in France and became Vincent of the noble family of Nimes, France. (St. Vincent de Paul is of the line.) When the king of France began a campaign of killing the Huguenots, some of the Vincents fled to Saarland in Germany and changed their name to Weissang with one or two s's. Weisang and Vincent were used interchangeably on legal documents in the 1600s. The 1550 Weissang family crest is shown here:


From Germany, Lodowick Weissang migrated to England where his name was translated to Ludwig Wysong. He joined the British army in about 1715 and was sent to the American Colonies where he remained as a colonist. He was quite robust, living to 105 and reportedly walked twenty miles a day up to his death in 1784. The American Wysongs are descendants of his five sons who all fought in the revolutionary war. A later Wysong was the first pilot to fly off a carrier during WWI.

Answer: Since about 1979. Dr. Wysong began with clinical and surgical inventions, and branched into the various facets you see today as his research demonstrated the problems in conventional medicine and the importance of prevention.

Answer: Dr. Wysong has a B.S. in biology and chemistry and a DVM in veterinary surgery and medicine. At the college level he has taught human anatomy, physiology and origin of life courses. He also has practiced veterinary clinical surgery and medicine. For over 30 years, Dr. Wysong has engaged in research and development of surgical, clinical, nutritional, food processing and nutraceutical products with an emphasis on prevention and natural therapeutics

Answer: We think so. For most companies the emphasis is on marketing. There may be name dropping of "Dr." consultants, but these individuals usually have no authority over product design and in many cases (in the pet food industry particularly) no real expertise in the field. There is also liberal use of words such as "science," "clinical," "studies," and the like - whether or not there is underlying substance. In contrast, Dr. Wysong directly designs, oversees and controls products and processing.

Answer: Since many people equate "health food," with "weird food," we don't like the association. In our food divisions, we create healthy foods backed by science, not lore. Wysong, in effect, bridges the gap between nature and science.

Answer:Our corporate and research headquarters are located in Midland, MI. We also have manufacturing operations in Wisconsin.

Answer: We are inspected and under the purview of the FDA, USDA, APHIS, OSHA, and AAFCO.

Answer: No, we are not a publicly traded company.

Answer: Yes. Please send an e-mail to wysong@wysong.net with your cover letter and resume.

Answer:Yes, we conceive, design, and directly manufacture almost all of our products. This distinguishes us from most pet food companies.

Answer: In order to control quality you first must understand a lot about food processing and the potential dangers within foods. We work to control a variety of factors that many manufacturers are not even aware of - such as mycotoxins, food-borne pathogens, antinutritional factors, oxidant status and toxin contaminants, to name a few.

Answer:No. We believe that caging animals for studies is unnecessary and in some instances, cruel. When we want to gather data, we ask for help from real pets in real homes and use veterinary clinical consultants across the country. Nobody gets hurt. Please see our article on Animal Testing and Feeding Trials.

Answer: All that we can. The world is a finite resource and we treat it that way. We take all the measures we can to reduce energy consumption. We reduce, reuse, and as a last resort, recycle. We have an in-house recycling center, compost organic waste and encourage reuse among employees. Keep in mind that the ultimate goal of environmentalism is health. If an action - such as recyclable packaging that improperly protects nutrients and causes toxin formation - creates harm to health, we put health first.

Answer: The technology Dr. Wysong developed for animals applies to humans, and the technology he developed for humans applies to animals. So why not? We and our fellow biological creatures are not so different as you might imagine. We also use our products to teach. Many people come to learn how to better care for themselves and their family because of interest triggered in what they learned from Wysong animal foods. Or vice versa.

And no... we don't mix them up - they are made separately. Even if we did, no harm would come because the same level of quality is in all of our products.

Answer: First off, we do not see the point of making things that are already available just to try to gain profit. We make things that, in our opinion, are not made well enough yet. We also make what we would personally prefer to use.

Answer: Since companies and their advertising/marketing partners can easily confuse people, you need to be informed. Cool ads, movie stars, words like "natural" and "science," fancy graphs, pretty packaging and the like is not that education. Asking questions like this is a start. If a company cannot give you any real depth, get suspicious. Please see our article How To Choose a Pet Food Company.

Answer: Our primary focus has been and is education, research, and development. We are not a marketing firm, so what advertising you do see will be with an educational emphasis. We have a forty year with independently owned stores and businesses, and we enjoy working directly with customers as well.

Answer: Because they are expensive to produce. Quality has a price.

Answer: Health is not a place to be budget-minded. It's a pay now or pay later type-thing. There are many important health features in Wysong products which are not easily discerned on labels. (Pet food regulators strictly limit what can be said on labeling.) In fact, it is possible to create products that have virtually the same label as Wysong, but cost a fraction of what it costs to produce Wysong. Since such deception is possible, you must read company literature carefully to discern if those behind the products are marketers saying words or serious people committed to health.

Answer: You can count on Wysong being very creative. We will continue to lead, not follow, and bring you state-of-the-art information and products to enhance health for both humans and animals.

Also see: Wysong As A Holistic Company