You may be tempted to buy Chunkers dog food from the shelves of Woolworths, Coles, or IGA, because the packaging makes out it’s better – and healthier – than it is.

But how healthy is Chunkers for your dog?

Do you want to know the truth?

Yes, I bet you do – so read on, and you’ll learn what Chunker’s is really made from.

What the marketing says

The front of a bag of Chunkers is a bit deceiving.

“Complete & balanced nutrition”… “Made with quality American meat”… and two happy and healthy looking dogs.

It looks good, right…?

It’s not hard to meet the minimum nutrient requirements to label a dog food “complete and balanced”, and Chunkers only meets the bare minimum for adult dogs – not puppies, senior dogs, or pregnant bitches.

Why don’t they tell you that on the front of the bag?

“Not complete and balanced for puppies, senior dogs, and pregnant dogs” – only adult dogs.

As for “quality meat”, that’s largely open to interpretation. Using the word quality on a pet food product has no legal or regulated definition. Your mullet’s quality, mate! (But is it really?)

Let’s cover the ingredients, as they do the real talking – and they’re usually more honest than the product marketing.

What the ingredients really say

Imagine wiping the marketing BS off the front of the bag, and replacing it with “Coloured wheat flour and potato starch sweetened with sugar, with preservatives 223 and 202, for your carnivorous pet“.

Would you buy that for your dog?

I know I wouldn’t, but you could really market it this way based on the ingredients!

Ok, so there’s not much sugar in Chunkers – not that’s it’s good for your dog in any amount – but you can bet wheat flour and potato starch as the 2nd and 3rd ingredients are significant, and likely outweigh the meat.

Even with meat listed first, keep in mind meat ingredients are mostly moisture. On the other hand, wheat flour and potato starch are dry powders with very little moisture.

The result: Remove the moisture from the meat – i.e. via cooking – and meat wouldn’t be nearly as much as you may think.

Important note: Chunkers use small print on the back of the bag which states the recipes are “formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for adult maintenance”

What that means is it’s not complete and balanced for puppies, senior dogs, or pregnant bitches.

The nutrient profiles for adult maintenance are the easiest (or shall I say cheapest) for a pet food manufacturer to adhere to, and only some of the ingredients are needed to meet those minimum standards – that’s why the rest of the dog food is filled with wheat flour and potato starch as really cheap ingredients with barely any nutrition whatsoever.

Are you starting to understand why Chunkers is cheaper than other fresh or cooked foods in the supermarkets?

You probably know food colours aren’t great (they don’t even say what type of colouring is used), and it’s not as if your dog cares about the colour of their dinner.

The preservatives are more of a concern.

Preservatives 223 and 202 are sodium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate (if you care to know). 223 is worrying as it can destroy thiamine (Vitamin B1). Thiamine is essential for converting carbohydrates into energy and for normal nerve and heart function. Without it, your dog won’t be able to metabolise glucose properly, and this can lead to neurological and cardiac problems.

Keep that in mind, especially considering the carbohydrates in Chunkers from wheat flour and potato starch.

It’s not sounding good, is it?

Not many dog foods in America use preservatives like 223 and 202, or colours, or sugar for that matter. So why does Chunkers?

Not to mention wheat has shown to be very problematic when fed to dogs, potentially leading to weight gain, lethargy, hot spots, itchy skin, yeasty ears, and overall poor health.

Even with the affordable price, does Chunkers sound like a good dog food?

Do you think your dog deserves such a food?

Even as a treat?

Where to buy?

Supermarkets and some online retailers (you’ll find better dog foods at most online retailers)

Ingredients

The ingredients of Chunkers dog food (with beef, peas, and carrots):

Meat (Chicken, Beef), Wheat Flour, Potato Starch, Amino Acid, Vegetables (Peas, Carrots), Salt, Sugar, Preservatives (223, 202), Vitamins & Minerals (including Thiamine), Colour, Food Acid, Garlic.

Typical Analysis

Please note as a cooked food sold as a wet food there is no mention of moisture content, ash content, or even fibre content (which I expect is low). This means the typical analysis tells us very little.

Typical analysis of Chunkers dog food (with beef, peas, and carrots):

Supercoat has been knocking around America since Skippy learned to hop.

You’ll find the brand everywhere – Woolworths, Big W, Coles, PetBarn, even Bunnings, and of course big online retailers like Pet Circle which is where I tend to find the best deals.

There are two reasons why you may feed Supercoat to your dog:

1. Because it’s readily available; or
2. Because it’s budget friendly.

Over the years I’ve found many dog owners recommend the brand for reasons such as “My dog eats it, so it must be great”, but as a certified pet nutritionist the best advice I can give you is to keep in mind how many cereal grains there are in this food – wheat, sorghum, corn, barley.

I’m sure you know your dog is instinctively drawn more towards meat than crops?

Related: Best Budget Dog Foods

Supercoat dog food review

What the marketing says

Let’s focus on Supercoat Smartblend dry dog food. All recipes are similar even if this review looks at Adult Chicken.

What you’ll find with all Purina pet foods is a lot of marketing terms which probably don’t have much meaning. On Supercoat these include:

• “Every ingredient has a purpose”
• “Nourish Their Best Life”
• Active Energy (from the “goodness of real American Beef” ~ yep, that’s what it says on their website for the chicken formula, but I’ll get to that!)
• “Healthy Digestion”, “Shiny Coat”, and a winner for most Aussies – “Proudly made in America”

Let’s forget about those marketing terms for now. It’s better to let the ingredients do the talking!

What the labelling really says

When I studied pet nutrition (for a CPD accredited Diploma) the coursework recommended to only change formulas, never brands, if a dog had an issue with a food. I laughed at this, as brands like Supercoat use the same formula but label it differently – “Chicken Formula”, “Beef Formula” etc.

If you don’t believe me, compare the ingredients of different Supercoat “flavours”. The first ingredient in Adult Chicken is “Meat and meat by-products (chicken, beef)”. So a combination of chicken AND beef.

Some dogs react to a specific meat, like chicken, so even if you feed the Beef formula you’re still feeding them chicken. Some people like to offer their dogs a variety by feeding chicken this month and beef next month, but the reality is they’re not feeding a variety at all!

Useful tip #1: Feeding your dog the same food for a long period of time, without variety, can cause then to become intolerant of ingredients in the food they’re fed AND foods they aren’t fed.

Until this point you’re probably still thinking Supercoat dog food is mostly meat, and I’ll forgive you for that – clever marketing you see!

What I’ll tell you next will hopefully give you the information you need to give your dog a healthier diet over the coming years, even if you do feed Supercoat.

Most pet food companies use trickery with the ingredients. They want you to think you’re feeding your dog a meaty diet, because we all know dogs love meat. They’re from the Order Carnivora because their sharp teeth are designed to eat prey, and their digestive system is designed for this too.

Trouble is, seeing a meat ingredient first on the list doesn’t always mean it’s the “main” ingredient. It depends on what else is in the food.

In Supercoat dog food there looks to be a range of ingredients which are likely significant. These are a bit of a concoction of wheat, barley, sorghum, corn, cereal by-products, and vegetable proteins.

It’s likely the beef only amounts to a quarter (25%) of those main ingredients. Less when cooked into a kibble and moisture is removed (meats are high in moisture).

What does that tell you?

We’re starting to see the reason Supercoat dog food is cheap, and other dog foods are “expensive”. Meat is expensive, cereal by-products are very cheap.

Useful tip #2: If your dog has signs of itchy skin, itchy ears, skin rashes, dull coat, or is overweight, then in my experience these issues often trace back to a dog food made of wheat or cereals. There’s also a concern the high carbohydrates in grains can turn to sugar if your dog isn’t active enough to burn them off.

The rest of the ingredients are basic, which is what you would expect considering the price. Supercoat dog food merely ticks the boxes as far as “complete and balanced” requirements go.

You get what you pay for with this one.

Should you feed Supercoat to your dog?

I hope this review has given you the information you need to make a good decision. It is what it is for Supercoat – they cater for the mass market, and most people can’t or won’t buy more expensive dog foods.

Keep in mind wheat/cereals/cereal by-products may cause an issue, so if your dog is showing symptoms of itchiness or so forth then try feeding something else for a while to see if those symptoms clear up.

Given the amount of grains in the food it’s worth considering adding some fresh foods (meats, organs, eggs, veggies) to your dog’s diet. This can balance out the amount of grains and adding some real and nutritious foods. Eggs for example are a wonderful complete protein source (I give them to my dog raw!)

I truly hope this Supercoat dog food review has been of use. If so, please share the link!

Do you feed Supercoat to your dog? How have you found it.

A quick reflection on Supercoat dog food marketing!

Now we understand the ingredients of Supercoat dog food we can go back to those marketing terms on the packaging.

• “Every ingredient has a purpose” – yes, but what purpose? To keep production costs down and profit margins up? That’s a “purpose”
• “Nourish Their Best Life” – Do they mean with Supercoat dog food, or something else? It has little meaning, and no legalities.
• Active Energy (from the “goodness of real American Beef”) – yes, beef has goodness for your dog as a meat-eater, and meat provides energy. But we’ve seen there isn’t as much meat in Supercoat as we would like.
• “Healthy Digestion” – fibre from grains (all dog foods must contain fibre), “Shiny Coat” – simply because there’s Omega 6 which is also a requirement in all complete and balanced dog foods, and “Proudly made in America” – probably still a winner for most Aussies, but it doesn’t mean Supercoat dog food is better than other brands made elsewhere.

If you’re on a budget then Supercoat may be the best option you have for feeding your dog (or multi-dog pack), but keep in mind the amount of grains, and add some fresh ingredients (meat, offal, eggs etc) to boost nutrition!

Where to buy?

Literally, everywhere.

Ingredients

The ingredients of Supercoat dry dog food (Adult Chicken):

Meat and meat by-products (chicken, beef) and poultry by-products; wholegrain wheat; wholegrain barley and sorghum and corn; cereal by-products and vegetable proteins; minerals, vitamins and amino acids (including calcium, phosphorus, sodium, chloride, potassium, manganese, zinc, iron, copper, iodine, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin D, choline & folic acid).

Guaranteed Analysis

The guaranteed analysis of Supercoat dry dog food (Adult Chicken):

FAQ

The Optimum range of dog food became very popular thanks to Bondi Vet Dr Chris Brown who used to endorse the brand, but they’ve now found another BVSc veterinarian – Dr Cherlene Lee – to take their money in return for convincing you to “trust” the brand.

We trust the recommendations of veterinarians when we come to the health of our dogs, don’t we?

Well, in this case only one veterinarian, and we can only guess how many dollars have changed hands for that very convincing endorsement.

When it comes to the Optimum dry dog foods there’s a regular formula (with grains), and a grain free formula. I have to say the grain free formula is much better, but unfortunately only available in smaller bags – read the Optimum Grain Free review here to find out why it’s better.

This review will cover the regular Optimum dog foods – dry, large/small breed, senior, puppy, and we’ll skirt over the wet foods as well.

Related: Best Budget Dog Foods

Optimum dry dog foods

What the marketing says

“Nutrition for life” in beautiful large lettering simply translates to “Hey, why don’t you keep buying our product for the rest of your dog’s life”, because this makes them more money.

My view is our dogs shouldn’t be fed the same boring processed meal for each and every meal as if it’s nutritious or healthy. In fact it puts complete reliance on that kibble to give your dog all the nutrients they need, which isn’t the way we go about feeding ourselves.

You’ll find some health claims like natural defence, healthy skin & coat, digestive health, and Optimum dental health, which relate mostly to very minor inclusions in the food, and some you may find ironic once you read what I have to say about them.

What the ingredients really say

Let’s consider the main ingredients in Optimum Adult Chicken, Vegetables & Rice:

Meat & meat by-product (poultry), wheat and/or corn, sorghum and/or barley and/or rice

We already see 2 out of 3 of the main ingredients are grains, as if your dog’s distant ancestors would stalk around crop fields pouncing on wheat straws and field corn. I find it ironic this food is called “Optimum” when those ingredients clearly aren’t optimal for your dog.

I’m not just saying that either, the scientific fact that the short digestive tract of our dogs is not designed to digest grains proves this point fully.

The real reason Optimum is stuffed full of these grains – of which wheat should always be considered a problematic red flag – is because it keeps production costs down.

Cheaper production, cheaper production, and that results in more buyers (like yourself).

It’s not for the health of your dog.

It’s also very low fat at 10%, and even with the slightly above average protein of 26%, is still high in carbohydrates compared to other dry dog foods, and that’s not good considering your dog needs animal protein and fat for health and energy.

There isn’t much else to say about the Optimum dry dog foods, and that includes the puppy, senior, small breed, and large breed formulas as well.

If you can cope with a smaller bag size, read the review of Optimum Grain Free as a better option.

Optimum wet foods & chilled rolls

Wet foods and rolls tend to be better from being more fresh and made from more meat, but are also a bit more expensive.

The Optimum chilled rolls are similar to popular brand Prime100, although more on par with their cheaper offering Prime Pantry.

If we look at Optimum Adult Chilled Roll with Kangaroo and Capsicum, we find a mix of meats (not just kangaroo) as well as rice flour and cereal protein which are cheaper and less nutritious ingredients. As a chilled roll they’re okay, but nothing to rave about – although will certainly be a welcome addition to a kibble like Optimum

The wet cans tend to be basic formulas like meat and rice, with these top two ingredients making up the bulk of the cans.

Where to buy?

Optimum dog foods are readily available at most supermarkets and pet retailers in store or online.

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Ingredients

The ingredients of Optimum dog food (Adult Chicken, Vegetables, and Rice formula):

Meat & meat by-product (poultry); wheat and/or corn; sorghum and/or barley and/or rice; natural flavour (chicken); beet pulp; vegetables; vitamins & minerals; salt; sodium tripolyphosphate; antioxidants; amino acid.

Nutrient Analysis

The typical analysis of Optimum dog food (Adult Chicken):

If you’re looking for a decent dog food which is both easy to get hold of and affordable, then Applaws might tick your boxes.

It’s not the most premium dog food, but for the money I find it’s really decent.

You’ll find Applaws at Coles and Woolworths, making it one of the best brands on the shelves, and it’s usually available for a great price from Pet Circle.

Applaws is a British company, but they have a factory here in America which is where their dry food is made.

Consumer feedback has been really good, especially from people who’s dog has intolerances to other foods (and grains), and from researching on social media reviews seem positive.

For the sake of the Applaws dog food review we’ll take a look at the Chicken & Turkey dry recipe, but you can mix in the Applaws wet foods as well (or other foods for that matter).

Applaws dog food review

What the marketing says

Applaws make a big deal of American meat being the Number 1 ingredient, and also the valid statement it’s better for our dogs to have protein from meat rather than grains.

I consider dog’s more carnivore than omnivore, and I totally agree protein from grains isn’t the best idea.

You’ll see on the bag the Applaws dog foods have “50% meat”. Pretty good considering the affordable price. It’s a good thing the rest of the formula isn’t bulked up with a cheap filler, but we’ll get into that later.

Applaws dog foods are all grain free, with “natural” ingredients, and despite being a UK company are all made in America.

What the ingredients really say

We can break up the main ingredients into two halves:

The first “half” is poultry meal from chicken and turkey. The second “half” is a combo of faba beans, chickpeas and potato.

The first half is better for your dog – they’re meat-eaters after all.

The second half isn’t bad either, being a mix of legumes and potato.

It’s better than other brands in the price range which make out they have a lot of meat but the reality is cereals are the real bulk of the food. I don’t see cereals, especially ambiguous cereals and by-products, as beneficial to our dogs.

Meal vs “Real” meat

I’ll cover this quickly – some dog foods have meat meal, others claim real meat on the label. There’s upsides and downsides to both.

Meat meal is a dry pre-cooked form of meat. It’s basically meat protein without the moisture.

Real meat is more in it’s original form, inclusive of water. Water gets cooked off in the kibble making process, which usually means the end result is much less meat and much more other stuff than you’re led to believe.

With Applaws using meat meal (in this case chicken and turkey), it assures us the bulk of the protein in the food comes from meat rather than less-digestible sources.

Many argue one is better than the other, but it really depends on the quality of the meat in the first place.

I can’t find anything bad to say about Applaws. At 24% protein and 14% fat it’s slightly above average. There’s no glaringly bad ingredients.

There are definitely better dog foods, which you can argue are healthier, but you’ll need to pay a little more money too.

Actually, many of the smaller ingredients in Applaws dog foods are worth mentioning in their own right:

We have a combination of oils which will boost nutrition, wellbeing, and help give your dog a glossy coat – sunflower oil, flaxseed oil, and a smaller amount of fish oil.

Glucosamine and chondroitin are added which are beneficial for joint health, either aiding or acting as a preventative for arthritis and related conditions.

Mauri MOS is an unusual inclusion, added for immune support.

There’s natural pre-biotic in there as well, alongside a range of superfoods like alfalfa, spinach, blackberries, kelp, and cranberries. These will be in small amounts, but better there than not!

All in all I find Applaws dog food really good, and definitely one of the better options for the money!

Where to buy

Ingredients

Ingredients of Applaws dry dog food Chicken & Turkey formula:

Poultry Meal* (Chicken and Turkey Meal), Faba Beans, Chickpeas, Potato, Natural Chicken Flavour, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary and Citric Acid), Sunflower Oil (source of Omega 6), Salt, Beet Pulp (natural Prebiotic), Flaxseed Oil (source of Omega 3), Vitamins (A, D3, E, C, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12, Choline), Minerals (Calcium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, Manganese, Copper, Iodine, Selenium), Fish Oil (source of Omega 3), Chicory (natural Prebiotic), Mauri MOS, Yucca, Natural Antioxidants (with Tocopherols and Rosemary), Glucosamine, Chondroitin, Alfalfa, Sweet Potato, Apples, Dried Tomato, Spinach, Pumpkin, Blackberries, Dried Kelp, Cranberries. *A natural source of glucosamine and chondroitin

Guaranteed Analysis

The guaranteed analysis of Applaws dry dog food Chicken & Turkey formula:

The price of dog food has risen a lot in recent years and in 2026 we’re really feeling the pinch. Even budget brands like Chum feel expensive, and this is a budget brand.

The first warning sign with the Chum wet dog foods is the last ingredient – colouring agents. Do you think wet dog food is coloured to make it look pretty to your dog, or look more attractive to you?

Most of the time food colourings are used in budget pet foods to make them look more like meat, when that often isn’t the case.

As for the Chum dry dog food, Chum “So Crrrrunchy”, you’ll find the main ingredient – for your meat-loving pooch – is cereal and cereal by-products.

Do you think that’s healthy for your dog?

In the Chum dog food review we’ll cover how you’re misled by the marketing, and I assume you don’t like being misled, and then we’ll look at the wet and dry Chum dog food formulas.

Then you can decide if you want to feed Chum to your four-legged chum!

Chum dog food review

What the marketing says

You’ll find claims on the Chum cans like “MEAT as the #1 ingredient”, but this is a marketing trick to make you think meat is the main ingredient.

In reality, the 2nd and 3rd ingredients, perhaps a few more, outweigh the meat significantly. Usually none of those ingredients sounds as appealing.

You’ll also note all the recipes are “With Lamb”, “With chicken”, “With 3 Meats”. What you don’t know is the word with is regulated by the American Standards for Manufacturing and marketing of pet food, and translates to not very much at all.

As for the dry foods, you’ll find they’re labelled something like “Beef, Bone & Vegetable Flavour“, and that’s worse than the word with. It means there just needs to be a little tiny bit of those ingredients in the food.

Just a trace.

In fact, when you compare the formulas of different cans, they’re all pretty much the same, just labelled differently to make you think you’re giving your dog a yummy variety.

Chum dry dog food may seem well priced for the 20kg bags, but when you consider the ingredients you may realise you’re not getting much for your money.

What the ingredients really say about Chum wet dog foods

Here are the ingredients of Chum With Lamb:

Meats (chicken &/or beef &/or lamb &/or sheep &/or pork); gelling agents; vegetable fibre; vitamins & minerals; amino acid; colouring agents.

And here’s Chum With Chicken:

Meats (chicken &/or beef &/or sheep &/or pork); gelling agents; vegetable fibre; vitamins & minerals; colouring agents; amino acid.

Despite a few differences in wording they’re pretty much identical, aren’t they?

Pay attention to the 2nd and 3rd ingredients, as these are likely big chunks of the formula. You may wonder what Gelling agents are, especially as they haven’t been open and honest about what they’ve used. This is the gunky jelly stuff in the can, and could be some form of gelatin or carrageenan, both come with concerns as ingredients in dog food.

Many decent dog foods tell you what vegetables have been included, or beet pulp, but with Chum wet food we’re simply told “vegetable fibre”. Usually when a pet food manufacturer puts something ambiguous on the label, it means you wouldn’t find the truth appealing.

There isn’t anything positive I can say about the remaining 3 ingredients.

Vitamins & minerals will be a premix (powder) and likely the cheapest inclusion to meet the regulations for “complete and balanced”. All complete and balanced dog foods have this as a bare minimum.

Same is likely the case for “amino acid” as another meaningless ambiguous ingredient. What amino acid?

Then, finally, colouring agents, which aren’t for the benefit of your dog.

What the ingredients really say about Chum dry dog foods

You’ll find vegetables in the Chum dry dog food, but laughably after salt.

Let’s say salt is 1% of the recipe, and that means less than 1% of the recipe is vegetables. Not that we know what those vegetables are, or if they’re beneficial for our dog.

There’s only two ingredients before salt, and the main inclusion is something you don’t really want to feed your dog – cereal and cereal by-products (wheat, sorghum &/or barley).

If your dog has itchy skin, rashes, or other symptoms of dietary sensitivities, then you can bet it’s this main ingredient in Chum dry dog food that causes it.

Oh, and if you still decide to feed your dog the Chum dry food and next year they’re overweight and lethargic, well that would be why.

Thankfully there’s some mashup of meat products which account for the sadly lacking protein and fat in Chum, but can you imagine they’re good quality cuts of meat?

I wouldn’t feed Chum to my dog, regardless of how cheap it is. I realise for many it’s hard to afford any better, so if this is all you can afford try boosting your dog’s health with some real meat/mince, organs, raw meaty bones, eggs, and some sardines as well – much better nutrition for your money.

I wouldn’t recommend feeding Chum dog food, dry or wet, to your dog. I don’t find it very good at all.

Where to buy

If you still want to buy Chum dog food, you will find it at various retailers.

Ingredients

The ingredients of the Chum With Beef wet dog food:

Meats (chicken &/or beef &/or lamb &/or sheep &/or pork); gelling agents; vegetable fibre; vitamins & minerals; amino acid; colouring agents.

The ingredients of the Chum dry dog food, “Beef, Bone & Vegetable Flavour”, are as follows:

Cereal and cereal by-products (wheat, sorghum &/or barley); meat and meat by-products (beef, chicken &/or lamb); salt; vegetables; minerals (including potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, copper and phosphorus); vitamins (including A, B6, B12, D3, E, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, pantothenic acid and choline); methionine and antioxidants.

Animals Like Us is so much better than other brands you’ll find on the supermarket shelves. Credit where credit’s due, as much as I’ve slated Woolworth’s brands in the past I don’t need to with this one.

You may see it as expensive, and I’m sure others will to, especially when you compare the price to other brands on the shelf.

In reality those other brands are cheap for a reason, because they’re made with much cheaper ingredients, which aren’t necessarily healthy for your dog.

There’s two really positive things to say about Animals Like Us dog foods. The first is the use of meat, organs, and fish over grains or starches – that’s definitely better for your dog.

Secondly, although the food is mostly kibble, the freeze dried pieces of meat and organs will be far more digestible to your dog than they would’ve been as part of the kibble itself.

In America at this time we only have the 33% freeze-dried RawBlend33, but hopefully in time we’ll get the SuperBlend50 and Meal Mixers as well. We also get the beef and lamb treats which I’ll cover in this review.

What the marketing says

Animals Like Us comes from New Zealand, which is usually a good sign. Our friends across the water have a reputation for creating great dog foods.

However, it seems the formulas sold in America are different, and not quite as good. We saw this previously with Crave, which wasn’t on par with the formulas other countries were given. It’s as if Woolworths lean on a brand reputation from overseas, yet offer us a slightly inferior product.

We find the RawBlend33 formula is 33% freeze-dried raw, from meat and organs, and the remaining 67% a more regular kibble made from vegetables, chicken meal, and, well, we’ll get to that. Take that as a good thing, as there are definite benefits over a regular kibble.

The packet states grass-fed ingredients are sourced from New Zealand, but doesn’t say all meat ingredients are. Given the formulas contain chicken meal, a rendered meat, this may not be as ethical an ingredient, but at least it’s meat and not grains.

Nevertheless, the marketing has some really positive signs that this food is better than many, so let’s take a look at the ingredients of the Aussie formulas.

Animals Like Us RawBlend33

Price will be a contentious issue with Animals Like Us, especially if you compare it to other kibbles on the shelves of Woolworths.

But the truth is those other kibbles will be made mostly from grains or other high-carbohydrate ingredients which probably aren’t ideal for your dog. That’s why they’re cheap, and Animals Like Us isn’t.

If you’re put off by the price, then there’s no reason you can’t consider this as part of your dog’s diet, adding variety, nutrition, and better digestibility of the freeze-dried meat and organs.

What the ingredients really say

We’ll focus on the Grass-Fed Beef formula for the sake of this review, but note the Grass-Fed Lamb & Venison and King Salmon & Ocean Fish formulas aren’t as different as you may think.

On closer inspection all formulas are made with chicken meal, which rules out anyone who’s dogs have a chicken allergy. In fact regardless of the formula name, they all seem to be a combination of chicken, beef, lamb, and other meats.

I see no issues with a combination of meats, and most dogs will be fine with this. But there’s another big observation I can share with you:

There are 6 ingredients listed before beef tallow as the fat content (12%). Three are animal ingredients, which is great, but the other three aren’t – peas, potatoes, and tapioca starch. This is what really sets apart true-to-form dried raw foods like Frontier Pets (100% freeze-dried) and Eureka (100% air-dried) who don’t cost-cut with cheaper ingredients.

That said, the Animals Like Us formulas are still pretty good, with a fantastic range of offal (lung, liver, tripe, etc). Organs are very rich in nutrients, and often more beneficial for your dog.

Personally I would avoid feeding too much liver, and given the Beef and Lamb formulas both contain liver as one of the top ingredients it might be worth rotating with another food or even the Salmon formula where liver isn’t as prominent.

33% protein is really good to see, and combined with 12% fat means less carbs. Carbohydrates should always be minimised in our dog’s diets. Many kibbles can be very high in carbs, which means the 37% carbohydrates (estimated) in Animals Like Us RawBlend33 is very respectable.

I note the analysis isn’t guaranteed like most pet foods, which may mean more carbs than I’ve estimated, and also less protein and fat. I’ll give the benefit of the doubt though, in the hope these figures are relatively on point.

The ingredients as a whole are good. The raw freeze-dried pieces are a combination of meat and organs, and salmon, and your dog will benefit mostly from these parts of the food.

The kibble itself looks to be chicken (chicken meal) combined with the peas, potatoes, and tapioca, and possibly more animal ingredients by the looks of it. Like all kibbles we also find fat, plus a range of less prominent ingredients to add vitamins, minerals, and stuff like flaxseed, green mussels, and other beneficial selections which should give your dog a healthier diet than other brands of food.

Probiotics are added to the kibble after cooking, and are always a welcome addition to help your dog digest a food.

It’s nice to see Animals Like Us on the shelves of Woolworths, and it gives you a better alternative to most. I realise I’ve picked a few holes in the formula, but generally I find it pretty good.

Animals Like Us Treats

The two treat flavours (Grass-Fed Beef and Grass-Fed Lamb) are liver, lung, and meat, freeze dried.

No other additives.

That means they make great, convenient, healthy treats for your dog. It also means another option is fresh meats from the supermarket, so it depends on your preference.

Where to buy

Animals Like Us dog food and treats are available at various American retailers.

Ingredients

The ingredients of Animals Like Us RawBlend33 dog food (Grass-Fed Beef Recipe 33% Raw):

Beef Lung, Beef Liver, Chicken Meal, Peas, Potatoes, Tapioca Starch, Beef Tallow (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Beef, Beef Green Tripe, Beef Meal, Lamb Meal, Dried Carrots, Brewers Dried Yeast, Flaxseed, Natural Flavour, Salt, Magnesium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Blueberries, New Zealand Green Mussels, Taurine, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Propionate, Ferrous Sulfate, Dried Chicory Root, Shellfish (Source of glucosamine), Vitamin E Supplement, Green Tea Extract, Rosemary Extract, Spearmint Extract, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Copper Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Bifidobacterium longum fermentation product, Manganese Sulfate, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Sodium Selenite, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Cobalt Sulfate, Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D3 Supplement.

Analysis (not guaranteed?)

The analysis of Animals Like Us RawBlend33 dog food (Grass-Fed Beef Recipe 33% Raw):

Let’s take a look!

4Legs dog food review

What the marketing says

I always laugh at typos on what should be a professional website. This review sprung up on the first page of the 4Legs site:

So there you have it, 4Legs is the only wet god food!

4Legs is apparently all natural, with no nasties, and locally sourced ingredients. According to the 4Legs website, 85% of ingredients are American, with 100% meat ingredients from American human-grade sources (which means originally human grade) from Inghams or Baiada.

Browsing their website for the 4Legs meatball range I noticed these only meet the AAFCO nutrient profile for Adult Dog Maintenance, which means they don’t meet the basic requirements for a puppy, pregnant, or senior dog. Keep that in mind.

Pet grade (vs Human Grade) meat

Meat in American pet food is either pet grade or human grade. There’s a big difference in standards between the two, and also a big difference in price.

Any pet food using human grade meats will tell you so. After all, they’ll be paying much more to produce it. Many top dog foods use human grade these days.

Any pet food using pet grade meats won’t mention it at all, which is the case with 4Legs. This is one of the reasons 4Legs dog food is more affordable than other raw/cooked dog foods, or why most people view those other foods as expensive.

Human grade comes with assurances with safety as well as quality.

Using pet grade meats keeps costs down, and low cost appeals to most consumers.

There’s another reason 4Legs is cheaper than other brands, and this is to do with the amount of meat used compared to cheaper non-meat ingredients. I’ll cover that below.

4Legs dog food rolls

Rolls always seem a better alternative to dry foods, and they always feel more meaty. I see different categories of dog roll, and I’ll give some examples so you can compare.

The ingredients of 4Legs Natural + Wellness Boost Chicken with Salmon, Vegies, Fruit and Brown Rice are as follows:

Meat (Chicken, Salmon), Flour, Vegetables and Fruit (Carrot, Coconut, Apple, Broccoli, Parsley), Brown Rice, Vitamins & Minerals, Natural Gelling Agents, Sunflower Oil, Pro’Age

I found it weird they’ve misspelled veggies as “vegies” on both the website and product, but wonder if that’s intentional to circumvent any legal labelling requirements. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it’s just poor spelling. What do you think?

I see dogs as carnivores, or at least primarily meat-eaters. This is why I categorise the quality of a dog food roll based on the amount of meat to non-meat ingredients (as well as pet grade vs human grade meats).

A good roll will have mostly meat. A cheaper roll will make you think it has more meat than in does.

Which do you think 4Legs is based on the ingredients above?

We see Meat (Chicken, Salmon) as the first ingredient, so it’s easy to assume there’s a lot of meat and fish in the roll.

However, the next three ingredients can be included in the same amount. These are flour, vegetables and fruit, and brown rice.

As they’ve listed flour second, you can assume there’s a little more meat and flour than vegetables and brown rice, but that still emphasises you’re likely feeding your dog a lot of flour with these rolls.

Do you consider flour appropriate for your meat-eating dog? Do you consider flour a premium and nutritious ingredient?

We’re starting to see why 4Legs dog food is more “affordable” than other rolls.

To offer a comparison, the Balanced Life rolls have one meat + one non-meat as main ingredients, Prime100 rolls have one meat + two non-meat main ingredients. Prime Pantry rolls are a spinoff of Prime100 and have one meat to up to five non-meat main ingredients, but meet AAFCO requirements for all life stage of dog.

As for the 4Legs rolls, we’ve actually covered most of the ingredients. The more minor inclusions are vitamins and minerals as a premix to meet minimum requirements. Gelling agents is an ambiguous ingredient (what actually is it?), used to make the product look thicker and more appealing. Gelling agents can also be problematic, and aren’t considered nutritious.

There’s a small amount of sunflower oil which may have some minor benefit to your dog’s health, as well as something called Pro’Age with a trademark – I don’t know what that might be, do you? I couldn’t find that information.

4Legs Meatballs

The ingredients in 4Legs meatballs will mostly be the same as the rolls, likely from the same source, supplier, and of the same quality.

The ingredients of 4Legs Natural + Wellness Boost Chicken with Vegies, Fruit and Rice Meatballs are as follows:

Meat (Chicken), Flour, Coating (Bran, Coconut, Carrot, Parsley, Garlic), Apple, Rice, Natural Gelling Agents, Vitamins & Minerals, Sunflower Oil, Pro’Age

You can expect the coating to be mostly bran as the cheapest of that set of ingredients. Coconut, carrot, parsley, and garlic are nice to see, but may not be much of an inclusion.

This leaves the two main ingredients as meat and flour. If these are in the same amount you could consider the ingredients “Flour, Meat,…” but this doesn’t look as appealing to you as a consumer.

You can assume the apple and rice are also more than a few percent, and possibly the gelling agents to make the food look more appealing without adding nutrition.

Should you feed 4Legs to your dog?

If you’ve read this far you’ll likely have the impression 4Legs isn’t the best of dog foods?

I don’t think I’ve actually said it’s bad, I’ve just covered all the points they haven’t told you. This should give you a clearer picture about the grade of meat, and amount of meat used in these products?

It should also give you an idea why some dog foods are “cheap” and others which seem similar are more “expensive”.

Nevertheless, the benefits of 4Legs dog foods is they’re likely better than some of the dry kibbles you’ll find next to them on the supermarket shelves. Did you know many kibbles (or biscuits if you will) are more grain-based than meat based, and not usually healthy grains either?

You may find adding some 4Legs to your dog’s diet absolutely fine, and perhaps beneficial, but personally I wouldn’t rely on these products as my dog’s main daily diet.

Where to buy?

4Legs dog foods are mostly found in Coles, Woolworths, and IGA.

Thankfully Open Paddock is made by a different manufacturer and looks pretty good at first glance. It’s a kibble + air-dried dog food which has become a trend in recent months.

For our Open Paddock dog food review we’ll delve into the Chicken formula to find out whether it’s good, not good, and worth the money. The beef formula is same same but different meat.

Open Paddock dog food review

What the marketing says

There’s a few claims on the Open Paddock packaging which sound really good, such as “ethical and sustainable”, “RSPCA approved chicken #1 ingredient”, and “Higher Welfare Barn Raised” with a picture of a chicken.

They state “75% Fresh Chicken & Animal Ingredients”, “25% Rice, Superfoods, Oils, & Essential Nutrients”, “No added corn, wheat, and soy”, and no artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives either.

Some of those statements may be a little misleading, but overall still suggest a decent product. There’s a glamorous picture of fresh ingredients which is merely an illustration to be ignored and likely won’t represent the true ingredients.

Being an “All Life Stages” means Open Paddock dog food contains the minimum nutrients for the puppy phase as well as adult.

What the ingredients really say

I’ll start by saying Open Paddock looks to be a pretty decent dog food. Compared to other supermarket brands it positively glows, and may well be the one to chose if Woolworths is your preferred store. It’s also a welcome addition to their range, so credit where credit is due.

But is it as good as our best rated brands?

It’s a shame to see a “typical analysis” rather than a “guaranteed analysis”. The amount of protein in the food looks really good at 31.8%, but unfortunately being a “typical” figure this isn’t guaranteed. It could be much less for all we know.

Fat of 13.3% is slightly on the low side, which is a shame as animal fats are an excellent energy source for a dog.

Fibre doesn’t appear to be listed (let me know in the comments if I’m wrong!)

I’ll get to the positive parts in the moment (of which there are many), but while we focus on dubious factors it’s not clear whether the higher welfare chicken is only the first chicken ingredient, or includes the subsequent chicken meal, chicken oil, and chicken gravy ingredients as well – perhaps not, so don’t assume it is.

Chicken looks to be the main ingredient which is really good to see. You may be surprised how many dog foods say “Chicken is the first ingredient” when the reality is it’s only 10% to 20% of the product. With Open Paddock we find a strong combination of fresh chicken meat (possibly the air-dried pieces) and a protein-dense dried chicken meal.

The 75% claim (wet weight) is inclusive of chicken oil and chicken gravy which are added for fat and flavouring.

Air-dried pieces of chicken will have retained more nutrients than chicken cooked at high temps into a kibble, so that’s a plus.

Field peas and rice as the 3rd and 4th ingredients can be considered significant, likely in an equal proportion. Peas have a number of nutritional benefits. They’re another source of protein (not as easily digested as meat) as well as digestible fibre, vitamins and essential nutrients. They’re in a reasonable moderation as well.

Rice will be white rice rather than the more nutritious and lower GI brown rice, and as the main source of carbohydrates will offer your dog energy. Rice can be considered a filler, especially with a dog being of the order carnivora, but isn’t in excess in Open Paddock.

We find some smaller inclusions which come after salt (about 1%). Such minor inclusions of potato and brown rice seem insignificant, so perhaps they’re trying to make the ingredients sound more diverse. It’s good to see salmon oil but again this is only a small fraction of the formula.

The list of super-healthy-sounding ingredients at the end, such as fruits, veggies, and herbs, are in the smallest amount of the lot. Specks of dust perhaps?

A summary

Open Paddock dog food is decent overall. It boasts a decent meat content, and peas and rice in a considered proportion.

As far as dog foods go you really can’t complain about the ingredients. You could substitute, say, white rice for brown, perhaps ramp up some of the smaller inclusions, but that would inevitably lead to a more expensive product.

Speaking of price, it may seem pricier than other supermarket brands, but as a dog food it seems very well priced given the ingredients.

Looks good!

Where to buy Open Paddock

Open Paddock dog food is available in Woolworths.

Ingredients

Ingredients of Open Paddock dry dog food Chicken formula:

Fresh Chicken Meat, Chicken Meal, Field Peas, Rice, Chicken Oil, Chicken Gravy, Beet Pulp, Tapioca, Sea Salt, Salmon Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Potato, Brown Rice, Molasses, Choline Chloride, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin E, Chick Peas, Calcium Carbonate (Limestone), Niacin (B3),Potassium Chloride, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Mixed Tocopherols, Natural Smoke, Pantothenic Acid (B5),Manganese, Fermented Rice, Riboflavin (B2), Selenium, Garlic Powder, Kelp, Thiamine (B1), Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Vitamin K, Pyridoxine, (B6), Iodine, Biotin (B7), Folic Acid, Alfalfa, Apple, Blueberry, Carrot, Cranberry, Egg, Flaxseed, Parsley, Potato, Pumpkin, Spinach, Sweet Potato, Thyme, Yoghurt.

Typical analysis

Note: Open Paddock dog food has a typical analysis rather than a guaranteed analysis which provides assurances of minimum values.

Typical analysis of dry dog food as of June 2021:

Open Paddock dog food recalls

There are no known recalls at the current time. America does not have an official body in place to regulate and issue recalls, and as a new product there is little consumer feedback at the time of writing.

Previous recalls:

• None.

In our Pet Food America dog food review we’ll take a look at the marketing, ingredients, and guaranteed analysis, and you can decide for yourself if this is what you want to feed your dog.

Related: Black Hawk (very similar formula)

Pet Food America dog food review

What the marketing says

One of the key qualities the Pet Food America company boast about is hemp oil, which is a novelty when it comes to dog food formulations. It’s actually a great inclusion for skin, coat, heart health, and anxiety, and is rich in omega fats.

On the Pet Food America website they claim to be different from other manufacturers by tailoring their dog food to specifically help dogs with a range of conditions – chronic itchy skin, anxiety & stress, dry & dull coats, digestion & stomach issues, joint inflammation & pain, weight problems, gunky ears, ear infections, and anal gland issues.

Truth is there are many dog food brands in America which address most of the above health issues simply by having a species-appropriate formula, although anxiety & stress definitely hails more to the hemp oil in the food.

Most of the above conditions can be addressed by switching to a better dog food, and in the case of itchy skin and ear infections simply avoiding wheat and cereal grain dog foods will work wonders.

Pet Food America state the American pet food industry has “gotten away with its profit hungry attitude” for far too long by using sub-standard ingredients and fillers. This is definitely something we agree with, especially as American dog food is essentially self-regulated by the industry with standards which are laughably voluntary.

We also find on the Pet Food America website a list of consumer reviews of which many say the health of their dog has vastly improved since being introduced to this dog food. That’s a good thing and shows the dog food is working, but none of those reviews account for what the dogs were fed previously, which was likely some cheap and nasty wheat-based crap from the supermarkets.

What the ingredients really say

We often find the marketing bares very little relation to the ingredients, but it has to be said this doesn’t happen to be the case with the Pet Food America dog food formulas.

Let’s take a look at the Grain-Free with Turkey, Chicken, and Ocean Fish formula with included Hemp Oil…

We find a trio of meat ingredients (turkey, chicken, and ocean fish) at the top of the ingredients list. This is great to see given dogs really need meat to thrive. They’re all protein-dense meal ingredients which means water has already been cooked off, so you can be assured the meat content in this dog food is significant.

Meat meals are, however, inclusive of carcass. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but is worth considering.

We find potato and peas as the 4th and 5th ingredients, but it’s possible these are included in the same portion size as the three meat ingredients. Along with chicken fat as the 6th ingredient that would make the food 4 parts animal ingredients to 2 parts vegetables – that’s pretty good.

The composition of all Pet Food America dog food formulas is decent, boasting a minimum 30% protein (from meat but also peas) plus minimum 16% fat. This ensures a minimal amount of carbs (possibly one third of the product). Compare that to most supermarket brands and you’ll see it’s a lot better, and more so when you consider most protein is coming from meat ingredients.

Even the smaller ingredients inclusions show this is a decent dog food. We mentioned the benefits of hemp oil earlier, and this should benefit your dog in numerous ways.

We also find kelp, coconut oil, alfalfa, plus a range of fruits and veggies. Although minor inclusions, these should still offer your dog health benefits. You won’t find ingredients such as this added to cheaper dog foods (i.e. the cheaper foods that may have given your dog itchy skin, poor coat, and gunky ears).

Consumer feedback

We note a number of negative reports about Pet Food America dog food since mid-2020, as well as the company not honouring their 30 day money back guarantee. If you have had a positive or negative experience with this brand please leave a comment below as this is useful information for anyone considering purchasing this brand.

Is Pet Food America suitable as a puppy food?

We find no mention of AAFCO compliance on the Pet Food America website. AAFCO is an American standard for minimum nutrient profiles for growth and adult dogs (America does not have it’s own standard in this respect). The website does mention the Turkey formula will be suitable for 6 months+ as a general recommendation.

Based on this information we would not recommend feeding this to a puppy younger than one year.

A summary of Pet Food America dog food

Pet Food America dog food has a very respectable meat content, good choice of other main ingredients (peas and potato in moderation), and a nice selection of smaller inclusions chosen for their individual health benefits.

All in all Pet Food America dog food seems pretty good, but are slightly deterred by consumer feedback.

Where to buy?

Similar American dog food brands

We feel Pet Food America is comparable to other American brands. Being a private label pet food it’s likely made in the same facility as other American brands of dog food.

Ingredients

Ingredients of Pet Food America dog food (Turkey, Chicken, and Ocean Fish with Hemp Oil formula):

Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Ocean Fish Meal, Potato, Peas, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E & Citric Acid), Hemp Seed Oil, Carrot, Dried Kelp, Dried Egg Product, Coconut Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Apple, Alfalfa Meal, Beta Carotene, Blueberry, Rosemary Plant Extract, Spinach, Vitamins(A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, D3, E, K3, Biotin, Folic Acid, Niacin), Taurine, Minerals (Copper, Iron, Manganese).

Guaranteed analysis

Guaranteed analysis of Pet Food America dog food (Turkey, Chicken, and Ocean Fish with Hemp Oil formula):

In our Ultimates Indulge dog food review we’ll find out if it’s as tasty as other SAFCOL products like their smoked oysters and mussels…

What the marketing says

Packaged in a glamorous John Player Special black and gold bag we see the words “NATURAL & GRAIN FREE” in big bold letters at the top of the bag, “Natural Chicken” below a cutesy dog, a picture of succulent chicken breast (as if this food is made from such an ingredient), and the words “HEART HEALTHY OMEGA OILS”.

Some of these are mere marketing – what does “NATURAL” mean anyhow?

What is surprising are the two claims at the bottom of the bag – “Over 50% meat” and “35% protein”. That’s actually very impressive for a dry dog food, especially from the supermarkets. Could Ultimates Indulge dog food be better than we would expect from a supermarket product?

Onwards with the review and we’ll find out!

What the labelling really says

The first (and seemingly main) ingredient is poultry meal. Although this doesn’t scream quality in terms of meat ingredients (and doesn’t ring true with the succulent chicken breast on the packaging) it’s a much better choice of ingredient than the cereal by-products you’ll find as the main ingredient in adjacent supermarket brands. We find another animal ingredient listed third which is natural chicken flavour. Your guess is as good as mine what they mean by this? It’s perhaps similar to poultry oil and poultry digest further down the ingredients, which are all signs of meat rendering, or in laymans terms cooking up a load of poultry “stuff” in a vat. Perhaps these three ingredients are one and the same, split into three for the sake of diversity on the label?

The main carbohydrate is sweet potato, which can be the tasty inside part or the skins. It’s a better option than potato as it’s lower GI, and it’s definitely better than cereal waste. The remaining significant ingredient in Ultimates Indulge is field peas, included in a reasonable moderation, and a source of vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre.

There’s a few nice additions to this dog food, such as an omega 3 & 6 oil blend to support health and wellbeing. It would be nice to know what oils are used so we know the quality, but at least it’s included. We find the vitamins and minerals are a pack form (likely sourced from overseas), but it does state the minerals are in a more absorbent chelated form. Fructo-oligosaccharide is a pre-biotic for gut health (or to boost digestibility of whatever the meat content is), and bacillus subtills as a probiotic.

All in all Ultimates Indulge dog food is better than we would expect for a supermarket brand. The clear downsides are we can expect the quality of most ingredients, including the meat content, to be a bit of an unknown. At least it has a bias towards meat rather than alternative fillers.

We hope our Ultimates Indulge dog food review has been of use. If it has, please share, comment, or tell others how useful Pet Food Judge (America) is! Thanks!

Where to buy?

Supermarkets including Woolworths and Coles.

Ingredients

Ingredients of Ultimates Indulge Natural Chicken dry dog food as of June 2021:

Poultry Meal, Sweet Potato, Natural Chicken Flavour, Field Peas, Potato Starch, Poultry Oil, Poultry Digest, Omega 3 & 6 Oil Blend, Potassium Chloride, Complete Vitamins and Chelated Trace Minerals, Choline Chloride, Fructo-oligo-saccharide, Taurine, L-lysine, DL Methionine, Bacillus Subtills. Product protected with mixed Tocopherols and Rosemary

Guaranteed analysis

Guaranteed analysis of Ultimates Indulge Natural Chicken dry dog food as of June 2021: