Pet Food Reviews

25/09/2025

What’s the deal with prescription diets for pets?

This is an explanation I gave someone who queried the obvious - prescription diets for carnivorous cats are still made from grain, and even in the case of renal disease where moisture is essential, veterinarians still recommend a dry prescription diet as an “optimal” solution.

Hopefully it makes sense, as these things often don’t to many:

Commercial pet foods are products, and even prescription formulas operate within those boundaries.

To elaborate further, their primary goal is to make a profit - otherwise they wouldn’t exist - and there are a great deal of constraints in production cost from ingredients to packaging.

It made sound odd, but those products are still formulated with good intentions, to improve the health of pets with whatever health conditions they may suffer.

But they still operate within those boundaries.

It’s worth understanding “improve the health” is in relation to whatever commercial product was previously fed, which likely caused the illness in the first place, and within the confines of commercial products it isn’t that hard to offer the pet something a little better to show positive results.

For example, a cat who has suffered from a wheat-based diet will show an improvement in health when transitioned to a rice-based diet, but the overlooked question is whether either are optimal for a carnivorous species.

Facts are facts, cats are carnivores, and most kibbles substitute animal ingredients in favour of cheaper ingredients to ensure profit.

24/09/2025

Do you live in rural Australia?

How hard is it to buy raw meaty bones or other raw for your dog?

How hard is it compared to buying kibble brands from stockfeed and pet stores, and what brands are you limited to?

Have you had success having pet food delivered from online retailers which deliver to your area, or is that also hard?

When raw is so easy to buy in Australian cities, do you have any other thoughts how it could be more readily available in rural areas?

Any thoughts appreciated!

Thanks!

23/09/2025

It's easy to transition dogs to different foods or diets....
...but not if the previous diet was bad.

In this guide I discuss why so many pet owners run into issues changing to a new pet food. It's information which can help everyone understand their dogs and cats better, and what's really going on with their health.

How to SUCCESSFULLY transition pet food!

19/09/2025

Fabulous wall mural of a Border Collie (the best breed, right?).

By Canadian artist Andrew Robertson.

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/robertsonvisualarts

18/09/2025

Who's heard of AnimalDocRea? A veterinarian YouTuber advising on pet health.

The problem, I find, is the advice isn't always sound, but many will take it as gospel.

In this video on "Picky Eaters" I had to call her out on a number of things.

Firstly, if your pet stops eating the dry food they've "loved" for so long, it's probably related to dental or gastrointestinal pain - "silent pain" if you will - or some other underlying condition or upset.

I felt she missed this point completely, yet it's so important.

She states multiple times we shouldn't change our pet's diet, only the recipe. Something which cropped up in my own studies, but there's actually little variance between brand recipes - usually the grain or legume content is identical, and sometimes only the packaging differs.

Needless to say, if we have a limited diet we quickly develop intolerances to both foods we don't consume, and also foods we consume in excess (which is the case for a kibble fed for every single meal).

She mentions feeding a cat only a dry food, which is a terrible idea as a diet devoid of moisture will likely lead to early-onset renal disease.

An only wet diet on the other hand, and a cat or dog will very likely suffer dental disease from a young age.

I know she means well, and other advice she gives is sound, but I get very frustrated with these limited views as a result of veterinary studies.

I added a comment to her video - please go and give it the thumbs up so it gets read by others (and helps their pets)!

Usually I wouldn't share a video for YouTubers who I feel give bad advice, but she does seem to give some good advice and clearly means well.

Does your dog or cat turn their nose up at mealtime? 🐶🐱 If you’re dealing with a picky eater pet, you’re not alone! In this video, we’ll cover the top reas...

17/09/2025

What's best for your dog - freeze-dried, air-dried, oven-baked, or wet?

SoulMate at Petstock offers you all the above under one label!

How can you possibly know which is best for your dog?

And how does SoulMate compare to Aussie freeze-dried Frontier Pets, Aussie air-dried Eureka, and other comparable brands from New Zealand?

A few people asked me to review SoulMate, so here you go!

Wowzas, four interesting types of dog food under one "SoulMate" label. Which is better for your dog, or which would your dog prefer?

16/09/2025

Most people assume I look like a nerdy science professor.

If that's what you were thinking, this picture proves you were right.

16/09/2025

A reminder how important it is for our dogs and cats to have "mechanical cleaning" as part of their diet.

Dental disease and periodontal disease lead to organ disease, so why would we not take simple steps to prevent it happening?

The truth, and nothing but the truth - simple solutions are the most effective in preventing dental disease in dogs, but the pet food industry may convince you otherwise.

09/09/2025

True story.

A couple came to buy something I was selling on Gumtree.

As soon as I opened the door, their dog ran into my house, terrorised the cat, ate his food, climbed all over the furniture, then made himself comfortable in my dog’s bed.

The couple said nothing, which was awkward, and I really didn’t know what to say.

I gave them the item, they gave me the cash, and as they went to leave I asked if they were going to take their dog.

They said they thought it was my dog.

I found out later he’d escaped from a house a few streets away.

09/09/2025

What pet food(s) do you feed any why?

I'm updating some of the old reviews (many were written in 2013!!), so are there any reviews you'd like me to overhaul...!?

Truth be told, AI is absolutely killing Pet Food Reviews. In the last year alone, the switch from people using Google to using AI has caused a 60%+ decline in people reading websites as the source of information.

It used to be called plagiarism 😬

Pet Food Reviews: Still written by a human ✅

07/09/2025

Woolworths has acquired a 50% stake in Big Dog.

Will this make BARF more readily available?

Are the supermarket pet food aisles changing for the better?

Or will the quality of Big Dog be affected?

I suppose time will tell, but I’ll be happy to see more species-appropriate pet foods in supermarkets.

Our Big Dog dog food review takes a look at this raw diet for dogs.