Choosing the right food starts with understanding your dog, the label, and the ingredients.

Best Dog Food Australia: A Guide to Feeding Your Dog, Reading Ingredients & Choosing the Right Food šŸ¶šŸ„©

Feeding your dog well can feel confusing.Kibble, raw food, fresh rolls, grain-free diets, supermarket food, boutique brands, vet diets and home-prepared meals all promise to be the ā€œbestā€.
The truth is, there is no single best food for every dog. The right food is the one that suits your dogā€™s: age, health, digestion, activity level, behaviour, allergies or sensitivities, lifestyle, training needs, household routine.
A food that works beautifully for one dog may not suit another. The goal is not to follow trends. The goal is to choose food that helps your dog feel healthy, comfortable, settled and able to thrive.

Choosing Dog Food Should Not Feel This Confusing šŸ¤”

Good dog food should support your dogā€™s body, digestion, coat, immune system, energy levels and overall wellbeing.
Food can also affect training and behaviour, influence your dogā€™s physical comfort, energy levels, focus, mood and ability to settle.
This does not mean diet is the cause of every behaviour problem, but it can influence your dogā€™s physical comfort, energy levels, focus, mood and ability to settle. A dog who is hungry, itchy, uncomfortable, struggling with digestion or eating food that does not agree with them may find it harder to relax, focus and learn. Highly processed foods, sugary treats or diets that do not suit the individual dog may also make some dogs harder to settle, especially if they are already young, excitable, under-stimulated, over-tired or struggling with self-regulation.
For puppies, this matters even more. Puppies have rapidly changing bodies, growing brains, high energy needs and developing emotional regulation skills. A complete and balanced puppy food that suits their life stage can support healthy growth, steadier energy, better digestion and more productive training. Food is not just about filling the bowl. It is part of your dogā€™s physical health, mental wellbeing and behaviour support plan.
Research reviews have discussed how nutrition may influence canine behaviour through mechanisms such as energy balance, feeding motivation, hormones and neurotransmitters, while also recognising that behaviour is complex and diet is only one part of the bigger picture. - Cambridge University Press.

This guide will help you understand:

  • how to read dog food ingredients
  • what ā€œcomplete and balancedā€ means
  • the difference between kibble, raw, wet, fresh and cooked diets
  • whether grain-free food is actually better
  • which human foods are safe or unsafe for dogs
  • which dog food brands may be worth researching
  • how to change your dogā€™s food safely
  • when to speak to your vet about changing food
šŸ¾ Trainer Tip:
When changing your dogā€™s food, make the change gradually. Sudden diet changes can cause stomach upset, loose stools, vomiting or food refusal.
āš ļø Important
If your dog has allergies, ongoing stomach issues, pancreatitis, kidney disease, skin problems, weight problems, seizures, heart concerns or other medical conditions, speak with your vet before changing food.

What I Feed My Dogs and Why

People often ask me what food I use for my own dogs. There is no single ā€œbestā€ dog food for every dog, but I do have a few foods and treats I personally like because they are practical, well tolerated and useful for both everyday feeding and training.
Meals for Mutts: KibbleI use Meals for Mutts kibble because it uses good animal protein sources, has quality ingredients and is not excessively overpriced compared to many premium dog foods. I also find that many of the dogs I train are happy to accept it as a training reward, which makes it a practical option for owners who want to use part of their dogā€™s daily food for training.
Prime100 SPD Fresh Rolls I use Prime100 SPD Fresh Rolls because the single-protein options can make it easier to choose a food that suits the individual dog.This can be especially helpful for dogs who may have sensitive stomachs, suspected food sensitivities or owners who want a softer fresh food option. I also find that most dogs love it, and it works really well in enrichment toys like Kongs. It is also versatile and can be frozen if need be.
Fresh Training Treats I also like using fresh, locally sourced training treats, such as dehydrated meats.
These treats are often simple, high value and very motivating for dogs, especially when working around distractions, building focus or teaching new behaviours.

What I Look for in Dog Food

When choosing food or treats, I look at:
  • the quality of the ingredients
  • the main protein source
  • the potential health benefits
  • how transparent the company is
  • whether dogs enjoy eating it
  • whether the dog digests it well
  • whether it is practical to source and feed consistently
  • specific additives that give individual life stage benefits like joint, skin and gut health,
Good food should not just look good on the packet. It should suit the dog in front of you.

How to Read Dog Food Ingredients šŸ”Ž

The front of the packet is marketing. The back of the packet tells you what you are really feeding.
Look at the ingredient panel, not the pictures on the bag.
The front of the bag is designed to catch your eye. Pictures of fresh meat, vegetables, grains or other ingredients can make a food look healthy and appealing, but they do not tell you how much of each ingredient is actually in the recipe.
Images and marketing words can help you understand the theme of the food, but the ingredient list, nutritional adequacy statement, feeding guide, guaranteed analysis and company transparency are far more useful when deciding whether a food is suitable for your dog.
This does not mean the front of the bag is always wrong. It simply means it should not be the main thing you rely on.
Ingredients are usually listed from highest to lowest by weight. The first few ingredients are important, but they do not tell the whole story.
What Protein Wording Actually Means šŸ„©
Dog food labels can be confusing because different protein words mean different things.
Named Meat
Meat usually refers to muscle tissue, but may also include naturally associated fat, skin, sinew, nerves and blood vessels. The name indicates what animal protein It contains Examples include: chicken Meat, lamb meat etc
Meat Meal
Meat meal is rendered, meaning it has been cooked and processed to remove much of the water and fat. Meat meal is not automatically bad. In some foods, it can be a safe concentrated source of protein and minerals.The key is whether the ingredient is clearly named and whether the company is transparent about its sourcing, formulation and quality control. A clearly named ingredient such as chicken meal, lamb meal or fish meal is easier to assess than vague wording such as meat meal, animal meal or meat and bone meal. Meat meal is the most widely used protein in dry food like kibble since it meets the legal requirements, it is low in cost, can be stored without refrigeration, and has a long shelf life.
Meat By-Products
Meat by-products can include all animal parts other than muscle hair, horns, teeth and hoofs
Some organs are very nutrient-dense. The more specific the ingredient is, the easier it is to understand what you are feeding.For example, clearly named ingredients are easier to assess than vague terms.
Clearer wording may include things like: beef liver, chicken heart, lamb kidney, etc
Less clear wording may include: animal products, meat derivatives, meat by-products, vague animal ingredients

What About the Ingredients After Protein? šŸŒ¾šŸŒ»šŸŸ

Once you have looked at the main protein source, look at the other major ingredients in the food.
The second, third and fourth ingredients can tell you a lot about what makes up the bulk of the recipe. This may include grains, legumes, vegetables, fibre sources, oils or fats.
Dogs are carnivores because they belong to the biological order Carnivora and generally benefit from animal-based protein. However, domestic dogs have also evolved alongside humans and can use a wider range of suitable ingredients than wolves, including properly cooked starches and some plant-based ingredients.
Some dog breed lines may also tolerate starch-rich foods differently. Research has found breed-related variation in the AMY2B gene, which is involved in starch digestion. This does not mean you should choose food based on breed alone, but it does remind us that dogs are individuals.
The most important question is not whether a food contains ingredients other than meat.
The better question is:
Are those ingredients clear, suitable, digestible and part of a complete and balanced food that your dog does well on?
MSD Veterinary Manual describes domestic dogs as omnivores from a nutritional standpoint. Research has also found breed-related variation in AMY2B copy number, a gene associated with starch digestion.

Grains and Carbohydrate Sources šŸŒ¾

Many dogs can tolerate grains such as rice, oats and barley. Common carbohydrate or fibre sources may include: rice, oats, barley, sweet potato, potato, peas, lentils, chickpeas, corn, sorghum.
Some dogs may need a grain-free diet, but grain-free does not automatically mean healthier. It is more important to look at the whole recipe, your dogā€™s health, your dogā€™s digestion and whether the food is complete and balanced.
Be more cautious if a food relies heavily on legumes such as peas, lentils or chickpeas high in the ingredient list, especially if the food is also marketed as grain-free, since the FDA has investigated reports of canine dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs eating certain diets, including many grain-free diets, and continues to investigate whether there is a specific dietary link.

Fats and Oils šŸŸšŸŒ»

Fats are an important part of your dogā€™s diet. They help support energy, skin and coat health, and the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.
Look for clearly named fat sources such as: chicken fat, fish oil, salmon oil, coconut oil etc
Be more cautious with vague wording such as: animal fat, poultry fat without detail, unnamed oils, generic fat sources
As with protein, clearer wording makes it easier to understand what you are feeding.

Fibre and Digestive Support šŸŒ±

Some ingredients are included to support digestion and stool quality.
These may include: beet pulp, pumpkin, chicory root, psyllium and other fibres, vegetables etc
Fibre can be useful, but too much or too little may not suit every dog. Your dogā€™s stool quality, comfort, gas levels and digestion can give you helpful feedback.

What Does ā€œComplete and Balancedā€ Mean? āš–ļø

AAFCO explains that ā€œcompleteā€ means the product contains all required nutrients, while ā€œbalancedā€ means those nutrients are present in the correct ratios A complete and balanced dog food is designed to provide the nutrients your dog needs in the right amounts when fed as directed.
This matters because dogs need more than just meat. They also need the right balance of: Protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, fibre and more. This is especially important for: puppies, large breed puppies and dogs, pregnant dogs, senior dogs, dogs with allergies or sensitive stomachs.
A diet can look healthy and still be nutritionally incomplete.

Simple Label-Reading Checklist āœ…

After checking the protein, carbohydrate, fibre and fat sources, step back and look at the whole food.
Before buying, ask:
  • Can I clearly identify the main protein source?
  • Are the carbohydrate, fibre and fat sources easy to understand?
  • Is the food suitable for my dogā€™s life stage?
  • Does it say it is complete and balanced?
  • Are the feeding guidelines clear?
  • Can I contact the company if I have questions?
  • Does the ingredient list match what the front of the bag is suggesting?
  • Has my dog tolerated these ingredients well before?
Be more cautious if the label relies heavily on vague wording, unclear animal ingredients, big marketing claims or pictures that make the food look more ingredient-rich than it appears in the ingredient list.
A good dog food should make sense as a whole recipe, not just have one impressive ingredient listed first.

A Quick Note on Pet Food Standards in Australia šŸ‡¦šŸ‡ŗ

Pet food labels can be helpful, but they are also marketing tools. In Australia, pet food is guided by a national standard called AS5812, which covers areas such as sale, manufacture, labelling, storage and recall.
However, this standard is currently voluntary across the broader industry. PFIAA states that AS5812 provides guidance for the sale and manufacture of pet food, and the Australian Government has stated that AS5812:2017 is voluntary and would require legislative change to become mandatory.
This is why it is worth choosing companies who work to exceed the standards and are open about:
  • ingredients
  • formulation
  • manufacturing
  • quality control
  • testing
  • recalls
  • who you can contact with questions
RSPCA Australia has also stated that pet food recalls are only mandatory for brands that have chosen to comply with AS5812, which includes PFIAA members.

Kibble vs Raw vs Fresh Dog Food šŸ„£