New Zealand-based natural pet food brand, Animals Like Us has launched its healthy dog food range in Australia, which is good news for our furry friends as they too need a healthy alternative to the majority of pet products that are heavily processed and high in carbohydrates – which leads to unhealthy weight gain.
Made in New Zealand and freeze-dried from sustainably sourced meat and organs, Animals Like Us pet food is high in protein but low in carbs – a very important point of difference to many products on the market.
“We believe Animals Like Us offers something new, a whole-prey blend of freeze-dried fish, meat and organs blended with our high-protein bites. The freeze-drying process retains all the tasty goodness whilst making it easy and safe for humans to handle. In a nutshell, it’s raw, chunky and a little bit smelly, which is just how dogs like it!” says Rob Achten, co-founder, Animals Like Us.
Research shows that dogs self-select food and are drawn to ingredients with high concentrations of proteins and amino acids, which is why raw tastes so great to them.
“Dogs love raw food and as omnivores, it is naturally what they eat in the wild. They need the essential ingredients contained in raw such as Vitamin A, fatty acids and amino acids for energy, health and strength,” says Emme Williams, animal health expert.
“Raw food is much easier to absorb than cooked, heated, or heavily processed food which means your dog retains more of the essential nutrients,” she added.
Animals Like Us is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, which contain anti-inflammatory properties and is often used to help relieve pain in arthritic dogs and improve their weight-bearing ability, in addition to helping provide a healthy skin and coat. Studies show Omega 3 is also beneficial for heart health.
- Why add raw to your dog’s diet? What’s wrong with tinned food, kibble or biscuits? Many commercial dog foods available in supermarkets are heavily processed and contain high amounts of carbohydrates, commonly called fillers. High-carb diets can cause weight gain, leading to long-term health issues. Highly processed diets also reduce the availability of essential proteins and amino acids, which makes it harder for your dog to digest and therefore receive the nutrition they need. Numerous studies show that protein digestibility is significantly greater in raw ingredients. Dogs need certain essential nutrients such as vitamin A, fatty acids, and amino acids to create proteins and the most effective source is raw meat and organs. Animals Like Us adds those powerful raw ingredients into their recipe blends to deliver a nutritional boost for your dog.
- How is Animals Like Us different to other mainstream grocery dog food? We know that dogs are naturally drawn to raw food. Most of the pet food available in supermarkets contains ingredients so processed it’s almost not food anymore. Through freeze-drying technology, Animals Like Us takes the goodness of raw meat and organs and locks it in. Freeze-drying extracts 90 per cent of the food’s moisture whilst retaining its nutritional integrity. Animals Like Us thought it was high time you could pop to the supermarket and pick up a bag of pet food that was actually good for your dog.
- What else is added to Animals Like Us? The freeze-dried raw chunks are blended with high protein oven-baked meat and vegetable biscuits, coated in probiotics. Animals Like Us food philosophy is to feed dogs the healthiest high-protein diet at an affordable price, using the best whole food natural ingredients they can source. They’ve taken inspiration from nature and what dogs are designed to eat – a high protein, whole prey mix. 100% raw is great but it can be messy, time-consuming and costly so they created a high-protein, low-carb blend of freeze-dried meat and organs with high-protein meat and vege bites. The raw delivers more taste, better digestibility and more protein power with the convenience of a high-protein kibble, making a healthier diet more accessible.
- What type of dog is Animals Like Us suited to? Animals Like Us provides a complete and balanced diet for all ages and dog breeds.
- How do I serve it? You can serve it dry, straight from the bag, or add a small amount of water to soften up the texture and create a tasty gravy dogs lap up.
- Where can I buy it? Animals Like Us is exclusively available at Woolworths.