Looking for information on Australian dog food brands, but all your searches are returning products from the United States or North America?
Well, look no further; we’ve analyzed and reviewed a vast array of dog food products that are available or produced in Australia and chosen out some of the best.
Australian Dog Food Vs. The Rest Of The World
While Australian dog food isn’t quite as close to US dog food as Canadian dog food, many large US brands are available and popular in Australia.
This similarity in brands is due to strong trade and business relations between the two countries.
However, despite this close bond, the variety and range of products available in Australia aren’t as large as in the United States, which has hundreds of brands and thousands of recipes.
The quality of dog food in Australia is very similar to the United States and a significant improvement from most other countries around the world.
To add to this, many dog food brands sold in Australia are from New Zealand, where quality is often even higher.
Australia, like the United States, Canada, and Europe, ensures that pet food packaging must contain information on the ingredients that are included, the ratio that they are present, and the nutritional values that the recipe can provide overall (protein, fat, fiber, etc.).
Below is an example of the ingredient list shown on an Australian dog food recipe.
This inclusion of this information on packaging is crucial and ensures that all pet food is transparent and avoids consumers being misled by manufacturers.
How We Chose The Best Dog Food
Dog Food quality is a complicated and often controversial discussion, but we try to stay consistent with our choices.
Factors such as ingredient quality, nutritional ratios (Protein, Fat, Carbohydrates, Omega Fatty Acids), Recall History, Animal Testing, Price, and Country of Origin all play a part when selecting our recommendations.
If you’d like to learn more on the topic of Dog Food, we recommend you check out our Dog Food Guide for in-depth information.
You can also check out our All Brand Reviews page to see the index of all of the brands we’ve reviewed to date, whether they are from Australia or other parts of the world.
Best Dog Food In Australia
Ziwi Peak Air-Dried Lamb For Dogs
Ziwi Peak is a pet food brand from Australia’s closest friend: New Zealand. They produce a fantastic quality air-dried dog food range and are one of the leaders in this niche market.
Given that the brand is based in New Zealand, it will come as no surprise that Lamb features prominently. However, they do have some non-Lamb recipes, including a recently launched Chicken recipe.
The most notable advantage of air-dried dog food is that it consists entirely of meat and has no significant plant-based content like vegetables or grains.
By eliminating these plant-based ingredients, you can reduce your dog’s risk of experiencing allergies or sensitivities to plant-based material.
The other core advantage of air-dried dog food is that it can provide excellent nutrition. Thanks to a lack of plant-based material, the proportion of protein and fat is immense and more than sufficient for dogs of all activity levels.
Air Dried Dog Food’s unfortunate disadvantage is that it is costly and, therefore, might not a realistic solution for the majority of dog owners. However, if you are determined to make air-dried food viable, you could consider feeding your dog a mixture of Air Dried Dog Food and fresh ingredients.
This approach could be a lot more realistic in cost. Ingredients such as fresh fruit and vegetables are ideal to combine with a diet of air-dried dog food.
If you’d like to learn more about Ziwi Peak, we recommend you check out our review page of them which you can find here.
Ivory Coat Lamb & Sardine Review
Ivory Coat is a local Australian brand that has seen a surge in popularity thanks to its excellent nutrition. The brand used to be Australian-owned but was recently purchased by a New Zealand conglomerate known as The Real Pet Food Co.
Ivory Coat produces all of its recipes within Australia, although it’s not clear exactly where this production takes place. Ivory Coat is widely available for purchase and can be seen in stores like PetCircle and PetBarn.
While Lamb and Sardines is an unusual combination of ingredients, it provides a very satisfactory proportion of protein and fat, which will be suited to the majority of dogs.
The recipe uses quite an extensive range of plant-based ingredients, including Peas, Sweet Potatoes, Tapioca, Flaxseed, and Tomato Pomace.
Tapioca is an ingredient that many western consumers are not familiar with, but it is a starch and best compared to Potatoes or Sweet Potatoes.
Tomato Pomace is used in dog food to add soluble fiber. This soluble fiber can be essential to maintain regular digestion and stools. You can read more about Tomato Pomace in our article, Tomato Pomace, as a Pet Food Ingredient?.
If you would like to learn more about Ivory Coat, check our review of them here.
Holistic Select Rabbit & Lamb Meals Recipe Review
Holistic Select is from the United States and used to be part of the Eagle Pack brand, but it is now it’s a stand-alone brand.
The WellPet group of pet food brands owns Holistic Select, and they also own other well-known brands such as Wellness and Old Mother Hubbard.
We’ve chosen a unique recipe from Holistic Select to highlight. It makes extensive use of Rabbit as its primary meat ingredient, which is uncommon. Rabbit meat tends to contain a lower ratio of fat when compared to other meat ingredients.
With less than 30% of its calories being derived from fat while still maintaining an impressively high protein proportion, it is a very viable formula for dogs who need a low-fat diet.
Examples of dogs who could need a low-fat diet are older dogs who are not as active as they were in their youth or those dogs who are overweight and are attempting weight loss.
The formula uses a range of legumes and pumpkin to provide its carbohydrate content and is free of any grains or by-products. These vegetables also offer an ample portion of fiber to aid digestion.
Lastly, the formula has a very satisfactory proportion of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids, one of the highest of any dog food formulas without fish ingredients, which is a notable positive.
The low levels of fat and high levels of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids could make this formula very appealing to senior dogs. Find out more about Senior dog nutrition in our Best Senior Dog Food article.
Vetalogica Naturals Grain Free Salmon Adult Review
Vetalogica is another Australian-based brand and one that fits comfortably in the premium segment of the market.
They have been producing pet food in the Australian market for over fifteen years and have retained all of their production in Australia, which is a trait that many other brands do not share.
They have two ranges, Naturals and Biologically Appropriate. Naturals is the lower cost of the two ranges but still retains high-quality ingredients and satisfactory nutrition. The Naturals range includes recipes with Chicken, Salmon, Lamb, and Kangaroo.
The above Salmon recipe has a large portion of Salmon Meal as its primary ingredient. This Salmon Meal is an excellent addition and can provide high-quality protein and fat, in particular the Omega 3 Fatty Acids. These fatty acids are believed by many to provide several health benefits to dogs.
The recipe then includes a mix of Potatoes, Peas, and Tapioca. This mix of legumes and starch ingredients provides a satisfactory proportion of carbohydrates and fiber.
If you are interested in a recipe from Vetalogica’s more premium Biologically Appropriate range, we would recommend Fisherman’s Feast, which is similar to this Salmon recipe but has a larger variety of fish ingredients including Mackerel and Tuna.
Taste Of The Wild Wetlands Canine Formula Review
Taste of the Wild is a very popular dog food brand in the United States, selling millions of bags of dog food per year, but their recipes are also available in Australia from select retailers.
While most of the dry food recipes from Taste of the Wild provide very similar nutrition, the Wetlands Formula edges out the rest due to its superior protein and fat proportions. The nutrition provided by this formula is ideal for the majority of dogs, including those who are more active.
This satisfactory proportion of protein and fat is drawn from the broad range of poultry ingredients present in the formula.
Examples of these ingredients include Duck, Chicken, and Turkey. Chicken and Turkey are staples of dog food, and for a good reason; they are cost-effective sources of these vital nutrients.
The formula also includes a mix of legumes, such as Peas and Sweet Potatoes. These sum to a satisfactory proportion of carbohydrates, which is not overly excessive. These ingredients also offer a modest amount of dietary fiber to aid digestion.
Taste of the wild recently introduced a grain-inclusive range that closely mimics its existing recipes. These recipes are known as “Ancient” and utilize grains like Sorghum, Millet, and Barley.
While most of these recipes have not reached Australia, they are likely arriving soon, so keep an eye out if you would prefer your dog to have a grain-inclusive diet.
We have an in-depth review of Taste of the Wild, which includes more information on recalls and nutrition, so if you are craving more, check it out here.
K9 Natural Lamb Feast Review
K9 Natural is another New Zealand based brand and could be easily compared or equated to Ziwi Peak. K9 Natural uses very high-quality ingredients that are sourced from New Zealand and are suitable for human consumption.
They also use an in-house animal nutritionist to ensure that their recipes meet dogs’ nutritional needs. With these incredibly high standards, you can expect their recipes to come at a high cost, but for some, it is worthy of consideration.
You can check our more detailed review of K9 Naturals here.
K9 Naturals has a small range of canned dog food recipes, including a Lamb Formula, Chicken Formula, and Beef Formula.
The primary ingredient in the lamb recipe is whole Lamb, but there are also several Lamb organ meat ingredients present, including Lamb Liver, Lamb Heart, and Lamb Kidneys. As we often mention on this site, these organ meats can provide a unique cocktail of vitamins and minerals.
However, K9 Naturals recipes include some beneficial ingredients that Ziwi Peak does not. Examples of these ingredients include Lamb Blood, Eggs, and a small range of vegetables such as Pumpkin, Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Cabbage.
The benefits of Eggs are worth pointing out as they are incredibly nutritionally dense and an excellent addition to any dog food formula.
The vegetables will provide additional vitamins and minerals, as well as a very modest portion of carbohydrates and fiber.
Eukanuba Premium Performance Review
Eukanuba is a massive North American brand with a worldwide presence. Eukanuba is owned by Mars Petcare, which also owns some other well-known and large brands such as Royal Canin, Whiskas, and Pedigree.
Eukanuba has a vast product range back in the United States; however, the range available in Australia is not always as large, depending on where you shop. However, some of the formulas that are available in Australia are there Premium Performance recipes.
This includes both Eukanuba Premium Performance 28/18 and Eukanuba Premium Performance 30/20. Depending on the activity level of your dog, you may want to consider one of these recipes.
The recipe uses a significant portion of poultry ingredients, such as Chicken, that provide a very satisfactory proportion of protein and fat, perfect for a working or very active dog.
Eukanuba does use some grain ingredients that some dog owners are not big fans of, such as Corn. However, there are other dog owners who are strong supporters of their use.
Corn, along with Sorghum and Rice, provides the recipe’s carbohydrate proportion along with some dietary fiber.
Read our recently updated review of the Eukanuba brand here.
Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural Review
Earthborn Holistic is a brand we often showcase on our site, and there are many reasons behind this. However, the primary driver behind this is the fantastic proportions of protein and fat that the formula provides.
Primitive Natural is one of Earthborn Holistic’s best recipes, and it contains a considerable portion of meat and fish ingredients, which provide very satisfactory levels of protein and fat. Some of these meat and fish ingredients include Chicken, Turkey, and Whitefish.
The formula also makes use of Potatoes and Peas, which provide a small proportion of carbohydrates and fiber. The portion of both these ingredients is not significant enough to dilute the level of animal protein, which is crucial for a dog food formula.
Another critical point to discuss in regards to this recipe is that it has a surprisingly high level of the Omega 3 Fatty Acid.
For a formula that doesn’t focus heavily on fish, this is quite surprising. Sadly, the formula does contain a portion of Pea Starch, which is used as a binding agent and is looked upon poorly by some.
If you’d like to learn more about Earthborn Holistic, you can find our review of the brand here.
Other Australian Dog Food Brand Reviews
Some of Australia’s well-known brands didn’t make this shortlist, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have information or review on them.
Check out the links below of other Australian dog food brands.
