Animals Like Us Dog Food Review

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 Australia 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 Australia 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.

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):