Whoa Nelly Dog Food

03/12/2024

🎉 We just received our 100th 5 star review on Google!! 🎉

Thanks to you lovely people we are the highest rated raw dog food in QLD! With a perfect 5.0 score across Google, Facebook and on our website - and over 300+ reviews.

We may be just a small business (it’s just the 2 of us) but we strive to make the most nutritious dog food we possibly can. It’s always amazing to hear how our food has improved the lives of your dogs, and we really appreciate you taking the time to let the world know.

Thank you for choosing Whoa Nelly and supporting our business ❤️

29/11/2024

25/11/2024

We might need a bigger truck soon 😲

Almost our entire freezer is packed up for orders going out today! This is the busiest time of year for us, so we're making as much food as we can each week to keep up.

The best time to order is Thursday night as that's when I update our inventory. Lots of happy dogs this week!

13/11/2024

How cool do these organic gold beetroots look! 👀

Our supplier had them this week and I couldn't help myself. Grown locally in Forest Hill just west of Ipswich. Hope they taste as amazing as they look!

07/11/2024

How good does this weeks Beef & Chicken look! It's our most popular recipe (and Nelly's fav). Carefully balanced to meet AAFCO & NRC nutrient standards using whole foods only 😲

Here's what we put in it:
🐄 Grass fed beef
🐓 Organic chicken
❤️ Grass fed organs
🥦 Organic fruit & veg
🐟 Sashimi grade salmon
🤗 Fermented Nelly Belly
🫐 Organic blueberries
🌱 Organic flaxseed
🐳 Organic kelp
🍀 Organic wheatgrass
🌿 Organic parsley
🍄 Organic reishi mushrrom
💠 Human grade diatomaceous earth

04/11/2024

Does your lawn look like this? Ours does!

Dog p*e kills your lawn because it is high in nitrogen, the primary ingredient in fertiliser. When your dog p*es on the grass it adds lots of fertiliser to one concentrated spot, which can either kill the grass or make it grow too much - or both 🤪

The nitrogen in your dogs urine is a product of protein metabolism. Keep in mind that dogs are primarily carnivores and need to eat a diet that is made up mostly of meat, so there is no getting away from this.

Side note: plant based protein sources may actually lead to higher nitrogen concentration, so animal sources are best (as well as being nutritionally superior of course).

While lawn burn is difficult to avoid completely via diet there are some strategies that can help.

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝟭: 𝗟𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀
This is bit of a cheeky - but taking your dog for a walk morning and night will naturally get them to p*e outside of your house. That’s two less lawn holes a day!

OK, real solutions now 😂

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝟮: 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗵𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
One good way to reduce nitrogen in dog urine is to have your dog drink more water. However it is often easier said that done!

The best way I have found to increase hydration is to offer bone broth or water diluted with bone broth. This is delicious - most dogs love it - and is also extremely beneficial to their gut. There is no downside to giving your dog bone broth, just make sure that it doesn’t contain onion.

This idea of extra hydration also applies to your grass. By increasing the amount that you water your lawn will also dilute the nitrogen on it and spread it around. A quick hose when your dog does a wee can be quite effective in stopping lawn burn - but obviously it’s fairly labour intensive!

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝟯: 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮
The most effective strategy is to train your dog to p*e in a specific location. This confines the fertiliser effects to a single part of your lawn, leaving the majority burn free.

To do this you first need to pick a designated spot for your dog to p*e. Ideally you want them to be relieving themselves on mulch, bark or gravel as it will not affect these surfaces. To effectively change their behaviour around p*eing you need to ensure they no longer urinate unsupervised. Being consistent with this during the training period will help your dog learn faster and make it easier for you as well.

Now we have a spot it’s time to start training. Several times a day put your dog on a lead and take them to the designated p*e area. Don’t prompt your dog, play or communicate with them. Just take them to the spot and wait for a few minutes.

If they relieve themselves then make sure you reward them! Single ingredient dog treats are a great option, alongside praise and affection. And if they don’t go, don’t worry! Just take them back inside and try again later. Consistency is key here. You need to keep doing this simple routine over and over until your dogs behaviour changes (and it will).

This method works best, so if lawn burn is a serious issue, this is the best way to fix it.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 "𝗗𝗼𝗴 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀"?
Dog rocks are sold as a natural solution, removing nitrates from your dogs drinking water. You put the rocks in your dogs drinking bowl and they dissolve. They do not change the pH of the water or of your dogs urine, they just remove some of the impurities from the drinking water.

Anecdotally I have found this method to be ineffective. The issue is urine pH and nitrogen which is primarily produced by diet. Water purity does not seem to be a major contributing factor

And so in conclusion.. it’s very difficult to avoid completely! In my opinion your best options are to train your dog to p*e in a designated area - or to just stop worrying about your lawn 🐾

31/10/2024

Feeding puppies whole food improves their immune system later in life. Imagine if they eat whole foods their entire life! 🤯

(Seriously how is the pet food industry not connecting these dots??)

Microbial exposures in early life may promote a healthier immune system.

21/10/2024

A friend recently asked me to look at a brand of raw dog food. The brand has very nice marketing and a fantastic website. The food is sold as an ultra premium raw dog food - it costs more than Whoa Nelly.

It’s obviously amazing quality right?

A quick look at the ingredient list tells a different story….

Straight away you can see that it contains synthetic vitamins and minerals. Immediate red flag 🚩

Synthetic nutrients are not as bioavailable as real food. Your doctor would never recommend a diet of weetbix and vitamin tablets but that is what most commercial dog food is. This is how cheap food gets away with meeting a nutrient standard like AAFCO - by throwing synthetic supplements at it.

Moving down the ingredient list, it gets worse 🚩

Listed after the vitamin mix was salmon, coconut oil and several other “premium” ingredients. Sounds great - except that a synthetic vitamin will essentially weigh nothing. It will be less than 1% of the food by weight.

Which means there is less than 1% salmon (etc) in the food. These ingredients are listed in name only. They are not there in a meaningful way.

It looks great to see nice functional ingredients on a product label, but they won't improve your dogs health if they are in minuscule amounts. Ultimately the price tag for this brand reflects the quality of the packaging, not the food inside.

Some foods are very cheap with very expensive marketing.

While that thought is a bit depressing, it's not that hard to figure out what is actually nutritious and good for your dog.

Here’s how:
❌ No vitamin or mineral supplements
❌ No ingredients you can’t but at a supermarket
✅ Meets the AAFCO or NRC nutrient guidelines

If you can get these 3 things right you are doing great!

03/10/2024

A Sunshine Coast woman was fined $800 yesterday for incorrectly holding her dog's lead while sitting at a cafe.

It’s the result of new laws introduced by the Queensland government in July this year. The new laws require dogs to be on lead and under control at all times when in public.

The Sunny Coast woman had her foot resting on the lead, which the council is arguing is not “effective control”.

It’s a bit of a tough one.

Obviously we love dogs. And on one hand $800 is an outrageous amount of money for a seemingly insignificant infraction. And in most cases that would be correct.

On the other hand, I am constantly seeing off-lead dogs with owners who have absolutely no control over them.

Nelly was attacked by 3 such dogs a few years ago and ended up in ICU for 10 days. We nearly lost her. What I found quite amazing in the aftermath was that nearly everyone I spoke with had a story about their dog being attacked by an off-lead dog.

Dog attacks have risen 10% in the last year so clearly something needs to be done.

What do you think? Should dogs be on lead at all times?

A dog owner was shocked to learn she was breaking the law by holding her pet's lead under her foot in a public place.

25/09/2024

I recently had the pleasure of being asked to write an article for The Silver Woof - a fantastic website dedicated to improving the health of senior dogs. How good!

It’s the first time I’ve been asked to write for another website and I really enjoyed the challenge.

The article looks at the key dietary changes that have the biggest impact for longevity and quality of life in older dogs. Even if you are feeding kibble a few whole food additions can make a huge difference! You can read it here 😌

Discover the best diet for senior dogs to improve their health and longevity. Learn what to feed your aging dog, including portion control, balanced nutrition, and key food additions like healthy fats and antioxidants. Ensure your senior dog thrives with these expert tips.

15/09/2024

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” - Mark Twain

06/09/2024

Check out this beautiful home grown & organic turmeric! Tory’s dad Farmer Dave generously gave us a huge sack of the stuff. I spent the day preparing it so it'll be in every batch for the rest of the year. Pure anti-inflammatory gold!

It’s a bit of a process: first the dirt is rinsed off, then it’s boiled, minced and blitzed into a paste. Organic black pepper is added for bioavailability (pepperine increases absorption by 1000%) and then finally vac sealed and frozen. Phew!

Have a great weekend lovely people 😁

04/09/2024

Bladder stones are a common problem for lots of dogs. It can be painful and a lifelong issue, but luckily most bladder stones can be prevented with a good diet!

What are they? Bladder stones are minerals that clump together like rocks in the bladder. Over time they can become so large that they get trapped in the bladder - which as you can imagine is very painful.

Symptoms include:
🩸 blood in urine
😩 pain when urinating
💦 needing to p*e a lot

Smaller dogs are more likely to be affected. Common breeds affected include cocker spaniel, miniature poodle, miniature schnauzer, shih tzu, dachshund, and bichon frise.

There are two main types of bladder stones: struvite stones and calcium oxalate stones. I’ll just talk about struvite stones here but there’s more info on our blog.

Struvite stones are the most common type of bladder stone. They usually form after a bladder infection with a specific type of bacteria that produces an enzyme called urease. This enzyme produces ammonia which makes the urine more alkaline. Over time these conditions cause bladder inflammation and ultimately the formation of struvite crystals.

Struvite stones are most common in female dogs. They can often be resolved using food, after first getting rid of the bacterial infection. In more serious cases surgery is necessary to remove the stones.

Diet plays a huge role in both treatment and prevention.

The biggest contributing factor to bladder stone formation is how concentrated the urine is. Dehydrated dogs have very concentrated p*e, which significantly increases the risk of developing bladder stones.

This occurs because kibble is a dehydrated product. It contains around 6% moisture compared to around 70% moisture in meat based food. With so many dogs eating processed kibble it’s no wonder then that many dogs suffer from bladder stones. Simply offering more water or pouring water over dry food doesn’t fix the problem, it needs to be in the actual food itself.

The other important factor is that healthy dogs have slightly acidic urine. Raw fed dogs have a urine pH of 6-6.5 (slightly acidic) while kibble fed dogs have a urine pH of 7-8 (slightly alkaline). Feeding a fresh meat based diet is the most effective way to manage the pH of your dogs urine because their digestive system is designed for meat.

Typically a veterinarian diet for struvite stones involves reducing levels of protein, magnesium and phosphorous while lowering urine pH with a chemical called potassium citrate.

They don’t worry about kibble being 50% carbohydrate (which increases urine alkalinity) or that kibble is only 6% moisture (which increases urine concentration).

I don’t believe this is a rational approach 🤬

The primary dietary factors are to reduce urine concentration and to reduce urine pH. The best way to achieve both of these goals is to feed a properly balanced raw diet made mostly with quality meat. A high proportion of meat will naturally improve the urine concentration as well as lower the urine pH to the optimal 6-6.5 zone.

Struvite stones are commonly seen alongside reoccurring bladder infections. It follows that the other primary objective is to reduce bladder infections from occurring in the first place. Cranberry extract has been shown to help to prevent urinary tract infections so is a good dietary addition if you are concerned. There is also evidence that probiotics are a safe and effective way to reduce UTIs.

30/08/2024

🎉 Whoa just realised we forgot our own birthday! 🎉

8 years ago (last week) we made the very first batch of Whoa Nelly. Here's a happy snap from the early days at Wandering Cooks. Check out the size of the bowl!!

From these humble beginnings we've grown so much. We now have customers all down the eastern coast and are selling out most weeks (despite our best efforts!). We don't spend any money on marketing or advertising it's all word of mouth.

Our aim has always been to make the healthiest dog food in Australia. We put so much effort into formulation, nutritional testing and ingredient sourcing because quality matters. Hopefully that is reflected in our food and we are making a real positive impact on your dogs health!

Thank you so much for your support over the years. We are incredibly grateful to do what we love and are blessed with amazing customers and dogs. We will continue to grow and make the best food we possibly can.

Here’s to many, many more years of making amazing food for all of our dogs!

x Jimi & Tory ❤️

29/08/2024

Buffalo & Fish back in stock! 🐃

It's our most popular recipe and the only food some allergy dogs can eat. A food allergy means that there's a protein(s) triggering the immune system, causing hot spots, red paws & ears, and lots of scratching.

Our hypoallergenic Buffalo & Fish recipe combines novel-protein wild buffalo with lots of anti-inflammatory fish. We add organic spirulina which helps by reducing histamine and makes the food bright green. It's a magic combo of ingredients that completely stops the scratching and redness for lots of chronically itchy dogs.

It's quite shocking how common allergies are so we're absolutely stoked to have a recipe that can provide long term relief! 😃

22/08/2024

Look at all those pups! Thanks for the great photo Danielle - what lucky dogs!! 😍

📸

(PS. everything back in stock again 😇)

08/08/2024

🎉 Our gorgeous Nelly turns 12 today! 🎉

We had a little party before work. She wasn't overly enthused with the party hat but is now very happily chomping on a bone. Happy birthday Nelly!! ❤️