Whoa Nelly Dog Food

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!! ❤️

08/08/2024

06/08/2024

Beef Jerky is back on the menu! 🙌

Nelly is.. excited?

01/08/2024

Passed our Food Safety inspection today with flying colours! He came in the middle of our biggest production to date so it was a little hectic - but good for them to see how we operate under the pump. He said our kitchen is tiny but extremely clean and organised, and we have everything well under control. We'll take that! 🏆

26/07/2024

Why is processed food bad for humans but not for dogs?

New research shows that ultra processed food can shorten lifespans by more than 10%. The study looked at over 500,000 (half a million!) humans over nearly 3 decades to come to this conclusion.

“This is one more large, long-duration cohort study confirming the association between ultra processed food intake and all-cause mortality” commented lead researcher Carlos Monteiro.

So what is ultra processed food?

The study defines it as foods that contain ingredients not found in kitchens, or using additives that make the final product more palatable or shelf stable.

Additives include preservatives to stop mould, emulsifiers to keep incompatible ingredients from separating, and artificial colours.

The study found that processed meat and soft drinks (which are unnaturally high in sugar) to be the most strongly associated with mortality risk.

Does any of this sound familiar?

It should! Because these are all ingredients used to make kibble. Highly processed meat, modified grains, artificial colours & preservatives and “palate enhancers” are the main ingredients in a bag of premium kibble.

These ingredients cannot be found on the shelf in any supermarket because they are not food. Humans can’t eat them without becoming sick.

Yet most vets are still pushing processed kibble onto dogs while saying that whole foods are bad.

How on earth are we still debating whether whole foods are better than ultra processed foods It’s 2024. It’s actually crazy.

Fresh food is ALWAYS best! 🐾

18/07/2024

Right in the feels 🌞

17/07/2024

Food for thought 🍎

It often seems like my advice is too simple. The first step is always to feed a quality, properly balanced raw diet.

This advice stems from my time consulting as a canine nutritionist - something I still do (for free) for our amazing Whoa Nelly customers.

Over the years I’ve seen lots of dogs with lots of different health problems. In most cases, when you dig into it, there is an underlying issue with the diet that needed fixing. Fat or mineral imbalances are the most common, but sometimes there is a nutrient deficiency causing the problem.

By fixing the fundamentals of the diet - through tweaking the recipe or adding foods to balance the nutrients or macros - I was lucky enough to have an amazing (100% as far as I am aware!) success rate with improving the lives of my clients eating a home made diet.

Yes, supplements are great. And yes, I would often recommend supplements or functional foods, where the individual case required it. But in my experience, getting the foundation of nutrition right is just way more important (and often overlooked).

That means feeding fresh food, making sure all the nutrients are accounted for, and balancing the fats & minerals. That’s it!

The magic of Whoa Nelly is that our food is very carefully formulated & nutritionally tested, uses genuinely amazing ingredients, and of course is made with ❤️

08/07/2024

Nothing better than a healthy 💩 !

This photo represents a massive win for one of our new customers. Saph came to us 2 months ago underweight and with the sloppiest poos you can imagine. Her human was at her wits end trying to find food that would agree with her digestion. We had a big chat and started her on our Beef & Chicken recipe - which made an improvement almost immediately.

There's chronic underlying issues that are going to take time to heal, but Saph is now making beautiful healthy firm poos. It has a shadow!!! 😂

There's a long journey ahead but her progress is amazing. We are very hopeful that we can help back to health with our food. 100% the most excited I've been about a 💩 photo. Go Saph!!

04/07/2024

We had a major freak out this week - Nelly got into our stash of chocolate. And unfortunately we like the really dark stuff which is bad news for dogs.. 😩

In case this happens to you, here’s some info you might find helpful.

Chocolate comes from the roasted seeds of the 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘰 plant. It contains a compound called called theobromine, which is the bit that makes you feel good. It affects the central nervous, cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

Humans can metabolise theobromine easily, but dogs can’t. The lethal dose is between 100-500mg per kg of bodyweight.

Different types of chocolate contain different amounts of theobromine: the darker the chocolate, the more it contains.

Symptoms of chocolate poisoning in dogs include:
🤮 vomiting
💩 diarrhea
💦 extreme thirst or urination
💔 cardiac arrhythmia
🤕 seizures

Most symptoms will begin within two hours of ingestion. But because theobromine is metabolised slowly in dogs it can take up to 24 hours for symptoms to develop and up to three days for full recovery.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲
The most important thing to know is what type of chocolate and how much your dog ate. If the chocolate is in a wrapper make sure you keep it.

To estimate how much theobromine your dog has ingested you’ll need to know the type of chocolate, how much they ate, and your dogs weight.

A quick google will give you a few options for online calculators. I’ll post the one I like in the comments. Plug in the numbers and it will give you a ballpark idea of how serious the situation is.

In Nelly’s case she ate a square of 70% dark chocolate. We divided out the number of squares by the size of the block of chocolate to find that she ate 6g in total. According to the calculator that is about 60mg of theobromine in total and around 3mg per kg of bodyweight. This amount is a low risk, so we decided not to take her to the vet.

Phew!

If the level for your dog is higher, don’t panic, but go to the vet or emergency vet as soon as possible. They will be able to treat your dog in the best way possible 🐾

(Please keep in mind this is not medical advice and if you have any concerns at all call your vet immediately.)

29/06/2024

Happy Sunday! 🏄‍♂️

28/06/2024

So tiny!

19/06/2024

Tail docking has been illegal in Australia since 2004. But I just found out how it got started in the first place.

A dog's tail was docked to indicate a they were a “working dog” in 17th century England. This mean they were not subject to luxury tax.

People would dock their dogs tail to avoid tax, and it ended up becoming an aesthetic preference for some breeds. Unbelievable 🤬

Thankfully the practice is now banned in most countries. Dogs need their tails!

15/06/2024

12/06/2024

I had a panicked phone call with a new customer the other day. She was on her way to the vet, worried sick that her dog was unwell because his wee was bright pink... 😩

He was eating our Kangaroo & Chicken recipe, which gets its georgous red colour from beetroot. Beets are amazing veggies for dogs, great for the liver and a good source of antioxidants. But they do tend to make their wee pink.

Needless to say our new customer was very relieved!

These are the organic beauties that went into this weeks recipe. Locally grown in Forest Hill about 80km west of Brisbane. Yummo‼

10/06/2024

Anyone else having an issue with molting at the moment? 🤯

07/06/2024

While it’s flattering that our AI overlords consider us to be a reputable raw dog food provider, but it clearly didn’t read our article.

Raw fish is obviously not toxic - unless you’re a robot 🤖

06/06/2024

One of the most common ways to balance fats in your dogs diet is to add flaxseed or chia. These seeds are fantastic sources of omega-3 fatty acids so they are a great way to add “good fats” to your dogs diet.

Flax (sometimes called linseed) and chia are rich in fibre, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. They have some differences too. Flax has slightly more omega-3, while chia has more soluble fibre which absorbs liquid and creates a jelly like consistency.

When balanced with other fats these seeds help support digestive health, reduce inflammation and give your dog a lovely shiny coat. Getting the fat balance just right is a big part of why I think our food has such a positive impact on dogs. Healthy dogs eat healthy fats!

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻?
There are several types of fats. Fat balance refers to the relationship between the main two categories: omega-3 and omega-6. You’ve might have heard of it described as the Ω3 : Ω6 ratio, which describes the basic balance.

We’re aiming for a Ω3 : Ω6 ratio of around 1:3.

That is: one part omega-3 for every 3 parts omega-6.

So for example:
A diet that is made with just beef, chicken and veggies has a Ω3 : Ω6 of roughly 1 : 15. This is wildly out of balance, and likely to cause inflammation and health problems over time. Simply adding one teaspoon of ground flax fixes this by bringing the ratio down to 1 : 3.6.

But please note!

Just looking at ratio by itself can be a bit misleading. There is more to fat balance than just looking at the ratio by itself. The overall amounts of the multiple fats that make up omega-3 and omega-6 are also important.

For this reason your dogs diet needs to have omega-3 from animal, plant and fish sources if it is to be optimally balanced. Otherwise it will very likely be missing key fats.

These fats need to be in the right amounts as well. This includes omega-6, which is why we put sunflower seeds in our Buffalo & Fish recipe. We use it to balance the abundance omega-3 from the fish. Balance goes both ways.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝘀
If you are feeding our Whoa Nelly! raw dog food, then of course we have you covered. There’s no need to add anything (unless you want to). We use organic flax and organic chia in our recipes as a plant source of omega-3 to achieve the ideal 1 : 3 fat balance.

If you are feeding something else that has not been balanced, then have a look at the ingredients list of your dogs dinner. If it contains beef and/or chicken then adding flax or chia probably makes sense.

Before feeding flax it needs to be freshly ground. A spice or coffee grinder is the best way to grind them up as they need to be quite fine. Chia does not need to be ground, it’s good to use just how it comes.

The amount required really depends on the other ingredients in the diet. It’s impossible to give an accurate feeding amount without calculating the total fats being fed, so keep in mind this is just a rough guide.

How much to feed (approx):
1/4 tsp of flax
or 1/3 tsp chia
per 5kg of bodyweight, per day

Eg. 10kg dog: 1/2tsp of flax or 2/3 tsp chia each day.

This is assuming there are no other sources of omega-3 in the diet. If the food is already balanced then adding extra omega-3 sources may be excessive.

𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗵!
Also check to see if your dogs food contains fish. Fish is a great source of EPA and DHA fats which are not found in plant sources. While your dog is able to synthesis EPA and DHA from ALA, it is only in limited amounts so it really is better that it is in the diet from fish.

It’s always best to feed fish as a whole food, rather than an extracted oil as these oxidise quickly. If you do feed a fish oil make sure they are in a small bottle that you go through in under a few weeks.

The best way to add it? Fresh salmon, tinned mackerel or sardines (in water, not oil) are all amazing choices.

30/05/2024

Well that's one way to do it 🤣

28/05/2024

Labradors have the highest levels of obesity in the dog world - and are generally more food obsessed than most other dogs.

But new research shows that 25% of labs and 66% of flat-coated retrievers have a genetic mutation that leads to weight gain. The mutation (known as POMC) means that dogs get hungrier between meals, as well as use around 25% less energy at rest.

It means that Labs are more likely to want food, even if they don’t need it. Ironically, we may have selected for this while breeding as it it the reason that Labradors are so easy to train!

21/05/2024

Friendly reminder: please get your orders in by Sunday night!

It takes all of Monday for us to pack and organise the delivery run, so if we get a dozen extra orders on Monday night it’s an incredibly stressful start to the day.

We always do our best to accomodate late orders, but please remember to get your orders in by Sunday night so we can remain flexible.

Also FYI, we do subscriptions / automatic ordering - email or call me for more info.

Thanks heaps legends! ❤️

17/05/2024

The perfect spot 😇

15/05/2024

Absolute legend! 😲

09/05/2024

Does anyone know of a good Pet Hotel in Brisbane?

08/05/2024

Does your dog eat grass?

Having a munch on grass is a completely normal behaviour that most dogs seem to enjoy. A recent survey of 1500 dogs found that nearly 70% consumed grass on a regular basis.

There are 3 main reasons for eating grass:
🤮 To relieve digestive upset
🌱 Seeking nutrients not provided in diet
🐺 Just because they want to!

Before diving in, something to consider is the grass your dog is eating. Most parks and public spaces are sprayed with heavy duty chemicals like Roundup. These chemicals are linked to cancer.

If your dog is eating a lot of public grass it’s worth trying to limit this behaviour to your own home. This way you can control the chemicals they are consuming.

𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘁
Dogs instinctively know that eating large amounts of grass will make them throw up. They use this to be able to clear out their belly if it isn’t feeling good. Kind of like the 2 fingers trick for humans (gross 🤮).

Dogs looking to induce vomiting will seek grass with a high level of intensity. The type of grass does not seem to matter, it’s mostly about intensely seeking and eating lots of grass. Then you will probably see your dog throw up.

As disturbing as this is, it’s a normal behaviour for dogs. If eating grass to vomit isn’t occurring often there is likely nothing to worry about. Keep in mind that less than 25% of dogs that eat grass do so to throw up so there may be other factors at play.

𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘁
Eating grass is common in wild dogs, so it follows that your dog may also consume grass as part of their diet. Dogs are unable to select what they eat for dinner (that’s your job) so if there are nutrient gaps, foraging or scavenging is really the only option they have.

Why grass?

It can help to balance the colony of bacteria that lives in your dogs gut known as the microbiome. Grass also contains digestive enzymes which help to break down food.

The reason this is important is because most dogs eat a highly processed diet. The nutrition in processed food is not readily absorbed by the body because the high temperature and pressure destroys nutrients and enzymes. Dogs not getting enough of the nutrients they need can try to resolve it by consuming a fresh ingredient they have access to - grass.

If you are feeding a mostly processed diet (ie. kibble) then it’s a GREAT idea to add some fresh food into their diet. Sardines in spring water and blueberries are an excellent start.

And if you able to, feeding a properly formulated & high quality raw diet is the best way to be sure you are providing all of the nutrition your dog needs to live a long and healthy life.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆?
If your dog is regularly eating large amounts of grass and throwing up, that’s not good. It would be a good idea to visit your vet for further investigation.

If your dog is selective about the grass they eat, don’t search it out intensely and aren’t throwing up regularly, it’s probably nothing to worry about. They might just like eating grass!