What makes a healthy dog treat?

What makes a dog treat truly healthy?

In this episode of the Pawsitively Spoilt Podcast, Tanya sits down with Sarah and Tracy from Nooch Pets to explore the science behind dog treats and why not all treats are created equal.

The conversation dives into what "science-backed" pet nutrition actually means, how ingredient quality impacts long-term health, and what dog owners should look for when reading treat labels. Sarah and Tracy also unpack common misconceptions about natural treats, discuss the differences between freeze-dried and air-dried products, and share practical advice for choosing treats that support your dog's wellbeing without sacrificing taste.

Whether you're raising a puppy, managing allergies and sensitivities, or simply want to make more informed choices for your dog, this episode is packed with valuable insights to help you become a more confident pet parent.

Plus, stay tuned for a fun question at the end that every treat-loving dog would want answered!

Find Nooch Pets here: https://noochpets.com.au/ 

Nooch Pets is an Australian family-owned pet wellness brand founded by mother-daughter duo Tracy and Sarah, dedicated to natural, science-backed solutions for dogs and cats. Born from a personal experience with their dog Manuka's food and environmental allergies, every product is developed with full ingredient transparency, no fillers, no hidden additives. Their 25+ product range is vet-approved, dermatologist tested, and built around a whole-pet approach to health and wellbeing.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Today, we're talking about your dog's favorite topic: treats. In particular, healthy treats. And I'm going to be talking to Sarah from Nooch Pets, and we're going to be talking about science-backed pet products, treats, what we need to know, what we need to look for, and the nutritional benefits of some of this stuff that's not so healthy. So listen in and learn about what sort of treats you should be and should not be giving your little oodle. If you have a sport oodle, just like me and many others, then you're listening to the right podcast. Positively spoiled is a podcast focusing on helping you raise a happy and healthy oodle. And we know just how fussy, cute, loving, and sometimes challenging they can be. But hey, us two legged can't resist a cute, four-legged face. I'm Tanya, chief porson, pet concierge, and temporary porrent to many small dogs that are part of the extended oodle family here at Three Sports Dogs. As a lifelong small dog owner and temporary porant to many other oodles and many small dogs, I have seen it all. And this podcast is here to help you raise the happiest and healthiest oodle that you can. And hey, we don't discriminate. So if you have any other breed of dog, you'll find the podcast relevant and helpful too. So pause up and let's get into today's episode. Hey everybody, it's Tanya Williams here, Chief Paulson at Three Sport Dogs and a host of the Positively Sport Podcast. And today we're talking about probably a dog's favorite topic, which is treats. And I've got just the person to talk to. I'm talking to Sarah, who is the co-founder of Noosh Pets. And they do something a little bit different when it comes to treats. And we're going to dive into that today. Hey Sarah, thanks for being part of the show.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Absolute pleasure. Now, do you want to just tell people a bit about who you are and a bit about who Noosh Pets are and why you are different?

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Yeah. So my name's Sarah. I am one of the founders of Nooch Pets. I am a scientist and a pet nutritionist. So I lead our formulation and production side of the business. We focus on low toxicity natural products for pets.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Sounds good. Okay, let's dive into this a bit more because when we're using words like science and nutrition and all that sort of stuff, it's it's um one of those things that I think we need to sort of um unpack a little bit further and explain what we actually mean. So let's start with what inspired you to create your science-backed products because obviously you've got a science background. But was there any particular thing that happened where you went, okay, like I'm gonna create this whole range of science-backed treats for dogs?

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Absolutely. There was a couple of things. Um, so personally, our oldest dog ended up developing sensitivities um to certain proteins. So we that started looking at, you know, ingredient lists and product packets on the shelves and realizing that it's quite frustrating, actually. I suppose from a nutritionist and science background, that for humans it's not the same for as it is for dogs. Like their labeling and their ingredients is actually far worse than I think most people realize. And so, yeah, it really came from a point of frustration with what was on the shelves.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

And we see that a lot. Like I've had so many conversations around food and treats and and so forth. And the like the standards just aren't there. Like, you know, where we've got industry standards and so forth for human food, when it comes to dog food, people can it seems like people can pretty much create what the hell they want, um, whether it's good and make claims about it as well, like, oh, it's natural or it's this, and it's like, well, and it has to have a certain percentage of this to be claimed natural. Like it's very confusing. And and for people that are buying dog treats, and and let's face it, we know, you know, our dogs love treats, it does get very confusing in terms of what what to look for and and so forth. So like when we talk about science-based formulations, can you just tell me what that actually means?

SPEAKER_00 4:20

Yeah. So for us, it it's probably a term that you'll see coming up a lot more in the pet industry as we move away kind of from this natural terminology. Um, and it means what I'm realizing is it means probably a little bit different for everyone. Um, but for us, it means that we're using only ingredients that are evidence-based. So for us, that means that they're found in the literature of science. So people are publishing the research and that it's peer-reviewed. So when it's peer-reviewed ingredients, that means that um there's other professionals also citing that literature, which gives it more support in the fact that it's actually working. Um, so yes, that's what it means as far as like just from generally science back. More in depth it can mean, well, for us, it means bioavailability. So we talk about the bioavailability of um ingredients or products, we're talking about the body's actual ability to absorb um it as a nutrient or use it as a nutrient. Um, so for example, um, collagen, we now know to uptake collagen, you actually need high quantities of vitamin C as well. Um, even some magnesiums will absorb differently to others. Um, so it's really important that you understand the bioavailability and active ingredients as well. So, as you mentioned before, um, you could have an ingredient in a product, but it actually could be at a really low dose, which is not effective. Um, so when we say science-backed, again, it's the research of the equivalent of the product that actually makes it effective. So that's what we're looking at.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

So it's basically knowing how much to put in of a certain ingredient, what to mix it with to make it actually work, and and all that sort of stuff. Because I guess, as you mentioned, like certain certain ingredients and and things absorb differently or react differently and and so forth. So that actually sounds really complicated. Like it's a process, it's a scientific point of view. Yeah, it's like, oh my god, that sounds like it'd be really hard to do.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

It is a process, and I think one that probably gets a little bit overlooked as well, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Yeah, I think so. But you know, I think a lot of this comes back to education, right? Because the more of these types of conversations we have to educate um, you know, pet owners around this stuff, because I know myself, I never knew anything about like um, you know, like food, like kibble and stuff like that. I was like, I knew it wasn't the great best for dogs and stuff like that. But having conversations with people and going, well, you've got to look at the ingredients and the list of ingredients, the order of things, you know, so it says, you know, so you're just going, oh wow, I never knew that. And and you naturally thought, well, if it's expensive, it's better, which is obviously not true. But we have these misconceptions until we learn otherwise, and then we go, oh, hang on a minute, I need to be looking a little bit deeper at this and what's actually in it and the um the amount that's in it and all that sort of stuff. And that's why I love having these conversations because it helps people understand what they should actually be looking for, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:21

Yeah, it gives the owners the um empowerment to make the right decisions and informed decisions are the best decisions.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

Absolutely. So you've got a role in in science. I imagine that's had a a huge impact on how you've formulated the treats and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Yes. Um, we it's really it's in every decision that we make within the business. Um we with our like our treats and our supplements, they yes, they started with Manuka, who's like had her allergies. Um but the research process kind of begins with a problem. And so for us, like the treats was the problem that we saw on the shelves. Look, the quality's not where we want it to be for our own pets. Um, and same with supplements on the market, there's not really what we would say are effective or as active as we would like. Um, so we identify a real problem, whether that's allergies, skin issues, immunity, gut, whatever it may be. Um, and then there's where the reviewing of the literature comes in. So that's the research aspect. So that's going through many, many, many peer-reviewed articles and finding the ones that um well, finding the ingredients that have the most support. Um, and then they're kind of the foundations of a formulation. Um, and then you've got to look at safety profiles and whether these ingredients actually will work well together and make sure you're still looping back to what that main uh problem is you're trying to solve. So it really does kind of shape the whole thing.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

Yeah. Yeah, like that's a lot of work.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Yeah. Yes, it's um, it takes a lot of time. Like a lot of our formulations realistically, we started about two years before we actually opened the business. Um Wow. So yeah. And then we opened with six products when we started. So now we're at almost 30 products within three years. So yeah, it does take time.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

So how long if you're if you're like going to introduce a new product and you go, we've identified this problem, we're gonna create this product, how long would it typically take you from that idea to actually getting at launch?

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Well, we're in a very fortunate position. Yeah, we're in a very fortunate position where because I'm in-house working from the ground up, we can actually produce things a lot faster than other companies who perhaps have to source someone else to do the formulation for them. Um it really depends on the problem. I would say on average, our treats are probably about six months of investigation, a little bit of like test. Like, I won't sell a treat that my two won't touch. If they're picky enough, if they don't touch it, it won't be sold. Um and then with supplements, it's a little bit longer. So a year to two years is kind of the average.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

Wow, that's a hell of a lot of RD, isn't it? Yes. Creating a product that's gonna actually do what it claims to do. So that's I think that that's that the huge difference. Um let's talk about this term healthy, right? Because people always go, Oh, they're healthy dog treats and so forth. But but I I guess not everyone can probably probably claim that um from a science-based anyway. But what does make a dog treat healthy and good for your dog?

SPEAKER_00 10:29

So I think the main thing when you're considering a healthy treat or the word healthy is that it needs to provide nutritional value. Um so without getting like too in depth with processes and everything, you kind of want to look at the most simplistic form. So, like when we talk like single ingredient, that is like the most simplistic form without high-level processing that you know you're getting the most nutrient, uh nutrient.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

So when you say single ingredient, that could be like a a chicken treat that's just all chicken. Is that what you mean? Yes, 100% single ingredient.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

I can't.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

Um you also um, I guess with healthy, the healthy quote, we need to look at um quality ingredients as well. So within the quality of an ingredient also determines kind of the um appetite uh the palatability of a treat as well. But I think with health with a concept of health and healthy, pet parents need to get around this concept that actually treats are a part of a dog's overall diet, they're not separated from their daily intake. Um, I think a lot of people think, oh, the dog treats are healthy, I can just continually give them. But actually, when you look at like a nutrient-dense treat that is healthy, like an organ mix or a liver, actually they're quite rich and they're quite potent and they can cause digestive upset or they can cause a like an overabsorption of like vitamin A if it's liver. So even with healthy, even if it is healthy, we need to be cautious when giving moderation.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Yeah, and I think absolutely everything in moderation, just like us humans, I guess, right? Like it's it's like we can have that, but we shouldn't eat too much of it. Um so I want to sort of talk a little bit about the the label stuff. Um, what should pet parents actually look for when reading a dog treat label? Because there's lots of different um ones on the on the market. Obviously, we've got the stuff in supermarkets and there's lots of different ones available online and markets and all that sort of stuff. If we pick up a packet, are there certain things that we need to be looking for? Or how should we be reading it to go, okay, this could actually be a good one for my dog, or no, it's not a good one.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Yeah, absolutely. Um, the main thing is to look past the front of the packet. The front of the packet is just kind of your marketing, right? They could say it's chicken jerky, but it only has to like contain a certain amount of chicken to have that title to actually meet standards.

SPEAKER_02 12:50

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

Um, so we need to skip the front of the packet. And on the back of the packet, when you look at your ingredient list, that's where you need to go. You want to find a protein first. That's most important. If you're finding things like, you know, corn, syrup, glycerin, um, even meat meal. Meat meal is a bit of a confusing term, not only for pet parents, but even in the industry itself. Um, meat meal can mean any part of an animal.

SPEAKER_01 13:17

So it could also mean internal organs, everything like just crushed up, basically.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Yeah, it could mean the best things. It could mean the worst things. You just don't know. And that's the issue, right? Because it could be the best things. Well, that's fabulous, but why is it not written there? You know, it could be the worst things, and that's you know, when you hear meat meal, it's kind of like the way you have to think about it. You're better off looking for that treat that doesn't have that option listed. Um I think also like generally a great tip for pet parents is if you can't understand the ingredient list, if it's not whole things like chicken, beef, eggs, like sweet potato, it's probably not ideal to pick it up for your pet. Yeah. Um, so they just like us, you know, the cleaner the nutrition, the better it is for them. Um so if you can't understand it, probably put it back.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

Good tip. And that's the thing, like you've got to, like, I and again, until I sort of had started having these conversations and um with with different experts, you don't know what you don't know. Um, but once you like start to like have a bit of a think about it, if like, and I think what typically happens is a dog develops some sort of issue. Whether it's a gut issue, they're they're you know not keeping their food down or they've got sensitive skin or they're scratching all the time, or whatever, and people go, This is a problem, and they go, Oh, nutrition, you need to look at that. That's when they typically will start to go, okay, what should I be feeding them? What sort of treats should they have? And then, you know, all that sort of stuff. So I think often it's, oh, we won't worry about it until there's a problem, um, which isn't necessarily the best thing to do, obviously. But I think that's typically how it how it starts. But um, you know, how do you balance, I guess, that nutritional benefit with something that dogs actually want to eat? Because it's like us. It's like I'm not gonna hoover down McDonald's all day, but you know, we know it's not the best thing for us. But, you know, and I don't want to sit there and eat a plate of vegetables either, but I know I need a mix of different types of, you know, nutrition. How do we balance that? Go, well, how do we give the good stuff but stuff that actually tastes good for them?

SPEAKER_00 15:16

Yeah, well, I think it's kind of actually a two-in-one with the solution, right? So um I guess the thing is if I always like to use this analogy with people, but it's like if you give yourself a steak and you're like, yeah, steak, and then you're like, I'll put steak flavoring on the steak to make the steak taste better. It's like, but why is that needed? It's not needed if it's a good quality piece of steak. So that's the main thing, right? So quality is really important. So knowing where your your um wherever you're buying your treats, ask the questions. You know, do their suppliers um do organic, no hormones. Like what ask the questions, it's really important. As far as like balance, obviously we want the nutrient dense, you know, proteins, chicken beef, the amino acids that dogs really want. Um, and they're actually with palatability, they're drawn to those things, right? So they don't really need the extra flavors and sugars and fillers. Um I think that's a big misconception. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's a big misconception. Obviously, we live in a world of um convenience and more is better. But actually, if you put vegetables and meat on our plate, like we're happy with that as well. So I think people need to maybe dial it down a little bit with their expectations around yeah, treats.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

And I think it's probably a case of just simplifying things, right? We don't need to have all this fancy stuff, we just have the simple stuff that, you know, maybe it is one ingredient. Um, you know, and they're probably, I mean, it's very rare to see a dog turn up turn their nose up at chicken or cheese. Not the cheese is the best for them, but um yeah, I mean, again, and again, it comes back to that balance and educating as a parent, making sure that you're looking at those labels and stuff. Um, and we sort of touched on this already about the quality of ingredients and why that's important. So I'm not going to sort of go down there, but um, I want to sort of talk about the single protein stuff, like getting back to that a little bit more. Are single protein treats better for dogs with allergies or sensitivities? Because especially with oodles, we have a lot of dogs come here with different issues. Um, they can't have this or they can't eat that, and and so forth. But is a single protein like typically a better solution, or is it just obviously dependent on the dog as well?

SPEAKER_00 17:30

Well, that's it. It is dependent on the dog. I would say majority of the time, even with dogs that don't have allergies or sensitivities, they are often having that single ingredient treat anyway. Um, single ingredient treats are great for two reasons. So the first reason they're used is like for a diagnostic tool. So if you're dealing with a food allergy, which actually is quite rare in dogs, they're more commonly gonna have a sensitivity or what we call like a trigger to their allergies. Um that single ingredient is a lot easier to figure out if it's a reaction based on that one ingredient or not. So if you're feeding chicken, dog doesn't have a reaction, great, we don't have an issue with that. If we have beef, they have a reaction, then it's beef. Whereas if we're dealing with a list of like 20 ingredients and your dog has a reaction, that's one or lot of ingredients you now have to avoid or try and figure out. That's 20 different single ingredients you're gonna try and figure out uh what the trigger is. It's like it's it's just a lot easier with single ingredient. Um, and I'd also say the second reason is say you do have an allergy, management-wise, it's a lot easier. So if your dog can't have beef, well then we know we don't touch the single ingredient beef. It's just a lot easier to work with a single ingredient. I think it's also what we touched on earlier with like nutrient density, it's also a lot easier to not fall into that trap of giving too much as well. Because you might be giving three different types of treats. They all might have organ meat that's nutritionally dense. So giving quantity of all three might cause digestive upset. Whereas when you know you've only got a single ingredient, you know you're limited, so you don't overgive.

SPEAKER_01 19:07

Yeah. And then, you know, they're really good at manipulating with you that, you know, with you, like with those eyes of theirs, like, oh my god, look, I'm starving. Give me another one. Like I really like every single day. It's like, you've just had one. No, no, no, no, I'm serving. Someone took my treat. I need another one. Like, they're just so manipulative. You're like, you cheeky little buggers, you're just too damn cute. But it is hard to sometimes resist, right? When you're in any treats and stuff as well. I totally get that. Um, yeah, we're seeing um a lot more freeze-dried, air-dried treats and stuff like that. What exactly are they? And and what is the actual difference? Because I go freeze-dry, I could get the concept, but they all seem to look a bit like fairly this much the same. Like, can you break that down a bit more detail so it makes sense?

SPEAKER_00 19:55

Yeah, so they are similar in in some ways. So they uh obviously you'll see treats and you'll see like complete nutrition on the shelves, um, both in both methods, freeze-dried and air-dried. Um, both methods also are a process of uh removing moisture. Um, so they kind of do the same thing in that aspect. With freeze drying, it's actually a cold process. Um, so it it doesn't use heat. And it's like using like a really large, like almost like they freeze them and then they put them in like a dryer. So that like imagine like if you froze something, then put it in your own dryer. So it doesn't use heat, um, and that's how it removes the moisture.

SPEAKER_01 20:35

Um it's a really contains the nutritional value still because they're not cooking it as such. So therefore it's actually better in nutrition. Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:44

Yeah, so it's more nutrient dense and it holds the natural structure of ingredients a lot better. Um, if you're looking at like an air dry, with air dry, it's a low temperature over long periods of time. So again, like with the higher the temperature you go, the more affected the nutrients are within the treat or within the formula. Um, so that is kind of better at preserving flavor. Um, it's still good at uh reserving nutrients, but again, that heat element you've got to be careful. Like, for example, amigas, we all know that they're great for, you know, skin, joint health, um, like overall health for us and for our dogs. But they're actually really sensitive to heat and light. So if you're using like an air dried, they're gonna lose more of their amiga value than if they use um a freeze dried. So it's really important to know what type of method you're going for. Um but I would say honestly, I would say palatability wise, you probably will find dogs gravitate towards air dried more. And I would also say that um I think quality matters a lot more than kind of that outcome between freeze dried and air dried.

unknown 21:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

That's a good point because I as I said. It's it all these terms pop up and you go, what does that actually mean? So thank you for breaking that down. Um, so it makes sort of sense. What do you what do you think are the biggest misconceptions about things like natural treats? I mean, the word natural is used everywhere, right? And people go, oh, because it's natural, it must be good. Um, but what are the misconceptions about that? What do people need to know about that term?

SPEAKER_00 22:22

Yeah, it's a term that's used a lot. Um, and I think people automatically think natural means healthy. And that's really not the case.

SPEAKER_02 22:32

We do.

SPEAKER_00 22:33

Um there's nothing um with the word like natural, there's that doesn't tell you anything about how an ingredient was sourced, where it's come from, the quality, if it's dosed appropriately. Um, and there's no evidence really what it does on the label. So natural is really coming to mean nothing. Um and we also need to understand that natural substances, while they can be great, there's actually some that we know of really well, like garlic, that are actually toxic to dogs. So just because it says natural, if you don't understand what it actually is saying on the ingredient list, again, it's not one you want to pick up.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

And you're right, because there are lots of natural foods that dogs can't eat. It's like, well, yes, it's natural, but it doesn't mean it's actually good for a dog. Um, so and I think that, yeah, when you think about it, um, you know, it's a bit of common sense, really, I guess. But I I think you're right. Like you just naturally you hear the word natural and you think, oh, natural means healthy. Like it's just that association you have with the word. But I think that's where we need to be really careful and go, okay, is that just a marketing, you know, phrase? So they can go, oh, look, it people are gonna see that and they're gonna buy, or or again, let's look at the ingredients and see what's actually in this thing and see is it something that is actually healthy for the dog?

SPEAKER_00 23:52

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 23:54

Um what um what's one popular belief about dog treats that you wish would disappear? Like, you know, I don't um for me, I think one of them is that people think, oh, I can give them as many as I want. It's like, no, you can't. But is there something that you think, oh, we hear this all the time and it's a big misconception, and we, you know, well, I think we need to like educate around this or change it. Is there something that you just think there's a belief that this just, you know, we've got to change?

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Yeah, absolutely. That is probably a more a more common one is that they can just give treats and it doesn't affect their overall diet. And that kind of links into mine, which is that they are just rewards um and they don't count nutritionally. Um treats, obviously, we give our treats. Some people give their treats daily, some people use their treats, you know, once every three months. It depends on the person. But I think we know statistically that actually treats and supplements make about 10 uh 10 to 20 percent of a dog's daily intake. So we need to be really cautious with what treats we are feeding them because or how much we are feeding them because their actual balance between their nutrition can go really far out of balance if we're not careful. Um, so I think it's really important that people take the opportunity daily to consider their dog's health with treats.

SPEAKER_01 25:10

Absolutely. And like, you know, we we typically give the dogs a a treat at lunchtime, um, but they get like one little treat. It's not like we're handing out, you know, a whole bunch of different things, but we we will have guests that come. Um and the amount of like treats that they give us, and you go, they're here for two days. Like it's way too much for one dog for two days. Like, I can feed that to 10 dogs over two days. Um, and I think the thing is, I especially with treats, yeah, often you don't think about it as part of their daily intake. You think, oh, that's just a little, you know, like us, it's a treat, it doesn't count, it's like chocolate, it never counts, right? Um, but you know, I guess that's one thing that we really need to be mindful of. But I think especially with dogs, we think, oh, if we love them, we're giving them treats and that's what they want. But it's like, oh, hang on a minute, like if we love them, we wouldn't be giving them so many treats. So it can be really hard to get to understand that, I guess, and think I'm not actually doing the best thing for my dog by giving it lots of treats every day. Um, and yeah, as I said, they're so manipulative with those bloody eyes as well. So I think we really need to be a bit tougher and um go, I'm the boss and you're the dog, and yes, you will get one treat or whatever it is. But um, you know, I can talk about dog treats all day, um, as I'm sure you can as well. Um, what's next for Noosh? I mean, you guys have been around um for a little while now. Are there any exciting products that you're developing or anything new that you're working on that you want to sort of share with us or even, you know, tease us with?

SPEAKER_00 26:44

Um, there's not actually at the moment. There's nothing too new happening. There's always things happening behind the scenes and are not really ready to share yet. But um we're definitely going to keep doing what we're currently doing. I think the next kind of formulation that will hit the shelves will be a new one that is is focused around dental health. Um so probably the most common issue we're seeing at the moment um is dental health. But I think more so even with dental health, the supplements that are on the shelves are not really palatable for dogs. They seem to not quite like them. That's the feedback we're getting from pet parents. So that will be what's next for us. Um treat-wise, well, there's always opportunity for new treats. There's actually a lot of um shortages at the moment with uh treat suppliers um in Australia because um we uh with like kind of the global situation, we're obviously redirecting our our meat as well. And so there is shortages, I think, of kangaroo and crocodile um and rabbit. So yeah, not the best time to really be searching for treats, but um I'm sure there'll be new opportunities.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

Yeah. What's um just out of interest, what are your best sellers? Like what are the typical like single proteins and stuff that you sell like more of?

SPEAKER_00 28:08

Our best-selling uh treat is sorry, our best-selling treat is technically two. So our best-selling one is technically our bunny boosters, um, which sell out every time we bring them. So what's a bunny booster?

SPEAKER_01 28:24

You're gonna have to explain that to me because it sounds yellow, oh bunny booster, what is that? Like tell us what that is.

SPEAKER_00 28:30

It's it's a combination of four um four organ meats. So lung, liver, heart, and kidney um of a rabbit. Um but we we just can't keep it on the shelf. So that is one of our best sellers. The other one is our shark cartilage, which um is great for dental health, uh, great glucosamine and cordontrin, so it's great for joints. Um, but it's yeah, one of our more popular ones as well.

SPEAKER_01 28:57

There you go. Both, um, yeah. I mean, I've heard of shark cartilage, but I have definitely not heard of the bunny, bunny one. I I have I wouldn't have actually thought of rabbit as um a pro like as a protein to to give my dogs as well. Like I've heard of like there's lots of different things obviously out there crocodile and all sorts of stuff. But I've I've never that's the first time I've heard of someone using rabbit.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

Yeah, rabbit's actually realistically, it's probably one of the more appropriate protein choices for dogs. Um it is obviously being in Queensland, it is harder to get here. Uh, but down south in New South Wales and Victoria, um, which is where our supplier is, it's a lot easier for them to have access to the protein. But it is, yeah, it is actually nutritionally very dense. Um, if anyone's really into their like traditional Chinese medicine, it's it's a very neutral protein, so it doesn't lean doesn't lean cool or warm. So it's um great year-round.

SPEAKER_01 29:53

There you go. That's good to know. Um, so where can listeners learn more about you guys and follow your journey? Like, I know you've got a website, is um any where else can they grab, can they see you?

SPEAKER_00 30:03

Yeah, so online, so newchpets.com.au. Um we're also obviously on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook. It's all nooch underscore pets. Um we're also, you know, pop up at all the dog markets here in Queensland. We've just done Dog Lovers in Brisbane. Um, we're looking at possibly doing interstate next year for that as well. Um, so yeah, that's where they can find us.

SPEAKER_01 30:25

Awesome. And we'll put all the links to all those in the show notes if anyone wants to go and check all that out. Uh, let's finish with a bit of a fun question. Um, if your dog was hosting this podcast instead of me, what's the first thing you think, the first question you think they would ask about treats?

SPEAKER_00 30:43

Well, if it was my dogs, they would ask why they can't have more beef liver every day. Um that is their favorite treat, is beef liver. Um, yes. And my response would be because it's too nutrient dense for you. Um, but um, yeah, that's that is their favorite. Um, but uh probably also they'd love to ask why they can't have more. Um, they'd probably love to live on them, to be honest.

SPEAKER_01 31:06

Yeah, I think most dogs would probably, that would be the first question they would ask. Why can't I have more treats? I love them so much. And I think the the response would be very similar. Yes. Um, thank you so much, um, Sarah. It's really great to have these conversations. I think they are really important conversations to have because it is around educating, you know, dog owners about what they should be giving their dogs, what they should be avoiding, how to read labels, all that sort of stuff. Like it's so important for their um, not just their current health, but their long-term health as well. I mean, you know, the podcast is all about, you know, helping oodles live the longest, happiest, healthiest life they can. Um, I think that's what we all want. You know, we we all want our dogs to live forever, if if only they did. But if we're feeding them the right sorts of foods, obviously we can help them live a longer life, hopefully, because we're not going to be developing too many of those issues, fingers you know crossed if you're doing the right thing. Um, but again, it's you know, if we educate ourselves, we can actually help um help our babies as well. So thank you very much for being part of the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 32:10

Well, thank you for having me. It's been a great little time.

SPEAKER_01 32:13

Thank you. And um, as I said, we'll put all the details in the um in the show notes for Nut Show. Um, go and check them out. And uh yeah, make sure you share the podcast with um anyone that you know um that has some of these issues or you think should be educating themselves around um all this stuff as well. So um until next time, guys, stay pawsome. Would you like to know more about the services we provide here at 3 Sport Dogs? Now visit our website 3 isn't the number 3 sportdogs.com.au. Also send me an email if you've got any questions or to request specific topics in future episodes. If you'd like to become a collaborative partner or just to tell me how much you love the portcards, I would love to hear from you.