Sustainable Dog Food
Real food for your dog, sourced with the planet in mind.
Real food for your dog, sourced with the planet in mind.
Our approach to sustainable dog food
Feeding your dog well shouldn't come at a cost to the planet.
At 5 Hounds, sustainability isn't a marketing layer we've added on top of our meals, it's built into how we choose our proteins, who we partner with, and how our food is made.
Dr Will founded 5 Hounds as a practising veterinarian frustrated by how little transparency exists in Australian pet food. That same standard now extends beyond your dog's health to the impact our ingredients have on animals, oceans and land.
We work with a small number of Australian farming and fishing partners who we've personally visited, and we choose proteins that put less strain on the environment than conventional pet food ingredients typically do.
This page sets out exactly what that means in practice, and where we still have work to do.
What does sustainable dog food actually mean?
It's a term used loosely across the pet food industry, so we want to be specific about what we mean by it.
For us, sustainable dog food comes down to four things:
⁕ Proteins that place less pressure on land and ocean ecosystems
⁕ Meat and eggs from animals raised or harvested with genuine welfare standards
⁕ Full traceability so every ingredient can be tracked back to its source, and
⁕ A commitment to reducing waste across our packaging and production.
We won't claim a credential we don't hold.
Where we've made real progress, like our wild harvested proteins and our seafood sourcing, we'll show you the evidence. Where we're still working on something, like packaging, we'll say so plainly rather than dressing it up.
Responsibly sourced, lower impact proteins
Three of our five proteins, kangaroo, goat and venison, come from wild game populations rather than conventional livestock farming.
That's a deliberate choice, and it's one of the clearest ways 5 Hounds differs from typical pet food on the shelf.
Wild-harvested kangaroo, a naturally low-impact protein
Our kangaroo is wild harvested, not farmed. Wild kangaroos are considered by many landowners to be overabundant, and controlled, monitored harvesting helps manage populations while easing pressure on native vegetation and competing wildlife.
Kangaroos also produce considerably less methane than cattle, and their diet of native grasses means no additional land is cleared or irrigated to raise them. It's a protein that exists in Australia in abundance already, so using it means we're not asking more of the land.
Free range goat and venison
Our goat is also wild harvested. Feral goats are recognised as an invasive species in Australia, causing damage to native vegetation and competing with local wildlife, so controlled harvesting supports land regeneration rather than adding a new farming footprint.
Venison follows the same wild game principle: a protein sourced from the landscape rather than raised specifically for pet food.
Why your dog's protein choice matters for the planet
Every scoop of pet food carries an environmental cost somewhere in its supply chain.
Choosing proteins that are already abundant in the wild, rather than proteins that require new land, feed and water to produce, is one of the more meaningful ways a dog parent can lower that footprint without compromising on nutrition.
Sustainably sourced seafood you can trace
Our salmon and sardines come from two family owned South Australian businesses, Port Lincoln Salmon and Port Lincoln Sardines, chosen specifically for their fishing practices.
Port Lincoln Salmon uses aerial spotting to locate fish more efficiently, meaning boats travel directly to fishing grounds with less disturbance to the surrounding environment. Their salmon is caught using purse seine netting, a method that results in no bycatch and no contact with the seafloor, so other marine species and habitats aren't affected.
Port Lincoln Sardines has fished the same waters for generations and follows industry approved Wildlife Interaction Codes of Practice.
We also chose South Australian waters deliberately: fish populations there are notably healthier than in neighbouring states, which makes it a naturally more sustainable place to source from.
We're proud to be the first pet food business in Australia recognised on GoodFish, a sustainable seafood accreditation platform normally reserved for restaurants. It's a public commitment to maintaining the sourcing standards we've set for ourselves.
Introducing Port Lincoln Salmon
Meeting up with Port Lincoln Sardines
Ethically sourced meat and high animal welfare standards
We only work with partners who allow their animals to display natural behaviours and live free from unnecessary stress. Our beef comes from Provenir, whose cattle are pasture raised for their entire lives, never given hormones, and processed on site so they avoid the stress of livestock transport altogether.
Our eggs come from two partners held to the same standard. Chooks at the Rooke is Certified Pastured by PROOF, going well beyond what's required to be labelled free range, with only 94 hens per hectare so each bird has genuine space to roam, shelter and forage. Active Acres Farm is Dr Will and Dr Sienna's own property, where the hens live in an open roaming environment.
Full traceability, from farm to bowl
As an independent Australian business, we work directly with a small number of named suppliers rather than buying through anonymous bulk supply chains.
That means every ingredient in a 5 Hounds meal can be traced back to where it came from, farm or catch, through to our kitchen and into your dog's bowl.
Farm or catch → vetted supplier → 5 Hounds kitchen → your dog's bowl
Less waste by design
Made fresh and portioned to cut food waste
Meals are made in small batches and portioned to your dog's needs through our meal plan, rather than produced in bulk and left to sit on shelves. That reduces the food waste that comes with oversized bags and use by dates that outpace how quickly a bag gets used.
Gently cooked, never over processed
Our meals are gently cooked rather than extruded or heavily processed, which preserves more of the nutritional value of each ingredient. Less processing also means fewer additives and fillers are needed to make up for what's lost along the way.
Our sustainability commitments
We want to be upfront about what's genuinely in place today, and what we're still working towards.
Verified today:
⁕ Wild harvested and ethically sourced proteins
⁕ Sustainable seafood, recognised by GoodFish
⁕ Welfare standards with our farming partners
⁕ Full ingredient traceability from source to bowl
Sustainable Dog Food FAQs
Is kangaroo a sustainable dog food?
Is kangaroo a sustainable dog food?
Yes. Our kangaroo is wild harvested rather than farmed, which means no new land, feed or water is used to produce it. Controlled harvesting also helps manage wild population numbers, easing pressure on native vegetation and competing wildlife, and kangaroos produce considerably less methane than farmed cattle.
Is 5 Hounds seafood sustainably sourced?
Is 5 Hounds seafood sustainably sourced?
Yes. Our salmon and sardines come from two family owned South Australian fishing businesses chosen for their low impact methods, including purse seine netting that avoids bycatch and seafloor contact. We're the first pet food business in Australia recognised on GoodFish, a sustainable seafood platform.
How do you ensure your meat is ethically raised?
How do you ensure your meat is ethically raised?
We work directly with a small number of named partners rather than anonymous bulk suppliers. Our beef comes from Provenir, where cattle are pasture raised their whole lives and processed on site to avoid transport stress. Our eggs come from Chooks at the Rooke, Certified Pastured by PROOF, and from Active Acres Farm, Dr Will and Dr Sienna's own property.
Is fresh dog food better for the environment than kibble?
Is fresh dog food better for the environment than kibble?
It depends on the ingredients behind it. What sets 5 Hounds apart isn't simply being fresh, it's the sourcing decisions behind each protein: wild harvested venison, kangaroo and goat, traceable South Australian seafood, and pasture raised beef and eggs from named partners. Those choices, not the cooking method alone, are what reduce the footprint.
How is this different from your Quality Charter?
How is this different from your Quality Charter?
The Quality Charter sets out our standards for ingredient quality and nutritional integrity. This page focuses specifically on environmental and ethical impact, where our proteins come from, how the animals are raised or harvested, and how we're working to reduce waste. The two pages sit alongside each other: one proves quality, this one proves responsibility.
Feed your dog well, and tread a little lighter
Every meal in the 5 Hounds range is built on sourcing decisions we're prepared to explain in full. Build your dog's plan and feed them something that's good for them, and a little easier on the planet too.
