The Animals Like Us Dog Food Review: Tested & Evaluated 2025
Written By Eloisa Thomas | Canine Coach, Double M.A in Anthropology.
Edited & Fact Checked By Renae Soppe | Double B.A Journalism & Science.
Last Updated: 7th January 2025
If you’re looking into changing up your dog’s food, then today’s Animals Like Us dog food review is for you. We’ve examined everything you need to know about this Kiwi dog food brand so you can decide whether it fits your needs, and if it is the right choice for your pup.
Related: The Best Dog Food Australia.
Related: How To Choose The Right Dog Food?
Related: How Is Australia’s Dog Food Industry Regulated?
Related: What is AAFCO? The Association of American Feed Control Officials.
Related: What Is the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia (PFIAA)?
Related: AAFCO vs PFIAA: Dog Food Standards Comparison Australia.
Related: Understanding Guaranteed Analysis Levels in Dog Food.
Related: Real Meat vs Meat Meal.
Here’s what we discovered:
Quick Pick - Our Best Rated Dog Food

Our Number 1 Pick -
Petzyo Dog Food
- Ethically sourced Kangaroo, Chicken or Salmon, sweet potato & superfood extras
- Iron-rich & low fat proteins
- Three Omega 3 and 6 rich oils with a well balanced 11% fat content
- Made in Australia
Australia's Animals Like Us Dog Food Review
Animals Like Us - 3.5 Star Rating
- Ingredients: Chicken and salmon RawBlend33: Cage-free Chicken & Organs, Cage-free Chicken Meal, New Zealand King Salmon Meal, Peas, Potatoes, New Zealand King Salmon, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Tapioca, Yeast, Carrots, Flaxseed, Natural Flavour, Vitamins & Minerals, Blueberries, Taurine, Chicory Root, Citrus Fibre, Glucosamine, Dried Probiotics (Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium thermophilum), Green-lipped Mussels, Kelp, Green Tea Extract, Rosemary Extract, Spearmint Extract.
- Named Protein First: Yes.
- Dog Food Type: Kibble with freeze-dried raw meat.
- Recipe Range: Grass-Fed Beef & Wagyu Beef Heart, Cage-Free Chicken & King Salmon; Grass-Fed Lamb & Venison.
- Suitable For: Adult dogs from 1 year of age.
- Cost: $$$
- Australian Owned: No
Taste | |
Ingredients | |
Protein content | |
Additives | |
Variety | |
Price |
Taste 5/5
Our three tasters absolutely loved this food. Overall, Animals Like Us rivalled with our best rated foods. Like with Petzyo, they licked their bowls clean. Our very picky chihuahua tried to separate the raw bites from the rest, but in the end managed to finish its bowl after some coaxing. Their bowls were a bit stinky, but I was convinced that’s one of the reasons the dogs liked it so much.
Overall, this food is quite tasty, so we’re giving Animals Like Us 5 out of 5 in this category.
Ingredients 3.5/5
This brand is right at the top alongside our best-rated dog foods. The first three ingredients are animal protein: lung, liver and chicken meal. Lung and liver come from whatever animal is advertised in the main recipe, and chicken meal is used to add muscle meat to the main ingredients. We love to see more brands using innards (organ meats), which are known to provide micronutrients that aren’t found in muscle meat [1].
This brand’s recipes are significantly meatier than traditional kibble, and only slightly less than the best-rated brands Petzyo and Ziwi Peak. Unlike our two top brands, which have mainly animal protein and almost no starchy veggies, Animals Like Us does add peas, potatoes and tapioca starch. This means that about 50% of the food is animal protein, and the rest is starchy ingredients. Therefore, it gets 3.5 out of 5 for the ingredients list.
Protein content 4/5
This can be considered a high-protein kibble: in both RawBlend recipes, raw freeze-dried meat bits have been added to significantly increase total protein content. The kibble mix itself is high in both animal and vegetable protein from animal meal (salmon, beef or lamb depending on recipe) as well as peas. Most animal protein is sourced from New Zealand farmers, which does lower this food’s environmental footprint.
RawBlend33’s recipe features a minimum of 33% crude protein and 12% fat, while its 50 counterpart has 35% minimum crude protein and 16% fat for all recipes.
My dog and I really liked the protein-heavy recipes and zero fillers. When serving in the bowl, it was a little stinky and smelled meaty, which shows how different raw dog food can be. It’s also one of the reasons our testers liked it, so that’s a plus.
All in all, both the team and the dogs liked the heavy use of protein in these recipes, so we’re giving this brand 4 out of 5 in this category.
Additives 5/5
Both our dogs and us really liked the extras in these recipes. Both lines of RawBlend recipes had several different extras to roundup the micronutrient profile of the food. Some of our favourites were Green Lipped Mussels (to fight inflammation), fermented probiotics (to coat the kibble and improve digestion) and green tea extract.
We also appreciated that all vitamins and minerals used were fully named. So, although the minerals used are not chelated [2], it’s obvious they have been chosen with care instead of coming from a mix. We’re giving this brand 5 out of 5 in this category.
Variety 3/5
In New Zealand, Animals Like Us has three different product lines: RawBlend33 (with 33% raw “bites”), RawBlend50 (with 50% raw bites) and the Meal Mixer, a topper fully composed of raw bites.
However, in Australia, only the RawBlend33 is available, and some of the Meal Mixers. Considering the composition, the RawBlend50 is higher in protein and could be a better option for active pups.
Although it’s understandable that a relatively new brand is cautious when entering a market, it’s a bit of a missed opportunity to not have any of the RawBlend50 recipes available. Because of this, we’re taking off 2 stars.
Price 4/5
For budget-conscious buyers looking into raw food, Animals Like Us is a good choice. When taking the price per kilo, this brand is significantly cheaper than Ziwi Peak, the staple air-dried dog food competition. This is still a high-end dog food so it is more expensive than regular supermarket kibble. However, we were quickly able to find bundle discounts when buying online.
However, bundles can still be more expensive than a subscription service (such as Petzyo). Considering the relatively high price but availability of discounts, we’re giving Animals Like Us 4 out of 5 stars in this category.
Do not buy if…
Although this can be a great fit for most, you might need to keep looking if you:
Final Verdict
Overall, this is a great option if you’re looking to ease into raw dog food for your pup. The price is reasonable enough that it won’t burn a hole in your pocket, while still packing plenty of high-quality ingredients. We say give it a try!
References
- “Read This Before Feeding Your Dog Innards (Internal Organs)!”. April 28, 2020. Can I Give My Dog. Retrieved August 7, 2023. https://canigivemydog.com/internal-organs
- Lin et al. (2013). “Comparison of chelated zinc and zinc sulfate as zinc sources for growth and immune response of shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)”. Aquaculture, Volumes 406-407, 25 August 2013, p79-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2013.04.026
- Coile, C. May 19, 2021. “Can Dogs Eat Wheat And Other Grains?” Amercian Kennel Club. Retrieved August 7, 2023.