On this page:

• Eufy Dog Camera D605
• Furbo 360° Dog Camera plus Dog Nanny (subscription)
• Petcube Bites 2 Lite BL10US
• Arlec Smart Pet Feeder with Camera PFC002HA

Australians spare no expense keeping their pets happy. We spend an eye-watering $33 billion a year “to keep our pets fed, healthy and well-accessorised”, according to one 2022 estimate from vet medicine industry body Animal Medicines Australia (AMA).

So-called “pet tech” makes up a small but growing part of this market. AMA found eight percent of pet owners had installed home monitoring cameras for their pets in 2022, up from five percent in 2019.

While that figure is likely to include general security cameras, there are dedicated dog and cat cameras that have sprung up at mainstream retailers. Major brands include Eufy, Furbo and Petcube.

The question is, are they a genuinely useful way to check in on your pet when you’re not home, or a novelty that’ll wear off once you realise that Fido spends most of his day asleep?

Makers of pet cameras claim they can help puppies with separation anxiety as they often come with two-way communication to help calm your pet, and you can even throw treats to help with their anxiety. They’re also a fun way to check in on your dog or cat to see what they get up to when you’re away. For more on what pet cameras can do, see our buying guide.

Our review

Here, we review three treat-dispensing pet cameras: The Eufy Dog Camera D605, Furbo 360° Dog Camera, and the Petcube Bites 2 Lite BL10US. We also looked at the Arlec Smart Pet Feeder with Camera PFC002HA.

All models let you dispense treats or food, hear and talk to your pet, and view a livestream without paying for a subscription. Many have additional features that can only be accessed if you pay for a subscription, such as bark alerts and the option to download videos.

How we tested

Our expert test coordinator looked at the cameras’ ease of use (including camera/app set-up and general usage). He also assessed video quality in daylight, dim light and darkness, looking for excellent depth, contrast and field of view. Finally, he rated sound quality and sensitivity for each camera.

We also got a panel of ÌÇÐÄVlog staff, all pet owners, to test the cameras in their own homes for a real-life experience and report back after using it for several days.

Eufy Dog Camera D605

Furbo 360° Dog Camera plus Dog Nanny (subscription)

App experience

Our expert tester found the app easy to use with good-sized icons and straightforward symbols. Chris found it surprising when the camera started “recording video on its own volition”, but acknowledged that was the camera’s intent. Matt liked how video and audio were automatically deleted after a day but you could download it before then.

You can set up alerts for particular activities within the app such as when your pet meows or barks.

Petcube Bites 2 Lite BL10US

Video and audio quality

Our expert found the motion smooth with excellent detail during daylight and dim conditions, and night vision had good detail in contrast. But Jen’s video looked more laggy as her dog moved around. Video quality may depend on your wireless connectivity, and unfortunately there didn’t seem to be a way to lower the resolution if you wanted to capture video that took up less bandwidth.

Audio-wise, the subscription plan will alert you to barks. We found it was a little less sensitive than other cameras, requiring 55dB to alert you to noises, but still OK.

Arlec Smart Pet Feeder with Camera PFC002HA

Video and audio quality

Your pet will be right up near the fish-eye camera while feeding, so there will be distortion, and distant objects will look small. Overall, video quality was not bad, with some drop in quality in dim and dark conditions.

Sound was very good overall, but our expert could not find any settings for sound alerts, which is a real downside as you can’t monitor how often your dog is barking.

The post Home pet camera reviews appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

On this page:

• Boarding facilities
• Pet sitting agencies and websites
• Prefer pet care in your home?
• Pet care in someone else's home

We look at options including boarding facilities and the increasingly popular online services which allow you to search for sitters to mind your pets in their home or yours.Ìý

Boarding facilities

Boarding services include kennels, catteries and care provided by some veterinary practices. Some are better than others in terms of the amount of attention given, individual space and opportunity for exercise.Ìý

How much does pet boarding cost?

It’s important to shop around – price isn’t always an indicator of quality, and can vary according to:

• location (city versus country)
• timing (peak vs off-peak holiday season)
• duration (some have relatively high minimum payments for short stays)
• extras (medication, exercise, bathing)
• number of animals (some offers discounts for more than one pet).

Dog kennels

A good kennel will have your dog returning from their holiday happy and healthy, having perhaps enjoyed romps in the countryside and playing with other dogs. For other dogs – and their owners – it can be nightmare. Incidents can range from relatively minor to more serious: stress, kennel cough, untreated injuries and worse.

Lack of exercise can also be a problem – it’s not always clear that exercise time may be an optional extra, for which you pay. ‘Play’ could mean one-on-one time with one of the carers, getting lots of attention and affection, or simply access to an exercise area alone or with one (or up to 20) other dogs.

Joint boarding, or ‘dog stacking’, is where the kennel owner puts two or more unfamiliar dogs into the one run. Sometimes it’s sold to you as giving your dog a ‘fun playmate’. Sometimes you’re not told at all – they just do it. It’s more likely to occur during peak periods, when demand for places is higher.

Signs that a kennel may use joint boarding include not letting you inspect the kennels during peak period, or not accepting large or aggressive dogs, or dogs that haven’t been desexed because they’re less suitable for joint boarding.

While it may suit some dogs, if you’re concerned you should ask directly about dog stacking: “Will my dog have his own run, or will he share it with another dog?”

Catteries

Cats don’t get quite as good a deal as dogs when it comes to boarding. Perhaps it’s reasoned that cats are smaller and less active than dogs, sleeping much of the day, and therefore need less space. They tend to end up in fairly small, often multi-level cages.

The environment can be fairly dull, or even stressful if your cat doesn’t like the close company of other cats. On the other hand, they’re less likely to end up sharing their space with a stranger.

Vet boarding

While some vets provide boarding facilities, the cages may be quite small – designed for animals recuperating from illness or surgery rather than for longer term stays.

It’s worth checking how much time they’ll spend out of the cage. While they may not get the attention and play space available elsewhere, at least you should be confident their basic needs will be met.

Things to consider when boarding your pet

Where to start

• Try word of mouth – ask your work colleagues, vet, the breeder who sold you your pet, fellow dog-walkers.
• Look at several different places well in advance, and book early, especially for peak periods.

Accommodation

• Kennel runs should offer protection from wind and rain, a partially enclosed area for sheltered sleeping with a bed raised off the ground, shaded areas and ventilation.Ìý
• Cats should have bedding provided, as well as toys, scratching posts and other positive forms of stimulation.
• Pens should look and smell clean. Concrete may not look very cosy and comfortable, but it’s easy to keep clean.
• Views to the outside world can help prevent boredom, particularly for cats.
• Is the cattery adjacent to kennels? Some cats might find the constant barking of dogs stressful.

Health and veterinary care

• Kennels should check your dog has been fully vaccinated (C5 minimum) and is up to date with heartworm, gastrointestinal worm and flea prophylactics. Cats should be fully vaccinated against feline enteritis and the viruses that cause feline respiratory disease (F3 minimum).
• What arrangements are in place if your pet becomes ill? Do you want your own vet to be consulted if any treatment has to be given by the boarding facility’s vet? Decide your preferences well in advance and make them known.

Food

• What sort of food is your pet given? Are you happy with the type and quality of food? Are special dietary requirements catered for?
• If your pet goes off their food, due to stress or loneliness, will staff tempt them with some favourites?

Staffing and carers

• Try to meet the people responsible for handling and caring for the animals, not just the office staff. Use the opportunity to see how they relate to your pet, and vice versa. Try to gauge whether they’re in it for the love of animals or just the money. If they seem annoyed by your requests, such as dietary requirements, they may not carry them out.
• Is there someone on the premises after hours? If not, what are the arrangements for after-hours care and supervision?
• Owners assume – and are often assured – that their pets will get plenty of pats and cuddles, but it’s a good idea to establish how much individual time they’re devoted each day.

Exercise

• Don’t just assume your dog will be exercised. Make sure you know what ‘exercise’ and ‘play’ involve, as well as how long and at what (extra) cost.
• Are dogs of all types and sizes allowed in the yard at one time? How many? Are they supervised? If cats are given access to an exercise area, for how long, is it individual time or shared with other cats, and is it supervised?

Pet sitting agencies and websites

There are several online platforms and other agencies offering to match up pet owners with pet sitters who look after your pet in your home (either living there, or visiting once or twice a day) or in their home.

Service providers include:

These online services vary in their vetting of the sitters, and there have been stories of animals not being looked after properly and reviews being falsified, so you’ll need to use your judgement.Ìý

Fees and cancellation

Fees vary widely, depending on location, services offered and qualifications. If you’ve paid and have to cancel, you may be entitled to a full or partial refund, depending on the sitter and how much notice you give.

If things go wrong

By paying for the service through one of these agencies, you, the sitter and your pet are covered by one or more types of insurance, which may include public liability insurance, covering damage or injury caused by your pet to third parties, and professional indemnity insurance, covering accident or injury to your pet under certain circumstances.

Insurance typically doesn’t cover:

• damage to host property
• injury caused by the pet to the host, host family or host pet
• claims arising from the care of designated dangerous dogs, or guest pets that have previously attacked another animal or human requiring medical attention
• breach of professional conduct – for example, walking the animal off-leash in an on-leash area, or otherwise disregarding the agency’s house rules
• pre-existing medical conditions, illness or old age
• reduction in potential show or stud value.

Prefer pet care in your home?

Having someone stay in your home is especially useful for cat owners or those with multiple pets, and for those with fish, hens, and other birds or caged pets which don’t lend themselves to being transported elsewhere.

This means having someone live in your house for the duration of your absence, or visiting once or twice a day to look after your pets and otherwise keep an eye on the house.

While house sitters are one option, there are also pet sitters who house-sit specifically for pet owners. The latter position themselves primarily as pet carers and are likely to charge for the service, but house sitters may also be happy to care for your pet and do it for free. One way to find potential pet sitters is through the pet sitting agencies described above.

The potential benefits are that your pet stays in a comfortable, familiar environment, your garden and pot plants can also be cared for, and your home can look lived-in for better security.

Potential drawbacks include lack of privacy, damage and neglect to your home and possessions, and putting your faith in someone who may let you – and your animals – down. If you’re using a home visit service, or even a house sitter who works long days, your pet might become bored and lonely, and get up to mischief.

Tips for care in your home

• For what it’s worth, get a police check, and ask for (and follow up) references. However, these don’t really mean that much: people don’t report unwatered plants, unwalked dogs, overflowing letterboxes and a messy house to the police, references can be faked and referees may be friends who’ve been suitably briefed. There have been reports of faked ratings for online pet sitting agencies, so you need to exercise due diligence with potential sitters.
• When you meet potential pet minders, see how they interact with your pet – and your pet with them. If you have a large or lively dog can they handle them?
• Provide the carer with a map of preferred walks and parks, and provide any details about on- and off-leash parts of walks and any local friends or enemies that may be encountered on the way.
• Make sure you let the carer know the house rules (sitting on furniture, sleeping arrangements), how pets are disciplined and a list of words and commands the animal knows and responds to (for toileting, bed, walks etc.).
• Apart from leaving your vet’s details, it’s also useful to leave the contact details for a friend or relative who can make decisions about your pet’s welfare and general household matters (especially if you’re not easily contactable) and lend a helping hand if necessary. It may also be useful to give that person a spare set of keys.
• Establish up front who pays for what – if you’re not paying the house sitter, you may agree to pay the bills. You should also negotiate some kind of bond, paid in advance, to cover damages (there may be some coverage through insurance if using a pet sitting agency).
• Leave some money to cover food and any small unexpected expenses, such as medications, for your pet, and negotiate how you’ll settle larger expenses such as a plumbing emergency. Arrange with your vet to settle accounts on your return.
• Be very clear about the importance of having fresh water available for your pets, especially if the minders aren’t pet owners themselves.

Pet care in someone else’s home

If you’d rather not have someone living in your home, an increasingly popular alternative is having someone look after the pet in their home, as part of their family. It’s better suited to dogs and small, caged pets, rather than cats – though some people will take them.

The minders tend to be people who love animals but don’t want the commitment of owning one, or already have pets of their own and are happy to help others out and earn a little extra cash.

Having met the sitter and been satisfied they’re able to care for your pet, the main things to check are that the home is suitable (space, outdoor access and fencing) and that your pet gets along with theirs, if they have any. Also check if they’re going to be minding other pets as well as yours – if your pet isn’t very social it might not work out.

Tips for care in the home of others

• For online match-up services, first meet the minder in a neutral place – for example a park near their home (Don’t Fret Pet has already met and verified minders).
• If that goes well, visit the home and make sure it’s suitable – check fencing is escape-proof, there are no open windows your cat can escape through, a shoe rack too tempting for your shoe-chewing dog, breakables within reach, etc.
• There have been reports of faked ratings for online pet sitting agencies, so you need to exercise due diligence with potential sitters.
• Take your dog or cat with you and make sure they get along with the host (it’s probably not so important for birds or mice!). Spend a decent amount of time there so it’s a familiar place when you drop your pet off for a stay.
• If the minder has other pets, make sure they get on with yours.
• Discuss dietary, exercising, grooming and other care needs (flea treatment and medication) and what’s included in the daily fee. Provide this information in writing as well.
• Establish rules and expectations regarding where the pet is allowed (inside, on beds, on sofas etc.) and how likely your pet is to abide by these.
• Consider a trial night or weekend to make sure your pet and the minder are happy with the arrangement – you don’t want to be a few days into your African odyssey and learn things aren’t working out.
• Apart from leaving your vet’s details, it’s also useful to leave the contact details for a friend or relative who can make decisions about your pet’s welfare and general household matters (especially if you’re not easily contactable) and lend a helping hand if necessary. It might also be useful to give that person a spare set of keys.

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ÌÇÐÄVlog verdict

Pros: The Furbo has great resolution and connects seamlessly through your smartphone. The microphone and treat feature work well, and manage to entertain your furry companion endlessly.Ìý

Cons: The alarm leaves a lot to be desired, with sporadic alerts that don’t really recognise actual barks.

There are a few treat delivery products on the market, but the sleek Furbo seems to have gotten it almost completely correct. We’re looking forward to them tweaking their system so it doesn’t accidentally trigger false alerts.

Price: $289

About shopping links on the ÌÇÐÄVlog website

What does the Furbo do?

The Furbo has a few features worth paying attention to, including:

• a security camera with great resolution for live viewing
• treat feeding with a swipe of your finger
• night vision
• a microphone so you can listen in on your pet
• a speaker so you can call to your pet through the Furbo.

Setting up the Furbo

The Furbo has a smooth installation process with a smartphone app that’s easily downloaded (Android or Apple).Ìý

Once downloaded, set-up through your Wi-Fi is quick and seamless. You create a login through the Furbo app and then you’re good to go after a simple firmware update.Ìý

Keep in mind the Furbo needs to be plugged into power to function.

You can set the bark alarm sensitivity so that it reacts at different volume levels, but we found noises other than barks set it off.

Giving treats

Use treats that are roughly thumbnail-sized, and refill just by popping the lid off and dumping the treats in.

To feed a treat to your pet through the Furbo, you need to be logged into the Furbo app. From the camera screen, a simple gesture makes the Furbo give a short alarm and pops the treat out onto the space in front. It’s not a harsh force, but can travel about a metre. Occasionally the treat dispenser might not fire due to treats getting lodged inside.Ìý

You can also press the mic button on the app and speak to your pet through the device. We assume this might calm your pet once it’s used to the fact that a voice is coming out of a device that also distributes treats.

One of the neat things about the Furbo is it does give you a running tally of how many treats you’ve given to your pet. You can generally see them come out of the dispenser but it’s handy to have the tally so you don’t overfeed your pet.

App control

It’s a very basic app with a sparse main screen that includes functions to: 

• set up your dog’s profile and avatar
• tap to launch a live view
• see how many treats you’ve given your dog that day.

Other settings that can be adjusted are: 

• a snacks call (a recording is played before a treat is thrown)
• night vision (on auto by default)
• the barking alert (we set this to ‘high’ as lower volumes didn’t give an alert notification on our phone)
• volume (even at 100% it appeared that our voice wasn’t loud enough through the Furbo’s speaker).

In live video mode, you’ll see a landscape view of the video, with icons for recording stills and video, a microphone for speaking, and a treat-throwing icon in the middle. Simply swipe up from the treat to make the Furbo shoot out a treat.

Video quality

Video quality can be adjusted from the menu within the video screen. Up to 1080p is supported, but 720p and 360p can be used if upload bandwidth is less than 1Mbps (which for ADSL2+ users it is – 1080p will work best on the NBN, which has uploads greater than 1Mbps).Ìý

• Video quality is very good in terms of definition, colour, and motion.Ìý
• You can pinch to zoom digitally up to 4x.Ìý
• Colour doesn’t look splotchy, and there’s no noticeable fringing.Ìý
• Motion is 15 frames per second in 1080p mode.Ìý
• There is some distorting of the aspect ratio due to the 160-degree field of view.

Motion events and barking alerts

It’s important to note that the Furbo doesn’t automatically record motion events by default – you can only use it to view a video stream manually (when you want to check in to see what your dog is doing, for example, or when you get a barking alert).Ìý

Barking alerts are supported by default and they worked during our tests when we played a YouTube video of a dog barking through a phone, but were much less effective with real barking.

Can you record video?

You can record still images and video manually by tapping the relevant icons on the screen while viewing the video. These will be stored on your phone.

In some other countries (US, Canada, Hong Kong and Taiwan) users can trial the Furbo Dog Nanny subscription, which uploads recorded motion events (dog or human) to Furbo’s servers, which is then viewable anywhere with an internet connection.Ìý

Is the Furbo worth the cost?

The Wi-Fi-enabled Furbo costs around $359, depending on where you get it from. That’s above average compared to the security cameras in our latest review which range between $29 and $357. However, none of those security cameras can throw treats to your pet!

If you like the idea of seeing your pet, talking to your pet and throwing treats to your pet, then the Furbo is very much worth it.Ìý

Keep in mind its barking alerts leave a lot to be desired, so if that’s a dealbreaker, perhaps look elsewhere.

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Ben (surname withheld) and his family had just been at a pet shop buying toys for a toy poodle they had ordered online when he received a suspicious message.

It was his first clue that they had just lost $2500 to a puppy scam.

“We were all in the car when it happened. My eight-year old son was distraught and cried. The website did look very professional … but the minute I saw that email from a Gmail address, it was kind of obvious to me.”

It was the sort of email that has become a hallmark of the burgeoning pet scam industry: a request for more money to cover ‘unforeseen’ costs that comes after aspiring owners have already paid all they had expected to for an animal.

For Ben, a teacher on the NSW Central Coast, it was a plea for an extra $1950 to cover shipping costs, and the fact it had come from an email address unconnected to the website he had already paid made him realise no dog would be arriving anytime soon.

“I thought: ‘Well, a normal company would be aware of those sorts of things prior.’ Then I noticed that the email address wasn’t from the domain of the website, it was a Gmail account. That was when I was like; ‘Okay, we’ve been scammed.'”

An explosion in pet scams

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven a boon for pet fraudsters.

As the first lockdowns descended over Australia in 2020, sophisticated scammers swung into gear, capitalising on the fact that many people were searching for a companion while being prevented from travelling to see the animal in person.

The ACCC sounded the alarm on puppy scams in particular in mid-2020, warning that a swathe of fake websites and online classifieds promising sought-after dog breeds were popping up to meet the surge in demand for pets.

And the trend has continued – Ben and his family are among the growing number of Australians who have fallen prey to an online pet scam.Ìý

Losses top $4.2m

Data provided by the ACCC to ÌÇÐÄVlog shows losses from pet scams of all stripes have increased more than 1000%, going from just over $375,000 in 2019 to more than $4.2 million last year.

The number of scams involving pets reported to the consumer body has similarly shot up – an increase of over 500% took the number of reports from 498 in 2019 to 3332 in 2021.

It’s an incredible trajectory that shows no sign of slowing down. Australians have already lost over $1.2 million to pet scams in the first four months of this year, a figure that’s 37.5% higher than the same period last year.

The ACCC says most scams involve dogs (especially puppies), with cavoodles and other poodle breeds the most common in fake listings.

But promises of cats and kittens are also appearing in attempts to fleece prospective pet owners, with the ACCC reporting Maine Coon breed kittens are commonly featured on bogus pet sites.

According to criminologist and associate professor at Queensland University of Technology’s School of Justice, Dr Cassandra Cross, the success of pet scams comes from the fact that buying a pet is an “emotional decision” which defrauders can easily take advantage of.

She says the events of the last two years have only served to tip the odds in their favour: “With ongoing lockdowns, people were looking for company and the numbers of available pets reduced.

“The desire to purchase a pet, the significant period of lockdown experienced by some across the country, and the scarcity of genuine animals, all collided to create an effective opportunity for offenders to successfully exploit.”

Owners and breeders bite back

The increase and its timing is no news to Sydney woman Sandy Trujillo.

Trujillo is the driving force behind the and and has spent the last two years supporting scam victims and raising awareness of their plight.

It’s an occupation that’s turned into something akin to a full-time job for the former vet nurse, who was compelled to take action after losing $1600 herself to a toy poodle scam in May 2020.

“After I got scammed, I started to post about my experience on social media. And a lot of people started coming forward saying: ‘Hey, that happened to me!'”

This finding of a community, along with a lacklustre response from authorities, drove Trujillo to convene a virtual forum where tips to avoid scams could be shared.

“We started listing the scams on the Facebook page going: ‘Hey, here’s another one, beware, check it out. Look, this is fake.’ And we came up with ways to investigate these things.”

And aspiring pet-parents are not the only ones who have been leading the fight against dodgy operators — reputable breeders who have seen their online presence hijacked by scammers have also been fighting back.

Melanie Bennett had been breeding cats for about 15 years when in June last year she found out she had been caught up in a scamming operation, following an angry phone call.

“I had somebody ring me up and abuse the hell out of me for not sending them their kitten that they’d paid for. And then I had somebody email me … saying ‘I think your business was being impersonated on another website.'”

The Gippsland-based cattery operator soon found the website, which was advertising itself as a place to buy kittens.

It featured her name and was using the same name and ABN of an existing site she runs, Cat Breeders Australia, which hosts classifieds from fellow breeders, but doesn’t sell animals directly.

Fearing misdirected legal action from vengeful victims, she reported the matter to authorities. She also contacted the domain host of the site and had it taken down.

It was something she would end up doing seven times over the following months, as fraudsters continued to set up scam copies of her site in an attempt to score more money off unsuspecting kitten buyers.

“I was doing daily searches on Google to try and find the latest thing using their phone numbers that they had listed or their address. I was searching almost every single day, trying to find their newest website that they’d set up.”

Bennett is confident her dogged efforts scared the scammers off from co-opting her business name, but is frustrated by the number of pet scams she’s still seeing on social media and online classifieds.

“Animals mean a lot to people and when you get ripped off of thousands of dollars, because it’s never small money, for this animal that never arrived, it’s heartbreaking,” she says.

How to spot and avoid a pet scam

When it comes to puppy scams, Sandy Trujillo and her community have come up with a well-honed set of ways to identify them.

A key giveaway can be the photos and ‘customer testimonials’ included in the listing, which are often copied from legitimate sources.

“At the beginning, I was looking at their pictures, and just seeing if they’ve been replicated anywhere on the web, so I would do what’s called a from the photo.”

“Then I would copy [a testimonial], pop it into Google and search it word for word. And you’ll see five different pages come up with the exact same testimonials. That’s how I find even more scam pages because you can see the real one and all the other pages that have copied it.”

Watch out for WhatsApp numbers

Trujillo also advises people looking for puppies to be sceptical of ads with WhatsApp phone numbers starting 0480-0 or 0488-8, saying she’s found many scams use these numbers.

Her organisation recommends taking the contact details displayed on a puppy listing, such as the phone number or email, and putting it into a search engine along with “scam” to see if anyone else has raised concerns about them.

Trujillo’s search tips are echoed by the ACCC, which encourages prospective pet owners to search online for the exact wording of any suspicious ad and any supposed customer testimonials.

These word-for-word searches can be done by copying the text, pasting it into a search engine and then putting quotation marks at the beginning and end to narrow down results to exact matches.

For those looking for a feline friend, Melanie Bennett says there are a couple of dead giveaways:

“[Scam cat sellers] often have Savannah listed as an available cat. The Australian government has banned the Savannah cat – you cannot import it into Australia.”

She also advises buyers to be wary of services that advertise a large variety of cat breeds, saying sellers offering six or more different breeds would be unsustainable in real life.

“To have that number of kittens for sale and that number of different breeds, you would need to have at least 100 cats in your breeding program to begin with. [That sort of operation] would just be way too big, from a business point of view.”

In all cases, the ACCC advises buyers not to pay for an animal without seeing it first – either in person or over a live video chat – and avoiding retailers asking for payment via money order or wire transfer, as it’s difficult to recover funds sent this way.

The Commission also recommends that, if you’re having doubts about a pet seller, you should seek advice from someone in the industry, such as a reputable breeders’ association, vet or local pet shop.

‘Reputable’ classifieds website no guarantee

It additionally warns against trusting an ad just because it appears on a reputable classifieds website, saying scammers often post in these media.

The ACCC says pet scammers base their business on offering deals that are too good to be true and that buyers will soon find the tables quickly turned against them if they take the bait.

This usually comes in the form of repeated requests for more money – often to cover transport costs – which customers will encounter once they have paid the originally-advertised cost of the animal.

What to do if you’ve been scammed

The ACCC says anyone who believes they may have given personal information or money to a scammer should contact their bank or financial institution as soon as possible.

It also recommends reporting the incident via its , as well as to the platform hosting the scam and the federal government’s .

ReportCyber is a service where individuals or organisations who have given scammers money or personal information can file a report which is then passed onto police as a case of cybercrime.

The ACCC says its Scamwatch body doesn’t investigate scams itself, but works to raise awareness and passes the information from the reports it receives onto law enforcement to aid in fraud disruption and investigation.

But a spokesperson admits such action can be challenging, explaining that “many of the offenders are based overseas and difficult to track down without a collaborative effort with law enforcement across a range of countries”.

Justice isn’t always done

And while there have been several instances over the past two years of Australian based pet scammers being prosecuted, many victims miss out on seeing justice served.

Out of the three people we spoke to who lost money to pet scams, all had filed reports with either Scamwatch, ReportCyber or police, but none had heard since from the authorities about whether their case was being investigated.

One victim was able to get a refund from their bank, but this was only after they went to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, which found the bank had mishandled the money transfer process.

For Ben on the Central Coast, the story has had a happy ending, of sorts. He and his family were eventually able to get a toy poodle from a Sydney breeder.

“It was very difficult because it was during the COVID pandemic and lockdowns, so we couldn’t go and view the dog physically,” he says. “So again, the process was still quite nerve wracking … We had to rely on FaceTime.”

His advice now is that you can never be too careful when looking for a puppy online: “You’ve just got to take every precaution you can in order to protect yourself from being taken in.”

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In late August, we asked supporters to sign an to Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud, calling for the establishment of mandatory pet food safety standards in Australia.

The letter came on the back of the country’s latest major pet-food contamination incident. Starting in July this year, at least 23 dogs in Victoria have died and about 67 have been hospitalised so far due to indospicine poisoning linked to contaminated horse meat sold through the Maffra District Knackery in Gippsland.

That incident, which is still unfolding, prompted the Australian Veterinary Association, the RSPCA and the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia (PFIAA) to join forces in a call to end “the significant delays in developing and implementing robust pet food regulation”.

So far, 22,338 animal lovers have signed the open letter, with more signatures coming in every day.Ìý

Multiple cases, multiple deaths 

In a ÌÇÐÄVlog investigation in February this year about numerous cases of megaesophagus linked to Veganpet dry dog food, we included a timeline of pet contamination cases going back to 2007, including more than 100 cases of megaesophagus linked to Advance Dermocare dry dog food in recent years.Ìý

In June 2021, we profiled the case of Lynne Moorman, whose seven show cats got sick after eating Royal Canin cat kibble.

In a 2018 investigation, we focused on the case of Nina Waltman, who’s convinced Royal Canin dry dog food made her Maltese Shih Tzu sick.

‘Things need to change’

Following the release of our open letter in August, we heard from a number of other pet owners whose pets had got sick or worse after eating contaminated pet food, including pets affected by the recent Maffra knackery incident.Ìý

“My dog’s name was Zary and she was killed by the poison from the Maffra knackery,” Paul Crawford told us. “I bought meat labelled as beef, which it clearly wasn’t. My girl was only four years old. Things need to change.” 

Sue Graham’s two greyhounds suffered the same fate. “From the 7th of July, when our first dog died, I have been totally educated about how little regulation there is in the pet food industry and the fact that knackeries have no regulation whatsoever,” she says. “I didn’t realise any of that, but I certainly do now.” 

Referring to the products that came from the Maffra knackery, which also trades under the brand names Backman’s Meats and Backman’s Greyhound Supplies, Graham says, “It never crossed my mind that there was ever going to be an issue with the meat. The meat looked really good, but it was just that one batch.

“Our dogs seemed to get the worst of it somehow. Our boy dog actually collapsed. I don’t understand why, but our dogs were very sick, and we ended up putting the second one to sleep because she was so ill.” 

Graham, who’s in touch with other affected dog owners, says she understands that 26 dogs have died so far.Ìý

The shocking death toll in Victoria is just the latest incident.Ìý

‘I nearly killed my cat’ 

“A few years ago I nearly killed my beautiful black Oriental cat, Darcy, with dodgy cat food imported from France,” Annie Dunlop told us.

“He became sick and was vomiting and lethargic. I took him to the vet, who could find nothing wrong with him. He prescribed a diet, which I followed.Ìý

“Darcy recovered and I put him back on his ‘normal’ diet, which included the cat food he’d been eating.Ìý

“He became ill again. Naturally my other tins were ditched. I informed the vet of my findings.”

‘Same rules should be applied to pet food’

“I accidentally brought some contaminated dog treats, and suddenly Poko started having seizures,” Shane told us.Ìý

“Blood tests also showed he had liver damage. Poko was an ultra-healthy dog before he ate the dog treat, and then came the expensive vet bills and anti-seizure medications that he had to take for the remainder of his life.Ìý

“There have been many cases of pet food and pet treat contamination, and I think that the same rules should be applied to pet food and treats that are applied to human foods.”

We want mandatory safety standards

These responses clearly show that Australians are demanding mandatory safety standards for the foods we feed our pets – in line with those in countries including New Zealand, the US and jurisdictions such as the EU. But policymakers continue to drag their feet.Ìý

An October 2018 Senate report, ‘Regulatory approaches to ensure the safety of pet food’, laid out a strong case for mandatory standards in Australia, recommending that policymakers consider having the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act (FSANZ) cover pet food as well as human food.Ìý 

It also recommended that the federal government consider making the voluntary standard mandatory.Ìý

When the report was released, Minister of Agriculture David Littleproud (whose portfolio includes pet food regulation) said he would review its findings and that recommendations would be made in 2019 “about how to best manage pet food regulation and provide healthy and safe foods for pets in Australia”, adding, “I have asked my department to expedite this work.”

But it wasn’t until June 2021 that Littleproud’s working group released its response to the Senate report, and it rejected most of its key recommendations – the very recommendations we think are necessary to keep pets safe.Ìý

The latest deaths and the ongoing call for mandatory standards from industry, veterinarians, animal-protection agencies and the public demonstrate the need for a review of Littleproud’s decision.Ìý

In the meantime, the delays will continue to cost pets and their owners dearly.

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ÌÇÐÄVlog will be sending an open letter to Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud next week calling for the long-overdue establishment of mandatory pet food safety standards in Australia. We’re urging consumers to and let government know the time has come to better protect our pets.

The move follows the latest pet food contamination incident earlier this month, in which 23 dogs in Victoria reportedly died and 67 were hospitalised due to indospicine poisoning traced to contaminated horse meat from the Northern Territory.Ìý  

The incident led the Australian Veterinary Association, the RSPCA and the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia (PFIAA) to join forces in a call to end “the significant delays in developing and implementing robust pet food regulation”.

A mandatory standard for pet food safety was recommended by a Senate inquiry in October 2018. But that recommendation along with other key safety provisions was rejected in the final report of a working group headed up by Littleproud released earlier this year.

“Our pets are our family and, just like when we buy food for our loved ones at the supermarket, we expect some level of safety and quality control with pet food,” says ÌÇÐÄVlog consumer advocate Jonathan Brown.Ìý

“ÌÇÐÄVlog has heard too many devastating stories from people whose pets have been harmed by unsafe food. We need stronger standards and checks on pet food and, with the support of industry, experts, advocates and pet lovers, this should be a no-brainer for the government to implement.”

ÌÇÐÄVlog is delivering an open letter to the government calling for a mandatory pet food safety standard.Ìý

‘Robust and enforceable systems’

“Australians should be able to buy food for their pets knowing there are robust and enforceable systems in place to help prevent unsafe pet food being produced and sold, and ensure there is a standard recall process across the industry to guarantee a prompt and effective response if a problem is identified,” says RSPCA Australia senior scientific officer for companion animals Dr Sarah Zito.

Zito says a mandatory standard is needed “to guarantee that pet food meets a high standard of food safety and traceability, to prevent potential contaminants and toxins from entering pet food, and to ensure that there is a mandatory recall process to prevent further illnesses and deaths if a problem occurs”.

In February this year, PFIAA president Michelle Lang told ÌÇÐÄVlog: “We support the Australian standard becoming mandatory, and a framework that enables the enforcement of recalls by an independent regulator where quality or safety issues exist.”

“The AVA has consistently and strongly argued for a mandatory Australian pet food standard and an ongoing process of review and modification with clear guidelines for product recall,” head of policy and advocacy Dr Melanie Latter told us in February.

Multiple contamination cases

ÌÇÐÄVlog has been calling for mandatory standards since 2018 and has investigated a number of pet food contamination cases.

In June 2021, we profiled the case of Lynne Moorman, whose seven cats fell seriously ill after eating Royal Canin cat kibble.

In an earlier story this year, we highlighted the case of Rebecca Cleaver’s two greyhounds being diagnosed with megaesophagus after eating Veganpet dry dog food.Ìý

In a 2018 investigation, we focused on the case of Nina Waltman, who’s convinced Royal Canin dry dog food made her Maltese Shih Tzu sick.Ìý

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But as much as we love them, dogs have their downsides, cats their cons – and it’s called constant shedding. Yep, dog and cat hair, or dander, is the equivalent of glitter – it gets everywhere. On your furniture, clothes, floors – heck, even in your own hair.Ìý

Other than never wearing black again, what can you do to rid yourself of furry tumbleweeds and flyaway fluff? Read on for tips on how to clean up pet hair from your furniture, floors and clothes, plus some handy grooming tips.

How to remove pet hair from furniture

Use blankets (then your dryer)

If you’ve got a dog or cat who’s a couch pet-ato (geddit?), a designated blanket for them to lie on can help keep stains, smells and tufts of fur – especially on a fabric sofa – to a minimum. After all, it’s a lot easier to wash a throw than a couch. For a handy hack come laundry day, pop your hair-laden blankets in the tumble dryer for 10 minutes before washing. This will help loosen strands so they end up in the lint trap, ready to be disposed of. You could try adding a dryer sheet or dryer balls to help prevent static build-up (which can keep hair stuck in the fabric), too. Once done, give the blanket a shake, then wash as normal.

Grab your rubber gloves

Move over, dish duty: apparently rubber gloves are pretty great at removing pet hair, too. Pop a pair on, lightly wet them, then run them over your soft furnishings. The friction they create causes static energy, which attracts pet hair. Rinse off any debris and repeat as necessary.Ìý

Buy one of the best vacuums for pet hair 

For ridding your furniture – and your carpets – of pet hair, one of the most effective options is a vacuum cleaner. However, some models perform better than others, especially in the animal arena. Check out our best vacuum cleaners for removing pet hair (all with 100% hair-removal ratings!), from a budget-friendly $349 up to a pricey $1299.

How to clean pet hair off floors

Consider a robot vacuum cleaner

Speaking of vacuums, a hands-free, robot model can do the dirty work for you, even when you’re out the house. If you’ve got hard floors at home, our tests found robot vacs do a reasonable job of maintaining fluff-free floors when run daily, although they’re no match for stick, barrel or upright vacuums in terms of suction power. We found that, while robots pick up a decent amount of fluff – including pet hair – on hard floors, they’re not great on carpets, and actually end up pushing dirt into the pile.Ìý

Sweep floors with a rubber broom

Hard floors at home? Make like a hairdresser and grab yourself a rubber brush. Not only are those soft, flexible bristles unlikely to scratch surfaces, but the electrostatic charge they create supposedly works like a magnet to attract fluff and fuzz. Smaller handheld options can also be effective on furniture or clothing.

How to remove pet hair from clothes

Use a lint roller (or sticky tape)

When you’re in a rush or need a no-mess solution, a lint roller can quickly and easily remove pet hair and rogue fluff from your clothes. Sticky tape also does the job in a similar fashion. However, tape-based methods not only rack up the dollars, but also aren’t very eco-friendly, so you may want to consider using a fabric clothes brush instead. These brushes have tiny fabric bristles that point in one direction which are designed to pick up lint, dander, and pet hair. They’re easy to clean and can be reused.

Spritz some anti-static spray

Some people swear by anti-static spray to loosen stubborn pet hair from your favourite threads, before going over with a roller or other hair removal method. It may also work as a preventative measure on soft furnishings by helping to stop hair from sticking to fabric in the first place. Just be sure to always do a patch test first before you start dousing everything in sight.

How to reduce shedding in pets

Get into a grooming schedule

Pets shed: fact. Since prevention is always better than cure, it pays to get grooming. “Grooming your pet regularly helps keep your home free from hair and dander,” says Sharon Hall, NSW grooming development manager for Petbarn. “While the skin and hair life cycle of pets may differ from one animal to another, a regular schedule will help remove any dead coat that would otherwise be left on your clothes, furniture and floors.” 

Regardless of animal and their coat length, Sharon advises setting aside a weekly grooming session at home. “Speak to your local groomer about which tools are best for your pet’s needs,” she adds. “And, if you’re unable to find much time to groom at home, consider booking grooming appointments every four to six weeks to help remove excess undercoat and limit shedding at home.”

Regularly bathe your buddy

For canine companions, a regular bath can work wonders for your dog. “​​While regular brushing is essential, products such as detangling sprays and shampoos also help lift the hair and make removing that dead coat easier and more comfortable for your pet,” says Sharon.Ìý

And as for water-shy cats? “Cats that are mostly smooth or short-coated can maintain their own grooming needs if young and healthy,” explains Sharon. “If your cat has a longer coat, or is getting older, they may not be able to manage the workload themselves and will appreciate help to stay clean and matt-free, plus minimise furballs.” 

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Lynne Moorman describes her seven cats as “much loved and spoilt family members that have lived with us since they were 12 weeks old”, and you can hear the love in her voice.

You can also hear the pain when Moorman talks about all seven of them falling ill in September 2020. (Moorman has taken her cats, six Somalis and one part pedigree, to national cat shows around Australia, where they’ve won awards.) 

New version of Royal Canin kibble

According to Moorman, the culprit was a new version of Royal Canin’s Light Weight Care kibble, which was added to her cats’ diets in August 2020.Ìý She had been feeding her cats the old version of the kibble since 2016.Ìý

The new kibble had gone from a pyramid to a donut shape, but Moorman is convinced that a change of ingredients is to blame for what began in September 2020 as diarrhoea, vomiting, weight loss, bloody stools and loss of appetite and ended up as a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or lymphoma for five of her cats and ongoing sickness in the other two. (The two diseases present with similar symptoms.) 

Royal Canin told Moorman there had been no change in ingredients and that the product shouldn’t cause digestive issues.Ìý

Around the time Moorman bought the newly shaped kibble in August, Royal Canin announced that some of its products would be made in a new South Korean facility rather than in France – a move that Moorman thinks has something to do with the change in the product and her cats’ resulting sickness.Ìý

“It’s unheard of to have all seven get sick all at the same time,” Moorman told ÌÇÐÄVlog. “It was horrendous. These are our family members, and it breaks my heart to see what they’ve had to go through.” 

With so many visits and procedures in recent months, Moorman’s vet bills have passed the $10,000 mark.Ìý

Royal Canin: Our kibble is not to blame

Through several communications between Moorman and Dr Ben Porter, the scientific advisory veterinarian for the company, Royal Canin said it couldn’t establish a link between its product and the IBD cases.Ìý 

The company says there was no change in ingredients and that the product in question was manufactured in France. The change in shape happened in “late 2020”, Royal Canin told Moorman, and was not related to the new South Korean manufacturing location.

But Moorman drew the company’s attention to a video on Royal Canin’s Facebook page from July 2020 featuring the new donut-shaped kibble.Ìý

Because Moorman didn’t make the connection between the kibble and her cats’ illnesses until September, and she was feeding seven cats, she no longer had the packaging for the kibble she bought in August.Ìý

The lack of packaging meant Royal Canin couldn’t check the specific batch number of the product Moorman is convinced was the culprit.Ìý

In March 2021, Porter told Moorman “we have exhausted all support we can provide you in relation to this complaint”. Inflammatory bowel disease is “multifactorial”, the company said, and could not be definitively linked to its cat food.

Royal Canin didn’t specifically rule out its kibble as a possible cause, but said “we are not aware of identified health and safety risks to pets”.Ìý

No change of ingredients, says Royal Canin

“Prior to the food change in August 2020 all my cats were fine,” Moorman says, adding “there is no question in my mind whatsoever. I am absolutely 100% convinced that Royal Canin has caused the issues. There’s nothing else there.”

Royal Canin says there was no change of ingredients when the Light Weight Care kibble changed from pyramid to donut shape.Ìý

In February 2021, Porter emailed Moorman, saying, “I can confirm that our Light Weight Care diets manufactured in South Korea only became available for purchase in Western Australia from November 2020, which unfortunately does not match the timeline of your cats’ illness in their veterinary records.”

Signs of improvement

Moorman’s cats had started showing signs of improvement when we interviewed her in mid-May.Ìý

“Having taken them off Royal Canin, their coats have come back, their tails have come back,” Moorman says. “They’ve got more energy and they’re putting on weight. Two of them have put on nearly a kilo since January.”

‘Extremely let down’

But she says she still feels “extremely let down by Royal Canin”.  

In her final communication, Moorman told Porter, “I understand that the exact cause of feline IBD is unknown, and experts attribute this condition to complex interactions between the environment, genetics and diet.Ìý

“I can understand it when one cat or even two cats from the same household are diagnosed with IBD, but when it happens to five cats within 12 weeks who are not all related to each other, then this is a different scenario altogether.”

Pet food unregulated in Australia

Pets falling ill, or worse, from eating pet food is hardly a new phenomenon in Australia. And with no mandatory pet food safety standards currently in place, pets continue to get sick.Ìý

We recently highlighted the case of Rebecca Cleaver’s two rescue greyhounds being diagnosed with megaesophagus after eating Veganpet dry dog food.Ìý

In an earlier story, we focused on the case of Nina Waltman, who’s convinced Royal Canin dry dog food made her Maltese Shih Tzu sick. (Royal Canin denied it was the cause.) 

The standards that do exist, including the voluntary ones in Australia, appear to be falling short.Ìý

As we reported in our earlier story, a study published by the US National Institutes of Health in February 2020 makes the case that the cereals used in dry pet foods are “vectors of harmful mycotoxins posing the risk to pet health”, and that even at levels well below the EU regulatory threshold, mycotoxins can pose long-term health risks for pets.

More than 100 cases since 2017

Since 2017, more than 100 cases of megaesophagus have been linked to Advance Dermocare dry dog food in Australia, and at least eight dogs have died as a result of contracting the illness.Ìý

In a paper published in December 2018, the director of the University of Melbourne’s U-Vet Hospital, Professor Caroline Mansfield, says there was a “one in a million probability that this occurred by chance” and that the dog food was almost certainly the cause.Ìý

Yet the manufacturer of the product, Mars Australia, told ÌÇÐÄVlog in February 2021 that, “despite extensive investigations, a root cause of the 2018 outbreak has yet to be found”.

Slow progress for government working group 

With hundreds of pet food contamination incidents on record in recent decades, the federal government took action in 2018.Ìý

At the time, Minister of Agriculture David Littleproud established a working group to review the regulation and safety of pet food.Ìý

When we reported on the Veganpet case in April 2021, Littleproud’s office told us the group’s final report “is now being finalised and is expected to be presented to senior Agriculture officials by the end of March 2021”.Ìý

We contacted the minister’s office for an update in mid-May and were told the report was still being drafted.Ìý

Both the Australian Veterinary Association and the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia think a mandatory standard is needed, as does pet food maker Royal Canin.Ìý

The recent case of Lynne Moorman and her seven cats underscores the need to accelerate the process.Ìý

Royal Canin also wants mandatory regulation

A Royal Canin spokesperson told us the company “supports the introduction of mandatory regulation of the Australian pet food industry. We recognise that adherence to consistent standards across the industry will improve the confidence of owners in the food they feed their pets”.

“We follow a thorough process to examine all aspects of quality and safety in our food production to investigate the cause of a pet’s illness, when an owner or veterinarian believes it to be linked to our product. In the absence of batch details from the [Lynne Moorman], we’ve been unable to complete any testing and establish a link between the reported illness and our product.”

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Rebecca Cleaver was shocked to find out there are no mandatory standards for pet food in Australia, and she found out the hard way.Ìý

Rebecca and her partner Loan have two rescue greyhounds, Bertie and Joanie, who were happy, healthy dogs a few months ago, but now need hours of daily hands-on help.Ìý

Both were diagnosed with megaesophagus late last year, a disease that enlarges the oesophagus and makes eating and drinking difficult, sometimes so difficult that animals have to be put down.ÌýDogs have to eat in an upright position and often can’t consume enough to stay healthy.Ìý

Neither Rebecca nor her vet were sure what caused it until a recall notice arrived from the dog food brand the greyhounds eat, Veganpet, saying a batch of its dry dog food had been linked to the disease.Ìý

Bertie was the first to show signs of being unwell.Ìý

“We would wake up in the morning and notice that Bertie was in a puddle of what looked like vomit,” Rebecca says.Ìý

“Initially the vet said it’s probably just an upset stomach, gave us some anti-nausea meds and sent us on our way. We changed her diet, but she just kept vomiting. And then finally we were referred to a specialist and the specialist said it might be this condition called megaesophagus.” 

Then things got worse.Ìý

“Around that time, the same thing started happening to Joanie,” Rebecca says.” We were just devastated because the prognosis we received for Bertie was poor. Very few dogs recover. Joanie actually seems to have it more severely than Bertie, I think because she was eating the food for longer.” 

For Rebecca and Loan, the devotion to their greyhounds has taken on a new dimension.Ìý

“It’s a lifelong condition,” Rebecca says. “You have to feed your dog in an upright position from now on. You have to feed them very small meals. You have to experiment with foods of different consistencies to see what they can keep down. You have to keep an eye on their breathing because a lot of these dogs develop pneumonia.” 

“It just basically took over our whole lives initially,” Rebecca says. “It was just a complete nightmare. They were so acutely unwell. Bertie lost a third of her body weight. We thought she was going to die.” 

Rebecca and her partner now feed the dogs in a special cushioned chair they built (known as a Bailey chair) that allows the dogs to eat sitting upright.Ìý

Joanie is fed very small meals four times a day and Bertie twice, with special meatballs that Rebecca and Loan make every day.Ìý

“I took time off work and I’m still not back to my normal schedule,” Rebecca says. “I would say we probably spend three hours a day just feeding them.” 

“It’s been such a huge change in our lives. We can’t go out in the evenings anymore. We can’t go out for long periods of time. We always have to be here to be able to feed them regularly. But we just adjusted, I guess, and it kind of became a new normal. But when I think about how healthy they were it just breaks my heart. We had two perfectly healthy dogs.”

Veganpet issues a recall 

Veganpet sent out a communication to its customers in October 2020 saying, “We are deeply concerned by reports we have received of dogs being afflicted with megaesophagus.”

The communication said “we do not presently have any reason to believe that this multifactorial condition can be caused by our Veganpet dry dog food.” 

But the company decided to recall the product, “out of an abundance of caution.” (The batch number in question is 02026021, printed on the outer foil of 15kg bags. The 1kg package can be identified by an expiry date of 21 July 2021).Ìý

Following the recall, Veganpet informed its customers that a batch of its dry dog food consumed by the affected dogs “has indicated abnormally high levels of a mycotoxin, Fumonisin”, adding that the mycotoxin is “known to originate as a crop disease and stays in the raw product during the pre and post harvesting process”.Ìý

Manufacturer to blame says Veganpet 

Veganpet said it had contacted the manufacturer of the dog food, WA-based Advanced Pet Care, to ask about the origin of the raw ingredients in the tainted batch. Veganpet also said it was looking for a new manufacturer.Ìý 

The customer communication also invited affected dog owners to send through documentation of their vet costs, which Veganpet hoped its insurer would pay. Rebecca says one woman she heard from had paid $30,000 so far.Ìý

A follow-up communication from Veganpet ,on 5 January this year, thanked customers for sending through their vet bills but said its insurer had advised that Advanced Pet Care would be responsible for any compensation.Ìý

The manufacturer took a different view.Ìý 

“Advanced Pet Care is denying everything, and they are being very uncooperative,” the communication said. As a result, Veganpet said it had started legal proceedings.Ìý

Veganpet director and business owner Sandy Anderson told ÌÇÐÄVlog on 9 February that the company “has been devastated to receive reports of dogs belonging to its customers falling ill and, in a few cases, dying.”

“Investigations to seek to ascertain the precise cause of these events were and are ongoing,” Anderson said, adding “no issues whatsoever have arisen with any other batch.”

According to Anderson, the insurance claims were back with Veganpet’s insurer.Ìý

“Veganpet acknowledges and deeply regrets that some of its customers have suffered financial loss, on top of the trauma of the illnesses of their beloved pets,” Anderson said. “It has referred all such customer claims to its insurer and anticipates that those customers will hear from the insurer shortly.”

Rebecca says she has heard from the insurer, but the issue was still unresolved at the time of publication.Ìý

Advanced Pet Care says there’s no link 

Advanced Pet Care (APC) general manager Shirlyn Lao told ÌÇÐÄVlog the company has been manufacturing products for Veganpet since 2013.Ìý

“APC’s review of its manufacturing processes confirmed that the recalled product was manufactured in accordance with all relevant manufacturing standards and that its manufacturing processes are not linked to the cases of megaesophagus,” Lao says.Ìý

“Investigations are ongoing in partnership with the PFIAA [Pet Food Industry Association of Australia] and Australian Veterinary Association since diet-related megaesophagus in dogs is usually multifactorial and the underlying causes are not fully established at this stage,” Lao continued. “Currently, there is no veterinary literature that links a single ingredient as a cause of megaesophagus. APC continues to cooperate fully with the investigation.”

Lao says APC will discontinue manufacturing Veganpet dry dog food until “a cause and effect is clear”.Ìý

APC also says that no legal action has been taken against the company.

While there may be no definitive link to a single ingredient, a study published by the US National Institutes of Health in February 2020 makes the case that the cereals used in dry pet foods are “vectors of harmful mycotoxins posing the risk to pet health”, and that even at levels well below the EU regulatory threshold, mycotoxins can pose long-term health risks for pets.

Australia lagging on pet food standards

Pet food regulation is handled by government agencies in countries like New Zealand, the US, Japan, Singapore and throughout Europe, with independent regulators making sure the product meets certain standards. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration sets the standards, as it does for human food, and pet food recalls are handled the same way.Ìý 

That’s not the case in Australia, where the pet food standard, ‘AS5812 Manufacturing and marketing of pet food’ is voluntary and the pet food industry regulates itself. Pet food standards are currently under review, but the jury’s still out.Ìý

The result of self-regulation appears to be that many pets continue to become seriously ill or die from eating contaminated pet food in Australia.Ìý

Since 2017, over 100 cases of megaesophagus have been linked to Advance Dermocare dry dog food, manufactured by Mars Australia. In eight of those cases, the dogs had to be euthanised.Ìý

Any doubt that Advanced Dermocare caused the illnesses was put to rest by a University of Melbourne U-Vet Hospital study release in December 2018.Ìý 

“This is an extremely strong association, there is about a one in a million probability that this occurred by chance, supporting the hypothesis that Advance Dermocare was associated with this outbreak of idiopathic megaesophagus in dogs,” U-Vet Hospital Director Caroline Mansfield said at the time.Ìý

A spokesperson for Mars Australia told ÌÇÐÄVlog that, “despite extensive investigations, a root cause of the 2018 outbreak has yet to be found.”

While adherence to the Australian standard is voluntary, the industry’s peak body, PFIAA, encourages its members to follow it.Ìý

PFIAA estimates that 95% of the pet food sold by volume in Australia is sold by a PFIAA member, yet only 21 of its 64 members has been independently certified to have met the standard. (Advanced Pet Care is a certified member.)

And meeting the standard clearly doesn’t guarantee the safety of pets.

Not a new problem 

Unsafe pet food has been a longstanding issue in Australia, and ÌÇÐÄVlog has called for mandatory standards, faster recalls and an independent pet food regulator.Ìý

In 2018 we profiled the case of Nina Waltman, whose eight-year-old Maltese Shih Tzu became seriously ill after eating mouldy Royal Canin dog food. (Royal Canin denied any responsibility.) 

The incidence of pet food-related deaths and illnesses in Australia is considerable.

Current status of pet food regulation 

An October 2018 Senate report, ‘Regulatory approaches to ensure the safety of pet food’, laid out a strong case for mandatory standards in Australia, recommending that policymakers consider having the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act (FSANZ) cover pet food as well as human food.Ìý 

It also recommended that the ACCC consider making the voluntary standard mandatory and that the standard be improved.Ìý

When the report was released, Minister of Agriculture David Littleproud (whose portfolio includes pet food regulation) said he would review its findings and that recommendations would be made in 2019 “about how to best manage pet food regulation and provide healthy and safe foods for pets in Australia”, adding, “I have asked my department to expedite this work.” 

But progress has been slow.Ìý

We asked Littleproud’s office for an update and were told the working group on better pet food regulation had met 12 times since it was formed in November 2018.Ìý

“Although the summer bushfires of 2019 and 2020 and COVID-19 slowed progress during 2020, the report is now being finalised and is expected to be presented to senior agriculture officials by the end of March 2021, after which it will be provided to state and territory agriculture ministers for their consideration,” a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture told ÌÇÐÄVlog in early February.Ìý

Standard should be mandatory 

Major stakeholders in the industry agree the standard should be mandatory and also improved.

Head of policy and advocacy for the AVA, Dr Melanie Latter, told ÌÇÐÄVlog that pet food safety is “of significant concern” to the AVA and that it “does not support the current lack of regulation of the Australian pet food industry”.Ìý

“The AVA has consistently and strongly argued for a mandatory Australian pet food standard and an ongoing process of review and modification with clear guidelines for product recall,” Dr Latter says.Ìý

She added that the AVA has been informed that pet food will not be included under FSANZ and that the ACCC will not be involved in monitoring toxicity in pet foods, both of which were recommended by the 2018 Senate report.Ìý

PFIAA also thinks a mandatory standard is needed.Ìý

“Working alongside and aligning with the AVA and RSPCA, the PFIAA continues to advocate for regulation of the pet food industry,” says PFIAA president Michelle Lang.Ìý

“We support the Australian standard becoming mandatory, and a framework that enables the enforcement of recalls by an independent regulator where quality or safety issues exist,” Lang says.Ìý 

She says the PFIAA is taking it upon itself to update the Australian standard “to align more closely with the Food Standard Code that regulates human food”.Ìý

‘I felt tremendous guilt’

These all sound like good ideas to Rebecca Cleaver, who wasn’t aware that no mandatory standards existed when her greyhounds fell ill.Ìý

“When my vet first flagged it with me, that it could be linked to food and that they’d had this previous case, I thought how could they let that happen?

And then I felt so much guilt. I remember when I got the recall notice I immediately just went over to Joanie and hugged her and said ‘I’m so sorry, I didn’t know’.Ìý

“You do your best, and you trust that the food you’re feeding your dog is going through basic testing,” Rebecca says. “And to know that something like this could happen, it just absolutely blew my mind and I felt tremendous guilt, but I also felt that I wanted to help change things and make it better for other dogs.” 

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On this page:

• Grain-free pet food
• Differences between dogs and cats
• Gluten-free pet food
• Hypoallergenic pet food
• Human-grade ingredients
• Superfoods for pets
• Are 'exotic' meats any better?
• Is your pet food really 'complete' and 'balanced'?

Premium pet foods make claims about containing high-quality, often human-grade, ingredients; being grain-free; having a high meat content; and including human superfoods.Ìý

They include pet store foods such as Black Hawk, Ivory Coat, Ziwi Peak and Taste of the Wild; vet-supplied foods such as Advance, Hills and Royal Canin; and also some supermarket foods (especially grain free) and foods that simply call themselves ‘premium’.

While they all have different claims for ‘premiumness’, one thing they all have in common is their higher cost. But are they any better for your pet? We take you through some of the features of premium pet foods and their claims.

Grain-free pet food

Regular dry pet food contains grains such as wheat, barley, corn and rice, and they’re sometimes used in wet food to provide fibre. Mirroring human dietary trends, grain-free products for pets are becoming increasingly popular.

But just because a dry food is grain free doesn’t mean it’s carbohydrate free. Kibble requires some sort of starch to hold the meat and fat together, so vegetables such as potato, sweet potato and cassava, or legumes such as peas and lentils, are used instead. Legumes are high in fibre and can provide a useful source of protein in addition to carbohydrate. But starchy vegetables tend to be lower in fibre and other nutrients, and are more expensive than grains.

So should your pet go grain-free?

Differences between dogs and cats

The anti-grain brigade is quick to argue that dogs and cats are carnivores – they hunt for meat, not wheat. Some are willing to concede that while dogs are omnivores – they can eat meat, grains, vegetables, fruits, discarded pizza crusts, kids’ birthday cakes, including candles … pretty much anything really – cats are ‘obligate carnivores’ that can’t digest grains and have to eat meat.

Dogs’ needs

The anti-grainers counter that dogs are descended from carnivorous wolves and share 99.8% of their DNA, and therefore must be fed as carnivores. But the small number of genes in which wolves and dogs differ include a group related to the digestion of starch – and these genetic adaptations formed an important step in the early domestication of the dog. Grains are relatively cheap, and they’re a source of protein, vitamins, minerals and fibre, so can play a valuable role in the diet of a dog.

Cats’ needs

Cats are a different story. A small study that let cats choose from foods with varying levels of carbohydrate, protein and fat found the ideal balance was 52% of energy from protein, 36% from fat and only 13% from carbohydrate – a similar balance to eating a rat! But in most dry foods, at least 30% of energy is supplied by carbohydrate, and only 30–40% from protein. Wet food is usually lower in carbohydrate, and may consist of just meat products, gelling agent and added nutrients.

So the question for cats is more about whether they should be eating large amounts of carbohydrate, rather than if they should eat grains specifically.

Risk of diabetes?

One concern is that a high carbohydrate diet may increase the risk of diabetes. Some studies have found this not to be the case, but a recent (2017) large Swedish study found cats with type 2 diabetes were more likely to have been fed a mostly dry diet.Ìý

That said, it’s not clear whether it’s because of the carbohydrate in dry food, or some other factor. Other researchers, for example, found that adding water to dry food made cats more active and eat less, and we know that inactivity and overweight are associated with diabetes.

Limited research means there’s no good evidence that dogs and cats on the whole do better on a grain-free diet, and no evidence a diet with grains does harm on the whole. In the many decades since the advent of prepared pet foods that contain grains, pets have been living long and healthy lives. By the same token, grain-free foods can be healthy, as long as they’re from a reputable company.

From a sustainability perspective, plant foods are more environmentally friendly than meat products. But there will be some dogs that benefit from a reduced grain or reduced carbohydrate diet – skin problems and gastrointestinal upsets may be solved with a different diet.

In general, the far greater risk to pet health is obesity, which can come from eating too much of anything.

Gluten-free pet food

Living a gluten-free lifestyle? Well now your pet can too, with a variety of dog and cat foods claiming to be gluten free. As with humans, there’s no evidence gluten is harmful to most animals – the main exception seems to be some Irish setters, which are susceptible to coeliac disease. If you suspect a genuine intolerance, see your vet about undertaking a proper food intolerance test for your pet.

Hypoallergenic pet food

There’s limited data on the incidence of food allergies in dogs and cats, but they’re uncommon in dogs and rare in cats. Symptoms are mainly skin-related (itching, redness, sores, hair loss) and gastrointestinal (vomiting, diarrhoea). Studies report the most common allergens in dogs are beef, dairy, chicken and wheat. For cats it’s beef, dairy, fish and lamb. The only way to confirm an allergy is to put your pet on an elimination diet, supervised by a vet, and then reintroduce suspect foods to test for reaction.

Meats are the main allergens, but it can be difficult to find food from single animal protein sources – a commercial food labelled ‘lamb dinner’ could also contain chicken, beef, pork and other meats. Checking the label carefully is important.Ìý

However, a 2015 UK study of animal DNA in pet food found animal species that weren’t listed on the label, and a 2013 Italian study discovered unlabelled animal species even in special hypoallergenic diets.

An allergy – but which allergy?

When a product states it’s ‘hypoallergenic’, it’s important to check what allergy is assumed – and therefore what’s absent from the product. For example, the range of Ivory Coat Natural Health Hypoallergenic products include potentially allergenic meats such as chicken and fish, so if your pet is allergic to chicken or fish, these products won’t be hypoallergenic for them – but other varieties may be.Ìý

The Royal Canin Hypoallergenic food, on the other hand, contains hydrolysed proteins specifically designed for vet-supervised allergy diets.

Human-grade ingredients

Some products claim to have ‘human-grade’ ingredients, although technically once a food has left the human food supply chain, it’s no longer human grade. It’s usually meant to imply the ingredients are good enough for human consumption, such as meat in the form of muscle meat, rather than byproducts, as well as various plant products and fats such as fish oil.

Spleens, but no horns

But are the much-maligned byproducts so bad? There’s no definition for byproducts in the Australian pet food standard, but the definition supplied by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) states it “includes but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low temperature fatty tissue, and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth and hoofs”.Ìý

In other words, it’s the parts of an animal that a carnivore would normally eat, but are less popular with humans (although this can vary by culture).

From an environmental and animal welfare point of view, making pet food from the nutritious ‘leftovers’ of animals slaughtered for human consumption makes use of what would otherwise be a waste product to be disposed of – and prevents the need to raise and slaughter yet more animals.

Superfoods for pets

The ingredient lists of some pet foods wouldn’t look out of place on a wellness blogger’s shopping list: kale, sea kelp, blueberries, cranberries, carrots, sun-cured alfalfa, emu oil, flaxseeds, salmon oil, green-lipped mussels, yoghurt, chicory root, dandelion and – yes – even coconut oil!

Ingredients that sound good to humans may in fact be less beneficial than ingredients that don’t sound as good, and could just be a cynical attempt to justify the high cost of the food. As Adelaide vet Dr Andrew Spanner says: “Pets don’t have wallets, people do. Marketers target pet owners by making foods that sound good and look good.”

For many of these ingredients, there’s no evidence they provide any benefit to your pet. Furthermore, some ingredients (the fruit and herbs, rather than the oils) are likely to be present in such small quantities as to be inconsequential, even if they did have a benefit. Too much of any fat, whether coconut oil, fish oil, emu oil or any other fat, can be dangerous to your pet and lead to pancreatitis.

Are ‘exotic’ meats any better?

There’s a zoo in the pet food aisle! Bison, venison, wild boar, duck, emu and kangaroo are now found among the more commonplace beef, lamb and chicken. But these more exotic sources of meat offer no benefits over regular domesticated animals, and you may simply be paying for bragging rights.

A new source of protein?

On the other hand, if your pet develops an allergy to common meats, these more unusual variants could come in handy as a source of ‘novel’ protein that your pet hasn’t had the chance to develop an allergy to – as long as they really are novel and you haven’t already been feeding them to them. There may also be quality control and supply issues, which could affect safety, cost and availability.

Is your pet food really ‘complete’ and ‘balanced’?

Some premium pet food products may not contain all the nutrients needed for good health.

Foods labelled ‘complete’ are designed to provide a balanced diet for your dog or cat, and claim to meet the recommended nutritive requirements outlined by AAFCO. Foods that don’t meet the minimum AAFCO guidelines should be labelled “intended for occasional or supplemental feeding”, and should be fed alongside a complete food. You’ll also see words like “treat” or “snack”.

Buying complete cat food, especially wet food, is a minefield for the uninitiated. We surveyed a selection of cat food tins in 2017, only two of these similarly packaged tuna foods are complete: Fancy Feast’s Classic and A La Carte recipes (the more expensive Royale is not).Ìý

Applaws 100% Natural range is not complete, where as some of their other ranges ‘made with natural ingredients’ are. As for Gourmet Delight, there’s no information on the tin.Ìý

The Coles Complete Cuisine was, in fact, not complete. In 2017 we gave Coles a Shonky and referred them to the ACCC, as a result they cleared up their labelling.

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