It sounds complicated. We promise it isn't.
You've found Herbsts Hounds.
You've picked your fighter- Moo, Cluck, Buck or Baa.
Your hound is already staring at you as if they haven't been fed since 2017.
And then you spot two words on the pack:
Complementary Dog Food.
Which sounds suspiciously like something that requires an explanation.
Is it a treat? A snack? A side dish? Are you supposed to compliment your dog while they eat it?
Who's a handsome boy? Look at you eating your complementary food.
Thankfully, it's much simpler than that.
So, what does “complementary” actually mean?
When it comes to dog food, complete and complementary have specific meanings.
A complete dog food is formulated and registered to provide the nutrition your dog needs from their main diet when fed appropriately.
A complementary dog food isn't registered to do that job on its own. It's intended to be fed alongside an appropriate complete diet.
And that's how our current Herbsts Hounds range is registered.
It's an important distinction.
But it doesn't mean complementary is another word for inferior.
It tells you what job the food is registered to do.
Not how much care went into making it.
So, what exactly is in the pack?
Food.
Proper, chunky, recognisable food.
Depending on which member of the pack you choose, you'll find ingredients like beef, chicken, venison or mutton alongside vegetables, cereals and legumes.
We gently cook it, pack it and freeze it.
Nothing particularly mysterious going on here.
That's quite deliberate.
Long before Herbsts Hounds existed, we became the sort of dog owners who paid very close attention to what went into our dogs' bowls.
There's a story behind that.
His name was Ghost.
We'll tell you his full story another day, but he's the reason there's a hound on our logo, and a big part of the reason we care so much about the food we make today.
Why call it a topper?
Because that's one of the easies and tastiest ways to serve it.
Take your dog's regular food:
Oh… this again.
Add some Herbsts Hounds:
OH! THIS AGAIN!
Spoon it over. Mix it through. Rotate the flavours.
Suddenly the bowl they've seen a thousand times has something new going on.
But there's something we'd like to make clear.
We don't think of Herbsts Hounds as a squirt of sauce designed to make boring food taste better.
We make food.
We're proud of what's inside it, and we make it with the same care we'd expect from something going into our own dogs' bowls.
Because that's quite literally where it goes.
If it's in the bowl, it has a reason to be there
This is one of the ideas Herbsts Hounds is built around.
If it's in the bowl, it has a reason to be there.
We like simplicity.
But when we say simple, we don't mean trying to win a competition for the shortest ingredient list.
We mean being able to look at what we've put into our food and answer a very basic question:
Why is that there?
There should be a good answer.
We believe in quality ingredients with a purpose — nothing unnecessary and nothing added simply because it's more convenient for us.
It's a philosophy that started with our own dogs.
And it's one we're carrying into yours.
Then why isn't Herbsts Hounds “complete”?
Because complete means something specific when you're talking about dog food.
It's not a gold star.
And complementary isn't the runner-up prize.
A complete food takes responsibility for providing the appropriate nutritional balance your dog requires from their main diet.
That's a much bigger nutritional job than our current range is registered to do.
So we're not going to stick the word “complete” on the front of a packet simply because it sounds better.
Our current range is registered as complementary dog food.
That's what we'll call it.
No clever wording. No pretending otherwise.
Does that mean you'll never make complete food?
Oh, we're working on it. 🐾
Complete Herbsts Hounds meals are part of where we're heading.
But we're not interested in rushing them out of the door.
Developing complete food means making sure it provides the appropriate nutritional balance a dog needs from its main diet and meeting the requirements that go along with making that claim.
We want to do that properly.
And when those foods arrive, you might notice something interesting.
Their ingredient lists may be longer than our complementary foods.
That doesn't mean we've abandoned our belief in simplicity.
Quite the opposite.
Remember our rule?
If it's in the bowl, it has a reason to be there.
Complete food simply has a bigger job to do.
We'll get into that in another blog.
So how should I feed Herbsts Hounds?
Our current foods are complementary, so they should be fed alongside an appropriate complete diet and according to the feeding directions provided with the product.
As a topper, it's wonderfully uncomplicated.
Defrost it.
Grab a spoon.
Add it to your dog's regular food.
Accept your promotion to Favourite Human.
Once defrosted, keep it refrigerated and use it within two days. Always make sure your dog has access to fresh water.
And if your best friend has allergies, a medical condition or particular dietary requirements, speak to your vet before making changes to their diet.
Now for the difficult bit
Which one?
There's Just a Little Moo — chunky beef and vegetables.
Just a Little Cluck — chicken and vegetables.
Just a Little Buck — venison and vegetables.
And Just a Little Baa — mutton and vegetables.
Can't decide?
Neither could we.
That's why there's MEAT THE PACK — all four flavours in one introductory bundle so your hound can conduct their own highly scientific taste test.
Please be aware that the methodology generally involves eating everything and requesting seconds.
From our hounds to yours
Herbsts Hounds didn't begin because we sat around a boardroom trying to identify a gap in the premium pet-food market.
It started with our dogs.
They made us think differently about food, ingredients and the responsibility that comes with deciding what goes into the bowl of an animal that trusts you completely.
One hound in particular changed everything.
You'll meet Ghost properly soon.
For now, the important bit is simple:
Make food we're happy to feed our own dogs.
Know why every ingredient is there.
Be honest about what our food is, and what it isn't.
And never forget who we're making it for.
Your best friend is our best friend. 🐾
