It was a phone call from her mother-in-law 16 years ago that changed things for Fiona Rigg (and her dogs).
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Rigg's mother-in-law had just heard a radio interview with author and Canberra Times columnist Jackie French saying a healthy dog diet included raw chicken necks and wings.
"I don't know if my initial foray was about pleasing my mother-in-law or because it was super easy and convenient to prepare raw chicken (with bones) and a cup of kibble," she says.
"It fitted in with my busy life. And so for years, when the children were really little, I was going to the butcher to get a fortnight's worth of food. And that was it. It was like a couple of necks and a cup of kibble. That was my introduction, and then I started becoming a lot more interested."
Sixteen years later and Rigg - a professional chef, food stylist and Cordon Bleu graduate - is not only feeding her dogs completely raw meals, but she is also the creator of award-winning bespoke dog snack and spa treatment company PAWDinkum, and has just written a canine recipe book, with friend and photographer Jacqui Melville.
With more than 60 recipes, My Dog Eats Better Than Me aims to be the starting place for any dog owner wanting to know the benefits of a holistic diet for their furry friends and where they can start.
But before you know where you should start, you need to begin with why you should start. Is this trend of making gourmet meals - whether it's Vietnamese pork meatballs, pumpkin and oat risotto or even red velvet pupcakes - just part of the dog parent culture? Or is it the introduction to creating nourishing and considered meals for your pet, after years of the pet industry failing to provide just that?
There are no regulations for pet food in Australia. It means that food that is considered unfit for human consumption can end up in dog food. Not only that, commercial pet food is designed to sit on a shelf for long periods of time, making it economical to ship and store on supermarket shelves.
Plus, there is the issue of giving your pet the same food every day - no matter what it is - which means there is also a lack of variety in their diet. Just like humans, our pets get different benefits from different foods. Plus, who would want to eat the same thing for every meal, for the rest of their lives?
"Kibble is so convenient but I think it's the humans that want to get the kibble, not the dogs," Rigg says.
"And canned food has only been around since the 1930s/40s and these foods are just there for convenience. And all that food just stays on shelves for months or years, so it's not fresh food.
"Why would you want your loved pet to have that as their food? There's nothing really wholesome or overly healthy in it. There's too much salt and fats and the vitamins are all synthetic."
READ MORE:
- Best in show: Inside the world of canine fashion
- Helping my dog through a seizure made me less fearful of Canberra's new animal laws
- Pet separation anxiety increases as people return to offices
- The pooch who survived a four-storey fall - and landed on a cafe table
- The Informer: When the pandemic puppy doesn't work out and what to do about it
The big thing that Rigg drives home is that you don't have to go from zero to a hundred straight away. And you don't have to make your pet something that looks like it could be served in a five-star restaurant if you don't want to.
People can look at the recipes and just see a lot of hard work. In reality, though, Rigg spends about 10 minutes every two weeks preparing meals for her seven-year-old cocker spaniel, Holly.
After her weekly shop, she portions up the bulk of Holly's meals and freezes it - a must for anyone going down the raw food path as the meat needs to be as fresh as possible. When dinner time comes around she'll add some meal toppers, which may be some Greek yoghurt, a bit of cheese, a raw egg and vegetables.
Rigg has also been known to take the pulp leftover from juicing, combine it with rolled oats and eggs - the shell and all - and make a dog-friendly vegetable loaf.
It's true, the chef turned doggie culinary expert admits that she has become a bit obsessive about healthy dog diets. So much so, it's led her to study pet nutrition.
But dog diets are just one element to what is a growing demand for information about how we better care for our pets. And in particular, the topic of pet food has come to the forefront in recent months, after a spate of dog deaths were linked to a Victorian pet food company.
Rigg and the book My Dog Eats Better Than Me gets people thinking about how much they actually know about what their dog is eating.
"The book's really about the conversation with people that are not that confident to make meals for their dog," Rigg says.
"And whether you might want to just dabble in, say the treats, or you might just want to have a look at some of the main meals, maybe just add them in a couple of times a week, maybe you're going to start roasting a few vegetables for your dog when you're roasting for yourself. Just getting vegetables into your dog's diet is such a health benefit.
"It's about learning how to not be so heavy-handed on the kibble and maybe just being a bit more experimental. And just having the confidence to do that."
For Canberra's Daniel Tomas and Courtney Willcox, it was an unfortunate diagnosis for one of their three dogs that led them to holistic pet diets.
When one of their dogs was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus, the couple tried everything - steroids, creams, prescription kibble. When none of that worked, they were advised to see a holistic vet who put them on to fresh food feeding.
"We've just totally fallen in love with the great results that it showed to our dogs, especially the one suffering from lupus," Tomas says.
The change in diet has seen a huge difference in their coats - their fur is shiny and silky, rather than dehydrated - their energy levels have increased and even their eyes look clearer, according to the couple.
It's a change that inspired the couple to take their respective backgrounds as a chef and in the dog industry to start Chefs and Dogs - a meal delivery service for pets.
In addition to offering a range of holistic treats and toys for dogs - which can be shipped Australia wide - Canberrans can also get fresh meals for dogs and cats delivered to their door.
In the past 18 months, the company has become known for something else as well - their TikTok videos.
The Chefs and Dogs TikTok channel features Tomas giving tips about what to feed pets, and also how to create dog-friendly versions of human meals, such as tacos, nachos and even cookie dough. The results look good enough to eat - no matter what species you are.
"We're always looking for a way to share our message with other pet parents, and then obviously browsing the internet, we came across all these videos with the TikTok logo," Tomas says.
"We thought we'd give it a go and see if we can just encourage one pet parent to introduce a little bit of carrot peel that they might not be having for their lunch into their pet's diet. And then it just went from there and one-and-a-half years later of making TikTok videos it was one of the best decisions we could have made.
"It's the fact that one recipe can start the process for another pet parent to start this journey and see the results that we've had with our dogs, along with the millions of other pet parents.
"The community is growing at a rapid rate - almost 2 million pet parents now, whether that's feeding their dog, their cat, frogs, pet snails. They're feeding their pets like their family. They want the best for their pets, so hopefully, they can live longer, happier lives."
The following is from My Dog Eats Better Than Me.
Chicken and fennel meatballs
This is a great recipe to use in the first week of transitioning your dog from cooked meals to a raw diet - these meatballs can be served raw or lightly cooked. Fennel is also great for flatulence and tummy upsets.
Gently searing the meatballs not only creates more flavour for the fussy eater or the older dog but crisps up the oats to add extra texture.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes (optional - these meatballs can be served raw after they have been frozen and defrosted).
Makes: 7 to 8 meatballs
500g free-range chicken mince
80g coarsely grated carrot
80g shredded Tuscan cabbage
2 tsp ground fennel
1 handful of parsley, roughly chopped
1 egg, whisked
250g rolled oats
1tbsp olive oil, if cooking meatballs
Method
- Using a fork, combine all the ingredients except the oats and oil in a large bowl. Add 200g of the oats and continue mixing until thoroughly combined.
- Spread the remaining oats onto a small tray. Divide the meatball mixture into portions of approximately 100g and, using your hands, shape each into a ball. Gently roll each ball in the prepared oats. Repeat until you have used up all of the mixture.
- If cooking the meatballs, heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook for four to five minutes or until lightly cooked through.
- For dogs on a raw diet, first, freeze the meatballs in an airtight container, then defrost before serving.
- The meatballs can be kept in the fridge for up to three days or in the freezer for up to three months.
Tip: To save on freezer space, make patties instead. Or freeze raw meatballs in a container first so that they hold their shape, then transfer them into a freezer bag. Lightly cooked meatballs can be stored immediately into a freezer bag when they are cool.
- My Dog Eats Better Than Me, by Fiona Rigg and Jacqui Melville. Hardie Grant Books. $29.99.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram