FAQ

Our delicious recipes and treats are available in all good retailers and pet specialists. Please have a look at our where to buy page for specific information on where to buy our products instore.

All our food is made in our own factory in Crick, Northamptonshire, right in the heart of England – and has been for over thirty years.

Many of our suppliers we have worked with for years and we keep a close eye on what goes into our recipes – if the ingredients don’t meet our high standards, we don’t use them.

Nothing is better for your dog than nature’s most nourishing food. We do not use them as your dog does not need them. Our recipes do not contain any added artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. Just naturally nutritious food for dogs, with added essential vitamins and minerals.

We use fresh ingredients as much as possible.  We carefully control what goes into our food – if the ingredients do not meet our high standards, we do not use them. We receive up to 8 lorry loads of ingredients every day from our suppliers/producers.

All of our tins and trays are individually sealed and steam-cooked in their own airtight packaging.

We are very proud to say that our Butcher’s packaging is recyclable! To keep dogs as happy and healthy as possible.

A dog’s digestive system is built for meat – it’s what they naturally thrive on. Meat provides all the essential proteins, vitamins, minerals and fat a healthy dog needs, as well as water, which is good for hydration. It’s packed full of the goodness which keeps coats healthy, eyes bright and boundless energy. Click here to learn more

We’ve updated the way we present our recipe breakdown to give a clearer picture of how our pet food is made.

That is correct they are different percentages due to the different product types and different processing, for example:

• All our Loaf products have meat and broth
• All our chunk products do not have broth as they have the Jelly and Gravy
• All our foil tray pate products have broth

The ingredients list now focuses on the main recipe components and their proportions at the point of formulation, rather than attempting to show every processing component within a single 100% total.

The remaining % is made up of other essential components of the formulation, including functional ingredients, added vitamins and minerals, and permitted additives, as well as water used during processing and gelling agents such as gums, where applicable.

The meat we use in our recipes is especially nutritious. It’s mostly offal – organ meats that are especially tasty for dogs, packed with protein, vitamins, and minerals. All our ingredients are naturally tasty, so our products don’t need any artificial flavours, and we use fresh ingredients as much as possible. We always keep control over what goes into our food – if the ingredients don’t meet our high standards, we don’t use them.

Every dog is different, and while true food allergies are relatively uncommon, some dogs may have sensitivities to certain ingredients. If you would like more information about our recipes or ingredients, please contact our Consumer Care team, consumerservice@butcherspetcare.com  We aim to respond within 48 hours, although please allow up to five working days during busy periods.

Crude fibre doesn’t sound too nice, but it’s just a technical term for certain types of fibre which are indigestible and are important for digestive health and function.

L-carnitine is found naturally in ingredients such as meat, fish and poultry and is really important to keep your dog bouncing, lively and full of energy. It can also be helpful in managing weight loss and so we add additional supplementation into our Lean & Tasty recipes. L-carnitine is needed by muscle to produce energy from fatty acids and can help to maintain lean muscle.

Don’t worry, we don’t put any ash in your dog’s food! Crude ash is just a technical term for the mineral and bone content, so it’s part of what makes our recipes so nutritious and 100% complete and balanced. On average, Butcher’s products contain 2-4% crude ash, which is typical for all wet dog food.

Yes, but please make sure that it’s thawed out and back at room temperature before feeding it to your pet.

We believe there’s nothing better for your dog than nature’s most nourishing food. That’s why we use meat ingredients sourced from British and Irish farms and prepare our meals right here in the heart of England with natural ingredients from suppliers we know and trust.

Yes. We have a team of nutritionists with more than 25 years of combined experience and relevant industry qualifications. They play a key role in developing our recipes to ensure they provide complete and balanced nutrition for dogs.

The choice is entirely yours! If your dog has an allergy to grain, we’d recommend our range of grain-free recipes, but there are benefits to a wholegrain diet. Wholegrains are  a slow-release energy source and are gentle on tummies. Please consider any allergens your four-legged friend has.

Our food is classed as a complete food because it includes all the vitamins and minerals for a happy, healthy dog – including teeth!  When feeding any diet, a good dental health routine is always important and there’s nothing better for this than brushing your dogs’ teeth regularly with a doggy toothbrush and toothpaste!

Meat is the food dogs like best, and which is most nutritious for them. As we all know, it’s also usually the most expensive part of any meal and for dogs it’s no different. We think it’s worth it, though, to give your dog the diet they need to stay fit and healthy. A lot of people feed their dog a mix of wet and dry food, so the tastiness of meat can be easily added to a dry meal. If doing this, just make sure you adjust feeding quantities accordingly to ensure you don’t overfeed!

With 20% less fat than our standard recipes, our Lean & Tasty dog food recipes are perfect for when you’re watching your dog’s weight or for less active dogs.

Our recipes contain added L-carnitine, an important amino acid involved in the conversion of fat to energy, to help encourage body fat loss whilst maintaining lean muscle and are made with wholegrain rice, to keep dogs feeling fuller for longer.

All of our recipes contain added vitamins and minerals to ensure they are 100% complete and balanced, and supply all of the nutrients your dog needs to help maintain health and vitality.

Butcher’s Lean & Tasty dog food offers two feeding guides: the weight loss guide to help them lose unwanted pounds (with all the nutrients your dog needs, but lower in fat and calories), and the weight maintenance guide to help your dog stay in great shape.

All our products are free of soy and wheat gluten.

We can trace all our ingredients back to their sources

None of recipes have added salt – the salt they contain is all naturally occurring.

Unfortunately, we don’t give any free samples, however our most popular product, and the original recipe we started with 30 years ago – Butcher’s Tripe recipe – is available in single cans in all major supermarkets and pet specialists. Whenever switching food, we would recommend you introduce the new food in slowly over the course of a week, so as to avoid any issues at the other end!

All our recipes are 100% Complete & Balanced and are formulated within the pet food regulation guidelines. We now have a nutritionist on the team; Sara, who has been reviewing all our recipes and optimised the ingredients within our range. We have a really extensive product range and recipe development is being done in stages and has started with our natural health solutions range. To learn more about our Natural Health Support Range click here

This is a serving suggestion by our Nutritionist, highlighting which fruit/veg to add in if you have some left over. By adding them to your dog’s food, you are providing additional goodness and variety to your dog’s food.

Investigations in the US by the FDA have been looking at the potential role dry grain-free dry diets may play in relation to the heart condition, DCM. Wet diets are not implicated in any of the studies to date. The industry, including us here at Butcher’s Pet Care, continues to monitor any future progress of these investigations.

It is extremely important to reiterate that no definitive link has been established between canine DCM and diet and/or the presence of specific ingredients, nor that the diets included within the scientific trials are unsafe and require withdrawal from the market. Butcher’s products are not implicated in the research and at this present time, there is also no information to suggest a similar issue here in the UK or Europe. More detail on this topic from our nutritionist, Sara, can be found here.

At Butcher’s, we take great pride in ensuring our products are highly nutritious. Specifically, our Healthy Heart wet recipes are designed to help support a healthy heart, containing ingredients known to be beneficial for health and function.

They are manufactured to the highest standards and in line with legislative requirements. Should you have any specific health concerns relating to your pet, please speak to your vet. You can also read more about this on All About Dog Food and the UK Pet Food site.

We have only made small changes to our recipes, and we have updated the composition on the back of the pack.

Each of our products have individual feeding guides, please go to the individual products pages to review the feeding guides.