General information, not professional advice

The sentence that applies to every page

Content on premiumdogfood.com.au is for general information only and does not constitute professional advice. That sentence appears in the site footer and it is the condition on which the guides are published. It is not a decoration. Dog food sits next to animal health. A careful owner can learn how a label is put together. A careful owner cannot, from a webpage, decide that a particular animal should eat a particular recipe, stop eating another recipe, or delay a clinic visit.

If you need advice about a puppy, a senior dog, a pregnant or nursing dog, a dog on medication, a dog with itch, vomiting, diarrhoea, weight change, collapse, or a swollen abdomen, you need a veterinarian. If you need a product chosen from a shelf, you need a veterinarian who has seen the dog and who is willing to discuss complete foods in general terms. This site will not fill either role.

What the guides are, and what they are not

The guides explain, in ordinary Australian English, how to read identification, ingredients, nutritional adequacy, feeding directions and related information on a dog food pack. They describe Australian Standard AS 5812 (Manufacturing and marketing of pet food — cats and dogs), including the 2023 edition, as the manufacturing and marketing standard that industry guidance sits with. They describe explanations published by the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia. They describe feeding notes published by the RSPCA Knowledgebase. They mention AAFCO nutrient profiles only as the reference PFIAA says AS 5812 uses for nutritional adequacy. They mention PetFAST only as a veterinary reporting pathway operated with the Australian Veterinary Association.

They are not a standard. They are not a laboratory. They are not a shop. They are not a complete catalogue of toxic foods, even where they repeat lists that the RSPCA Knowledgebase has published; those lists are themselves described as incomplete. They are not permission to begin an elimination diet, a homemade diet, a raw diet, or a supplement. Calcium powder, in particular, is a clinic question: the RSPCA Knowledgebase says it should not be given to puppies unless a veterinarian directs it. This site will not direct it.

No page ranks foods. No page publishes a price. No page awards a medal. No page claims that a diet prevents, treats, or cures disease. Where a sentence might be mistaken for a health claim, read it back as a description of a label or as a pointer to a named source. If it still sounds like a treatment, ignore it and call a veterinarian.

Trademarks and third-party names

All trademarks and brand names are the property of their respective owners. Mention of a standard, an industry association, a welfare knowledgebase, or a veterinary association is a citation, not a partnership, not a sponsorship, and not an endorsement of this website by those bodies. Mention of a food format — wet, dry, treat, complete — is a description of labelling categories, not a recommendation of a maker.

If a manufacturer’s name appears on a bag you are holding, that name is their responsibility as the label states it. This site does not stand behind any manufacturer.

No professional relationship

Reading these pages does not create a veterinarian–client relationship, a nutritionist–client relationship, or any other professional relationship. Sending a message through the contact form does not create one either. A reply about the website is a reply about the website. It is not a consultation, even if your message described a dog.

You remain responsible for the animal in your care: for storing food as the pack directs, for providing fresh water, for noticing that a dog is unwell, and for seeking veterinary attention. The RSPCA Knowledgebase’s reminder that each dog is an individual is the right reminder. This site cannot see the individual.

Accuracy and change

Labelling rules, industry explanations, and welfare pages can be updated by the bodies that publish them. This site is written from those named sources as they stood when the pages were drafted, in careful general terms. It may not reflect a later edition, a later clarification, or a later clinic consensus. If a sentence here and a named source disagree, the named source and your veterinarian win. If you notice a factual error about a standard or a published labelling explanation, use the contact form and cite the page you want us to re-read.

We do not warrant that the site will be uninterrupted, that every internal link will always resolve, or that a printed copy of a page will remain current. The live page is the page we mean.

Limitation

To the extent Australian law allows, premiumdogfood.com.au and the people who publish it are not liable for decisions made from general information on this site — including a decision to change food, to delay veterinary care, or to treat a marketing word as a medical fact. Nothing on this page excludes liability that cannot be excluded.

If you want the human version of the same limit: be kind to the dog. Read the bag. Call the clinic. Use this website as a reading room, not as a waiting room.