Purina Lucky Dog Dog Food Review

Available fromColes, Woolworths

Please note this review is for the Purina Lucky Dog brand of biscuits available in Woolworths and Coles.

For this review I’ve decided to call this Nestle “chook feed for dogs” Unlucky Dog. It’s a far more applicable term given how terrible the ingredients are. In fact, if you take a look at those long pointy teeth in your dog’s mouth, consider what they’re for, then take a look at the ingredients of Lucky Dog, you’ll probably be a little shocked!

In our Lucky Dog dog food review you’ll find out exactly why you should give your pooch something else.

Lucky Dog Product Range

Lucky Dog comes in a variety of “flavours”, but when you compare the ingredients you find they’re pretty much all the same. So don’t be fooled into believing you’re offering your dog a variety. You’re not.

If we consider all formulas as the same product in different packaging, then a conclusive list of Lucky Dog formulas is as follows:

Alas, onwards with our Lucky Dog review to substantiate these unlucky dog facts…

Lucky Dog Dog Food Review

What the marketing says

Lucky Dog” is marketing, pure and simple. What isn’t covered by the marketing is the real truth about this budget dog food (and by budget I mean what it’s made from, not just the price you pay to feed this crap to the dog you love).

Lucky Dog uses the term “flavour” because the Australian Standard of Manufacturing and Marketing of Pet Food (AS 5812:2017) stipulates the named “flavour” has to feature somewhere on the ingredients, even as little as 1%. They could technically name all the Lucky Dog dog formulas as “Salt Flavour” given our lax standards, but it’s more appealing to you as a consumer if you believe they’re different meat or fish recipes when they’re not.

Speaking of salt, most dog foods have approximately 1%. Lucky Dog lists 2.5%, so 250% more than other dog foods. On a totally unrelated note I wonder how much salt would need to be added to cardboard to entice a dog to eat it?

On the Lucky Dog website the first statement is “made with real meat”, but note this simply means there’s some meat in there, not necessarily in a decent quantity (you’ll find out later if Lucky Dog is made from real meat). What’s “real meat” anyway? The opposite of “fake meat”?

Lucky Dog, apparently, is for “Real Aussie Dogs” too…. as opposed to what? “Fake Aussie Dogs”?

🤷

What the labelling really says

Purina Lucky Dog Dog Food Review

Lucky Dog dog food is as basic as they get. When you feed your cute little puppy dog Lucky Dog you’re actually feeding them a product made mostly for cereal/cereal by-products and/or vegetable by-products. If you’re unsure what by-products are, then they’re generally the left-over rubbish once any decent bits are sold off for human consumption. Imagine a pile of vegetable waste, or a pile of cereal waste – would you give it to your dog? Probably not.

When we see and/or in an ingredients list for dog food we often see the best ingredient listed first (in this case cereals, if that could be considered the best), but it’s often what comes next which is more significant. That’s the nature of the and/or trick – you can say “Prime Beef Steak and/or Rank Cheese”, and have a product made of rank cheese.

Even if you were to feed your unlucky dog cereal or vegetable waste products, would you add food colourings to make them look more appealing, or salt to somehow get your dog to eat it?

Vegetable By-Products
Vegetable By-Products

For all we know the bulk of Lucky Dog could be rotting carrot tops and floor sweepings from a flour mill. The only upside of making dog foods with stuff like this is it reduces what gets sent to the dump. Or in actual fact, it turns the cost of disposing of that stuff and turning it into a huge profit at the cost of your dog’s health.

There’s no enticing ingredients in Lucky Dog, no oils for heart health, joint health, or a glossy coat, no animal fats for energy, no fruits, no decent veggies, no decent grains or decent meats to provide the “100% Complete & Balanced Diet” they state so clearly on the front of the bag.

We find the and/or trend applies to the meat content as well. It might be beef, mutton, chicken, turkey, or any by-product of these animals once they’ve been thrown dead or dying into a vat and minced up. One thing we can guarantee is the meat content is substandard. Lucky Dog has dismally low protein, low fat (not in a good way), and a whopping 2.5% salt to take the flavour away from potentially rank meat.

Purina Lucky Dog Dog Food Review

Given the low protein and low fat we can estimate the carbohydrates as approx. 66%, making this one of the highest carb foods you can feed your unlucky dog. Without going into too much detail we could also guestimate a 666% increase in vet bills down the track when your dog finally starts to show symptoms from years of being fed such species-inappropriate rubbish. The sad fact is when a dog finally shows symptoms (such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or arthritis) it’s far too easy for the owner to think it can’t be the food because they’ve fed it since their little dog was a puppy, when realistically the damage has been accumulating all that time – poor things.

Honestly, it’s as if Nestle Purina don’t have any understanding of what a dog is or what their dental structure and digestive system dictate. But the sad thing is they do, because they say so on their website 🤦 “CANINE – Long pointed teeth behind the incisors, used to tear meat apart“.

Purina Lucky Dog Dog Food Review
“CANINE – Long pointed teeth behind the incisors, used to tear meat apart” – source: Purina website UK.

One final worrying warning sign can be found near the end of the ingredients list – they list “essential vitamins & minerals and/or amino acids”. Are they saying the essential vitamins and minerals are optional? Is it a lucky dip whether the food has essentials vitamins and minerals, or amino acids?

The only other ingredient worth mentioning in Unlucky Dog is food colourings. I’m sure your dog will be thrilled with that, given they couldn’t give a stuff what colour their food is.

If you feed your dog Lucky Dog, and your dog gets sick, then it’s quite possible these two things are closely related.

Please share our Lucky Dog dog food review with others, especially those feeding Lucky Dog to their poor unsuspecting dogs.

Where to buy Lucky Dog?

Not that you would…

Lucky Dog Dog Food Review Summary

Unlucky Dog gets 1 out of 10, and I urge you to read up on Purina Beneful, another horrific offering from the Nestle chocolate bar company. Purina have been “wagging since 1963”, which is probably more the case when your dog is having a seizure.

Please don’t feed Lucky Dog to your dog.

Lucky Dog Ingredients

The ingredients of Lucky Dog dry dog food (as of July 2021) are as follows:

Cereals and cereal by-products and/or vegetable by-products; meat and meat by-products (derived from beef and/or mutton and/or poultry); essential vitamins & minerals (including salt, anti-oxidants and natural flavours) and/or amino acids; food colour.

Lucky Dog Guaranteed Analysis

The guaranteed analysis of Lucky Dog dry dog food (as of July 2021) is as follows:

Protein16%
Fat10%
Crude Fibre6% (max)
CarbohydratesEstimated a whopping 66%
Salt2.5%
* May be estimated. Read how to calculate carbohydrates in a pet food.

Lucky Dog dog food recalls

Recalls are voluntary in Australia as no official body enforces them. Purina products, however, have had many recalls worldwide and are subject to a number of class action lawsuits in relation to sick or dead pets. Purina Beneful, a very similar brand to Lucky Dog, has one of the worst track records worldwide and still continues to be sold. Lucky Dog is a brand name only specific to Australia, so can’t be tarnished by any mandatory recalls in the USA, Canada, or Europe where regulations are more stringent.

The following was reported on 21/07/2021 on Facebook. If you have suffered similar issues on Lucky Dog please let us know.

Purina Lucky Dog Dog Food Review

A subsequent report states the following in regard to Lucky Dog batch 2022.11.23 (best before 23/11/2022):

“My partner and I bought a bag of this a few weeks ago with the expiry date of ‘2022.11.23’, a few days after opening our dog became extremely unwell with severe vomiting and diarrhoea and refusal to eat and drink, he was rushed to the vet, he spent 4 days in intensive care almost needing to be put down and costing us over $3000 in vet care and investigations, with no answers. Finally he became well enough to return home after nearly a week of being ill, he is now on antibiotics, a pain patch at home, multiple medications and a home cooked diet and is still not back to normal.”

Calling Aussie pet lovers – join the mailing list!

1 Total Score
No wonder so many dogs get sick

CONS
  • All of it.
  • Low protein & low fat from lack of meat.
  • High carbohydrates from excessive cereals.
David D'Angelo

David D'Angelo has worked as a scientist since graduating with a BSc (Hons) in 2000. In addition, David holds a CPD accredited Diploma in Pet Nutrition as well as being CPD accredited VSA (Veterinary Support Assistant). However, his experience and involvement in the pet food industry for 15+ years has given true insight into pet food, formulations, science, research, and pet food marketing. Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | Pinterest

12 Comments
  1. I’ve never had a problem with this but I only use it when Supercoat is unavailable.

  2. Woolworths dropped the price of this food, probably because no ones buying it anymore, if only they knew that the reason wasn’t the price but that pet parents are looking into better quality. With how their dealing with Baxter’s they are either extremely dense or simply don’t care like most other pet food brands or the usual $ controls all.

  3. We have purchased this brand in both dry and wet form at least once, as well as buying treats. Our Bull Arab-cross seemed to enjoy it but may have got bored by the treats after a while. In regards to the dry and wet, we saw nothing unusual. Our puppy is a healthy and happy little chap. Would buy again.

    • Seems like this poor ‘Bull-Arab cross puppy’ has tried every terrible food on the market and enjoyed it! I smell a rat.

      • It shouldn’t happen i have unfortunately fed my Bullmastiff cross staffy luckydog. For qbout 40 percent of odf his 2yrs. I was told not to get baxters as it caused fits..so thought it was ok.HebJack my dog was always a touch underweight..%hank god i also gave him Pedigree pet rescue.And other buscuits plus what i ate leftovers. Today i had a choice and nearly got the luckydog for 10 bucks but made a decision to get the $12 50 pedigree. U have just read this and thank you.. will never take things for granted agaim ffs this is Australia and our best mates health

      • Rule of thumb – If a Bull Arab-cross eats a food once and survives, then the food is highly recommendable.

        Yes I did notice C&P has systematically endorsed many of our 1 star rated foods.

        • My little Koolie has fits after eating this product. I also nearly lost a litter of puppies from a Purina Turkey Puppy tin food. 1 puppy was in the Vet Hospital for 3 days the other 8 in the litter were very sick.Thats it I will not buy any Products from Purina ever. Angry

        • Pet Food Reviews (Australia) May 7, 2023 at 5:46 pm

          I’m so sorry to hear about your Koolie. Fits are heartbreaking to witness – I had a collie once who had a number of fits after a false diagnosis by a veterinarian, and I’ll never forget how hard it was to witness.

          I strongly urge you to add a report to the new APOG website for tracking issues with pet foods in Australia – https://www.apog.com.au/recall-issue-log/purina-lucky-dog/

          Feel free to share this review with social media groups as well, as this helps raise awareness (which is surprisingly hard to do against these big powerful pet food brands).

        • My 4y/o healthy staffy fell ill the day after eating the beef vegetable marrow bone flavour lucky dog food….. I regrettably purchased this food as a last minute alternative as his regular food wasn’t on the shelf at Woolworths….. he started vomiting the next day and after multiple visits to the vet for anti nausea injections and antibiotics he sadly passed away a week later…. With the vets perplexed as to what the problem was….. the day he passed away he was still passing whole kibbles of lucky dog a week after eating it..

        • Pet Food Reviews (Australia) October 5, 2022 at 6:29 pm

          Hi Jai, I’m so sorry to read this – it’s heartbreaking 🙁

        • Yeah no one and I mean no one should highly recommend a bad food just because their dog did well on it, unless you want a fight to ensue from someone’s dog that just died on that same food.

          Sadly it’s not going to stop happening because people are awesome in all the wrong ways when it comes down to pet food.

          I sent a text to a friend showing food values per 100g and some maths to go with it her mind was in one word “blown”
          Essentially the food she feeds is almost on par with Blackhawk that she’d be better off buying the 20kg bag and just feeding that.

          Lots of things people don’t take into account, that once you show them their minds are blown haha

      • ^^ The force is strong in this one 🙂

Leave a reply

Pet Food Reviews (Australia)
Logo
Shopping cart