Hi, it's Ali here, founder of Feed For Thought. I get a version of the same message most weeks: a dog owner has already switched their itchy, scratchy, paw-licking dog onto a kangaroo formula hoping it would fix things, and it's helped a bit but not enough. So I wanted to explain properly what's actually going on, because kangaroo does work for a lot of dogs. It's just not the whole story anymore.
In a nutshell
- Chronic itching, hot spots and paw licking are very often a reaction to a protein, not the grain
- Kangaroo became the go-to "novel" protein because it's new to most dogs' immune systems
- The catch: kangaroo is now so common across Australian brands that plenty of dogs have already met it
- Some "kangaroo" formulas aren't a true single protein once you check the full label
- Insect protein is one of the few options still novel to almost every dog in the country
Does kangaroo actually work?
Often it does, yes. A dog that's spent its whole life on chicken, beef or lamb hasn't met kangaroo before, so the immune system has nothing to react to yet, and a lot of the itching, redness and paw chewing settles down within a few weeks. That's exactly why vets and pet food brands reach for it first. It's also lean, easy to digest, and Australian dogs generally take to it well.
Plenty of dogs never need to look any further than this, and if kangaroo has worked for yours, there's no reason to go hunting for something else.
Where it gets more complicated is for the dogs it hasn't fully fixed, and there are a few real reasons why.
What's actually going on
A protein only helps as an elimination diet if it's actually novel to that individual dog, meaning novel to their own eating history rather than just unusual on the pet shop shelf. If a dog has had kangaroo in a treat, a chew, or a previous "hypoallergenic" food, their immune system has already met it, and it stops being a useful novel protein for that dog specifically.
That's become more of a problem over the last few years simply because kangaroo has become so popular as the default answer. It's now the headline protein in a huge share of Australian "sensitive skin" and grain-free ranges. Most dogs that have tried one of those is a dog for whom kangaroo is no longer novel, even if their current food is the first time they've knowingly been given it.
There's also a labelling issue worth knowing about. Kangaroo dog food doesn't automatically mean kangaroo is the only protein in the bowl. Plenty of formulas built around kangaroo as the headline ingredient still include a secondary protein somewhere in the panel, often as a fat or flavouring. If you're running a proper elimination trial, that secondary protein is enough to undo the whole thing without you realising why the diet "isn't working."
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There's also the trial itself to get right. Vets are pretty consistent on this, with a real elimination diet needing to run for at least eight weeks, and up to twelve for a fair test, because skin symptoms in particular take time to settle. Stopping early is one of the most common reasons a useful diet gets written off as a failure. A trial that only runs for four weeks catches around half of food-allergic dogs, while running it to eight weeks pushes that above 90%.
The protein itself also matters more than most people expect. Grain gets blamed a lot, but the research consistently points to animal protein, especially beef, chicken, dairy, wheat and egg, as the more common triggers. Of course environmental factors are even more common for allergies than food, but that's a story for a different blog.
Do this
- List everything your dog has eaten before calling a protein "novel" for them
- Read the full ingredient panel, not just the front of the pack
- Commit to a proper eight to twelve week trial with nothing else sneaking in
- If your dog has worked through most proteins already, look at options still new to them
Avoid this
- Assuming the hero ingredient on the bag is the only protein in the bowl
- Switching formulas every few weeks out of impatience
- Giving flavoured treats or chews during a trial, even "just one"
- Assuming grain is the culprit before ruling out the protein source
What works better
This is where insect protein earns its place, and it's not just a marketing angle for us. Black soldier fly larvae protein is still novel to almost every dog in Australia, because almost no dog has eaten it before, in any food, ever. There's no cross-reactivity history to work around and no risk that your dog unknowingly met it in a previous "hypoallergenic" treat.
There's also a different economic story behind it, and it's part of why we started with insects in the first place. Black soldier fly larvae are raised on existing organic waste streams, the food scraps and by-products that would otherwise go to landfill, and turned into protein without needing a single extra hectare of land or a new herd of anything. If you're already choosing a novel protein for your dog's skin, this is a way to get the same benefit while closing a waste loop rather than opening a new one.
Feed For Thought products worth trying
If you're at the point of considering a protein change, here are two places to start.
Feed For Thought Complete and Balanced Meal
Built around BSFL as the single novel protein, with sorghum as a native ancient grain. Available in 1kg, 5kg, 10kg and 15kg orders.
Shop now
The Novel Treat
Baked BSFL treats, 38% insect protein, high enough that it won't quietly reintroduce chicken or beef through the back door.
Shop now