The Conscious Pet as seen in Austonia
The Conscious Pet as seen in Austin Business Journal
The Conscious Pet as seen in Austin Inno
The Conscious Pet as seen in BusinessNews

Our Story & Process

INGREDIENTS

Designed for carnivores like your dog.

We’ve teamed up with Certified Veterinary Nutritionists to make sure every meal has all the nutrition your dog needs for a happy & healthy life. 

Our meals and toppers are made with human-grade ingredients using 85% sustainably sourced animal protein, around 15% organic vegetables and a touch of vitamins & minerals for complete and balanced nutrition.

Our process.

We partner with local restaurants and rescue clean, high-quality foods, before they’re seasoned or plated, and upcycle them into nutritious food for your dog. We gently dehydrate our sustainably sourced protein with fresh, organic vegetables and form them into bite-sized pieces that are pantry-friendly and as easy to serve as kibble!

Our picky-eater-approved Meal Toppers are also a great way to increase nutrition to kibble diets and have a long shelf life without preservatives or refrigeration.

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SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainable, always.

Our proprietary process uses upcycled ingredients from local restaurants, produces zero waste, and is packaged in a fully-compostable bag.  

You and your dog can sleep well knowing they’re getting the perfect nutrition while also reducing their pawprint on the planet!

We’re also proud members of Upcycled Food Association, Pet Sustainability Coalition and are a Public Benefit Corporation.

The Conscious Pet team

Created by passionate pup-parents.

The Conscious Pet was founded by local Austinites with an equal passion for the environment and their furbabies.

Thinking about two huge problems – most dog food isn’t great & restaurant food waste – this team got to work in their kitchen creating something that could help with both!

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Testi-bone-ials

Jake is the PICKIEST of dog eaters on the planet and I can say hands down it's his favorite of all time.

Paula O.

I love how your food is higher in protein. This is better than Indy's previous food with all the potatoes. She is gobbling it up!!

Michelle A

I love that Teddy is getting a complete and balanced meal. He loves the taste!

Krista D.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know the food is safe?

We come from a human food production background and the strictest standards there are. We apply our knowledge in food safety to this process, working with restaurants for proper handling and most importantly testing our product and facility regularly for pathogens and harmful components.

How do you maintain consistency? Does the product change week-to-week?

We are working with kitchens who make large quantities of the same thing for their customers. Every batch is going to be the same ingredients in the same proportions!

What is 'gently cooked'? Why is it better?

We blend and dehydrate the ingredients through a precisely monitored low-heat process (140F-170F) that maintains the nutrition of fats, and increases the bioavailability of amino acids, but kills pathogens; creating a nutritious, shelf-stable product that’s as safe to serve as kibble.

Kibble is highly processed and cooked at high temperatures ranging from 200-500 degrees multiple times. This leads to less bioavailability and a lack of nutrients.

What all is in the food?

When any kitchen is preparing food, there are parts that don’t get used. Or ingredients that are only slightly used then discarded. We collect these parts before they’re combined with any spices or sauces, so there’s never any potential contaminants. We combine them in the proportions that are best for your dog’s health, their energy, and their poop!

Where can I buy your products?

You can find us at Tomlinson's Feed, Wheatsville and local Austin Farmer's Markets. You can also purchase directly on our website!

We’re from Austin, are working with Austin restaurants, serving Austin residents through delivery service, and ship nationwide to the other 49 US states.

If you’d like to find us in your favorite pet retailer, have them reach out to us!

Is it 'Complete & Balanced'?

Yes! Not all the ingredients needed for complete & balanced are available from our current restaurant partners so we add just enough of a whole food supplement to round out the nutrition. As we find other whole food ingredients that add the right nutrients from restaurants, we’ll swap those out.

How much do I feed my dog?

Our food has no fillers, so it’s more dense than others, with more calories per day. (4,034 kcal/kg or 646cal/cup)

Small sized-dogs (0-20 lbs) = .25 - 1 cup per day

Medium sized-dogs (21-50 lbs) = 1 - 1.75 cups per day

Large sized-dogs (51-80 lbs) = 1.75 - 2.5 cups per day

Extra Large sized-dogs (81+ lbs) = 2.5 + cups per day

How should I transition to DoggieBag?

When transitioning to DoggieBag, do so slowly over a period of about 7–10 days, mixing an increasing amount of DoggieBag with old food each day: 

Start with 75% old food mixed with 25% DoggieBag for days 1-3

Then mix 50% old with 50% DoggieBag for days 4-6.

25% old with 75% DoggieBag for days 7-9 and 100% DoggieBag on day 10. 

Some dogs need more transition than others. If your dog’s poop becomes too irregular or too soft, slow down the transition. It’s normal for a food change to cause some poop changes.

Why did my dog's poop change color?

The nutrition in this food is complete & balanced but we don’t use the additives that other pet food companies use to make their poop color the same as humans. Based on the ingredients in DoggieBag you may notice a lightening of the stool during the transition and beyond. This is normal and as long as it’s solid and formed, as usual, there’s no need for concern.

Why do you say there's no grains or legumes?

In recent studies both grains and legumes have been tied to health problems in dogs. Our food contains only animal nutrition and fruits/veggies with some micro-nutrient supplementation. We never have any grains/legumes/artificial ingredients.

What is your return policy?

If you are unhappy with The Conscious Pet in any way we'd be happy to cancel your subscription and refund your latest order. No return necessary. Just email us at support@theconsciouspet.life within 14 days after your delivery. We'll issue a refund to the same form of payment to process the order for the last order that you received. We don't need to receive any product back, but if you are in Austin, Texas we would be happy to pick up the unused food and donate it to a local animal shelter.