Kangaroo dog treats: what's in them and why it's a novel protein

Vets often reach for kangaroo when they want a protein a dog hasn't eaten before, and most Australian dogs haven't eaten it. Kangaroo is one of the leanest red meats (FSANZ), roughly 1–2 g of fat per 100 g, and a natural source of iron, zinc and vitamin B12. It's wild, not farmed.

What's in kangaroo?

Dark, fine-grained and very lean; dried, it's dense and chewy, with a stronger flavour than beef. Three nutrients worth naming. Iron, part of haemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood. Zinc, involved in many enzymes and in normal skin and coat maintenance. And vitamin B12, which dogs must get from animal tissue, though they store it for months. Those are descriptions, not promises about what a treat will do for your dog. We don't put numbers on them in a dried strip, because we'd be guessing, and treats stay under about 10% of the day's food anyway.

Where does it come from, and why "novel"?

Kangaroos aren't farmed; they're harvested under state and federal kangaroo management programs, with quotas set by government from population surveys. No feedlot, no grain finishing. The meat is prepared in HACCP-accredited Australian facilities.

Vets call it novel because most Australian dogs have never eaten it. The food allergens most commonly reported in dogs are beef, dairy, chicken, wheat and lamb (Mueller, Olivry and Prélaud, 2016); kangaroo and duck appear far less often. Three honest limits. Novel is relative: a dog that's been on kangaroo kibble for years won't find it novel. A dog can react to kangaroo as to any protein; less common is not the same as can't. And whether your dog needs a novel protein at all is your vet's call. What a one-ingredient treat offers is a bag your vet can read in one word.

Which kangaroo cut, and how much?

For everyday reward, the muscle: kangaroo jerky, torn into pieces, or the lung crisp for something lighter. For the occasional switch-up, kangaroo liver, which comes with its own rule.

Liver is very rich in vitamin A, so a little goes a long way — a few small pieces a day for a medium dog, with all treats under about 10% of daily food.

Tendon and tail tips are the chews in the kangaroo range, with their own sizing and supervision rules. Everything else about kangaroo is what it always was: lean meat, one word on the label.

Keep reading: Kangaroo tendon for dogs: what's in it and how to feed it · Organ meat vs muscle meat for dogs: what's the difference?

Sources

• Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Australian Food Composition Database. foodstandards.gov.au
• Mueller RS, Olivry T, Prélaud P (2016). Common food allergen sources in dogs and cats. BMC Veterinary Research 12:9. doi.org
• Australian Government DCCEEW. Commercial kangaroo harvesting. dcceew.gov.au

Pudel · Reviewed September 2026 · Single-protein, naturally dried dog treats, made in Australia. General information, not veterinary advice.