We at First Light proudly use the entirety of the cow, nose to tail, to ensure nothing is wasted. That’s why we worked with Dr. Mark Roberts, PhD in Dog Nutrition, to formulate the highest quality dog food for your furry ones. The First Light instinctive diet is an outcome of Dr Mark Roberts’ PhD thesis. By using the optimal mix of meat, bones, and offal, he formulated a diet, to provide the amount of protein and fat, with minimum carbohydrate content that his research highlighted dogs target. As a result of this, a dog’s health and performance is enhanced significantly. Granted the keys to the First Light 100% Grass-fed Wagyu kingdom and backed by ground-breaking research, Dr Mark has developed the perfect freeze dried dog food, treats and booster recipes. The ultimate diet for happy, healthy dogs. Made with love by First Light Farms.

Raw freeze-dried 100% grass-fed wagyu beef for dogs. Instinctive diet recipe that research has shown dogs target for optimal nutrition and taste. High in protein and fat with no fillers or grains. Cattle raised with no antibiotics or added hormones roaming free on pasture. Formulated for all dog breeds and life stages.

Wagyu Dog Food Ingredients: Beef, Beef Tripe, Beef Kidney, Beef Heart, Beef Lung, Beef Liver, Beef Bone Powder, Flaxseed Meal, Fish Oil, Sunflower Oil (with mixed Tocopherols), Beef Spleen, Mussel, Kiwifruit, Potassium Chloride, Mixed Tocopherols (Preservative), Chickpea, Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Niacin Supplement, Selenium Yeast, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate

Raw freeze-dried 100% grass-fed wagyu beef liver treats. Protein packed deliciousness. High in protein and fat with no fillers or grains. Cattle raised with no antibiotics or added hormones roaming free on pasture. For all dog breeds and life stages.

Liver Treats Ingredients: 100% freeze dried Wagyu beef livers from First Light Farms.

Raw freeze-dried 100% grass-fed wagyu beef super booster. Meal enhancer for dogs to boost taste and nutrition. High in protein and fat with no fillers or grains. Cattle raised with no antibiotics or added hormones roaming free on pasture. For all dog breeds and life stages.

Wagyu Super Booster Ingredients: Beef, Beef Tripe, Beef Kidney, Beef Heart, Beef Lung, Beef Liver, Beef Bone Powder, Flaxseed Meal, Fish Oil, Sunflower Oil (mixed with Tocopherols), Beef Spleen, Mussel, Kiwifruit, Potassium Chloride, Pumpkin, Salt, Dried Seaweed, Choline Chloride, Mixed Tocopherols (Preservative), Chickpea, Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate.

Our recipes were created by Dr. Mark Roberts, PhD in Animal Science. Dr Roberts has over twenty years’ experience in formulating meat based diets to be complete and balanced for dogs. In addition, he has published in scientific journals and presented at several veterinary conferences around the world.

After much research and a PhD, Dr. Roberts found that dogs prefer and lean towards a fat and protein forward diet. This type of diet helps your furry ones in many ways, including having more energy and a reduced risk of developing common health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and gastrointestinal diseases.

Yes! We recommend feeding puppies twice the adult quantity.

Absolutely. First Light dog food is rich in omega 3 fatty acids which have anti-inflammatory properties. As inflammation is a component in most skin conditions, this helps with aspects such as redness and swelling. Additionally, another fatty acid, linoleic acid is also a component of the diet. Research has shown that this, aids is hydrating layers of the skin, particularly beneficial for dogs with dry, itchy skin.

Yes! We recommend feeding nursing dog mothers three times the adult quantity.

The diet is manufactured in Christchurch, New Zealand.

At this time, we do not offer samples.

[LINK TO DOG FOOD CALCULATOR] 

First Light Farms dog food can be mixed with your dog’s current diet if desired. We recommend mixing 1/4 First Light Farms dog food with 3/4 of their current diet. Always mix First Light Farms dog food with warm water or ensure fresh clean drinking water is available.

Each 1.5lb (or 680g) bag provides 10.5 cups of food. How long a bag lasts will depend on the amount of food your dog requires. Check out our dog food calculator to find out!

Please check out our dog food calculator to see how much you should feed your dog. Although the feeding guide is based on a scientifically determined formula, variations in feeding requirements may occur between dogs. If you notice your dog is gaining too much weight, please reduce the amount of food fed slightly. Likewise, if your dog is losing weight, please increase the amount of food fed.

Our dog food has a shelf life of 730 days!

Gradually increase the amount of First Light Farms dog food over a ten day period, while at the same time decreasing the current diet fed.

If your dog has no major health issues, consulting your vet prior to feeding First Light Dog Food is not required.

If a dog is currently on a prescription diet, First Light Dog Food is a good option depending on the condition the animal has. For example, dogs that have obesity and skin and coat prescription diets, can switch without any issue. We advise contacting your veterinary professional for specific advice on a dog and its prescription diet, and if moving to First Light Dog Food is possible.

Yes, for all lifestages, including pups and pregnant mothers.

Yes, all of our dog food products are grain free.

Diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy or DCM is a condition in which the heart has a decreased ability to generate sufficient pressure to pump blood around the body. From a dietary perspective, it appears a lack of taurine, or its precursors, methionine and cystine are associated with an increased risk of the disease developing. Typically, this is seen either in grain free or homemade diets. In order to reduce the risk of a diet, contributing to DCM, we recommend feeding a diet which is formulated to be complete and balanced. In addition, a diet with a very high meat content (such as First Light Dog Food) will inherently has very good levels of taurine, further minimizing any potential of DCM occurring.

It’s all about what combination of skeletal muscle tissue and organs contribute to meeting the complete and balanced nutritional profile. For example, liver is high in vitamin A, which in conjunction with other meat based products, will result in meeting the requirement needed.

Probiotics are foods or supplements that contain live microorganisms, whereas prebiotics are foods that provide energy for a dog’s gut bacteria. Any health benefits they have, are still largely unproven. Ensuring a dog receives a good quality meat based diet, like First Light Dog Food, will naturally result in bacteria populations within the animal that positively contribute to overall health.

Freeze drying has all the convenience of kibble, without the negatives (high heat). The potential of damaging heat sensitive vitamins is reduced, while still being self stable, easily transportable and requiring no refrigeration. Additionally, unlike kibble, it has a porous component, meaning that adding warm water will soak up the product much better, aiding in hydrating a dog.

First Light dog food is high in fat, but in healthy dogs this does not increase the risk of pancreatitis. Dr. Marks studied this topic in depth during his PhD, and intend to publish the study I completed. Basically what he found, (in addition to other newer studies), was that a high fat diet actually decreased both fasted and postprandial concentrations of cPLI and triglycerides levels (markers of pancreatitis) compared to a low fat, high carbohydrate diet. In short, this is because of a process referred to as carbohydrate induced hypertriglyceridemia. This long word means that when dogs consume a high carbohydrate diet, the macronutrient gets converted into triglycerides (which is fat in the blood). This in turn increases the potential of pancreatitis in the animal developing. In dogs fed a high fat diet, with a low carbohydrate inclusion, the fat is used for energy and ketone body production instead. Unfortunately, some very old and poorly constructed research in this area failed to understand this, leading to the belief that high fat diets increase the risk of pancreatitis. For those breeds more susceptible to pancreatitis, such as Schnauzers, and whose owners have concerns about feeding a high fat diet, Dr. Roberts would advise they visit their vet and ask to have both fasted and postprandial (4 hours after meal consumption) cPLI and triglycerides values be determined whilst on the FirstLight diet. This will provide clarification on the appropriateness of the diet for a specific dog. Regardless of dog, Dr. Roberts advises a gradual transition to a high fat diet, if previously fed a dry high carbohydrate product. This will reduce the potential of any gastrointestinal issues occuring. We have attached a link to Dr. Roberts’s doctorate thesis, if a more in depth understanding is required.

https://mro.massey.ac.nz/items/f233161f-17e8-4f8d-9067-0df31c3682e8