LifeWise is an Australian pet food brand whose range is built around gut health: most recipes lead with a single main protein, and the functional BIOTIC diets are formulated to work on the gut first and the target organ second. PeekAPaw stocks 24 LifeWise lines across dog food, cat food, puppy stages, treats and a supplement.
With the dog food, start by deciding which of the three groups you are in. The everyday adult recipes — Kangaroo with Lamb, Rice, Oats & Vegetables, Chicken with Turkey & Vegetable, Ocean Fish, Wild Tuna, Turkey with Vegetable and Tone & Trim Lamb — differ mainly by protein and kibble size rather than by quality tier. Kangaroo is the one to try first with an itchy or reactive dog, since it is a novel protein for most dogs. Chicken with Turkey & Vegetable is the grain-free option, built on chickpeas, lentils and sweet potato. Ocean Fish comes as Large Bites and Small Bites: the same recipe in two kibble sizes, so choose on jaw size rather than breed name. Tone & Trim Lamb is the lower-energy recipe for dogs that have slowed down.
BIOTIC is the functional line — Skin, Joint, Low Fat, F.A.S Calm and Liver & Kidney. Read these as nutritional aids rather than treatments. Liver & Kidney in particular is not for puppies, adolescent dogs, or pregnant or nursing bitches, and LifeWise ask you to speak to your vet before transitioning a dog onto it. F.A.S Calm uses L-Tryptophan and is a support diet, not a substitute for behavioural work.
On the cat side, the three adult recipes are formulated to keep urinary pH and magnesium down, which is why the ingredient panel reads differently from a supermarket bag. Kittens have their own chicken and rice recipe.
Bags run 1kg, 2.5kg, 9kg, 13kg and 18kg depending on the line. LifeWise describes its dry food as concentrated and highly digestible, so the daily portion is smaller than many owners expect — take the 2.5kg to run a transition and re-measure before sizing up.
A note on buying LifeWise dog food by the 18kg bag: it is the most economical way to feed a large dog or a multi-dog household, but kibble fats slowly go stale once the bag is open. If an 18kg bag would take your dog more than a couple of months to finish, a 9kg or 13kg bag is usually the better buy where your recipe is made in those sizes. Keep the food in its original bag, inside a sealed bin, so the batch code and best-before date stay with it. Puppies follow their own path through the three-stage puppy range — Stage 1 Starter, then Stage 2 and Stage 3 — so check which stage matches your puppy's age on the pack before you order a large bag.
