Episode Details

The pet food aisle is full of glossy promises, but when you flip the bag over, the ingredient panel can feel like a different universe. From the Superzoo show floor, we sit down with Ruby from Real Dog to unpack how she went from paralegal work in white-collar crime and international trade to building a dog nutrition company that bets on whole ingredients, transparency, and a fresh food mindset.

Ruby shares the story that set everything in motion: her husband’s Doberman, a cancer diagnosis, and the decision to try fresh, real food when the prognosis felt unacceptable. We talk kibble vs fresh dog food, why raw feeding is so hard to ship and scale, and how air-dried dog food became a practical middle ground that avoids high-heat extrusion and leans on real meats, organs, and targeted essentials like omega-3s.

We also get into the messy parts people rarely say out loud: why economics keeps kibble on top, how “research-backed” nutrition can follow funding, and what AAFCO guidelines actually do and do not regulate. Ruby explains why she started feedreal.com and the Feed Real Institute, an online canine nutrition education platform that even offers continuing education credits for veterinarians so pros can better guide clients who want to feed fresh safely.

If you’re curious about protein rotation, starting with small fresh-food add-ons, or what an “ancestral diet” approach looks like in a modern bowl, this conversation will give you both the why and the how. Subscribe for more real-world training and care talk, share this with a dog friend who reads labels, and leave a review. 

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