Frequently Asked Questions

Fresh dog food refers to meals made from real, recognisable ingredients such as meat, vegetables, and natural carbohydrates. It is minimally processed and typically preserved through freezing, rather than artificial preservatives.

Fresh dog food is a broad category that includes both raw and gently cooked diets. The key difference is in how the food is prepared — raw diets use uncooked ingredients, while gently cooked diets use controlled heat as part of the process.

We recommend a maximum of 6 months from manufacture date. Every Happy Hounds tub or vac bag comes with a best before date to help you.

Yes. Fresh food still needs to be properly formulated to ensure it contains the right balance of nutrients. Meals that are not complete and balanced can lead to deficiencies over time.

When choosing fresh dog food, it helps to look for:

• complete and balanced nutrition
• clear, recognisable ingredients
• transparent sourcing
• a preparation method you understand

All of our ingredients are sourced from reputable food suppliers and local farms. We never use feed-grade ingredients, and we don’t process our ingredients to be shelf-stable. This ensures that your dog gets the highest quality, fresh, most natural nutrients available.

The Happy Hounds recipes are simple in nature and have all been formulated by approved pet nutritionists to be certified complete and balanced meals.

See individual product pages for a detailed list of ingredients and nutritional analysis.

Each tub of Happy Hounds comes to you frozen. Once defrosted, it must be kept in the fridge and should be eaten within 4 days.

We recommend a maximum of 6 months from manufacture date. Every Happy Hounds tub or vac bag comes with a best before date to help you.

Happy Hounds is formulated to be a complete and balanced meal. It is packed with fresh, nutritional goodness so you can be confident your dog is getting what they need in each meal. Meal size is determined by your individual dog’s age, breed, size, activity-profile and environment. Check out our feeding guide for an estimate of how much is right for your dog.

All of our recipes have been carefully formulated to include puppies, so absolutely, you can feed your new puppy Happy Hounds. Go to our feeding guideline to get the right quantities.

The recommendation is not to mix your pellets with Happy Hounds for long periods as each meal is formulated as a balanced meal and you risk weight gain. To avoid possible weight gain, feed your dog pellets one meal and Happy Hounds the other meal.

• As most dogs have been fed the same food for a reasonable period of time, it is important to introduce the new food gradually to avoid any digestive adjustment problems.
  
  If you decide to shift to Happy Hounds entirely, then we suggest the following:
• Days 1-2: 25% Happy Hounds, 75% old food
• Days 3-4: 50% Happy Hounds, 50% old food
• Days 5-6: 75% Happy Hounds, 25% old food
• Day 7 onwards: 100% Happy Hounds

If your dog shows any signs of digestive upset, slow down the transition process and give them a few extra days to adjust.

Rotating between the different protein varieties of Happy Hounds offers ensures that your hounds get a great variety of proteins and fats for improved microbiome diversity. And, they don’t have to eat the same meal every day.

Your hound’s health is our priority. We are obsessed with making sure they get all the nutrients they need in every meal. So to make sure every meal is balanced and complete, our food is formulated with leading pet nutritionists and then certified for compliance against Act 36/1947 by the South African Department of Agriculture.

All of our food recipes—beef, chicken, fish, love bug, venison, and lamb and venison—have been certified against Act 36/1947 and have the associated V numbers to verify this certification. See individual product pages for the V numbers.

Our food is balanced and complete and not a complimentary meal. While we were waiting for the certification from the DAFF (which took over 12 months), we had to legally use an interim label that says “treat”. To minimise waste, we continue to use some of our interim packaging. Once our new packaging is fully implemented, it will be labelled as "balanced and complete" instead of "treat".

All of our food is very lightly cooked and not raw. Lightly cooked food improves the bioavailability of the food (dogs digest more of the goodness) and flavour.

As all our food is made from ethically-sourced, natural ingredients, which can have a range of colours and textures, you may notice variations in the colour or texture of the food. This may also affect the colour and texture of your pup's poop from time to time.

• Supervise chewing. Don’t leave your dog to chew a bone alone. They may bite off too much and choke or gnaw too aggressively and cause injury.
• Do not give bones to a dog who has had restorative dental work. These dogs are at risk for tooth breakage and dental problems.
• Do not give bones with marrow to dogs who get pancreatitis. Marrow is high in fat and can cause a flare up or diarrhoea.
• Do not give a bone to a dog who’s likely to bite it in half and swallow large chunks. You know how your dog eats. If your dog swallows food quickly rather than chewing, a bone presents a risk.
• Give the bone after a meal. A less hungry dog is less likely to chew and swallow a bone quickly.
• Refrigerate bones when not in use. Throw them out after three to four days. This reduces the likelihood of contamination.
• Don’t feed your dog pork or rib bones. These bones are more likely to splinter. Our marrow bones are 100% beef.

While most hounds can safely carry a pack, always consult with your vet before you purchase a pack if you are concerned about your dog carrying extra weight, particularly if it is a senior or has any health issues.

The weight any hound can carry varies from individual to individual and depends on factors such as your hound's age, breed, fitness, energy levels and health. While the average young, fit hound could carry up to 25% of its own weight, some will be able to carry more and others will need to carry much less. Even carrying an empty pack can have great mental health benefits for your hound.

It is advisable to start small and build up the weight of the pack as your hound becomes accustomed to carrying it and builds up fitness to carry heavier loads. If you have any questions about your hound's particular needs, please ask your vet.

Our packs allow your hound to work while adventuring. They can carry their toys, poop bags, water, treats or anything else you may need on the trail.

Remember, our Scout Pack is quick drying but is not water proof so best not have your hound carry your valuables/electronics, especially if they like to swim on adventures!

Make sure whatever you pack is not sharp or may cause discomfort to your hound.

Always remember to balance the weight equally on both sides of the backpack for your hound's comfort, health and to stop the pack slipping to the side.

Water is a particularly great item for medium to large hounds to carry and you can adjust the amount of water you pack to build up to your hound's target carrying weight.

Slowly.

Any new gear may be strange for many hounds while others may take to it immediately.

Let your hound see, sniff and touch the gear while positively rewarding them according to your training style.

Once your hound is properly interested, get them used to wearing it for short periods, starting at home and slowly venturing further. Be sure to positively reward with feeding, praise or treats according to your training style. You want to associate the gear with good things.

Again, slowly.

A new pack may be strange for many hounds while others may take to it immediately.

Let your hound see, sniff and touch the pack while positively rewarding them according to your training style.

Once your hound is properly interested, get them used to wearing it without any weight. Do this a number of times for short periods, starting at home and slowly venturing further. Be sure to positively reward with feeding, praise or treats according to your training style. You want to associate the pack with good things.

Once this is going well, you can start to increase the weight you allow your hound to carry in the pack. Small increments are important for your hounds health and comfort.

Your hound will need time to build up fitness and strength for carrying additional weight. A good rule of thumb is that 15-minute's walking with a weighted pack is equal to a 30-minute walking without, so bear in this mind and start with shorter adventures while your hound gets stronger and builds the muscles to carry. You can build up to longer adventures.

If at any stage you are concerned about your hound's wellbeing, you should remove the pack and consult your vet.

Do not wash your Scout Pack or Cape Coat in a washing machine or dry it in a dryer.

You can spot clean your pack or coat using lukewarm (not hot) water and a soft sponge or brush, so you don't harm the protective coatings.

For stubborn marks/dirt use a tech wash and avoid harsh soaps.

Hang your pack or coat to dry in the shade or indoors, but avoid direct sunlight.

At Happy Hounds, we’re all about keeping your pups happy and healthy with top-quality products and excellent customer service. For full details on our returns and refunds policy, click HERE.

Only available for Cape Town

1. Register your new account

Set up an account on Happy Hounds. Simply click SIGN UP/LOGIN in the top menu bar to register your new account.

2. Go shopping

Click on SHOP (top menu if you are on a computer, side menu if you are on your phone).

When selecting a product to put into your cart, you have the option of choosing to either put it into your weekly, bi-monthly or monthly subscription or as a once off purchase. That way, you have the freedom to build your regular subscription, but we can also add a little something that you want delivered just the once.

When selecting your favourite Happy Hounds products. You can choose your preferred proteins, sizes and packaging for all our food as well as select the treats and toppers you would like delivered regularly. You also have the option to choose different subscription intervals for different products, for example you want your fresh food delivered weekly but bones every 2 weeks.

Once you have chosen your products, subscription intervals , click ADD TO CART.

3. Confirm your order details and delivery address or collection details

Then click on the cart top right of the screen. Your cart will provide you a summary of all your selected subscription products as well as the frequency for delivery (weekly / bi-monthly/monthly).

You will need to confirm the address where you would like the very first order delivered as well as the address for all subsequent deliveries. 

These will be pre-populated with the address you registered with your account (Step 1). Local Shipping costs will be calculated for that address.

You can change the addresses provided by clicking Change Address and entering your new address details. 

For Cape Town orders, you can opt to select Local Pickup if you would prefer to collect from our Woodstock HQ.

Once you are happy that all the delivery details are correct for your initial and recurring deliveries, click PROCEED TO CHECKOUT

4. Confirm your billing and payment details

Your billing address will be pre-populated with your registered account address.

You can add any order/delivery notes you need us to know.

You have another opportunity to confirm delivery or pick up (Cape Town only).

5. Checkout and subscribe

When you are ready and all your billing and payment details are correct, click CHECKOUT.

You will be directed to our payment gateway to enter your credit card details. Your card will be charged for each subsequent delivery unless you pause or cancel the subscription.

6. Order confirmation

You will receive an order confirmation email with all your subscription details.

7. Order renewal

For weekly subscriptions, your order will renew on the same day and at the same time as your original subscription order, each week. This means you will be charged on that day and your order will come into our system for processing on that day of the week. 

The same applies for a 2 weekly subscription.

For monthly subscriptions, your order will renew on the same date and at the same time as your original subscription order each month. This means you will be charged on that date and your order will come into our system for processing on that date each month.

1. Click on 'My Account' top right of your screen. Then your account will show up.

2. Click on 'Manage Subscriptions' and your subscriptions will show, indicating which ones are active.

3. Click on the 'Click here to view your subscription' and a page will come up where you have the option to edit the following;

- add or delete products in your subscription

- your shipping address

- your credit card information

- pause or cancel your subscription

Your billing is based on the subscription frequency you choose. If you select a 4-week subscription, you’ll be billed every 4 weeks. Instead of charging on a fixed date each month, we bill based on the number of days in your cycle. This ensures you always receive the right amount of food without gaps or excess due to shifting calendar dates.

You can reset your password by visiting this page. A reset link will be sent to your email, allowing you to set a new password. If you checked out as a guest and never created a customer account when setting up your subscription, you won’t be able to reset a password. Reach out to us, and we’ll send you an account invite - or you can create an account directly on our website.

Please note that our subscriptions are based on a 4-week (28-day) cycle rather than a calendar month.

Because calendar months vary in length - and dogs need to eat every day - this ensures a consistent supply. As a result, your subscription will renew every 28 days, not on the same calendar date each month.

We deliver across Cape Town using four delivery areas, depending on your location.

🟢 Delivery Area A; Cape Town CBD, Atlantic Seaboard, Hout Bay. Delivery: Next working day.

🔵 Delivery Area B: Southern Suburbs (Woodstock to Scarborough). Delivery: Next working day.

🟡 Delivery Area C: Paarden Eiland to Melkbos, Table View, Durbanville, Bellville and Brackenfell. Delivery days: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

🔴 Delivery Area D: Stellenbosch, Strand, Somerset West, Gordon’s Bay. Delivery days: Monday and Thursday.

You can use the maps below or enter your postal code to find your delivery area.

We deliver on weekdays only (excluding public holidays), and aim to deliver by 18h00.

On the day of your delivery, you will receive:

• an email
  
• a WhatsApp message when your driver is on your leg of their delivery route
  

We always aim to deliver on time, but occasional delays can happen due to factors like traffic or load shedding. We appreciate your patience.

Cape Town & SurroundsFlat delivery fee: R 85

Yes - you’re very welcome to visit us at Happy Hounds HQ.

You can either:

• Place your order online and collect once it’s ready (we’ll notify you), or
  
• Pop in and shop directly from our freezer - our team will happily help you choose the right food and portion sizes for your dog
  

Happy Hounds HQ
131 Sir Lowry Rd
Foreshore
Cape Town, 8001

For easy directions, click here: Google

Our Cape Town kitchen and shop are open Monday to Thursday from 08:15 to 16:00 and Fridays from 08:15 to 15:00. We love when our customers stop by - to shop, collect orders, or just visit and see how we make our fresh, nutritious food. Full disclosure: if you bring your pup along, they might steal all our attention! For easy directions, click here: Google

Our fresh food comes in three sizes: 250g, 500g, and 1kg. Some pet parents pick a size that matches their dog’s daily feeding needs, while others prefer the largest size that stays fresh for 3-4 days in the fridge once defrosted.

We also offer two packaging options:

• Tubs – Easy to dish up and widely recyclable.
• Vacuum Bags – Space-saving in the freezer and recyclable in mixed plastics.

Both cost the same, so it's all about what works best for you and your pup. Feed fresh, your way!

Each Happy Hounds tub is fully recyclable and widely recycled in South Africa.

It is important to us that we minimise the impact we have on the planet and so we use recyclable packaging options where available. You can read more about our sustainability journey here.

This means that if the packaging option you selected (tub or vacuum bag) or the specific size you ordered is unavailable, we may swap it for a different packaging type or size that best matches your order. This helps us ensure your pup's food reaches you without delay!