Sam and Brad were two freelancers with an itchy Staffy and a kitchen bench buried in supplement tubs. Now UPDOG is mixed in a facility built for human supplements, and the Staffy crowd can't stop talking about it.
In Short:
UPDOG is a Queensland dog supplement brand run by Sam and Brad, two former freelancers. It started with their Staffy Vegemite's skin rashes and a kitchen bench covered in toppers.
Their powders are mixed in a Gold Coast facility built for human supplements, NZ green-lipped mussel goes into every product, and every purchase sends $1 to Animal Welfare League Queensland. Their most-asked-about product is Skin & Coat Hero, a favourite in the Staffy community.
It started with a rash
Meet Vegemite. He's a happy little black Staffy with, in Sam and Brad's words, the biggest heart for humans. Lock eyes with him in public and he'll go bonkers until you come over for a cuddle.
He also had skin that wouldn't settle. Before UPDOG existed, Sam and Brad were freelancers who dreamed of working with dogs full time. Vegemite was on a rotation of supplements and meal toppers, and the pair were mixing and matching them in their kitchen, trying to find the combination that would ease his rashes.
Nothing quite did the job on its own. Then, as they put it, it sort of just clicked what their purpose was meant to be.
Dog food, built for us
The second push came from study. When Sam started learning animal nutrition, one thing landed hard: a large chunk of commercial dog food is designed around the owner's convenience. Long shelf life, cheap ingredients, formulas that hit the bare minimum.
"I personally would prefer my dog, and all dogs for that matter, to thrive."
To them, thriving means a long life with minimal medical intervention, calm skin and joints that carry a dog painlessly into old age. Getting there means adding the nutrients and variety your average biscuit doesn't have, or doesn't have enough of.
Too human for the dog factories
One of the founders had worked for a business making supplements for people, so they knew exactly how strict those facilities have to be. When it came time to mix their own powders, they went human grade.
"If we wouldn't eat it ourselves, why should our dogs?"
It was not the easy road. Facility after facility turned them away because they didn't make "dog products". The workaround was simple and stubborn: UPDOG's supplements technically are human products. You could take them yourself. They're just better suited to a dog's palate.
They've recently moved production to a new mixing facility on the Gold Coast. Still human supplement standards, still no shortcuts.
The long game
Sam and Brad are upfront that natural supplements aren't a jab at the vet. They may take longer to work, because the aim is easing the root cause rather than masking symptoms.
They're not anti quick fix either. Short-term medical relief has its place. Their point is that it needs a long-term plan beside it so the same problem doesn't keep coming back, and nutrition is usually where that plan lives.
Link's makeover
Link is a Staffy from their neighbourhood. His skin allergies had his mum at the vet every four to six weeks for injections to keep the rashes down.
Sam and Brad gifted them a couple of tubs. According to the pair, Link has been weaned off the injections ever since. Shiny coat, no lumps or bumps.
"It was like watching a movie makeover in front of our eyes."
It's the kind of story behind their favourite product, Skin & Coat Hero. It's the one they'd keep if they could only keep one, and not just because Vegemite can't live without it. Sam still tears up at customer feedback. Brad is not much of a crier, but deep down he feels it too.
A dollar for every dog waiting
Every UPDOG purchase sends $1 to Animal Welfare League Queensland. AWLQ runs shelters near them, and they've walked those aisles of dogs waiting for a family. The cause they're backing: reducing the euthanasia of what they cite as more than 200,000 treatable pets in Australia each year.
Five years out
The goal is to have helped more than 100,000 dogs feel good in their bodies. The bigger goal is staying who they are.
"We'll never be a big company who slings cheap products for profit."
In five years, they want dog parents to still see UPDOG as the family business that actually gives a shit about their dog's health.
Rapid fire
- Ingredient they're proudest of: NZ green-lipped mussel. It's in every one of their supplements.
- Most-asked-about product: Skin & Coat Hero. They're big in the Staffy community.
- Vegemite's favourite Brisbane spot: 9 Degrees Bouldering Gym, where he gets a thousand pats every visit.
- One thing every dog owner should know: Variety is key to a healthy gut. Cycle through a few foods you trust and add fresh treats when you can.
- Weekend plans: A dog-friendly hiking trail, hunting for animals, birds and bugs to befriend.
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