Chocolate has always been a huge temptation for our beloved Boxer, Georgie. Hooch would have been envious of Georgie's soggy bubbles flowing freely from the corners of her floppy lips as soon a she heard a chocolate wrapper, or saw anything looking even vaguely like her favourite, but forbidden, treat.

Telling Georgie that chocolate is harmful to dogs impressed her little, one Christmas she even resorted to unwrapping and devouring a full box of wrapped Chocolates, intended for her owners. No wonder she felt sick afterwards, but that never stopped her from drooling with anticipation each time she saw us eating some Chocolate.

That's when we decided to look for a healthy alternative treat for our favourite dog. We quickly became disillusioned at what was on offer that did not only taste good, but also was good for our Georgie. Like many other dogs (and cats), our Georgie was lactose intolerant.

After checking out dozens of dog treats we came to the conclusion that we were not prepared to buy gimmicky baked treats full of wheat, colours, preservatives and flavours, or sweet chocolaty treats high in refined sugar, lactose,  and fat that readily melts. Failing to find an alternative, every spare minute in our human grade food factory was then spent searching for suitable healthy and tasty ingredients. With the help of a trained Veterinary Nurse, our own expertise in healthy food creation, hundreds of tastings by ourselves and a great number of very willing doggy volunteers, we believed we have finally created the Ultimate Functional Dog Treat. Comprehensive taste testing at a local kennel with 56 canine residents of all sizes, ages and breeds added their unanimous seal of approval with a 100% acceptance rate of Best Mates.

Best Mates are manufactured in our dedicated gluten free human health food facility with HACCP accreditation in Sydney, Australia. All ingredients are 100% natural and human grade. Our family business does not cook or bake any of our health food to prevent loss of valuable nutrients through heat.

The healthy chocolate alternative that is great for Me & My Dog!

Unfortunately our beautiful Georgie did not live long enough to finally be allowed to have some chocolaty treats of her own that are as delicious as they are healthy. She passed away very suddenly from incurable Cancer, unfortunately a very common disease in Boxers, at the young age of seven years.  We miss her very badly, and even now every chocolate wrapper reminds us of her.

We have still not totally overcome our great loss enough to get a new dog. Instead we have started to be Foster Parents to some very lovable Greyhounds, retired from their careers as racing dogs, with owners or trainers no longer able to keep them. Many of these gentle and affectionate dogs make great pets once they have been assessed, health checked and desexed. Foster homes like ours are an important step to get to know the particular dog to be able to match him or her to a suitable permanent home.

Please visit: www.gapnsw.org.au or any of our other dog links if you are interested in finding out more about Greyhound adoption. One of these great dogs could just become your own best mate!

Best Mates Treats are proud to finally present to you a quality Australian made - Australian owned dog treat you can safely enjoy with your dog: Best Mates.

Introducing the Taste Testers