The Fussy Dog Co was started in founder Anthony Gardiner’s kitchen in 2020 as a solution to a problem that was driving him to despair. Having lost his job in the travel industry due to Covid-19, Anthony and his fiancee could no longer afford the fancy dog food that their three little pals (Cashew, Astrid, and Chewie) had grown accustomed to.
Unfortunately, Cashew and Astrid refused to eat the more accessible brands when it was given to them and after a week had lost a worrying amount of weight. Not Chewie though – he was eating all three bowls and had quite the opposite problem!
Out of desperation, Anthony mixed up some human gravy powder and poured it over the dogs’ food and finally had all three eating again. Unfortunately, human gravy powders are full of stuff which is quite bad for dogs, including onion and garlic powder and excessive amounts of salt.
Back to square one, Anthony jumped online to buy some powdered gravy for dogs. Having searched all New Zealand outlets, then internationally, it became apparent that powdered gravy for dogs did not exist. So he started researching and making his own.