Grated cheese, a bit of chicken, standing over them while it goes cold. You have tried raw, subscriptions and the vet's recommendation, and you are still doctoring every meal.
Not meat meal, rendered down and rebuilt. Freshly prepared meat, gently cooked at 82 degrees so it still smells like food. Smell is what gets a bored sausage back to the bowl.
They wolf it down, lick the bowl clean and come running at teatime. That is the whole point.
Of the 1,447 reviews owners have left on our food, the single most common thing they tell us is that their fussy sausage finally ate. Not that it is nutritious. That the bowl went empty.
“Finally after 9 years I have found a food that my dog will eat”
Verified review, Superfood Angus Beef
There is a difference between freshly prepared meat and meat meal, and it is the difference a fussy dog can smell. Ours is a minimum 35% freshly prepared, gently cooked at 82 degrees to protect the protein rather than blasted at high heat. Turn over a bag of one of the big premium brands and you will often find fresh meat in the low teens, with the rest made up from lentils, peas and chickpeas. That is the number worth comparing.
“The only dry biscuit my fussy sausage will eat”
Verified review, Grain-Free Chicken
Once they are eating properly, owners tell us the coat is the first thing that changes. It is the second most mentioned thing in our food reviews, and often it is somebody else who spots it first.
“Everyone comments on how shiny his coat is”
Verified review, Grain-Free Light Trout
As seen on
Our hotel for sausage dogs, The Sausage Dog Sanctuary. Seven years of working out what this breed will actually eat.
Most owners find us after raw, a subscription box and at least one vet recommendation. Here is the honest difference.
| Feature | Sausage Dog Sanctuary | Raw diets | Vet & supermarket brands | Subscription boxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kibble sized for a dachshund jaw | ✓ | N/A | ✕ | ✕ |
| Made for one breed only | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Grain free, one main protein | ✓ | ✓ | Some | Some |
| No freezer, defrosting or prep | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | Some |
| Swap flavours whenever you like | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Try a 2kg bag before committing | ✓ | Some | Some | ✕ |
| No subscription required | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
Comparison of product format and buying terms, correct at time of publishing.
We've got answers!
It is the first thing owners ask, so here is the honest answer. Most fussy sausages do take to it. Some do not.
That is exactly why we sell every recipe in a 2kg bag. Start there rather than a 12kg, so if yours is one of the ones who says no, you have spent a few pounds finding out instead of filling a cupboard. If the first protein does not land, try a different one. Owners often tell us the third flavour was the one.
On selected recipes, yes. Look for Small Kibble in the product name. Those are made small from the start for a dachshund jaw, rather than being a shrunk-down version of a bigger dog's food.
The rest of the range is a standard kibble size. If your sausage struggles to pick pieces up, or gives up chewing partway through a bowl, start with one of the Small Kibble recipes.
Slowly. Mix a quarter of the new food with three quarters of the old for two or three days, then move to half and half, then three quarters, then all new. Give it about a week in total.
Going straight to 100% on day one is the most common cause of loose stools during a switch, and it is easily avoided.
If you have no particular issue to work around, chicken or lamb are the usual starting points and the two most bought.
If your sausage has a sensitive stomach, owners tend to do well starting on a fish recipe. If they are carrying a bit of extra weight, look at the Light range. If they are under a year, start on a Puppy recipe.
No. You can buy a one-off bag any time and never hear from us about it again.
A subscription is there if you want it, mostly so you are not reordering manually every few weeks. You can pause or cancel it yourself whenever you like.
It depends on the size of your sausage and how much they are fed, but as a rough guide a 2kg bag will last a typical mini dachshund around three to four weeks, and a standard around two.
Feeding guidelines are printed on every bag, and there is a feeding calculator on the site if you would rather work it out by weight.