Our story — Meet Anthony
My grandfather came to Albany in 1971 with not much more than a toolbox and a working kelpie named Hector. He started a small workshop on the edge of town making leather gear for farmers, stockmen, anyone who needed something that would last. By the time my father took it over in the late 1980s, they had a shed full of equipment and a reputation across the Great Southern that took decades to build. I grew up sweeping that shed floor, watching my dad cut leather and talk dogs with every customer who walked in. That workshop is why I care about making things that actually hold up, not things that look good in a photo and fall apart in six months.
Before I took over, I spent four years working in Margaret River at a small agricultural supply company. Good work, decent pay, but I kept watching the pet product space fill up with stuff that was cheaply made and expensively packaged. My father had a minor stroke in 2019, and I drove the five hours back to Albany in a single stretch to help him manage the workshop. We had a long conversation at the kitchen table in October that year, and he said something that stuck with me: the gear had to be worth the animal wearing it. He meant that literally. He was a practical man.
I registered PETSNUTS PTY LTD in early 2021 and relocated the operation to Mudgee, NSW, partly because my partner had family there and partly because the region gave us access to wool suppliers in the Central Tablelands we couldn't get near from Albany. The first year was tight. We turned over about $34,000 and I was packing orders in a 40-square-metre shed off Cassilis Road. I kept the Albany workshop logo on the packaging because I wasn't ready to let it go, and honestly neither were the customers who had been buying from my father for years. That continuity mattered more than a rebrand.
Today we ship from Mudgee to every state and territory, mostly to people with dogs who spend real time outdoors. We source kangaroo meat from a processor in Narromine and wool from a small grower near Gulgong. The team is still small, four people including me. My father visits twice a year, checks the shed, looks at everything we're making, and usually finds something he'd do differently. He's usually right. We're not trying to be the biggest pet brand in Australia. We're trying to make things that hold up the way the gear in that Albany shed always did.
— Make it worth the animal wearing it. — Anthony, Anthony Charbel
Journal
Where our kangaroo treats actually come from
Last month I drove out past Dubbo to meet the processor we've been sourcing our kangaroo jerky from, and it was worth every kilometre.
I'd been buying kangaroo meat through a middleman for about eight months before I decided I needed to see the operation myself. Dad always said if you can't look the supplier in the eye, you don't really know what you're selling. So in late February I loaded the ute and drove the 140 kilometres out past Dubbo to a small family-run processing facility that handles wild-harvested eastern grey kangaroo from properties across central New South Wales. It took three emails and two phone calls to get the visit organised, which I took as a good sign. People who are proud of what they do tend to be a bit particular about who turns up.
The processor, a bloke named Glenn who's been doing this for over 20 years, walked me through the whole thing. The kangaroo is harvested under a state government licence, inspected, and processed within 24 hours. Glenn showed me the drying room where the meat goes after trimming, kept at a consistent temperature for around 18 hours until it hits the texture we specify. No additives, no preservatives beyond the drying process itself. I'd been telling customers this on the product page, but standing in that room made it feel less like a claim and more like a fact I'd witnessed personally.
What I didn't expect was how much Glenn knew about dog nutrition. He's been supplying treats to small pet businesses across New South Wales and Victoria for years, and he had opinions about protein-to-fat ratios, about moisture content, about why some dogs can't handle beef but go fine on kangaroo. He mentioned that the eastern grey tends to run leaner than red kangaroo, which is part of why we settled on this source rather than others I'd trialled. The batch consistency has been noticeably better since we formalised the arrangement in January 2024.
I came home with a 5-kilogram sample batch and spent a week feeding small pieces to my own dogs, a seven-year-old border collie named Clancy and a three-year-old kelpie cross named Rue. Clancy is a picky eater at the best of times. He sniffed the jerky for about four seconds and then ate it so fast I had to slow him down. That's about as reliable a quality check as I know how to run. Rue, who will eat a stick if you let her, is not a useful data point.
The round trip was about 280 kilometres and I was back in Mudgee by early afternoon. I've been thinking about that visit a lot since, particularly when I'm packing orders on a Tuesday night and wondering if this whole thing makes sense. It does make sense. I just needed to see it for myself.
How to fit the Outback Adventure harness without the guesswork
Getting a harness to sit right takes about five minutes if you know what to look for, and it makes a real difference on longer walks.
I've had a few customers contact me saying their dog seems uncomfortable in the Outback Adventure harness, and in almost every case the issue comes down to fit rather than the harness itself. I should have written this up properly a long time ago. The harness has two adjustment points, one across the chest and one around the girth, and both need to be set correctly for it to work the way it's supposed to. A lot of people adjust only one and leave the other where it arrived from the warehouse.
Start with the dog standing still on a flat surface. Slip the harness over the head first, then fasten the girth strap under the belly. Before you touch any adjustment, just look at where the chest strap sits. It should run horizontally across the sternum, roughly 2 to 3 centimetres below the base of the throat. If it's sitting up near the neck, the head loop is too tight. If it's dropping down toward the legs, the head loop is too loose. This is the adjustment most people skip, and it's the one that matters most for comfort on a dog that pulls.
Once the chest strap looks right, move to the girth. The rule I use is the two-finger test, which is not original to me but it's reliable. Slide two fingers under the strap at the side of the dog's ribcage. You should feel light resistance, not be able to slide your whole hand through, and not have to force your fingers in. If the strap is sitting behind the last rib rather than across the middle of the ribcage, slide it forward. A strap riding too far back can restrict the hindquarters on bigger dogs, particularly working breeds like kelpies or cattle dogs that tend to have deep chests.
For dogs between 18 and 28 kilograms, which is roughly the medium size range, the most common mistake I see is overtightening the girth to compensate for a chest strap that's sitting too high. The dog looks secure but is actually uncomfortable around the shoulders. Loosen the girth slightly, fix the chest position, then re-snug the girth. It sounds fussy but it takes about 90 seconds once you've done it once. I usually tell people to walk the dog for 10 minutes after adjusting, then check again, because the harness settles slightly with movement.
If you've got a deep-chested breed, a greyhound or a whippet type, the standard adjustment approach doesn't quite apply. Those dogs need the chest strap sitting higher than it would on a labrador or a staffy. If you're unsure, send me a photo through the contact page and I'll have a look. I've done this enough times now that I can usually spot the problem from a single picture.
What a shampoo batch day actually looks like here
We make the Eucalyptus and Lavender shampoo in batches of 60 litres, and the process is less glamorous than the label suggests.
Batch day happens every six to eight weeks depending on stock levels, and I've started blocking it out as a full day rather than trying to squeeze it between other things. The base arrives from a cosmetic ingredients supplier in Sydney, a gentle surfactant blend that's pH-balanced for dogs, which sit at a different skin pH to humans. A lot of pet shampoos on the market are just human formulations with a picture of a dog on the bottle. I found this out the hard way when I was testing early versions and noticed some dogs were scratching more after washing, not less.
The eucalyptus oil I use comes from a small producer in the Southern Highlands, about three hours southeast of Mudgee. They grow narrow-leaved peppermint eucalyptus, which has a cleaner, slightly less medicinal smell than the blue gum variety most people associate with eucalyptus products. The lavender is sourced from a grower near Orange, about 80 kilometres from here, which I like partly because it's close and partly because the high-altitude growing conditions in that region produce an oil with a slightly more herbal note rather than the sweet floral you get from Tasmanian or Victorian lavender. Both oils are kept in dark glass containers in a cool part of the shed.
The actual mixing process involves a large stainless steel vessel, a paddle mixer I bought secondhand from a small soap manufacturer in Bathurst, and a lot of patience. The base goes in first, then the botanicals, then the oils added slowly while mixing at low speed. The whole process takes about two and a half hours from setup to the point where I'm comfortable with the consistency. I test each batch on Clancy first, which he tolerates with the resigned dignity of a dog who has been through this many times.
Bottling is done by hand. I fill each 250-millilitre bottle using a small pump dispenser, cap it, then wipe it down and label it. A 60-litre batch produces roughly 230 bottles once you account for the product that ends up on the bench and in the equipment. I've looked at outsourcing the bottling a couple of times and always come back to doing it myself, partly because it's a useful quality check and partly because I'm not ready to hand that part over to someone who doesn't care about it the way I do.
The whole operation takes place in a small room off the main shed that I've fitted out with a stainless steel bench and a floor drain. It's not a commercial kitchen, but it meets the requirements for a small-batch cosmetic manufacturer under Australian regulations, which I checked carefully before I started. The room smells like eucalyptus for about three days after a batch day, which the dogs seem to find either interesting or deeply suspicious depending on their mood.
January in Mudgee and keeping the animals sensible
We had six days above 38 degrees in a row this month, and it changed how I think about the Snuggle Paws cave for hot-weather use.
Mudgee summers are not subtle. The town sits in a basin in the Cudgegong River valley and in January the heat just sits there, particularly in the afternoons when there's no wind. This year we had a run of six consecutive days above 38 degrees, peaking at 41.3 on the Thursday. I'm not complaining, this is what summer here looks like, but it does mean you spend a lot of time thinking about your animals and whether they're actually okay. My neighbour's dog, a young blue heeler named Scout, spent most of that week in a shallow plastic tub of water on the back porch. Dogs adapt.
What surprised me was how my cat, a large domestic shorthair named Hector, used the Snuggle Paws cave during the heatwave. I'd always thought of it as a winter product, somewhere warm and enclosed for a cat to feel secure on a cold night. Hector apparently did not read that brief. He dragged it from the corner of the living room to a spot under the kitchen bench where there's a slight draft from the floor vent, and he slept in it for most of the hottest days. The enclosed shape seems to hold the cooler air from underneath, or at least that's my best guess. He is not available for comment.
I mentioned this on our Instagram stories and got several messages from customers saying their cats do the same thing. One woman in Albury said her two Burmese cats compete for the cave in summer because it stays cooler inside than any other spot in the house. I hadn't thought about the insulating properties working in both directions when I was working on the product, but it makes sense. The same wool felt construction that traps warm air in winter will slow the transfer of heat from outside in summer, at least to a degree.
The heatwave also reminded me how important it is to check the harness material on dogs that are spending time outside. The Outback Adventure harness uses a nylon webbing with a mesh panel across the back, which I chose partly for airflow. On the hottest days I'd still recommend walking dogs before 7am or after 7pm, and checking the ground temperature before you go. Bitumen in Mudgee in January can sit above 60 degrees at midday, which is painful on paws in under 30 seconds.
By the second week of January we got a southerly change and dropped back to 28 degrees, which felt almost cold by comparison. Hector moved the cave back to his usual corner within about 24 hours. I'm taking that as a sign that he knows what he's doing, even if I don't always follow his logic.
Customer reviews
Sarah M. — Newtown, NSW — 2024-03-14 — 5/5
Harness held up on a proper bush walk
Ordered the Outback Adventure Dog Harness for my border collie, Remy, ahead of a Blue Mountains trip. It arrived in four days and the sizing was spot-on based on the guide. We did two full days of off-track hiking and the harness didn't slip, rub, or loosen once. Really solid construction.
James T. — Brunswick, VIC — 2024-05-22 — 4/5
Cat cave is a hit, delivery was quick
My two cats took about a day to warm up to the Snuggle Paws Cat Cave, but now I can't get them out of it. It arrived faster than I expected — ordered on a Tuesday and had it by Thursday. Knocked off one star only because the opening is a little snug for my bigger cat, but he still squeezes in.
Priya K. — South Melbourne, VIC — 2024-07-09 — 5/5
Finally a shampoo that doesn't irritate her skin
My staffy has sensitive skin and most shampoos leave her scratching for days. The Eucalyptus and Lavender Pet Shampoo is the first one we've tried in a long time that hasn't caused a reaction. Lathers well, rinses clean, and her coat looks noticeably better after a couple of washes.
Ben R. — Fremantle, WA — 2024-09-03 — 4/5
Good treats, dog goes absolutely feral for them
Ordered the Kangaroo Jerky Dog Treats on a recommendation from my vet for my lab who has a chicken allergy. They arrived well-packaged and the smell is strong — probably a good sign. My dog, Otto, loses his mind for them which makes training sessions a lot easier. The bag doesn't last long though, so I've started ordering two at a time.
Claire O. — Paddington, QLD — 2024-10-18 — 5/5
Litter liners actually stay put
I've tried about four different brands of litter box liners and they all shift or tear. These ones from Peak Pets have been in use for three weeks now with no issues — they grip the edges of the box properly and haven't torn during scooping. Simple product but it does exactly what it should.
Tom W. — Hobart, TAS — 2025-01-07 — 5/5
Impressed with the customer service
I ordered the wrong harness size and emailed Peak Pets the same day. Got a reply from Anthony within a couple of hours sorting out an exchange with no fuss. The replacement arrived within five days even shipping to Tassie, which I wasn't expecting. Good product, better service.
Nina F. — Surry Hills, NSW — 2025-02-25 — 4/5
Cat cave quality is solid
Bought the Snuggle Paws Cat Cave as a birthday gift for my friend's cat, Miso, and it's clearly well made — the felt is thick and it holds its shape. Delivery to Surry Hills took three business days which was fine. My only note is that the colour on the website looked slightly different in person, a bit darker, but still looks good.
Marcus D. — West End, QLD — 2025-04-11 — 5/5
Kangaroo treats sorted our fussy eater
Our rescue greyhound, Petal, refuses most commercial treats but she was eating the kangaroo jerky straight from the bag on day one. Ordered on a Monday and they arrived Wednesday, which was faster than I expected given we're not in Sydney. Will be a regular purchase.
Shipping
We ship Australia-wide using Australia Post for standard delivery and StarTrack for express. Standard orders typically arrive within 3–8 business days. Metro areas like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth are usually at the lower end of that range, while regional centres and rural addresses — including parts of WA, NT, and far-north QLD — can take closer to 8 business days. Express orders placed before 2pm AEST Monday to Friday are dispatched same day and generally arrive within 1–3 business days for major cities. Express to regional and remote areas may take an additional day. All delivery estimates are guides only and can vary during peak periods.
Standard shipping is a flat $9.95 for orders under $75. Orders of $75 or more qualify for free standard shipping. Express shipping is a flat $14.95 regardless of order size. All prices on our website include GST — there are no additional charges at checkout beyond the shipping rate selected. We pack orders in recycled cardboard boxes with paper fill rather than bubble wrap wherever possible. Fragile items such as the cat cave are double-boxed. You'll receive an email with your tracking number once your order is dispatched, and you can follow it in real time through the Australia Post or StarTrack tracking portal.
If your parcel arrives visibly damaged, please photograph the outer packaging before opening it, then photograph any damaged contents. Email the photos to hello@peakpetsco.com.au within 48 hours of delivery and we'll arrange a replacement or refund promptly. We lodge the carrier claim on your behalf — you don't need to deal with Australia Post or StarTrack directly. For orders that are lost in transit and exceed the carrier's standard resolution timeframe, we'll either reship or refund your order in full. We won't leave you chasing a parcel on your own.
Returns
We want you and your pet to be happy with what you ordered. If something isn't right, you can return most products within 30 days of the delivery date for a full refund or exchange. To be eligible, items must be unused, in their original condition, and in their original packaging. To start a return, email hello@peakpetsco.com.au with your order number and the reason for the return. We'll confirm eligibility and send you a return authorisation within one business day. Return shipping costs are the customer's responsibility unless the item is faulty or we sent the wrong product.
Some products cannot be returned once opened or used. These include the Kangaroo Jerky Dog Treats, Eucalyptus and Lavender Pet Shampoo, and Eco-Friendly Litter Box Liners, as we cannot resell consumable or hygiene products once the seal is broken. Used harnesses are also excluded for safety reasons — a harness that has been worn cannot be resold as new. Items marked as final sale at the time of purchase are not eligible for return or exchange. If you're unsure whether a product is returnable before you buy, just ask us first.
Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law are not limited by our returns policy. If a product has a genuine fault, is not fit for its described purpose, or doesn't match its description, you are entitled to a remedy regardless of whether the 30-day window has passed or the product has been opened. In those cases, contact us and we'll work through it in line with your ACL entitlements. Approved refunds are processed back to your original payment method within 5–7 business days of us receiving the returned item. We'll email you to confirm when the refund has been issued.