A large number of meats and cuts can be used with CompleteMe Hypo Canine. For dogs with food sensitivities or allergies needing a novel or limited protein diet, choose a meat that your dog has never eaten before. You can also use well-tolerated meats, if you already know what your dog does well on.

If feeding the diet long-term, we recommend introducing other proteins slowly, to see if they are tolerated. Variety is important; we recommend feeding a range of different meat types and cuts. Try to include different textures as well, for example, chunks, small strips, mince, etc.

• Poultry:
  Skinless and boneless chicken thigh, drumstick or breast, mince (2-3% fat), gizzards, hearts (fat trimmed off)
  Skinless and boneless turkey or duck breast or turkey mince (6% fat)
  Skinless and boneless pheasant, goose, guinea fowl or partridge.
• Pork:
  Lean pork mince or diced pork loin with 5% fat, rump steak (untrimmed)
• Lamb, beef, goat, or venison:
  Extra-lean diced lamb or goat meat (including heart or tongue) with 5% fat
  Lean venison fillet or steak (e.g. shoulder, backstrap, rump eye, leg steak) or venison mince (6-8% fat)
  Extra-lean (5 star) beef mince, gravy or chuck beef with 5% fat, blade, round or rump steak (fat trimmed off), eye fillet or topside roast or steak (fat trimmed off)
  Lamb or beef heart (fat trimmed off)
• Game meat:
  Lean kangaroo mince or steak with 2-3% fat
  Wild or farmed boneless rabbit or hare meat
  Emu fan fillet, full rump or flat fillet (1-3% fat)
  Wild boar backstrap, boneless leg, or loin chops
  Horse meat, fillet or steak, 5% fat
  Tahr, fillet, steak, mince or striploin (2-5% fat)
  Wallaby mince, striploin or boneless leg
  Buffalo steak or fillet (3-5% fat)
  Elk striploin, boneless shoulder or mince (2-4% fat)
• Fish:
  Skinless and boneless white fish fillets, like whiting, hoki, ling, or barramundi
  Tuna, canned in springwater
  (please don't feed fish exclusively)

For dogs with allergies, it is often best to start with just 1-2 vegetables, and see how it goes. Pumpkin and spinach or kale are often well-tolerated; so are sweet potato and zucchini. Avoid cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower if your dog is experiencing problems with gas, a noisy gut, bloating or gut pain.

For vegetables, try pumpkin, sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, green peas, carrot, zucchini, squash, spinach, kale, turnips, parsnips, watercress, Asian greens, mushrooms, tomato, capsicum or cabbage.

For fruit, try strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, apple, pear, banana, mango, peach, plum, kiwifruit, guava, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, rockmelon or honeydew melon. Please be very careful to remove any pits or stones, and avoid toxic fruit like grapes, raisins or currants.  

​Both fresh and frozen vegetables are fine. We recommend steaming or microwaving for most vegetables, however baking can also work well sometimes, especially for root vegetables.

It is a myth that dogs are frequently allergic to grains; in fact, an allergy to grains is quite uncommon. Whole grains are energy-dense and economical, as well as being rich in essential nutrients and fibre. They can be a very valuable addition to your dog's diet, especially for large to giant-breed dogs needing a big volume of food per day.

For dogs with a history of food allergy or sensitivity, try to choose a grain that your dog hasn't eaten before.

Some dogs with moderate to severe gastrointestinal disease may do better with more digestible carbohydrates like white rice or potato; these options are also fine to use.

Some options to consider:

• Quinoa or amaranth
• Brown rice, black rice, white rice or red rice
• Rolled oats (avoid instant oats)
• Pearled barley
• Wholewheat pasta
• Teff or couscous
• Buckwheat

Avoid millet, which contains compounds that can cause thyroid problems. For any included grains, it is important to ensure they are cooked very thoroughly to ensure they are highly digestible. For rice, we recommend occasional use, and cooking in lots of water on the stove to reduce the arsenic content.

You can include the meat raw or cooked, depending on preference. For raw human-grade meat, be sure to freeze the meat for 10 days prior to use. For pork (in areas with Trichinella), freezing for 3 weeks prior to use is sensible. Please discuss raw-feeding with your dog's veterinarian; raw feeding is not suitable for all dogs or households.

For a low fat diet, select leaner proteins. The following are the lowest fat combinations:

• Turkey breast + sweet potato, potato, pearled barley or white rice:
  15.1% fat on a caloric basis
• Emu, flat fillet + sweet potato, potato, pearled barley or white rice:
  12.9% fat on a caloric basis
• White fish + sweet potato, potato, pearled barley or white rice:
  16.2% fat on a caloric basis
• Kangaroo mince + sweet potato, potato, pearled barley or white rice:
  18.3% fat on a caloric basis
• Chicken breast + sweet potato, potato, pearled barley or white rice:
  19.2% fat on a caloric basis
• Venison fillet or steak + sweet potato, potato, pearled barley or white rice:
  18.4% fat on a caloric basis
• Crocodile leg or tail meat + sweet potato, potato, pearled barley or white rice:
  18.5% fat on a caloric basis

Please include all other ingredients, as per the ingredients list above. For reference, commercial prescription low-fat diets have 17-20% calories from fat.