Maple mutts and canine Canucks – that’s the theme for today. More specifically, Canadian pet products made in the Great White North.

This post contains links from affiliates such as Amazon and/or Chewy online pet supply store.

What’s new in the Canadian pet industry? If you’re in the pet industry – likely a store’s buyer – one of the best opportunities to find out is to attend the Connect Pet Trade Expo held every spring in Niagara Falls, Canada. Connect is the SuperZoo of Canada, granted a smaller, but growing every year. It’s a place for retailers to find new products, and even for American suppliers to sell to the Canadian market.

Canadian products in general are important to Canadian consumers – this year, more than ever. This year, we’re celebrating all things Canadian, and the pet industry is holding up its corner of the Maple Leaf. I’ve learned there’s a lot more homegrown dog, cat, and even bird accessories and necessities than I first thought.

Barking Bakery Treats

First stop is Amber’s Barkery, producing colourful and clever natural dog treats, cookies, full-sized cakes, and pupcakes. I first met Amber’s Bakery at the Canadian Pet Expo in Toronto decades ago. Since then, Amber and family have grown this into a full-time business, catering directly to the consumer – primarily via a monthly subscription ‘Barkers Box’ – and selling wholesale direct to pet boutique stores with bakery-like display units.

This year, Amber’s Bakery launches a Canadian collection: five cookies in Canadian shapes and colours – flags, maple leaves, hearts, and a squirrel. The yellow beer stein cookie didn’t make the collection, which I think might be a missed opportunity. “I agree,” Amber told me. “But my husband disagreed.” So, the beer stein stands alone. Dogs probably won’t have an opinion either way – both the squirrel and beer-shaped cookies are the same flavor.

New Freeze Dried Flavours

Next, Mississauga, Ontario-based Benny Bully’s is another Canadian company that creatively expands its production line every year. Specifically, its specialty is freeze dried dog and cat treats. The company states it has “developed an innovative cutting and drying process as an alternative to conventional food processing making Benny Billy’s, one of the few ‘no chemical added’ treats in the market today.”

However, yearly variation appear on the product list, mixing it up with the beef liver. Benny Bully’s Mini Bites with blueberries (affiliate link), for instance, are a natural source of any oxidants. And this year, the Japanese purple sweet potato made it into rotation.

Honestly, I’ve never heard of Japanese purple sweet potato, but apparently, it’s loaded with antioxidants and can help reduce inflammation. Even better, it led to a new product with a clever name: Deep Purple – a mix of beef liver and Japanese purple sweet potato pieces. Whether there’s smoke on the water is up to you.

Although my dog likes all the Benny Billy’s flavours, her favourite option is still the company’s free dried chicken hearts, new last year and of course the classic company staple: pure beef liver treats (affiliate link).

Looking for these products in Canada? Check out Chewy Canada:

Cod Skin Chews from The Rock

Finally, a product of Newfoundland and Labrador takes us to the charming east coast of Canada (where I visited last year). The Land & Sea Pets cod braid is one of my favorite chews I’ve picked up for my dog to this day.

First, because she liked it. She ‘valued’ it enough to save it, but only for about an hour. Then she decided to chew it – slowly and occasionally, which is exactly what I look for in a dog chew to keep her busy. Plus, the remaining end of this soft cod braid didn’t pose a choking hazard like other hard chews.

The second reason I love this product is the story. Land & Sea is foremost a family fishing company. Along Canada’s East Coast, they catch cod … for people. During processing, the cod are often cast off. But not anymore. Now the skins are dried and hand-braided into small batches for a secondary market: our pets.

Because these fish skins are braided, they last longer than other fish skins, and for whatever reason my dog doesn’t like flat dried fish skins. Braided, however, lands them in the category of chews rather than treats, which makes a difference.

Meet the makers of Land & Sea Cod Skin Braids and you’re meeting the real deal. Canadian to the core and passionate about sustainable fishing, like most Newfoundlanders.

Upcoming Pet Festivals

Meeting the makers of products and sharing a passion for pets in general is an appeal of events that bring pet products and pet people together. Although Connect is an industry event, its sister events, the Canadian Pet Expo, are open to the public. The makers of these products, and many more, will be at the Canadian Pet Expo September 13 and 14, 2025 (usually followed by both Christmas and spring events annually).

Interested in more pet festivals across Canada? Check out the dogtrotting.net Dog Events Canada page here. It’s updated regularly, so please bookmark it!

Writer bio: Sherri Telenko has been a professional writer for decades and a travel writer for the last two. She’s a member of TMAC (Travel Media Association of Canada) and Dog Writers Association of America and travels almost weekly with her canine companion, Victoria.Contact Sherri at dogtrotting.net here. All written content is original, written by a person, and based on experience and research. Please subscribe!