The questions we get asked

How do I know the bag in my hand is stock you imported?

There are four checks you can make at the counter with no equipment: the Vietnamese supplementary label naming the importer, the manufacture date printed onto the original packaging, a pack format matching what we declare for the Vietnamese market, and buying from a shop on our list. Our Authenticity page walks through each one.

What does “importer of record” on the label mean?

It is the company legally answerable for the shipment in Vietnam — the product declaration, quarantine clearance and everything printed on the label. On stock we bring in, that label reads Link 2 Link Vietnam Co., Ltd., tax code 0314415365. That number is public and you can look it up at any time.

Why does a bag I saw elsewhere look different from yours?

Pack formats and labelling differ from market to market, so the same product can vary in weight, barcode and the languages printed on the bag. Check against our product pages, which list the formats we actually bring into Vietnam, rather than against an overseas site.

Can I send photos and have you check?

Yes. Photograph the Vietnamese label, the back of the pack and the date print, and send them to us on Zalo. We check them against our import records and reply the same working day, free of charge.

Why don’t you sell directly to pet owners?

We are the importer and distributor, and we sell through pet shops and veterinary clinics. That keeps stock on a single path from our warehouse to the counter, so a bag can be traced back when it needs to be. It also means you get advice from someone who knows the animals in your area.

How do I find my nearest stockist?

Our Where to buy page lists the shops and veterinary clinics that take stock directly from us, filterable by province. If there is nothing near you yet, message us on Zalo and we will point you to the closest option.

Does every stockist carry all the brands?

No. Each shop picks the ranges that suit its own customers, so what they hold varies — the Where to buy page shows which brands each one takes.

If you want a brand and can’t see anyone near you holding it, message us on Zalo. We will check the closest option, or point you to a shop that can order it in for you.

Do veterinary clinics stock your brands as well?

Yes. Alongside pet shops, a number of veterinary clinics take stock directly from us. The Where to buy page filters by type, so you can tell which listings are shops and which are clinics.

My shop would like to stock these brands. What do I do?

See the Become a dealer page and send us your shop details. We will get back to you to talk through the right range and how ordering works.

Do you sell on the online marketplaces?

We don’t run a marketplace store ourselves. Some of the shops on our list do have their own online shops, though — the Where to buy page carries those links, and buying there is still buying from an authorised dealer.

Beyond those, if you see a listing presented as our stock, message us on Zalo and we will confirm it for you.

How should I switch my pet to a new food?

Change over gradually across 7–10 days: start with roughly a quarter new food to three quarters of the old, then raise the proportion a little at a time. An abrupt switch commonly upsets digestion, because the gut’s bacteria need time to adjust to a different protein and fibre source.

Keep the number of meals and their timing unchanged through the changeover week — change several things at once and you cannot tell what your pet is reacting to. If stools loosen, hold the current ratio for another two days before increasing again. If your pet is unwell or on a prescribed diet, speak to your vet before changing anything.

My pet’s stools went soft after the switch. Is that a problem?

Soft stool after a food change is normal and expected — it is the gut microbiome adjusting.

Why it happens

• The bacteria in the colon are specialised to the old formula’s protein and fibre. New substrate arrives, the old population dies back faster than the new one grows, and fermentation goes off balance for a few days.
• A different fibre type or level changes how much water the stool holds.
• More fat or protein in the new food means more undigested residue reaching the colon until enzyme output adapts.
• Richer, more digestible food — moving from a grain-based formula to a meat-based one, say — briefly overshoots what the gut is used to handling.

What is normal

Soft but formed, no blood or mucus, your pet eating and behaving normally, and resolving within 3–7 days.

What to do

Hold the current mix for another two or three days rather than increasing the new food. If you had already moved fully onto the new food, drop back to half and half and go slower. Plain cooked pumpkin or a probiotic paste helps.

See a vet if there is watery diarrhoea, blood or mucus, vomiting, lethargy, refusal to eat, or it lasts beyond a week — that is no longer the transition, that is something else.

How much should I feed each day?

Where we have the manufacturer’s guidance, the product page carries a feeding table by body weight, reproduced as published. Treat it as a starting point for a healthy animal: real requirements shift with age, activity, neutering and current condition. Adjust to the animal in front of you, and ask your vet if you are unsure.

How should I store food once the bag is open?

Reseal the bag after each use and keep it somewhere cool and dry, out of sunlight and off a damp floor. Keep the original bag rather than decanting into a bin — it has a moisture barrier and carries the batch and expiry details. Opened wet food should be covered, refrigerated and used up quickly.

Is dry food or wet food better?

They do different jobs. Dry food stores easily, portions accurately and gives the teeth something to work on. Wet food is high in moisture — usually above 75% — which helps animals that drink too little. Plenty of owners feed both. If your pet has kidney or urinary problems, ask your vet before choosing.

What does protein actually do for a dog or cat?

Protein is the basic building material: it feeds and repairs muscle, forms skin, coat, nails and connective tissue, supplies energy, and makes the enzymes, hormones and antibodies the body runs on. It also serves as a reserve the body draws on when it needs to.

Nothing else substitutes for it. A diet can run short on starch; it cannot run short on protein.

How much do dogs and cats depend on animal protein?

Cats are obligate carnivores — taurine, arginine and arachidonic acid occur only in animal tissue, so a cat’s diet must contain animal protein.

Dogs are primarily meat-eaters with some omnivore capacity. They digest starch to a limited degree, but still depend on animal protein to thrive.

What does a protein shortfall look like?

Six signs owners can see: weight loss and muscle wastage (the body breaks down muscle to get protein), low energy, a dull coat and heavier shedding, slow growth in the young, weaker immunity with frequent minor illness, and wounds that are slow to heal.

These can have other causes too, so if you see them, have your vet establish why rather than changing the diet on your own.

Why doesn’t a high crude protein figure mean a better food?

The crude protein figure tells you the quantity of protein in the product, not how much of it the animal can absorb. Corn and feathers raise that number too.

The measure of quality is biological value — the share of that protein which actually gets into the body. Most formulas on the market meet the minimum protein spec; the difference lies in which protein sources were used.

How far apart are protein sources on biological value?

On the comparison scale commonly used in pet nutrition, egg is the reference point at 100, fish and fish meal sit around 75, and by-products around 23 — meaning more than three quarters of that protein passes through without being absorbed.

These are indicative comparative figures for weighing ingredient groups against each other, not declared specifications for any particular product.

Which protein sources have high biological value?

Egg leads, but it must be cooked — raw white contains avidin, which blocks biotin absorption. Fish and fish meal are both readily absorbed and rich in omega-3 and omega-6, which support skin and coat. Real meat is the most natural fit for how a dog or cat digests.

Meat meal is meat dried and finely ground with the water and most of the fat removed, leaving protein in concentrated, easily digested form. On the label, prefer meals that name the species — “chicken meal”, “salmon meal”, “lamb meal”. Generic wording such as “meat meal” or “animal meal” doesn’t identify the source.

Why are by-products and plant proteins considered poorer sources?

By-products — feet, necks, ears, offal, feathers — do contain protein, but they are far harder to digest than real meat, so much of it passes through unabsorbed. The visible result is more stool, and stool that smells stronger.

Corn, corn meal, wheat, gluten and broken rice also lift the crude protein figure, while delivering less usable protein than that figure implies. The gap matters most at demanding stages: growing animals, and those pregnant, nursing or recovering from a litter.

What is the quickest way to read an ingredient list?

Four steps. One, read the first five ingredients — they are listed by descending weight, so those five decide most of the formula. Two, look for a specific named meat in first position; the more specific, the more you can trust it. Three, be wary of vague wording such as “animal by-product” or “poultry derivatives”. Four, if corn, wheat or gluten appears in the top three, the formula is leaning on plant protein.

Our product pages reproduce the ingredient list as the manufacturer declares it, so you can read that order here before you get to the shop.

Where are these brands made?

The country of manufacture is printed on the Vietnamese label of every bag. The brands we currently import:

What does “guaranteed analysis” on the pack mean?

It is a set of committed levels: crude protein and crude fat are declared as minimums, while crude fibre, ash and moisture are declared as maximums. They are guarantees for the formula, not the analysis of one particular batch. Our product pages reproduce exactly what the manufacturer declares.

Do I need a grain-free food?

Not every animal does. Grain-free formulas replace grains with other starch sources such as potato or pulses. They help when an animal does badly on a particular grain, but “grain-free” on its own does not mean better. If you are considering one because of skin or digestive trouble, ask your vet to establish the cause first.

Why do some products not show full figures yet?

We publish analysis and ingredients only as the manufacturer declares them, and we are working through the range brand by brand. Where we do not have a figure the page says so rather than showing an uncertain number. If you need the data for a particular item quickly, message us on Zalo and we will send the declaration.