Tail Of The Pets Larder
Nurturing Pets Naturally
The Pets Larder is an independent natural pet retailer based in Hayle, Cornwall. We sell carefully sourced food, treats, chews, supplements, and equipment for dogs and cats, and we ship across the UK to a national customer base. We have been trading since 2018, originally as Natural Cornish Pet, and we rebranded to The Pets Larder in 2023.
We exist because most pet food sold in the UK is built around marketing rather than nutrition, and most pet retailers don't have anyone qualified to tell you the difference. The three people who run this shop have spent years doing exactly that — between us, formal qualifications in marketing, working-dog welfare, and holistic health, alongside more than two decades of combined direct experience with dogs and cats.
This page is about who we are and how we earned the right to advise you.
Meet The Pets Larder Founders
Katy Peck
Katy built Doggy Day Care Cornwall from scratch in 2014, starting in her own back garden with three dogs and growing the business through demand alone, eventually running it from a former golf course with a team of trained animal carers and a peak capacity of 80 dogs a day. She designed the custom-built enclosures herself, around the actual needs of the dogs in her care rather than the kennel-style environments most commercial daycares default to. Dogs were treated as individuals. Several of her managers from that period are still customers of The Pets Larder today.
What the day care gave her, beyond the business itself, was a kind of education that very few people in UK pet retail have had access to. When you see the same dogs every weekday for years, you start to notice things. You see which dogs settle and which don't, and you start to ask why. You see which ones come in scratching, which ones have ongoing digestive trouble, which ones have low energy — and crucially, you see what changes when their owners change their food. You see allergies appear and resolve. You see coats brighten and stomachs settle. You see the gap between what the bag claims and what the dog's body actually does with it.
By 2018, Katy had run out of patience with the cereal-heavy "premium" foods her daycare clients were paying premium prices for. The shop opened the same year, originally as Natural Cornish Pet, with the explicit purpose of offering something better. Aflora — our grain-free dog food, named after Katy's Airedale Flora — was developed directly out of what she had observed: the gap between what was being sold and what dogs were actually thriving on. Evie, our cat food, followed the same logic.
Andrew Larder
Andy spent more than ten years breeding and training Siberian Huskies on the moors of Nancledra, Cornwall, working with them in dryland mushing — bikejoring, scootering, and sledding without snow. He didn't come to it through theory. He built his own pack, learned what worked from the dogs themselves, and developed a way of working with high-energy breeds that's grounded in structure, calm, and a real understanding of what these dogs are actually for. One of his pups went on to become Keyush the Stunt Dog, who has built an international following on YouTube.
Working dogs need different things from companion dogs, and most retailers don't know how to advise on those differences. Andy does. If you have a high-energy breed who isn't quite settling, or a dog whose exercise needs are bigger than your routine currently allows, or you're trying to work out what kind of harness is going to actually hold up to the kind of running you want to do — he's the person to talk to. He also brings practical knowledge across breeds beyond the husky world, built up over years of living and working alongside dogs of all kinds.
Outside the shop, Andy is a former championship kitesurfer who returned to competitive sport after recovering from an exploded spinal fracture. That tells you most of what you need to know about how he handles a problem.
Natasha Long
Tash joined The Pets Larder in 2020, but her training in holistic health came earlier. She completed Holland & Barrett's structured programme in herbal medicine, supplementation, and nutritional support for chronic conditions — the same foundation many human holistic practitioners build their work on. Earlier, while studying in Plymouth, she worked at The Ark, one of the South West's larger independent pet retailers. That meant that by the time she arrived at The Pets Larder, she had already spent years bridging two worlds that rarely sit alongside each other: rigorous holistic training, and direct retail experience with hundreds of pet products and the customers who buy them.
She leads on the supplemental and herbal side of what we do — guiding customers through the Pets Larder Apothecary range, advising on natural support for digestive, joint, skin, and behavioural concerns, and answering the kinds of questions where holistic and conventional approaches need to be balanced. Her training means she doesn't just know which products help; she understands the reasoning behind why a particular supplement might work for one animal and not another.
If you're navigating an itchy dog, an anxious cat, a senior pet whose needs have changed, or you simply want to understand what's actually in the supplement you've been recommended, Tash is the person we'd point you to.
What we advise on
Between us, the team has direct expertise in the areas customers most commonly need help with:
Nutrition and feeding — ingredient quality, label literacy, life-stage feeding, grain-free and hypoallergenic diets, raw and freeze-dried feeding, and transition protocols.
Working dogs and exercise — fuelling and supporting high-energy breeds, training principles, harness and equipment fitting, and the particular needs of Northern breeds and other working dogs.
Holistic and supplemental support — herbal and natural options for digestive, joint, skin, and behavioural concerns, and how supplements interact with diet.
Allergies and sensitivities — recognising symptoms, identifying triggers, and choosing food and supplements that genuinely help rather than just rotating brands.
Cat-specific care — feline nutrition is its own discipline, and most mainstream cat food is built for human convenience rather than feline biology. We can help you find food that suits your cat.
We are not veterinarians, and we will not diagnose conditions. What we offer is informed, experienced guidance from credentialed practitioners who have spent years thinking carefully about what we sell.
Connecting with Nature and Community
Living in the stunning Cornish countryside, Katy, Andy, and their children, Merlin and Robyn, enjoy dog-friendly walks with Artemis and Polaris. Their love for the great outdoors is at the heart of The Pets Larder’s brand. They understand that pets are an extension of the family and that their wellness is just as important as our own. Through The Pets Larder, Katy and Andy share their knowledge and experience, helping other pet owners make informed decisions about their pets’ health. Whether you’re seeking natural remedies for common ailments or eco-friendly alternatives to everyday pet products, The Pets Larder offers solutions that fit seamlessly into a wellness-focused, holistic lifestyle. Join Katy and Andy on this journey, and discover how simple, natural products can enhance your pets’ lives while supporting a healthier planet.
