Every June, a wave of brands paint their logos in rainbow stripes for a month and quietly wash it off on July 1. That is the low bar. The higher one is a company that a queer founder built from nothing, that would earn your money even if you never knew who ran it. The five below clear it. LGBTQ+ ownership is the reason we rounded them up, but the reason to actually shop them is that the gear, food, and formulas hold their own against anything on the shelf.
More than 70 percent of LGBTQ+ adults live with a pet, and research on younger queer people has found that a large majority count their animals as part of their core support system. It tracks, then, that so many of the sharper, more thoughtful brands in the pet aisle trace back to queer founders. Here are five worth your cart.
Wondercide — pest control you can actually pronounce
Wondercide exists because a household watched toxic pesticides nearly kill their dog, Luna, and decided the whole category needed a rethink. The line covers flea and tick sprays for cats and dogs plus yard treatments, all built on plant-based ingredients rather than the harsh actives that scared its founders in the first place. There is even a human bug spray, so the whole household can get through summer unbitten.
Who it’s for: anyone with kids, multiple pets, or a habit of reading ingredient labels. The tradeoff is honest, plant-based repellents can mean more frequent reapplication than a chemical spot-on, so it rewards people who don’t mind staying on top of it. Shop Wondercide.
Roverlund — the carrier that doubles as a leash
Roverlund is the work of Jamie Knowles, a Vogue alum who treats durability and design as equal partners instead of trading one for the other. The patterns and colorways, from camo crates to neon collars, are made to coordinate, so your dog’s gear can look like a wardrobe rather than a pile of leftovers. The standout is the out-of-office carrier, whose extra-long handle unclips to work as a leash, which is exactly the kind of two-jobs-in-one detail travel gear usually forgets.
Who it’s for: the design-minded owner who is tired of choosing between “looks good” and “survives a hike.” Shop Roverlund.
Super Snouts — hemp for the dog who can’t find their chill
If your dog runs anxious, Super Snouts makes dog-specific CBD and hemp tinctures, chews, and topicals aimed at everything from separation anxiety to stiff, achy joints. Crucially, the hemp products are THC-free, so your dog gets the calm without anything they shouldn’t have. Not into CBD? The brand’s CBD-free line leans on mushrooms, pumpkin, and cranberry instead.
Who it’s for: pet parents managing situational stress or older-dog aches who want to try hemp without guesswork. One caveat worth saying plainly: talk to your vet before starting any CBD product, especially if your dog takes other medication, since it can interact with some drugs. Shop Super Snouts.
kin+kind — vet-formulated topicals, short ingredient lists
kin+kind, priced around $27, focuses on the unglamorous problems: hot spots, dry noses, allergies, plus stain-and-odor products for the messes pets leave behind. Everything is vet-formulated, non-GMO, and hand-mixed, and the ingredient lists stay refreshingly short, which is the whole point for owners who have been burned by mystery formulas.
Who it’s for: the label-reader whose dog or cat has a recurring skin issue and who wants something targeted rather than a do-everything spray. Shop kin+kind.
Barkin’ Creek — gourmet dog food from two dog dads
Barkin’ Creek started when two dog dads couldn’t find food that met their pups’ special dietary needs, so they built a dog-food kitchen instead. Based in Austin and shipping nationwide, the brand makes human-grade meals, and its Texas locations add full spas with grooming, mud baths, and “pawdicures.”
Who it’s for: owners near Austin who want the full brick-and-mortar experience, or anyone nationwide feeding a dog with a sensitive stomach who wants fresh food from a small kitchen rather than a factory. The tradeoff is price, human-grade fresh food costs more than kibble, so it fits best as a full switch or a topper. Shop Barkin’ Creek.
What’s new
Two of these have gotten a lot easier to buy since they launched. Wondercide and Super Snouts are now stocked widely through major pet retailers and online marketplaces, so you no longer have to order direct to try them. As always with hemp and supplement products, check that the version you buy still lists the same actives and third-party testing the brand is known for, since retail listings sometimes lag behind a reformulation.
