Paws Happy Life Dry Dog Food Beef Bag Plastic Balanced Meal
Nosotros're inundated with different types of pet nutrient: kibble, raw, freeze-dried, grain-free, pâté, and more. The choices can be overwhelming, and they often expect annihilation but appetizing. And when our social feeds advertise "fresh pet food," it'southward natural to desire to know more almost these pre-cooked concoctions of real meat and vegetables that ship directly to our doors.
Unlike traditional kibble pet food, fresh pet food resembles those pricey, "mesomorphic" varieties of canned food. It has fewer or no preservatives, and information technology is kept in the refrigerator, to maintain freshness between servings. Fresh pet nutrient is certainly more appealing in name, just nosotros were curious about whether it was really a more healthful pick for dogs and cats. To find out more nigh fresh pet food diets, I spoke with Dr. Lindsey Bullen, a board-certified veterinary nutritionist who works with the Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas. Bullen has consulted with pet food companies before, but not with any of the services we mention below. I also priced some of the trendiest options for fresh dog food subscriptions, using a fictional 70-pound, 2-year-old golden retriever—i of the country's about popular dog breeds, co-ordinate to the American Kennel Club.
What is fresh pet food, exactly?
Fresh pet food brands like Freshpet—found in the refrigerator in your local pet store—helped commercialize fresh options for pet owners. Today, there are dozens of brands out there, and many are available every bit subscription services that function the same manner: You create a dog profile, complete a questionnaire, customize your delivery frequency, and voilà! Next thing you know, freshly made pet food arrives at your door packed in dry ice.
In my research, I found more a dozen companies that market fresh pet food diets for cats and dogs, and their cooking methodologies, ingredients, and storage recommendations vary widely. Co-ordinate to Bullen, the term "fresh pet food" doesn't really accept a specific definition—information technology just refers to pet food that'due south made with fewer or no preservatives. It could be made at home with boiled craven and cooked manifestly rice, or it could be produced with recognizable ingredients in a facility, packaged without preservatives, and then frozen. For the brands we listing here, we researched those that offer food that's commercially produced and thoroughly cooked at a low temperature, and that contain some combination of meats, grains, fruits, and vegetables—it tends to look like y'all took a human's Thanksgiving dinner plate and mixed it all together.
Okay, but is it actually meliorate?
Many of these fresh pet nutrient brands are marketed as beingness "human-grade" or say they "don't contain fillers," just that doesn't mean they're better than traditional pet food. The "fillers" in pet nutrient are grains or carbohydrates—such as corn, soy, or wheat—that offer your pet nutritional value. Preservatives extend the shelf life, flavor, and aroma of pantry pet foods and typically go through quality-control testing by the FDA or another governing body, to ensure the food is yet rubber for your pet to swallow.
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) defines "human-grade nutrient" equally being "suitable for human consumption," meaning all ingredients must be safe for humans to eat. Bullen explained that "feed grade" can exist defined every bit existence "suitable for animal consumption." But the stardom may not exist much more than marketing when you're talking virtually a dog who likes to eat leftovers out of the trash. "There are so many things that would make food feed grade rather than human form that wouldn't harm the animal in any form or mode," Bullen said. A prime number example of "feed grade" would be poultry by-product meal, which can consist of poultry liver, spleen, or kidneys, but would not include poultry feathers or anxiety.
The caloric density of a diet matters more than the marketing claims. Although each service "customizes" the portions of your dog's food, that'due south not the only cistron that matters. "Taking a look at the portion size doesn't e'er tell you a representative idea of how many calories they're getting," Bullen warned. "It's actually gonna exist, you know, are they maintaining weight, are they gaining weight, are they losing weight?" She said that a mark of a skillful programme is the room for adjustment. Fresher diets tend to have a lower caloric density rate than kibble diets—like to the caloric difference betwixt a loving cup of fresh fruit and a loving cup of stale fruit. Most kibble diets range from iii.2 to 4.5 kilocalories per gram (91 to 128 kilocalories per ounce), according to Bullen, and the fresh pet food diets we reviewed range from 1.ii to iv.vii kilocalories per gram. (Although grams and kilograms are non typical American units of measurement, this is the standard way in which pet food is measured to detect kilocalorie amounts.) This discrepancy is due to the difference in water nowadays in each food. So be sure to follow the feeding guidelines for your service so that you don't nether- or overfeed your pet.
Ultimately, when you're making whatsoever major changes to a pet's nutrition, it's best to consult your veterinarian. Some dogs process foods differently based on their biological build, then there's really no "ane-size-fits-all" solution for your canis familiaris'southward meals. "In terms of being nutritionally superior, [fresh pet nutrient diets] are not. It'due south just going to be dependent on what that pet needs, and the individual diet that client has provided for that pet," Bullen said.
I've rounded up some of the nigh popular direct-to-consumer fresh pet food companies. The options below are gleaned from Bullen's expertise, interviews with each visitor, deep dives into third-party reviews, and comparison of each site's pricing model, recipes, and shipping availability. I've too tried several dissimilar brands with my ain dogs over the years, and I think the companies we mention below are great options for anyone who's interested in feeding their dog fresh pet food.
The Farmer's Dog
The Farmer's Dog offers freshly made, homo-course meals that pet owners could technically eat as well. The visitor says it never uses "feed-course ingredients" and that all of its ingredients are sourced responsibly from regional farms. The food is cooked at depression temperatures, so pet owners never have to handle raw food. Information technology arrives frozen, and all meals must be stored in the freezer and thawed in the fridge earlier serving. The Farmer's Dog freezes multiple servings in each pack. To avoid leaks when the food is thawed and being stored in the fridge, you can continue it in a Rubbermaid TakeAlongs container, similar I do.
Starting price: $2 per day ($12.96 per day for a 70-pound, 2-year-quondam golden retriever)
Recipes: turkey, beef, pork
Kilocalories per ounce: one,170 kcal/kg (turkey); ane,530 kcal/kg (beef); i,390 kcal/kg (pork)
Delivery frequency: customizable via customer service; scheduled to arrive before y'all run out of food
Ships to: 48 face-to-face states
Return or guarantee policy: refunds bachelor
Nom Nom
Nom Nom has a veterinary nutritionist on staff who ensures the recipes are formulated based on AAFCO standards, which are the industry standard for pet food (but AAFCO is non a governing torso like the FDA or the USDA). Bullen hasn't reviewed Nom Nom, only she said the fact that the visitor has a full-time veterinary nutritionist on staff is a adept sign regarding the product's overall nutritional value. The meals arrive frozen and should exist thawed in the fridge before they are eaten. Make certain you have enough of freezer space because each repast is individually packaged, which makes meal prep and storage easier and less messy overall. Nom Nom besides adds vii free back-up meals to your 2nd order—a bonus for stocking your refrigerator in case of delayed deliveries.
Starting price: $three per day ($9.69 per mean solar day for a 70-pound, ii-year-erstwhile golden retriever)
Recipes: turkey, chicken, beefiness, pork
Kilocalories per kg: one,479 kcal/kg (turkey); 1,255 kcal/kg (craven); ane,239 kcal/kg (beef); ane,246 kcal/kg (pork)
Commitment frequency: every ii weeks or every four weeks
Ships to: 48 face-to-face states
Render or guarantee policy: No returns, but there's a money-dorsum guarantee.
Ollie
Ollie recipes follow AAFCO standards, and the company says it sources its meats from the US and Commonwealth of australia. The meals get in frozen, and though unopened meals can last in the fridge for up to 14 days, you lot can likewise freeze and thaw your pet'due south meals as needed. Depending on the feeding instructions for your pet, each package could contain multiple meals. So once y'all open information technology, store the opened package in the fridge until you lot've finished it. Ollie provides a storage container and a scoop with your order to help keep those opened packages fresh.
Starting price: less than $two per mean solar day ($ten.63 per day for a 70-pound, 2-year-old aureate retriever)
Recipes: turkey, chicken, beefiness, lamb
Kilocalories per kg: 1,390 kcal/kg (turkey); 1,298 kcal/kg (chicken); 1,540 kcal/kg (beef); 1,804 kcal/kg (lamb)
Commitment frequency: customizable, anywhere from every ii weeks to every eight weeks
Ships to: 48 contiguous states
Return or guarantee policy: 100% money dorsum guarantee, per its homepage
Spot & Tango
Spot & Tango sells both fresh kibble (UnKibble) and fresh food. The fresh food is "human being-form" and includes fruits, vegetables, meats, and grains, and excludes additives and preservatives. The fresh kibble is cooked in a vacuum chamber at depression temperatures and dried, and it resembles typical domestic dog kibble. The fresh kibble should be stored in a absurd, dark place and used inside three to four weeks of opening. The fresh food is portioned and individually packaged, and should be frozen upon delivery.
Starting price: $7 per week ($xi.66 per twenty-four hours for a 70-pound, 2-yr-old golden retriever)
Recipes: turkey (fresh), beef (fresh), lamb (fresh), chicken (kibble), beefiness (kibble), duck (kibble)
Kilocalories per kg: one,437 kcal/kg (turkey, fresh); ane,420 kcal/kg (beef, fresh); 1,345 kcal/kg (lamb, fresh); 3,921 kcal/kg (chicken, kibble); 4,749 kcal/kg (beef, kibble); four,368 kcal/kg (duck, kibble)
Commitment frequency: every two weeks for fresh food and every four weeks for fresh kibble, with free two-solar day aircraft
Ships to: 48 contiguous states
Return or guarantee policy: coin-back guarantee
Sources
1. Dr. Lindsey Bullen, Veterinarian Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas, phone interview, May 18, 2020
2. Alex Jarrell, co-founder of Nom Nom, email interview, Apr nine, 2020
3. Russell Breuer, founder of Spot & Tango, Spot & Tango, e-mail interview, April 9, 2020
4. Jonathan Regev, co-founder and CEO, The Farmer'due south Dog, electronic mail interview, April nine, 2020
5. Evan Forest, caput of Growth, Ollie, e-mail interview, April xvi, 2020
Further reading
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What's the Best Vacuum for Pet Hair?
past Tim Heffernan and Liam McCabe
Pets shed constantly, and the only vacuum that can go on upwardly with all that hair is a robot vacuum, only a good all-around traditional vacuum can also help.
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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/best-fresh-pet-food/
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