When "Fresh" Isn't Always Best

Local Paws
Published On: 03-02-2023, 12:00 AM


If you watched the Super Bowl or flipped through your phone, more than likely you've been targeted by large pet food brands offering a "fresh diet" for your pet. Being in the pet industry as long as we have (25+ combined years) we've seen trends and fads come and go. But what is a "fresh diet?"

Brands you may have tried or heard of like Fresh Pet, The Farmer's Dog, Just Food For Dogs, Ollie, and others that market a "fresh" diet are actually very high in carbohydrates (12-78% carbohydrates in most of these brands). Just Food For Dogs has actual wheat macaroni which might look good to us but, spoiler alert, does not belong in a pet's diet. Many of these foods have very high fat content (The Farmer's Dog formulas are 19-34% fat!), massive recalls (we're looking at you Fresh Pet! You can also view the list of recalls here), and hiding the ingredients and sourcing from consumers until after signing up for a subscription has many of these falling low on our transparency scale.

The big difference between these foods and kibble and why they're gaining popularity (apart from heavy marketing) is that they are cooked at lower temperatures and preserved using freezing rather than cooking at high temperatures and preservatives that make dry food shelf stable. These foods can also be almost double the price per pound $$$ to feed than most raw pet foods, not counting the delays in shipping food to your door and the chances of thawing in transit incredibly high as we've seen so many delays from mail carriers.

While we would much rather save you the money and recommend raw pet food, we know not every dog does great on raw. So we spent the last year comparing these lightly-cooked brands and have decided on two for a few reasons:
  • Longevity in the pet food industry - brands come and go and many of these newer brands are still learning the do's and do not's in formulation, testing, transparency, and sourcing.
  • Transparency - we want to know where ingredients are coming from, easy to find guaranteed analysis and ingredient list, and that everything in that food has been tested.
  • Lab Tested - if we're feeding a raw or "fresh" diet, we want to make sure that food is being tested for e-coli, listeria, salmonella, and others. Also to make sure they're doing feeding trials and testing to make sure the guaranteed analysis on the packaging (protein %, fat %, and others) is accurate.
Now which ones have we decided on?
  • Small Batch Gently Cooked
    • We have actually carried this line since we were in the mobile trailer in 2020! What we love about it besides everything listed above? Less packaging, low fat, and less carbohydrates. Most gently cooked or lightly cooked options are individually wrapped in plastic in around 1-2 lb chubs and cooked in that plastic. Talk about waste and time to thaw! Small Batch's sliders come in a 2lb and 5lb bag and are small enough to thaw quickly!
    • Made and sourced on the West Coast with humanely sourced and harvested meats, certified organic produce, limited ingredients, and no synthetic vitamins or fillers like grains, potatoes, peas, legumes, or heavy starches. They place their classic batches in water baths, bringing the internal temperature up to 150F for just 5 minutes. By gently cooking their batches this way, they're ensuring pasteurization making it easier for delicate tummies. This is a great complete and balanced food for dogs of all sizes and our go-to for those pancreatic kids.
  • Raised Right
    • We are very excited to bring in Raised Right this past month. While most plastic packaged companies combine all of their ingredients (produce and meat) into a plastic bag and then cook it well over 160 degrees to reach that kill stage for e-coli, listeria, and salmonella, Raised Right actually cooks their produce and meat separately to preserve more of the vitamins and minerals in the product while cooking the meat to safe temperatures and then combining them. This extra step helps ensure your pet is getting all of the benefits of that produce without cooking them in the process like other brands.
    • Most of their formulas also contain less than 2% carbohydrates (compared to 78% in some of The Farmer's Dog).
    • Transparency - no guessing what's in these foods! They'll tell you everything you need to know, and more!
    • Traceable Ingredients - they'll show you on their website exactly where their ingredients are sourced!
    • Lab Safety Testing - yup this is on their website too for you to view!
    • Raised Right is also formulated by Dr. Karen Becker! If you've been in the store we've probably talked to you about Dr. Becker and her #1 best selling book The Forever Dog. So not only is their food veterinarian formulated, but veterinarians are recommending their recipes as a source of nutrition beneficial to healthy dogs & cats as well as pets with a variety of health issues. They were recognized by the Innovative Veterinary Care Journal for the impact their recipes are making in the lives of dogs & cats by being awarded the 2019 Innovation Award for Nutrition.
    • Additionally, they were able to formulate their adult dog recipes to meet AAFCO’s requirements for a complete & balanced diet through using ONLY whole foods without having to add any synthetic vitamins or minerals.
    • Frequent Buyer Card - Raised Right offers a buy 12, get 1 free loyalty program! Plus check for deals in store!
Don't let marketing and fancy ads and television commercials fool you. If you're interested in learning more about the difference between kibble, air dried, dehydrated, freeze-dried, canned, "fresh," lightly cooked, and raw come see us today!