
Freeze-dried pet food is a handy approach to serve your canine a balanced meal that’s minimally processed, excessive in protein, and doesn’t require refrigeration. “Freeze-dried means a meals has been frozen after which positioned in a chamber the place barometric strain could be decreased, making a partial vacuum,” shared Dr. Richard Patton, PhD, animal nutritionist guide, with The Spruce Pets. “With decreased air strain, moisture leaves, leading to a really dry product (sometimes lower than 5 p.c moisture). It’s a very mild technique of preservation, and flavors are invariably an identical to contemporary meals.”
Most freeze-dried canine meals use uncooked components, together with animal-source protein, greens, and fruits. For serving as pet food, the freeze-dried components are packaged as pellets, nuggets, or patties, which could be served as-is, crumbled to sprinkle on prime of different meals, or rehydrated with heat water. For the reason that freeze-drying course of removes moisture, it is rather vital to offer your canine entry to enough contemporary water whereas feeding them freeze-dried meals and treats.
Table of Contents
High Picks
Finest Overal
Important Necessities Freeze-Dried Entree Mini Nibs Canine Meals
- Small nibs have a crunchy texture
- 5 recipes every made with human grade components
- Freed from synthetic flavors, preservatives, and coloring
- Single-protein supply makes meals appropriate for canine with allergic reactions and delicate stomachs
- Made with out grains, glutens, or fillers
- Costs fluctuate relying on taste
The crunchy, protein-rich nibs inVital Necessities Freeze-Dried Entree Mini Nibs maintain collectively extra reliably than different dehydrated canine meals, so you might be much less more likely to have a set of powdery meals on the backside of the bag—a typical grievance amongst customers of freeze-dried canine meals and treats.
Important Necessities makes use of a single protein supply for every recipe, making the meals extra amenable for canine who’ve meals allergic reactions or delicate stomachs. All the recipes are fortified with fiber, and embrace fish oil for important fatty acids.
The mini nibs could be served as a full meal, since they provide full and balanced vitamin with out synthetic preservatives, colours, or flavors. They may also be given as a deal with, or added to a canine’s present meals for an additional dose of protein from the uncooked components. There are 5 recipes to select from: Beef Entree, Turkey Entree, Rabbit Entree, Rooster Entree, and Duck Entree, and you could find selection packs with three totally different recipes. However the costs fluctuate among the many formulation, with Rabbit Entree typically being the costliest.
Important Necessities producers freeze-dried and frozen merchandise for canine and cats in the US.
Sizes: 5.5. 14, 25 ounces | Flavors: Beef entree, turkey entree, rabbit entree, rooster entree, duck entree | Life stage: Grownup, senior, pet
Additionally Nice
BIXBI Liberty Freeze Dried Canine Meals
- Might be served as meal, deal with, or topper
- Helps digestive well being
- Three flavors
- Made with human grade components
- Massive canine will want a number of baggage a month
Liberty Freeze-Dried Canine Meals from Bixbi combines animal-sourced meat, organs, and bones with vegetables and fruit, like carrots, blueberries, and cranberries, to create freeze-dried meals for canine. The meals is made with USDA human grade components that present protein and antioxidants, and are freed from synthetic preservatives, flavors, and coloring.
The pet food is manufactured in the US in three flavors—Beef Recipe, Lamb Recipe, and Rooster Recipe—all of that are appropriate for serving as a meal, deal with, or sprinkled on prime of your canine’s regular meals. You may also rehydrate the meals by including half a cup of heat water to every cup of Liberty Freeze-Dried meals.
The meals is packaged in resealable baggage that are available in two sizes, 10 and 20 ounces. The biggest bag incorporates roughly 13.3 cups of meals, and you probably have a big canine they’ll possible eat via a bag inside just a few days.
Sizes: 10, 20 ounces | Flavors: Beef recipe, lamb recipe, rooster recipe | Life stage: Grownup, senior, pet
Finest Sustainable
Open Farm Freeze-Dried Uncooked Canine Meals
- 5 single protein supply recipes and one seafood recipe
- Animal Welfare licensed by International Animal Safety (GAP)
- Transparency of their practices and meticulous tracing of sources
- Some formulation can have a robust scent
Open Farm enforces excessive requirements all through their provide chain and manufacturing course of for his or her uncooked freeze-dried pet food. They provide six recipes all made with 100% traceable components. 5 recipes provided use a single supply of protein from a humanely-raised supply, making it simpler to keep away from an ingredient in case your canine has an allergy. There’s additionally a Surf & Turf recipe that includes wild caught seafood with free-range beef.
The corporate is dedicated to minimizing their emissions and dealing with third-party certification non-profit organizations to make sure sustainability, animal welfare, and environmental safety of assets. Certifications embrace: Licensed Humane, Ocean Clever, International Animal Partnership, and Terracycle.
Open Farm additionally gives dry meals, moist meals, gently cooked meals, treats, and bone broth. The meals is available on-line, and you’ll even join a subscription to have your most popular merchandise shipped on to you in eco-friendly packaging.
Sizes: 10, 20 ounces | Flavors: Grass-fed beef, homestead turkey, pasture raised lamb, surf & turf, harvest rooster, farmer’s desk pork | Life stage: Grownup, senior, pet
Finest Meal Topper
Stella & Chewy’s Meal Mixers
- Provides taste, nutritional vitamins, taurine, fiber probiotics, and antioxidants to canine’s meals
- Might be rehydrated with water or bone broth
- Made with human grade components
- 9 recipes together with one formulated for puppies
- Choose flavors could be harder to search out
Add an additional dose of freeze-dried taste and vitamins to your canine’s favourite meals with Stella & Chewy’s Meal Mixers for canine. The nugget-shaped items could be served straight out of the bag, crumbled up, or rehydrated with heat water or bone broth. The freeze-dried meal toppers are made with uncooked components utilizing animal meat, organs, and bones together with actual vegetables and fruit because the main components.
There are eight recipes within the freeze-dried Meal Mixers line, all impressed by the ancestral food plan of canines’ and all with fulfilling names: Chewy’s Rooster, Dandy Lamb, Duck Duck Goose, Purely Pork, Savory Salmon & Cod, Tremendous Beef, Surf & Turf, and Tantalizing Turkey. There’s even a meal topper formulated for puppies, Perfectly Puppy Beef & Salmon, which gives protein, fats, and energy together with DHA to assist mind and eye growth in a rising canine. All the Stella & Chewy Meal Mixers, save for the Savory Salmon & Cod, could be served as a whole and balanced meal, too. It is best to all the time slowly transition your canine to a brand new meals to keep away from gastrointestinal interruption, however Meal Mixers make the swap a bit extra seamless.
Stella & Chewy’s is a woman-owned enterprise and their pet merchandise are manufactured in the US. All of their meals, treats, and meal toppers are minimally processed, comprise no added hormones or antibiotics, and are freed from grains, glutens, synthetic preservatives, and synthetic colorings.
Sizes: 1, 3.5, 8, 18, and 35 ounces | Flavors: Chewy’s rooster, dandy lamb, duck duck goose, purely pork, savory salmon & cod, tremendous beef, surf & turf, tantalizing turkey, completely pet beef & salmon | Life Stage: Grownup, senior, pet
Finest for Particular Diets
Dr. Marty Nature’s Mix Freeze Dried Canine Meals
- Formulation for puppies, seniors, pores and skin and abdomen sensitivities, small breeds, and meals allergic reactions
- First 5 components are animal-source proteins
- Might be served as meal, deal with, or topper
- Packaged in resealable baggage
- Made with out synthetic preservatives, artificial nutritional vitamins, or mineral powders
- Not at the moment offered in huge field shops or supermarkets
Nature’s Mix from Dr. Marty is a freeze-dried meals for canine that’s made with meat, greens, fruits, and seeds to ship a balanced meal with every serving. Throughout the Nature’s Mix line, the model gives six recipes to handle general well being and particular dietary wants—Necessities Wellness, Sensitivity Select, Radiant Select, Active Vitality, Wholesome Progress, and Essential Wellness Premium Origin. All are fully freed from synthetic preservatives, components, fillers, and artificial components.
For many canine, Important Wellness is advisable, with half a cup for canine as small as 5 kilos and almost 5 cups for canine weighing 90 kilos. The primary 5 components are turkey, beef, salmon, duck, and organ meat. For small breed canine, Dr. Marty gives a specialised model (Small Breed Natures Blend Essentials Wellness) which uess the identical recipe formed into smaller bite-sized items for smaller mouths.
Sensitivity Choose, for canine with meals allergic reactions, is totally freed from dairy, beef, eggs, and wheat. The primary 5 components on this recipe are turkey, duck, goose, quail, and turkey liver. For canine with pores and skin and coat points, Radiant Vitality gives omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and antioxidants and the first components are pollock, beef coronary heart, tuna, salmon, and beef liver. Puppies will reap the vitamins their growing our bodies want from Wholesome Progress which is made with goat milk and seaweed for calcium and DHA, a necessary constructing block puppies want for wholesome imaginative and prescient and mind growth. On the opposite finish of the age spectrum, Lively Vitality—made inexperienced mussels from New Zealand, pea protein, and cherries—helps digestion, a wholesome immune system, limber joints, and vitality in canine over the age of seven.
Important Welness Premium Origin is made with wild-caught and grass-fed components, together with lamb, venison, beef, and mackerel, however it’s also dearer than the opposite formulation.
Sizes: 6, 16 ounces | Flavors: Necessities wellness, sensitivity choose, radiant choose, energetic vitality, wholesome progress, and important wellness premium origin | Life Stage: Grownup, senior, pet
Finest Air-Dried
Sundays Meals for Canine
- Human-grade components
- Rooster, beef, or turkey is first ingredient
- Offers probiotics, omega fatty acids, glucosamine, and chondroitin
- Supply solely
Sundays for Canine is a supply service that brings air-dried pet food proper to your door. The air-drying course of makes use of a heat air present to slowly take away moisture from components. The meals retains vitamins and taste, however doesn’t require refrigeration or rehydration.
There are three recipes to select from— beef, turkey, and rooster—and all are made with USDA animal-sourced proteins as the primary three components. The recipes additionally embrace nutrient-rich fruits, greens, and grains, like quinoa, millet, and oats. The turkey and beef recipes are permitted by the AAFCO nutrient necessities for all life levels, together with giant breed puppies, as a result of it gives the phosphorus and calcium rising puppies want. The rooster recipe is advisable for much less energetic canine and seniors, but additionally works for adults of all sides.
The meals could be ordered with or and not using a subscription, however it’s not at the moment offered in any shops. It’s manufactured in the US in a human-grade meals facility, and canine appear to benefit from the flavors and texture.
Sizes: 40 ounces | Flavors: Beef recipe, rooster recipe, turkey recipe | Life Stage: Pet, grownup, senior
Finest Patties
Orijen Freeze-Dried Medallion Canine Meals
- Offers nutritional vitamins, minerals, and protein
- Three recipes mixing meat and wild-caught fish
- Might be served as meal, topper, or rehydrated
- Items are susceptible to crumbling
- Some canine don’t like the feel and/or look of a medallion
Orijen formulates their freeze-dried meals for canine utilizing globally sourced meats, organs, and wild-caught fish. The Freeze-Dried Medallions are spherical patty shapes that make it simple to measure how a lot you might be feeding to your canine. For instance, the advisable serving measurement for a small canine weighing 5–15 kilos is 1.5 to 4 medallions per day served as-is and/or rehydrated with heat water. Canine on this measurement group may have half a medallion per day crumbled up as a meal topper upon their common meals.
There are three recipes—Unique, Tundra, and Regional Pink—all of which combine uncooked protein meat and seafood sources for a mix of flavors and vitamins. The meals is made in the US and is available in two sized baggage, 6 and 16-ounces. On the draw back, the patties are susceptible to crumbling if not dealt with with care, however these crumbles could be rehydrated or sprinkled on prime of meals. Additionally, some canine want time to regulate to seeing a medallion of their bowl and experiencing the feel.
Sizes: 6,16 ounces | Flavors: Unique (rooster), tundra (venison), regional purple (beef) | Life Stage: Grownup, senior
Finest Treats
smallbatch Pets Premium Freeze-Dried Treats
- Made with one ingredient
- Freed from synthetic preservatives
- Appropriate for canine and cats
- Not a time consuming deal with
In the event you’re on the lookout for freeze-dried snacks to inventory your canine deal with pouch, these come in useful. Small Batch makes use of solely humanely raised meat from farmers and ranchers in the US to make its single-ingredient Freeze Dried Coronary heart Treats.
The one-ingredient treats are made in small batches utilizing solely nutrient-dense coronary heart meat that’s slowly dehydrated in freezing temperatures. The result’s bite-sized treats appropriate for consumption by each cats and canine. Flavors embrace rooster, beef, lamb, pork, and turkey.
The treats are fully freed from preservatives, glycerin, and fillers. The treats have a crunchy texture however most canine are in a position to devour a protein-rich piece in a matter of seconds.
Sizes: 3.5 ounces | Flavors: Rooster, beef, lamb, pork, turkey | Life Stage: Grownup, senior
quick information
Important Necessities Freeze-Dried Entree Mini Nibs is an acceptable possibility for many canine providing 5 recipes all made with a single supply of protein. The meals is manufactured in the US and has a crunchy texture that many canine will discover fulfilling. The mini nibs may also be given as treats. In case you have a canine who requires a specialised food plan, we advocate Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend Freeze Dried Dog Food. The road has formulation for puppies, seniors, pores and skin and abdomen sensitivities, small breeds, and meals allergic reactions, and all of the recipes are made with animal-soured proteins, fruits, and greens.
What To Look For In Freeze-Dried Canine Meals
AAFCO Dietary Pointers
The Affiliation of American Feed Management Officers (AAFCO) is a non-profit, non-government group that promotes uniform laws and tips for pet meals. In the US, a pet meals producer should observe the dietary requirements set forth by the AAFCO with a purpose to add the “full and balanced” label on their pet meals merchandise. This means {that a} given pet meals incorporates each nutrient listed on the profile on the advisable stage. AAFCO doesn’t have the authority to control pet meals, however the group works intently with regulatory our bodies, together with the Meals and Drug Administration.
Correct Storage
Most freeze-dried pet food ought to be saved at room temperature and doesn’t require refrigeration. Many are made with out synthetic preservatives and ought to be consumed inside a specified length after the bundle is opened. You must also seek the advice of the label of the meals you choose to make sure that the meals is contemporary.
Preserve The Water Bowl Full
The freeze drying course of removes moisture so it’s essential to offer your canine entry to enough contemporary water whereas consuming.
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Do canine like freeze-dried pet food?
In case your canine is accustomed to moist pet food or kibble, the dry texture of freeze-dried meals will possible require a interval of adjustment. Happily, you must all the time slowly transition your canine to a brand new meals, serving 25-percent of the brand new meals with 75-percent of their present meals to start out and slowly rising the proportion of latest meals every week.
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Does freeze-dried pet food have to be refrigerated or frozen?
Learn the bundle label, however usually talking freeze-dried pet food could be saved at room temperature and doesn’t have to be within the fridge or freezer. As soon as a bundle is opened it would possible have to be consumed inside a specified window of time (e.g. three months).
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Is freeze-dried pet food appropriate for canine with delicate stomachs or meals allergic reactions?
“This can be a difficult query,” cautions Dr. Richard Patton, PhD, animal nutritionist guide. “With the sensitivity or allergy undefined, the one factor we are able to say is freeze-dried meals will probably be no worse or no higher than another meals.
Nevertheless, I might not hesitate to strive freeze-dried as a potential nourishment for these circumstances. The digestibility could be very excessive.”
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Why Belief The Petsfunnies.com
This story was written by Anna Mejorada, a author for The Spruce Pets, who shares her dwelling with a contented pomeranian named Gidget. Earlier than researching and writing about pet merchandise for a dwelling, Mejorada launched into a self-mandated, ongoing quest to search out the optimum gadgets for her canine. She is now delightfully dedicated to serving to people uncover and choose essentially the most favorable merchandise for his or her pets.
For this story, Mejorada consulted with Dr. Richard Patton, PhD, animal nutritionist guide for We Feed Uncooked. Patton has devoted over 40 years to growing formulated diets for animals of all sizes and shapes. All through his profession, he has consulted for zoos and pet meals corporations.
Freeze-dried pet food is a handy approach to serve your canine a balanced meal that’s minimally processed, excessive in protein, and doesn’t require refrigeration. “Freeze-dried means a meals has been frozen after which positioned in a chamber the place barometric strain could be decreased, making a partial vacuum,” shared Dr. Richard Patton, PhD, animal nutritionist guide, with The Spruce Pets. “With decreased air strain, moisture leaves, leading to a really dry product (sometimes lower than 5 p.c moisture). It’s a very mild technique of preservation, and flavors are invariably an identical to contemporary meals.”
Most freeze-dried canine meals use uncooked components, together with animal-source protein, greens, and fruits. For serving as pet food, the freeze-dried components are packaged as pellets, nuggets, or patties, which could be served as-is, crumbled to sprinkle on prime of different meals, or rehydrated with heat water. For the reason that freeze-drying course of removes moisture, it is rather vital to offer your canine entry to enough contemporary water whereas feeding them freeze-dried meals and treats.