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If you’re a dog lover like me (I know you are) then you undoubtedly saw the heart-wrenching Super Bowl commercial for The Farmer’s Dog.
Whether you saw the commercial or not you might be wondering about The Farmer’s Dog fresh dog food and whether or not it’s right for your pup.
You’re in luck, because today (a gloomy day in June 2023) we updated The Farmer’s Dog Review blog post.
This blog post was originally published on MyDogLikes on March 26th, 2017.
Regular readers will know that we are huge proponents of home cooked and fresh food diets for dogs.
Unfortunately, many people who share this interest shy away from it because they don’t have the time to prepare the food or do the research that is needed to create a balanced diet for their dog.
While a raw or homemade dog food diet can fit into many budgets, for busy families time is of the essence and its tough to beat the convenience of kibble.
Today we are excited to tell you about a new company that is working to overcome these barriers and make a whole food diet accessible to everyone…
Introducing The Farmer’s Dog
Believing that REAL FOOD is best, The Farmer’s Dog is a subscription service that creates and delivers balanced, freshly made, and vet approved meals formulated specifically for your dog.
Each shipment is prepared to order and pre-portioned to give your dog just what he or she needs for optimal nutrition each and every day.
The Farmer’s Dog was kind enough to send over a shipment of their amazing food for our boys to try out and share their opinion on!
The Farmer’s Dog Review – Trying it Out
Getting started with The Farmers Dog is easy.
Just head on over to their website and you will be asked a few questions about your dog. These include:
- Age
- Weight
- Body Type
- Activity Levels
- Special Considerations
Based upon your answers, The Farmer’s Dog will determine a daily caloric requirement for your pup, and give you a handful of recipe options that vary in price.
Choose as few or as many as you like, in order to add some variety to your dog’s diet.
All of their food has been carefully crafted by their team of board certified veterinary nutritionists and formulated to AAFCO standards.
Online Portal Screenshot
We enjoyed going through the customization process for each dog and seeing how their nutritional needs varied based on activity level:
Charlie
- Breed: Golden Retriever
- Age: 3 years old
- Weight: 65 lbs
- Body Type: Optimal Weight
- Activity Level: He’s a runner!
- Special Considerations (allergies intolerances): None
Harley
- Breed: Golden Retriever
- Age: 11 years old
- Weight: 82 lbs
- Body Type: Optimal Weight
- Activity Level: He’s a relaxer!
- Special Considerations (allergies intolerances): None
Just take a look at those ingredients in the screenshot above…this is real food we are talking about!
Once prepared, your dog’s human grade food is frozen and never processed for shelf stability, keeping the food you serve nutritionally sound and safe!
The Delivery
Our shipment of The Farmer’s Dog arrived at our home within just 3 days of ordering online. Really amazing when you consider that each batch is made to order!
The shipment comes in an insulated box, which has been designed to keep the food cold until 11PM on the day of delivery.
Included inside the box are simple feeding instructions and daily portions of food for your dog.
One touch that we love is the made by date printed on each individual bag. It was especially cool to see that date was only 2 days ago!
How to Prepare the Farmer’s Dog Food
Since each order comes frozen, it will need to be thawed before use.
The simplest method is to rotate your stock into the refrigerator a day or two ahead of time and let it thaw in there.
Remember that The Farmer’s Dog does not use any preservatives in their food, so you will want to treat it just like human food – because it is!
If (like us) you are not always on top of things, don’t fret – These packs can be defrosted in warm water in just a matter of minutes!
Once your packs are adequately soft, all you need to do is squeeze out the appropriate amount and you are good to go.
Each sleeve has been packaged to meet your dogs daily caloric needs, so you will need to divide it up into however many meals you typically feed in a day.
In our house Harley and Charlie eat twice a day, so we simply weigh out each pack on our kitchen scale and save half in a plastic container for dinner time.
If you don’t have a scale, no problem-I think its easy enough to simply eye ball the amount and serve the second portion for dinner!
As long as your dog is getting the whole pack in one day-you will have met his or her nutritional needs!
PRO TIP: Sometimes there will be a bit of remnant stuck on the inside of the plastic sleeve after squeezing. We recommend adding in a bit of water and giving it a good shake.
This will loosen any remaining pieces and allow you to get all of that tasty goodness out of each pack!
Don’t worry about adding a bit of extra water into the food – most dogs could use some extra hydration anyway!
Now doesn’t that look good?! And trust us, it smells amazing too!
The Taste Test
If we were salivating at the aroma, I can only imagine how Harley and Charlie were feeling as we prepared their meal!
The moment they had been waiting so patiently for was finally here and we let them have at it.
Both boys dug in with enthusiasm and licked their bowls clean – even returning a time or two just to make sure that they had gotten everything.
Note: Extra water was our addition!
How Did They React?
It is always advised to transition your dog into a new food before diving straight in.
Since we already feed a form of homemade, we thought that they would be OK to transition all at once and thankfully this turned out to be correct.
Harley and Charlie had no digestive upset and no change in the quality or consistency of their stools after giving The Farmer’s Dog a try.
If by chance your dog does not like the food, let them know and you can try out some of the other recipes or opt for a full refund.
Wondering Why you Can’t Just Make Food Like this at Home?
Well, you can – and The Farmer’s Dog will even help you do so through their DIY program.
The biggest problem with most homemade diets is that they have not been formulated by a veterinary nutritionist and may be lacking in essential vitamins and minerals.
The Farmer’s Dog cares about the health of your pets and have included dog food recipes on their website and even offer a special nutrient pack for home feeders which can be added to make sure that your dog is getting everything he or she needs!
How Much Does The Farmer’s Dog Cost Today?
At the time of this writing (June 2023) prices range from $2-$12/day depending on dog profile and your own preferences.
You will see your meal plans and price options – before checkout.
The Farmer’s Dog can be a bit pricey so we like to use it intermittently as a topper for our dogs.
We took a peek at the price for our current dogs:
Raven
- Breed: Golden Retriever
- Spayed/Neutered: No
- Age: 9 years old
- Weight: 70 lbs
- Body Condition: Just Right
- Activity Level: Active
- At mealtimes Raven: Will eat anything
- Special Considerations: No health issues or prescription diets
The Farmer’s Dog cost for Raven: $9.68 /Day
***When I checked pricing The Farmer’s Dog was running a 20% discount off the first box. The discounted price for Elsa is $7.74/Day.
Elsa
- Breed: Labrador Retriever
- Spayed/Neutered: No
- Age: 3 years old
- Weight: 55 lbs
- Body Condition: Just Right
- Activity Level: Pro Athlete – Does the energy of 10 dogs properly describe her?
- At Mealtimes Elsa: Will eat anything
- Special Considerations: No health issues or prescription diets
The Farmer’s Dog Cost: $8.42 /Day
***When I checked pricing The Farmer’s Dog was running a 20% discount off the first box. The discounted price for Elsa is $6.74/Day.
The Farmer’s Dog is pricey! This is the one major drawback for our family.
It would cost $543 a month month to feed my two large dogs The Farmer’s Dog!
Why My Dog Likes The Farmers Dog
We believe that all dogs deserve to eat “real food”, though we know that preparing homemade meals is not for everyone.
The Farmers Dog allows anyone to feed their dog a premium and whole food diet with minimal work involved.
Since everything is already portioned by the day, even measuring errors are eliminated and you can be sure that you will never run out before your next shipment arrives.
While this food is by no means inexpensive, you get what you pay for, and the quality is unmatched.
If you can afford a dog food delivery service, we would highly recommend a trial to seeing for yourself the difference real food can make in your dogs life!
With two big dogs, WE may not be able to feed them this daily – but because the food can be in the freezer for 4 months, we plan on budgeting for at least a few deliveries per year to keep on hand during emergencies and times that we run out of food!
Better still, The Farmer’s Dog is rolling out mixing plans of 25%, 50%, and 75% so that no matter what your budget, you can get your dogs at least some of the health benefits of fresh, human grade food!
A Very Special Deal!
Puppy In Training readers can save 50% on their first order of The Farmers Dog! Simply click on the button below and the discount will be applied at checkout!
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UPDATE: This blog post was originally published on MyDogLikes on March 26th, 2017.
Top Picks For Our Puppies
- BEST PUPPY TOY
We Like: Calmeroos Puppy Toy w/ Heartbeat and Heat Packs – Perfect for new puppies. Helps ease anxiety in their new home. - BEST DOG CHEW
We Like: Mighty Paw Naturals Bully Sticks – All of our puppies love to bite, nip, and chew. We love using Bully Sticks to help divert these unwanted behaviors. - BEST DOG TREATS
We Like: Crazy Dog Train-Me Treats – We use these as our high-value treats for our guide dog puppies. - BEST FRESH DOG FOOD
We Like: The Farmer’s Dog – A couple months ago we started feeding Raven fresh dog food and she loves it! Get 50% off your first order of The Farmer’s Dog.
Check out more of our favorites on our New Puppy Checklist.
