dog food Archives - Smart Dog University

Review: The Honest Kitchen’s Minimalist Recipes

May 8, 2017

The Honest Kitchen’s Minimalist Recipes

Regular readers know I’m a fan of The Honest Kitchen (THK) dog food.

I regularly feed my senior yellow Labrador, Tango, their human-grade dog food, Force. We looooove it. [I don’t get paid or otherwise compensated to say this. I just really like their food.]

Last week, The Honest Kitchen sent samples of their new, limited ingredient food, duck and sweet potato (grain free!) food, Spruce, their latest minimalist recipe. SIX ingredients. Only six. ALL human-grade.

Look, no one needs to sell me on THK food.

I am a believer. Tango’s done great on their food for years now. When I added Spruce into the rotation, Tango didn’t skip a beat. He chowed down on Spruce just like he devours his current THK food, Force.

What’s different about Spruce?

Well, first, it’s a limited ingredient diet. Only six ingredients. SIX. That’s it. Grain-free at that, if that matters to you. It matters to us, mostly because once I eliminated grains from our dogs’ diet, their ear infections and troublesome feet problems dropped off fairly significantly. It’s not scientific evidence, I know, but I’ll take it.

So, the really important stuff: did Tango like the new food?

Uh, YEAH! He gobbled it up like nothing was different. It was just as easy for me to make, too. Which is just a bonus. Becuase even if it were harder to make, I’d still do it because it’s such a good food and so good for my Tango.

Spruce is great for your dog if he has allergies or a sensitive stomach. It’s made from cage-free duck and also sweet potatoes. It’s made in a human-grade manufacturing facility with human-grade ingredients. It’s good for your dog. No preservatives, no artificial colors, no fake anything.

How do you make it?

If you’ve never tried THK food, it’s really easy to make. Put the food in the bowl, add warm water, stir, and feed to your dog! It’s that simple. For reals. Made in your own kitchen. By you. Then served immediately to your dog. It doesn’t get any fresher. Or easier.

If you’ve got a picky eater, a dog with a sensitive stomach, or a dog who needs to be on a limited ingredient diet, I highly recommend THKs Spruce food. Their other foods are great, too. Just sayin’.

Freshpet: New Baked Dog Food Recipes

June 9, 2015

With the addition of monster-dog Schooner who eats 10 cups of dry food each day, I’ve been looking for a high quality, convenient, and reasonably priced dog food for him. At about the same time I was researching different dog foods, I stumbled across a new Freshpet offering in Target. I’m a dedicated Freshpet user, usually the Freshpet Select kitty treats (that I use and recommend for dog treats — great small size won’t fill up your dog too quickly), but also the refrigerated dog treats, too. But now. Now they’re making dog food. I was a little excited. Here’s why.

Freshpet has a new line of baked recipe food that I’m pretty keen on. I like it for a few reasons:

fresh and simple ingredients: no chicken meal here — straight up fresh chicken and eggs, peas, lentils, cranberries, flaxseed, sweet potatoes, etc.
freshness: you can see the exact date the food was made on the front of the bag
no bad stuff: no artificial preservatives, animal by-products, or rendered meals
grain-free option: for those dogs who don’t do well on grains (like mine)
easy to travel: nothing needs refrigeration, so traveling with your dog is a breeze
convenience: you can find it in Target, grocery stores, and big (and small) box pet supply stores
price: the quality ingredients are reflected in the price — it’s not the cheapest food in the store (for which I’m grateful), but then again, I wouldn’t buy the cheapest. My dogs deserve quality food and I’m happy to buy something that takes the time to make a better, more nutritious product.

Who cares what I think about it, how do my dogs like it?

Schooner was getting a bit picky with his current food. I swapped in one Freshpet baked recipes cup of food and used his regular food to make up the difference. Interestingly, he made quick work of that new combination, rooting around for the Freshpet kibbles, fruits, and veggies. I’ve been gradually adding more Freshpet while reducing the normal food and I expect we’ll transition fully later this week.

I need to finish the bag of the other food that’s already open, so when that’s gone, I’ll transfer Nemo over to Freshpet, too.

Next time you’re out shopping, take a look for Freshpet. It comes in three sizes: 3.5 lb, 11 lb, and 22 lb bags. (The grain free food comes in only 3.5 lb and 11 lb.)

The Honest Kitchen’s Latest Recipe: Revel

April 24, 2015

Ever wanted to cook for your dogs, but just don’t have the time or the recipes?

Enter The Honest Kitchen (THK)! THK is well known for their human grade pet food formulas — yes, it’s safe for people to eat! They use dehydrated whole foods and make all their food in the USA from non-GMO produce, hormone-free meats and some organic, fair trade ingredients – all carefully sourced from around the world (and they NEVER use any pet food ingredients from China).

I received a box of their latest formula, Revel, and took it for a spin with my dogs. I love that you can see all the ingredients in THK food — then you just add water, wait a few minutes, serve it and get out of the way. The dogs devoured Revel as quickly as I could make it!

What I like about Revel is the price. It’s a given that human grade, US made, whole food dog food is going to be more expensive than kibble. That being said, if you have medium to large dogs, it can get pricey fast! Revel, though is $25 less per 10 lb. box (each 10 lb. box makes about 40 lbs. of food!), which makes it a lot friendlier to my budget!

THK Revel is good for dogs who:
♥ Are picky, or prefer chicken
♥ Are able to tolerate grains
♥ Need a food with higher protein and fat

Favorite Dog Food – High Quality, Human Grade, and Convenient

June 5, 2014

Do you worry if you’re feeding your dog a good diet?

The more I know about dogs and nutrition, the more I worry about what I’m feeding my dogs. I want to do the best I can with their nutrition for several reasons.

I want my dogs to live as long as possible.
I want my dogs to be healthy and happy — I know nutrition is the foundation for a good, long life.
I don’t want my dogs eating by-products, fillers, GMO grains, or preservatives.
I eat well — I think my dogs should, too!

I’ve been fooling around with different food choices for my dogs for the past few years.

I tried our oldest Labrador, Lily, on a raw diet, but found it inconvenient when we were traveling, it was messy, and it was quite expensive. I’ve had Tango on a veterinary food for his arthritis, but I didn’t love the ingredients (by products, grains). And Nemo’s been on kibble his entire life.

To be honest, feeding each dog a different food was getting exhausting, not to mention that our pantry was taken over by bags of dog food. Leaaving the pet sitter with all the different foods and instructions wasn’t any fun either and was more complicated than I felt necessary.

Enter The Honest Kitchen (THK).

I’d run into them at a conference trade show a few years ago. I got to know them and their product. I read up on who they were and how they made their food. After about six months of data collection, I decided to make a test-feeding to see if (1) I liked feeding it to the dogs (2) if I was satisfied by the quality, and naturally (3) if my dogs liked it.

I’ve been blown away by the The Honest Kitchen and their products.

I’m a picky feeder. I have high standards. When a company is pickier than me, well, I take notice. THK is pickier. A lot pickier.

They sent a sample 2-pound box of their food Force, a chicken based dehydrated food product.

I fed Tango and Lily Force and they loved it.

What do I love about it?

No grains
All natural
No fillers
No preservatives
No GMO ingredients
FREE RANGE chicken (!)
FDA certified that the ingredients are human grade and the processing and packaging are human grade
Easy to feed — just mix with water!
Convenient
Healthy

THK doesn’t just make good, high-quality dog food. They live it.

I can’t decide what I like more, that they make excellent food or that they care so much about pet nutrition. I mean, I think I’d buy from any company that produced a high-quality, all natural food, but THK does that one better because healthy pets are the core of who they are and it’s why they do what they do. I identify with that passion because it’s that same passion that pushed me to start Smart Dog University.

They have a nice cookbook with recipes that you and your dog can share, as well as recipes just for your dog. I’ve been working my way through the cookbook and will be bringing you some videos and recipes from their creation in future blog posts.

Click here to get your own sample pack (for dogs or cats, your choice) for just $1 from THK.

Talk back!

What is your dog’s favorite real food treat?

Tango loves apples, tomatoes, and cukes, for instance. Leave a comment below and tell me what your dog loves!

At 5p (EDT) on June 6, 2014, I’ll randomly select a commenter to receive a free 2-pound box of THK Force food! All you have to do is leave a comment!

Only U.S. residents are eligible to enter due to shipping restrictions. THK sent me a free sample box to try, along with the cookbook, and information about their product. I wasn’t otherwise compensated to write this post and the opinions expressed are my own. I will always report honest opinions on products I use and love regardless of compensation (or more likely, LACK of compensation)!

Freshpet: Good (and Convenient) Food for Dogs

October 4, 2011

I got a chance to try a bunch of new dog food and dog snacks last week.Let me say right up front that I'm a little bit of a dog-food-snob. I try hard to learn as much as I can about dog food: how it's made, what goes into it, etc.

My dogs eat better than I do, truth be told. All of them are supplemented in one way or another, those supplements tailored to their age or specific health issues.

Lily, the pretty little grey-faced Labrador on the left, has allergies to beef and grains (corn, wheat, and the like). We buy a specific food that is grain-free and she's on an over-the-counter antihistamine everyday, as well as a complex of fish oils, Omegas, etc.

Anyway, I got a cooler full of refrigerated dog treats the other day and was pretty skeptical at first. I'm skeptical of almost all commercial dog treats – usually they're a whole lot of grains, a whole lot of fillers, and a whole lot of preservatives. All things I don't want to put into my dog.

I'll keep this short and to-the-point. Here are the vitals:

Who: Freshpet
What: Dog treats and dog food

I liked:

the packaging – nine (I counted) freez-paks in a cooler, shipped overnight (not cheap!)
the ingredients – in the Vital line, for instance, here is the ingredient list (no grains!): Chicken, Chicken Liver, Cranberries, Beef, Salmon, Eggs, Spinach, Vinegar, Peas, Natural Flavors, Carrageenan, Salt, Caramel Color, Inulin, Pomegranate, Broccoli. You can actually SEE the shredded chicken, the cranberries, and the spinach! It's actually identifiable (I think that's pretty amazing…)
the variety - In addition to the Vital line above, I also found the Dognation line impressive. The ONLY ingredient in the Sweet Potato Chews…sweet potatoes! Amazing!
the palatibility - my dogs LOVED this stuff!
the uses - I create a lot of food-stuffed toys for my dogs to help keep them busy and their minds active. Freshpet has so many different types of food and treats, I can find something that will work with whatever food toy I'm using that day.
the absence of preservatives - these treats must be refrigerated. Which may seem like a hassle (it's not), but that lack of preservatives makes me a whole lot happier about feeding Freshpet to my dogs. I want as little un-natural stuff in them as possible.
convenience and availability - I can get this from my local grocery store. Normally, grocery store dog food is an automatic "NO!" in my book — the quality is just too low, usually. Those grocery store dog foods are usually loaded with wheat and corn and the dreaded by-products. Not here — just the opposite, actually. What a (happy) surprise!

I'm adding Freshpet to my fridge. I will use it for both my own dogs, as well as my client's dogs. Whether you have a really food-motivated Labrador (like I do), or you've got a finicky, picky eater, these Freshpet foods and treats will get your dog's attention. And that's where the training begins! Happy, eager dogs + delish treats = easy and fast training!

**Freshpet sent me the food samples free of charge. These remarks are entirely my opinion — I wasn't paid to write this review.**

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