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.**