“The closer to fresh, whole food, the better,” explains Contreras. “This doesn’t mean you have to feed the raw food you prepare at home, but recognize that your dog needs ‘real’ food as much as you do – and the more the better.”

Not All Raw Foods Are Expensive

My biggest concern when switching to dehydrated foods is convincing my husband that the extra cost is worth it.But surprisingly, The Honest Kitchen is actually cheaper Than the kibble we buy!

A 10 lb box of Whole Wheat Chicken REVEL makes 40 lbs of rehydration for $59.99, almost exactly the same price as a 24 lb bag of kibble we sell at PETCO.

Here’s how The Honest Kitchen stacks up against some of the higher-end kibble varieties, price-wise:

• 10-lb box (40 lbs each) Regular-Price Whole Wheat Chicken REVEL: $59.99 or $1.50 per pound
• 10 lb box (40 lb each) Regular Price Grain Free Chicken FORCE: $89.99 or $2.25 per lb
• Blue Wilderness Salmon Formula kibble sold in 24-pound bags: $54.98 or $2.29 per pound
• 25-pound bag of Merrick’s Grain-Free Real Chicken and Sweet Potato Recipe Kibble: $59.99 or $2.40 per pound

The Honest Kitchen also offers a rebate program with most retailers – buy ten get one free – and Recurring order discounts on their website.

fill nutritional gaps

Because commercial dog foods are rich in vitamins and minerals, traditional raw diets require supplements to fill nutritional gaps. That’s not the case with many of today’s convenient dehydrated and frozen raw food diets, including The Honest Kitchen.

“As long as the food you choose — kibble, dehydrated or raw — shows that it meets AAFCO’s requirements for a specific or all life stages, they are balanced under the same industry guidelines,” Contreras says. “Fresh foods tend to be less reliant on added supplement blends, which is good because manufacturers have to add fewer processed ingredients.”

quality food

The Honest Kitchen is one of the few companies that makes human grade food from supply to production.

“We’ve gone through the FDA approval process and they scrutinize every single one of our ingredients, packaging and processing,” said Lucy Postins, founder of The Honest Kitchen. “Human class is a baseline for us – it’s a way for us to demonstrate the quality and integrity of the finished product.”

if you are not familiar with Difference Between Human Grade and Feed Grade Ingredients Compare the Difference Between Similar Termswhich is an important qualitative distinction.

“The Honest Kitchen not only uses human grade ingredients, but they prepare them in an FDA approved and inspected human production facility, so it’s always human grade,” Holistic Veterinarian Dr. Patrick Mahaney explain. “It’s probably the closest you’ll get to preparing your own meals at home, but it’s no harder than opening a can or bag.”

Our Trial Switch

Yellow Dog, Sundown and Mocha are very fond of dehydrated food. They waited anxiously while I rehydrated the food with warm water, letting it sit for three minutes and thicken.

When we wean them we mix it with some of their old kibble. Here’s how we tweaked their food:

• Days 1-3: ¾ old food + ¼ new food
• Days 4 to 6: ½ old food + ½ new food
• Days 7-9: ¼ old food + ¾ new food
• Day 10: All new foods

Every dog ​​is different and you may need to slow down during the weaning process.

Here comes the most important part – pay attention to your dog’s bowel movements when switching to any new food. Be sure to consult your veterinarian about what is normal and what is not.

One of our favorite things about The Honest Kitchen: Once your dog is acclimated, their food is designed so that you can change proteins without a weaning period. So we can switch between chicken, beef, and turkey without a problem.

One of the complaints we came across in our review of The Honest Kitchen was that the dogs were annoyed by the texture of the food. We haven’t experienced this yet, but we also add frozen raw pellets to Honest Kitchen to add a little extra flavor and texture to food.Our preferred brands are Primal Pronto Nuggets (various flavors) and Stella & Chewy duck duck goose dinner snacks。 We occasionally add real food like carrots, hard boiled eggs, sweet potatoes, salmon, etc – basically dog ​​safe food that our toddler can’t finish!

transition time

Remember, it is important to wean your dog slowly to any new food, including raw food.

“Most dogs don’t need much transition time and can switch within two or three days,” says Contreras. “Let your dog be your guide. If there are no adverse side effects other than some loose stools, you can proceed. If the dog has a harder time, take your time and only swap out small amounts of old food for new ones, or even back off. step.”

As always, it’s best to consult with your veterinarian to see if this switch makes sense for your dog.

Have you considered changing your dog’s food? Let us know what you think!

*Disclaimer: This is not a paid endorsement. We received no compensation for this article. All opinions are our own. This is not a substitute for veterinary advice. Consult your veterinarian before changing your dog’s diet.