Fresh Dog Food vs Dry Kibble (Benefits of Each Food Type)

Quick Summary

• Fresh dog food is better than dry dog food in terms of nutritional value; however, dry kibble is the cheaper option and does have a longer shelf life.
• Fresh dog food typically contains slow-cooked muscle, organ meat, ground bone, eggs, and verified vegetables; while dry kibble is made up of several ingredients, fillers, and preservatives and cooked in extreme temperatures thereby killing naturally occurring nutrients.

The fresh dog food vs dry dog food debate is an easy one when it comes to weighing the health benefits to dogs. Generally, the taste of fresh food is more appealing to dogs compared to dry dog food or kibble. Fresh meals also retain more nutrients, and therefore improves the health of our canine friends.

Debate is fast rising about the best food pet parents ought to give their dogs. For a long time, dog owners opted to provide dry kibble because it was practical. Kibble is made by superheating and drying the food, but the process also kills the nutrients sprayed on later. The respraying does come with preservatives and additives that may harm your dog.

If you ask me, my quick answer would be that fresh food is better. The rationale behind fresh food for dogs is based on the theory they are fed on a meat-rich diet before domestication. It is believed that dogs were opportunistic or scavenger-type feeders like the wild dogs of African grasslands. Though, they are also known to enjoy nonmeat foods. Like the bear, which eats meat and forages for berries, the raw food platforms have structured their meal plans to include similar recipes.

To understand where each type of dog food outweighs the other and guide you which one to choose, I’ve listed their benefits below, as well as other information you need to know.

Fresh Dog Food

Fresh dog food is significantly different from dry food as it can be freeze-dried, dehydrated, or canned food. The composition of a fresh dog food package entails muscle, organ meat, ground bone, eggs, and verified vegetables. You may also find dairy products like yogurt as a thickening agent.

Is fresh dog food worth it? Absolutely. Fresh food feeding mirrors your dog’s diet before domestication and having to eat what pet owners consumed. Their food then was raw and tailored to meet their nutritional needs. That is the case with most fresh dog food platforms, as the recipes are tailored by veterinary nutritionist experts for the specific dog’s needs rather than a generic approach, much like the principle of The Farmer’s Dog food.

Benefits of fresh dog food

Many commercial dog foods in stores contain low-quality ingredients as the meats come from dying or diseased animals. The grains may have also been dirty, which means they were not human grade.

The majority of fresh dog food platforms at present screen the ingredients to make sure they are human-grade. Curious to see how “human-grade” these popular fresh dog food brands actually are? One fresh dog food reviewer, Zach Lovatt, tasted six fresh dog food brands in front of the camera just to compare each recipes based on taste and other factors. The results are quite interesting and you would really be able to tell that your dog is eating something that’s high quality and, well, human-grade!

The recipes by most brands are also verified by the AAFCO [1], and many have corresponding statements on their labels. The great thing about fresh food is that it does not have any preservatives, which would cause long-term harm to the dog.

Fresh dog food delivery service platforms require their customers to provide attributes of their dogs for customization purposes. It is then possible to draw up adequately balanced recipes for the specific dog.

Balanced diets formulated by platforms like Nom Nom dog food also prevent excessive weight gain, ensuring every bite is packed with the right amount of nutrition. That means no fillers would be needed to keep the food shelf stable or add to the level of nutrients. Similarly, fresh food would allow your dog to gain healthy weight efficiently if you have an underweight dog.

Fresh pet food also adds a mix of vegetables to the dog’s diet, increasing the amount of nutrients. It is essential for the dog to maintain a healthy digestive system. In the wild, dogs used to hunt herbivores with undigested vegetables in their gut.

Dogs, in turn, would feed on their digestive systems, thereby eating the vegetables and benefiting from the nutrients. That would provide the necessary vegetables and fiber to keep the dog’s digestive system in shape.

Dry Dog Food

Kibble is also known as dry dog food. It is popular because of the recipes’ shelf stability, variety, and wide availability. For different brands, the ingredients items are listed via volume according to descending order so you can view most of the pet food nutrition. When determining the nutritional value of your dog’s food, I recommend that you check the package’s AAFCO statement.

Benefits of dry dog food

The first thing that comes to mind with dry dog food is its practicality. It is available in large bags that can be deposited for a long time. Similarly, once the pet food is in the dog bowl, it can remain there for 24 hours before starting to spoil. Though wet dog food is appetizing and highly digestible, it can easily lose nutritional value by spoiling within hours of staying outside.

There are dental benefits as well to having commercial pet food. It is a great plaque remover for the dog’s dental situation. It may seem odd, but your pet’s teeth need to be cleaned regularly. Though you may not always succeed in brushing its teeth. Plaque tends to calcify within less than three days, and it would prove difficult to remove these, leading to further gum issues.

It is not only convenient, as kibble is set at a lower price than the price of fresh food diet. You can get a bag of kibble from the store at an estimated $50, which should last an average-sized dog a month. That means a little more than $1.5 per day, much less than what fresh pet food platforms of the period warranted.

Most fresh dog food companies charge an estimated $3 or more per day for an average-sized or large dog. That said, kibble is not the best option for dogs with digestive issues. If your dog’s health problems increase after they consume kibble, you may want to consult the vet.

FAQs

What is fresh dog food?

Fresh dog food is made without any fillers or preservatives. There are high levels of protein and vitamins as well. Fresh pet food can be frozen and refrigerated, though it has a short shelf life because the food can quickly spoil as soon as it is exposed to the elements. That means it has to be finished quickly as soon as the packages are opened.

Is fresh dog food worth it?

It is common for dogs to prefer the taste of fresh dog food compared to dry dog food. The ingredients do not have many additives. Similarly, freshly prepared dog food is much healthier for dogs, and most pets have marked improvements.

What is the best fresh dog food?

There are many fresh dog foods to choose from, but A Pup Above is the best, especially because they use the sous vide cooking method. Unlike other delivery companies which cook their food over high heat, this platform cooks the food slowly to preserve the nutrients in the food.