Is freeze dried worth it?

Cubby2014

Cubby2014

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I know this thread is likely beating a raw dead horse, but I am finally considering raw in one form or other. My hold out has been I live an hour from town and don't shop more than every 3 weeks. Space is at a premium in my freezer. However, in reality, handling meat is probably more of a turn off than space. . . well, no, I have no space but it's just yucky too.

In researching best foods this year I included dehydrated & freeze dried. My shepherd with the hideous tummy is on Addiction Wishbone Pasture kibble. He is doing well with no grumbling tummy. The shelties are doing well on it too and it's pretty low fat which might be helpful with the pancreas / gallbladder. I know my dogs all do well on lamb, beef, and pork so I generally stay in that genre.

However, I thought the dogs might do well with some raw. First I tried Addiction Beef. 5 grams and the shepherd had squeakers and groaners. Shelties did fine. Tried Dr. Harvey's. On 1 tablespoon we had some noisy shepherd tummy but not like the Addiction. Shelties did great. The thing about Dr. Harvey's is the big pieces. I feel like the pork n beans thing. I am picking out one big chunk to include in the measurement of each dog's pre-measured portion. You get a soup of veggies and one big piece of meat per meal. Enjoy buddy. That doesn't turn me on. However, the dogs love the meal even when I added too much water and they literally drank their meal. I am thinking of Sojos because it is an 8 pound bag for the price and hoping to avoid the "nominal large chunk" situation. At this point, I give up on the shepherd, I think. He's stable, cross fingers and hope they don't change anything. It looks like I am doing breakfast of kibble and dinner of the raw. Maybe when Melli leaves us someday Cubby can eat all raw. Or not. Otherwise, yikes it is expensive.

My real question is: Is using a freeze dried even worth all the extra money? Every study or article talks about how amazing it is but compares it to stuff I wouldn't feed my dogs, real garbage food. Is it actually any more beneficial and nutritious over a high quality kibble? I'm still not up for meaty bones and slabs of raw meat and adding pre-mixes and such. Should I even bother with the freeze dried or is it just an expensive "fad"?
 
I feed Stella & Chewy's frozen raw. They also sell freeze-dried, which I have never tried. But I do believe my dog's health has been better on commercial raw than kibble.
 
So on Dr. Harvey's my little constipated Cubby (he's always constipated) produced the most lovely log I have ever seen. He even turned and looked and was impressed. I am going to try Sojo's next. Then I will decide on a brand. I am giving kibble for the AM meal and freeze dried (rehydrated of course) for PM meal. The shelties seem to be doing well.
 
Considering the prices you might want to just buy fresh meat. Dickens gets 3 ounces of raw beef, usually lean round cut into cubes, every day, along with a small amount of dog food (around one cup). One pound of beef is usually around $5 to $6, and I can get almost six days out of the one pound. If you've got the money to spend on freeze-dried, you could certainly afford fresh, and I think it's probably better for the dog. Moreover, it's not that hard to store. I put the chunks into little snack-sized ziplock bags and freeze them, then thaw them by microwaving on ten percent power for six minutes.
 
I really don't handle meat. If I can't just drop it in a pan I won't do it. It's ironic because FIL is a retired butcher and husband worked in a deli when in high school / college. Me, well, meat comes in boneless, skinless, preseasoned packages.

Not sure I want to try Sojos. There's something I am not super comfortable with. I think it has to do with the fact they haven't returned my email, they don't claim their meat is US sourced, they seem to mix the terms freeze dried and dehydrated as interchangeable, and they didn't make the reviews.com top list. Maybe I will try Dr. Harvey's for a full month to see how it goes.
 
Update: I now have Melli & Cubby on 100% freeze dried. Boy do they feel good. Cubby's constipation is gone and when he travels he doesn't get the "big dump" because he isn't full up all the time. Melli acts years younger, is more active, leaps up in the air for her food, etc. The shepherd is still on his kibble because I have a huge store of it and he does so well.

I have tried Addiction, eh, didn't "do it" for me. I have tried Dr. Harvey's and it's fabulous. I am going to try Sojos. I have been researching the company, formulas, nutrition, protein/fat, etc. and getting an 8 pound bag for like $8 less than a 6 pound bag of Dr. Harvey's would be doable.

Maybe someday, when I live in the city again, I can go raw raw with real ingredients, but not up here. Just impossible space-wise. Getting another freezer is out since our garage is husband-in-toyland's workshop.

So, I continue my freeze dried experiment.
 
Continuing my freeze dried journey. I spent a lot of time reading up on Sojos and even called and asked questions. I couldn't find a thing wrong with their company. I purchased their beef and their lamb. OMG. Their food is amazinggggg. The two shelties together eat 2 bags in a month. They are large shelties and they eat about 2/3 c twice a day. The shepherd is still on Wishbone Pasture until he eats up my stockpile. I am letting him lick the spoon right now twice a day. He doesn't like the lamb but does like the beef. When we approach the end of the kibble I will see if I can move him into it. Melli, the old girl, feels really good and her bit of gimpy arthritis has lessened. Cubby is not constipated. I don't think I am ready to try to formulate a whole meal myself, but maybe someday. I won't say never because I always break my nevers. I really like the Sojos and so do the dogs. So it is not the ultimate best, but it is the next best. I can handle that.
 
Another update. Still enjoying my freeze dried raw experiment. The two shelties are on Sojos Complete Beef and Sojos Complete Lamb. One meal a day of each. Melli seriously leaps now and is definitely feeling fine (and loud). Cubby is pooing like a champ with none of the straining and small output any kibble seems to bring him. Cubby's got good teeth, just a bit of shading on a couple back molars. They are de-plaquing with time and turning back to white and untartared. This is thrilling beyond belief. Even being freeze dried and not raw raw there's enough abrasion and pH change to improve the teeth. AND, ta da, I now have my crazy sensitive shepherd on the lamb each morning with the kibble in the evening til we use it up. Not a grumble one. I will introduce the beef version down the line and see if he can tolerate that too, though if he is all lamb that's totally fine by me. If I can stop some of the supplements, reduce the number of bully sticks, and reduce the dentals for THREE dogs, it's worth the difference in cost from our pretty expensive kibble. I am actually totally impressed. I really didn't think it would make THAT much difference, noticeable difference, but it does.
 
I will admit. I have wanted to get this kind of food for a while but it seemed very expensive. I have tried the Sojo's complete lamb so far and Cleo loves it. It is not that expensive either. I am going to finish the current food that she is on then switch back to Sojo's and then continue to see how she does. I feel like this is going to keep her weight in check and be better for her. I have just never seen her go so crazy over her food before. She stands on her two back legs and spins in circles. And she does trick after trick until I give her her food. So far I am happy but only time will tell if it is right for her.
 
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