Regular readers will know that we are huge proponents of home-cooked and fresh food diets for dogs.
Unfortunately, many people who share this interest shy away from it because they don’t have the time to prepare the food or do the research that is needed to create a balanced diet for their dog.
While a raw or homemade dog food diet can fit into many budgets, for busy families time is of the essence, and it’s tough to beat the convenience of kibble.
Today we are excited to tell you about a new company that is working to overcome these barriers and make a whole food diet accessible to everyone…
Introducing The Farmer’s Dog
Believing that REAL FOOD is best, The Farmer’s Dog is a subscription service that creates and delivers balanced, freshly made, and vet-approved meals formulated specifically for your dog.
Each shipment is prepared to order and pre-portioned to give your dog just what he or she needs for optimal nutrition every day.
The Farmer’s Dog Review – Trying it Out
- Age
- Weight
- Body Type
- Activity Levels
- Special Considerations
Based upon your answers, The Farmer’s Dog will determine a daily caloric requirement for your pup, and give you a handful of recipe options that vary in price. Choose as few or as many as you like, to add some variety to your dog’s diet.
All of their food has been carefully crafted by their team of board-certified veterinary nutritionists and formulated to AAFCO standards.
We enjoyed going through the customization process for each dog and seeing how their nutritional needs varied based on activity level (Charlie is a runner, Harley is a relaxer), age (Charlie is 3, Harley is nearly 11), size (Charlie is about 65 lbs, Harley is about 82 lbs), body type (both are optimal weight, not trying to lose or gain), and special considerations (ie. allergies, intolerances, etc).
Just take a look at those ingredients in the screenshot above…this is real food we are talking about! Once prepared, your dog’s human-grade food is frozen and never processed for shelf stability, keeping the food you serve nutritionally sound and safe!
The Delivery
Our shipment of The Farmer’s Dog arrived at our home within just 3 days of ordering online. Really amazing when you consider that each batch is made to order!
The shipment comes in an insulated box, which has been designed to keep the food cold until 11 p.m. on the day of delivery.
Included inside the box are simple feeding instructions and daily portions of food for your dog. One touch that we love is the made-by-date printed on each bag. It was especially cool to see that the date was only 2 days ago!
How to Prepare the Farmer’s Dog Food
Since each order comes frozen, it will need to be thawed before use. The simplest method is to rotate your stock into the refrigerator a day or two ahead of time and let it thaw in there.
Remember that The Farmer’s Dog does not use any preservatives in their food, so you will want to treat it just like human food – because it is!
If (like us) you are not always on top of things, don’t fret – These packs can be defrosted in warm water in just a matter of minutes! Once your packs are adequately soft, all you need to do is squeeze out the appropriate amount and you are good to go.
Each sleeve has been packaged to meet your dog’s daily caloric needs, so you will need to divide it up into however many meals you typically feed in a day.
In our house, Harley and Charlie eat twice a day, so we simply weigh out each pack on our kitchen scale and save half in a plastic container for dinner time.
If you don’t have a scale, no problem, I think it’s easy enough to simply eyeball the amount and serve the second portion for dinner! As long as your dog is getting the whole pack in one day you will have met his or her nutritional needs!
TIP: Sometimes there will be a bit of remnant stuck on the inside of the plastic sleeve after squeezing. We recommend adding in a bit of water and giving it a good shake.
This will loosen any remaining pieces and allow you to get all of that tasty goodness out of each pack! Don’t worry about adding a bit of extra water into the food – most dogs could use some extra hydration anyway!
Now doesn’t that look good?! And trust us, it smells amazing too!
The Taste Test
If we were salivating at the aroma, I can only imagine how Harley and Charlie were feeling as we prepared their meal!
The moment they had been waiting so patiently for was finally here and we let them have at it. Both boys dug in with enthusiasm and licked their bowls clean – even returning a time or two just to make sure that they had gotten everything.
Note: Extra water was our addition!
How Did They React?
It is always advised to transition your dog into a new food before diving straight in. Since we already feed a form of homemade, we thought that they would be OK to transition all at once and thankfully this turned out to be correct.
Harley and Charlie had no digestive upset and no change in the quality or consistency of their stools after giving The Farmer’s Dog a try.
If by chance your dog does not like the food, let them know and you can try out some of the other recipes or opt for a full refund.
Wondering Why You Can’t Just Make Food Like This at Home?
Well, you can – and The Farmer’s Dog will even help you do so through their DIY program. The biggest problem with most homemade diets is that they have not been formulated by a veterinary nutritionist and may be lacking in essential vitamins and minerals.
The Farmer’s Dog cares about the health of your pets and has included dog food recipes on their website and even offers a special nutrient pack for home feeders which can be added to make sure that your dog is getting everything he or she needs!
I reminds us of Lucky Dog Cuisine we tried back in November. It was nice to have it in the freezer and just defrost to eat. Enjoy!
Oh, we are loving it! The turkey recipe reminds me of Thanksgiving leftovers!
Great pictures, guys! My dogs really enjoyed food from The Farmer’s Dog recently as well.
Does anybody make these meals for cats?
My dogs and I loved Farmer’s Dog Food. I got the sample packet at 50 percent off. I was unable to continue due to the cost of feeding two dogs on the food. I wish I could order it one at a time instead of auto-fill that way I can rotate the food in my dogs diet and be able to afford the cost better..
My Pups LOVE it! My oldest, Poppy, now barks at all large boxes that come in the mail! ? Changing to Farmers Dog has given them more energy, healthier, and happy!! Thank you!! ?
So glad to hear that your dogs are loving it!
Hi Guys!! Shadow and Ducky fully transitioned to The Farmer’s Dog at the beginning of December (from Hills’ Prescription i/d) and all three of us have been MUCH happier ever since! Especially Shadow, who had been turning up her nose at the i/d quite a bit since around August when the quality had started going south. (And since Hills’ was unwilling to admit there was a problem, I decided to switch. Luckily, Chewy was – and still is – on my side. Chewy’s having FedEx pick up the remaining food on Thursday.)
My dogs name is Dooley. He is an American Terrier mix. He weighed 50 lbs. If that and I’ve been trying Farmer Dog dog food for only 5 days and I couldn’t help but notice a huge improvement already. I knew his current condition was serious because Dooley had a strange smell about him and he was loosing a lot of hair on his tail. He looked sick and under weight. Now he’s happy energetic and his fur looks healthier then I’ve ever seen it. Thank you! Creators of the special blend of dog food that saved my dogs life!
Ask the b.v ot to check his thyroid levels. Same thing with my grand son’s dog. A small pill returned her back into the energetic dog she had been.
I’ve been using Farmers Dog dog special deit for my dog Dooley and I honestly can say it works! I’ve been using it only 5 days and I see an immediate improvement in Dooleys reaction, energy, and appearance! And I have photos to prove it! I really think that saved my precious animals life! Thanks to creator’s of Farmers Dog food.
Does anyone else have concerns regarding the recommend meal size? Seems a bit like they’re way understating it in a bid to save money/get you into upping your order later on when your dogs starts losing lots of weight. Ruby’s ideal weight is ~57lbs. All the research I’ve done indicates she should be eating 1200-1400 calories today. According to The Farmer’s Dog meal size is only 608 calories per day. I don’t understand how it could be so far off…
LOVE, LOVE FARMER’S DOG. OUR 11 YEAR OLD GOLDEN CAN’T WAIT FOR THAT BOX OF FOOD. HE GREETS THE FED EX PERSON EVERY TIME AND LETS MOMMY AND DADDY KNOW THAT HIS FOOD HAS ARRIVED. BEING RETIRED AND ON A FIXED INCOME, WE WERE HESITANT TO PAY SO MUCH FOR OUR DOG’S FOOD. MY HUSBAND AND I GAVE UP ICE CREAM SO CHARLIE COULD HAVE THE BEST FOOD EVER. EVERY DOG OWNER SHOULD GIVE THIS PRODUCT A TRY. WE HAVE SEEN A BIG DIFFERENCE IN OUR DOG’S ENERGY. HE THINKS HE IS 3 YEARS OLD NOW.
So wonderful to hear this Donnaleen, thank you for sharing your experience!
Plz remove me from your orders. Ive just lost all my dogs and gave the samples away. I cant believe the food only good for 5 days hopefully the shelter can use it. Do not send any more to this address it will go right to garbage!! Cheryl Bunn
Hi Cheryl – We are actually not the manufacturer or seller – please reach out to help@thefarmersdog.com for assistance with your subscription!
My dog Tiffany LOVED the farmers dog food. She didn’t eat other food. I was happy to give my dog great food. Unfortunately my dog passed away from many complications. Today we received nice flowers from The Farmers Dog to help us properly remember Tiffany. It touched my heart! The Farmers Dog understands how dogs are family and they know how t show it.
My kid fell in love with The Farmer’s Dog food. We have been feeding it for 2 months now and I can tell the difference. Our Stella stays fit, full of energy and in a good mood. I guess there’s something special about the way it’s made.
My Pomerania is a very very picky eater and she loves this I so happy but because I didn’t think she would like it I canceled right away now I don’t have any more food and she want eat anything else she loves it!!!
So glad to hear that she is loving it! Which flavors has she tried?
My mom has a yorkie and she has to give him table food because he refuses to eat dog food. He dont have alot of teeth so he has to have soft food.she has been hesitant to order this food cause of how he is.is there a trial where she could just get a small amount to see if he will eat this.
Lulu Belle is loving it. Pork is her favorite Turkey is next. Beef was good but pork has been her favorite. Looking forward to our next shipment.
Olivia Grace just loved her food. I want to order 2 times my first order.
I would like to order more products as my
little dog has finally decided to like and enjoy your product. I have one food packet left. Please let me know how i can order again. Thank you
My Dog Angel Brown couldn’t eat the beef shipment this company deserves the best review for customer service satisfaction Sam exceeded our expectations she resolved our issue 100% she deserves a raise buy her lunch give her a customer service award
I agree with Zandra…Don’t they make this for cats???
Love the dog food. CAN’T STAND THE COMMERCIAL!!! WOMAN TALKS TO FAST. Bought the food because a friend recommended it.
O prices listed hard to determine if our budget allowst