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Stella and Chewy’s Dinners Dog Food Review (Raw Frozen)

Review of Stella and Chewy’s Raw Frozen Dinners

Stella and Chewys Raw Frozen Dog Food

Rating:

Which Stella and Chewy’s Recipes Get
Our Best Ratings?

Stella and Chewy’s Dinners raw frozen dog food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4.5 stars.

The Stella and Chewy’s Dinners product line includes the 8 raw frozen dog foods listed below.

Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile when available… Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Stella and Chewy’s Frozen Raw Dinner is available in Patties and some recipes in Morsels.

Product Rating AAFCO
Chewy’s Chicken Dinner 5 A
Stella’s Super Beef Dinner 4.5 A
Stella and Chewy’s Venison Blend Dinner 5 A
Stella and Chewy’s Dandy Lamb Dinner 2.5 A
Stella and Chewy’s Absolutely Rabbit Dinner 5 A
Stella and Chewy’s Duck Duck Goose Dinner 4.5 A
Stella and Chewy’s Surf N’ Turf Frozen Dinner 4.5 A
Stella and Chewy’s Tantalizing Turkey Dinner 3 A

Recipe and Label Analysis

Stella and Chewy’s Duck Duck Goose Dinner was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

Stella and Chewy's Duck Duck Goose Frozen Dinner

Raw Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 50% | Fat = 38% | Carbs = 4%

Ingredients: Duck with ground bone, turkey, turkey liver, goose, turkey gizzard, pumpkin seed, organic cranberries, organic spinach, organic broccoli, organic beets, organic carrots, organic squash, organic blueberries, fenugreek seed, potassium chloride, dried kelp, sodium phosphate, tocopherols (preservative), choline chloride, dried Pediococcus acidilactici fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium longum fermentation product, dried Bacillus coagulans fermentation product, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, taurine, calcium carbonate, vitamin E supplement, thiamine mononitrate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, sodium selenite, niacin supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 6.7%

Red denotes controversial item

Estimated Nutrient Content
MethodProteinFatCarbs
Guaranteed Analysis15%12%NA
Dry Matter Basis50%38%4%
Calorie Weighted Basis34%63%3%
Protein = 34% | Fat = 63% | Carbs = 3%

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is duck. Duck is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of duck”.1

Duck is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

This item also includes ground bone, an excellent source of natural calcium.

The second ingredient is turkey, another quality raw item.

The third ingredient is turkey liver, an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The next ingredient includes goose. Goose is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of goose”.2

Like all poultry, goose meat is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The fifth ingredient is turkey gizzard. The gizzard is a low-fat, meaty organ found in the digestive tract of birds and assists in grinding up consumed food. This item is considered a canine dietary delicacy.

The sixth ingredient lists pumpkin seeds, which are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and, more importantly, linoleic acid, an essential omega-6 fat.

The next ingredient includes cranberries, a nutrient-rich fruit that’s also high in fiber.

The eighth ingredient is spinach. Due to its exceptional vitamin and mineral content, spinach exhibits a remarkably high nutrient Completeness Score3 of 91.

The ninth ingredient is broccoli, a healthy green vegetable and a member of the kale family. It’s notably rich in vitamin C and fiber and numerous other nutrients.

Like other cruciferous vegetables, broccoli is believed to provide anti-cancer benefits.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this Stella and Chewy’s product.

With 4 notable exceptions

First, we note the inclusion of dried fermentation products in this recipe. Fermentation products are typically added to provide enzymes to aid the animal with digestion.

Next, we find taurine, an important amino acid associated with the healthy function of heart muscle. Although taurine is not typically considered essential in canines, some dogs have been shown to be deficient in this critical nutrient.

Since taurine deficiency appears to be more common in pets consuming grain-free diets, we view its presence in this recipe as a positive addition.

In addition, this food contains chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

And lastly, this recipe includes sodium selenite, a controversial form of the mineral selenium. Sodium selenite appears to be nutritionally inferior to the more natural source of selenium found in selenium yeast.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Stella and Chewy’s Dinners looks like an above-average raw dog food.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 50%, a fat level of 38% and estimated carbohydrates of about 4%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 48% and a mean fat level of 36%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 8% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 77%.

Which means this Stella and Chewy’s product line contains…

Above-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical raw dog food.

Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a raw dog food containing an abundance of meat.

However, with 63% of the total calories in our example coming from fat versus just 34% from protein, some recipes may not be suitable for pets on a low fat diet.

Our Rating of Stella and Chewy’s Dinners

Stella and Chewy’s Dinners is a grain-free raw dog food using a generous amount of named meats and organs as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4.5 stars.

Highly recommended.

Stella and Chewy’s Dog Food
Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 related to Stella and Chewy’s.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

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More Stella and Chewy’s Brand Reviews

The following Stella and Chewy’s dog food reviews are also posted on this website:

A Final Word

The Dog Food Advisor does not accept money, gifts, samples or other incentives in exchange for special consideration in preparing our reviews.

However, we do receive a referral fee from online retailers (like Chewy or Amazon) and from sellers of perishable pet food when readers click over to their websites from ours. This helps cover the cost of operation of our free blog. Thanks for your support.

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References

  1. Adapted by the Dog Food Advisor from the official definition for chicken published by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, 2008 Edition
  2. Adapted by the Dog Food Advisor and based upon the official definition for poultry published by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, Official Publication, 2015 Edition
  3. Completeness Score is a measure of a food’s relative nutrient content and is computed by NutritionData.com from the USDA’s National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference
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