[Allison C]

I noticed that some dog food nowadays infuse th kibble content with freeze-dried raw bits (e.g.Merrick Backcountry). Petco employee says that freeze dried bits are more nutrition packed therefore better than dry kibbles (please correct me if I’m wrong). I googled it to find more info, but those were just too broad and ambiguous.

My dogs are notoriously picky and slow eaters that if they sense that something is mixed within their food, they would spit them out or eat around the “foreign”. For instance, Blue Buffalos don’t work for us because my dogs don’t eat lifesource bits. Or sometimes when my dogs refuse to eat, I mix in blue buffalo wilderness biscuits (the ones with 30% protein) in their bowl but again, my dogs would only pick those out and leave the kibbles. So if I decide to buy this, I’m unsure whether my dogs would eat around the bits or eat those exclusively. But if the raw bits are better, I don’t mind feeding my dogs 100% freeze dried raw bits.

So my questions are

1. Are freeze-dried raw bits better than high quality dry kibble? Better how?
2. Are they easily digestible for older dogs?
3. In general, do they taste better? Will the dogs like them? (has anyone tasted it? I know I taste dog food all the time…)

[InkedMarie]

Do a google search for Dr Karen Becker’s video on “best foods”. Generally, dry food is the “worst” but only if the wet food is high quality.

alot of us believe that owners sometimes create picky dogs. Choose a food, leave it down for 15min, pick it up if they don’t eat it. They get nothing else until the next meal.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Allison-

Freeze dried foods are believed to be healthier because they are not processed at high temperatures, therefore retaining more of their nutrient value. They are more convenient than raw because they don’t need to be refrigerated or frozen. You should add a little water to reconstitute it.
My dogs really like it, but they like just about everything. I have the opposite problem, though, since I always mix fresh, canned, freeze dried in their kibble and if I don’t, they give me the stink eye!
I actually bought Merrick’s Back Country a few weeks ago because our feed store had a buy one get one free sale. Otherwise, way out of our budget. They have very nice bags with a Velcro closing. Haven’t seen that one before. I have two dogs and notice that their bowls would have uneven amounts of the bits in them. I have to even them out. I don’t really like the fact that some scoops would have some and some would not. I’d rather buy the freeze dried separate and add it to meals. Many companies sell freeze dried meal mixers.
I’m not sure if you have priced them, but they are really expensive. I usually stick to canned or fresh food toppers, such as eggs and healthy leftovers.
It’s hard to say if your dogs will like them. Do you add water to their meals? Try to buy at a store that would be willing to take it back if they won’t eat it. I agree with Marie that we can definitely make our dogs picky, but hopefully you can find something healthy that they like too.
No, I haven’t tried any freeze dried myself. I have, however, tried some fresh and dehydrated dog food myself as well. Lol!

[DogFoodie]

C4C,

I love those Velcro closures on bags! Wellness TruFood has that as well. They’re so much easier to close.

[crazy4cats]

DF-
Yes, the Velcro is great. Even other members of my family can manage to seal that one up. <eyes rolled> 😉

[pugmomsandy]

The “freeze dried raw bits” can have fewer ingredients (plant matter and other fillers) than kibble. Take a look at Vital Essentials freeze dried as an example. I buy Vital Essentials and use it as a mixin’ to kibble. Even some other brands of freeze dried raw can have fruits and veggies but overall their ingredient list is relatively short compared to kibble. I also like Stewart’s freeze dried bits. They easily crumble up so I can mix it into the kibble pretty well.

[Author]

Posts