# Stella & Chewy's vs. Honest Kitchen vs. other freeze dried brands



## rookips (Feb 20, 2017)

Hi everyone  My house is in the midst of very early puppy fever and a big move coming up/house scouting trip, and I'm getting antsy. And when I'm antsy I like to budget things, even though Newpup won't happen until this autumn or even later.

I'm looking into brands such as Stella & Chewy's and other raw foods that are "just add water". I'd be adding more in the way of fresh meat/treats, but I was wondering if anyone had experience feeding this type of food, and how your dogs did on it? It seems a lot more affordable than premixed/prepackaged frozen raw, but I don't know about any downsides that come from dehydrated food, if there are any.

I hesitate slightly to go full on raw because my partner and I are concerned about pathogens, cost, mess, and ultimately freezer space (we will be in an apartment). I am doing more research into raw though, the links provided on this forum are helpful.

If we do kibble it'll probably be Orijen Puppy, just to give an example of our general price range. Newpup will be an Alaskan Klee Kai (mini or standard)... 12-20lbs or so, depending.

Thanks!


----------



## MarieLovesChis (Mar 21, 2014)

I usually find freeze dried raw to be much more expensive than any of the frozen premade raw foods, but maybe that's just where I live.

I don't use any freeze dried foods currently but have used quite a few in the past. Hands down my favorite was Primal. My dog did the best on that one and I really like the nutrition analysis on that brand. Most of the protein choices aren't as high fat as other brands. Stella and Chewy's ash levels were way way too high for my liking. It also constipated my dog pretty badly. The high ash and constipation tells me there's more bone in the food then I am comfortable with.

THK is okay but most of their foods are too low in protein for my dog, plus her poop was ridiculously huge for a Chihuahua. I don't think her body was utilizing much of the food.

I've had success with feeding Orijen's freeze dried but the price isn't something I'm willing to pay. I make my dog some lightly cooked meat and mix that with her kibble, along with boiled egg and sardine. Much cheaper and probably even better.

This is just my experience with my dog. Most of these brands will send out some samples if you ask. That would be a good place to start to see how your own dog handles a few meals of these brands.


----------



## rookips (Feb 20, 2017)

Thanks for your response! I actually did a lot more research and it appears that yes, freeze-dried is actually more expensive per serving, so I'm just going to take it entirely off the table. I've been reading lots of canine nutrition books written by vets and it's hypothesized that freeze-drying removes a lot of nutrients as well. I totally forgot about Primal though (both freeze-dried and raw)! (Even though my cat used to eat it lol). I'll keep that in mind for the future.

For now I think I'm going to go with a base of Orijen Puppy and supplement with fish oil, probiotics, RMB and some other raw (for cartilage, raw fat, and fun), and go from there. I just finished Paleopet though and I have another book or two on the Kindle, so this might change a bit.


----------



## MarieLovesChis (Mar 21, 2014)

Yea Primal is great stuff! So easy to just pop a few squares out of the freezer. Love the convenience but so pricey to feed full time.

I think the plan you have now is a great idea, feeding a good dog food along with adding raw and rmb. It's a good place to start to see if you really want to go full raw or not. And if not, it's still a really good diet as is. Always a good thing to have some fresh foods


----------



## Aussie27 (Sep 25, 2010)

For a 12 to 20 lb dog, it would be much cheaper to do homemade raw versus Primal. When I fed Cali (my 5 lb papillon) Primal, I was paying $23 every 2 weeks... and homemade raw has been much cheaper for me and she seems to enjoy it more as well.

Primal is a good stepping stone though to full raw, I found.

Sounds like you have a good plan though! The RMBs will be awesome for the teeth and Orijen is a great brand. Although, Orijen is quite rich and I've heard of a lot of smaller dogs not handling it well. Acana is similar but not as rich, last I remember. But you seem to have a good grasp on things so that'll be something to look into if the pup has issues on Orijen... hopefully it'll go smoothly.


----------



## LennyandRogue (Jun 25, 2016)

Freeze dried raw is very expensive no matter the weight of your dog but it's good to have on hand for emergency food, trail food, or treats. You obviously can't bring a bunch of frozen meat on a long hike because it'll thaw and possibly go rancid if it's hot out, but you can bring a bag of freeze dried. 

(I totally use Stella and Chewy's as treats lol.)


----------



## rookips (Feb 20, 2017)

Thanks for the responses! Yeah, the more I looked into it, freeze-dried is reallyyyyyy expensive. I do like Primal (frozen) though now that I've looked into it, and it's made in the city we're moving to, so I expect it will be extra fresh  The suggestion for freeze-dried as treats or on long hikes is great though, thanks! Or for if we go full raw and my partner has to feed the pup... she is on board with raw, but only if she doesn't have to touch it lol.

I assume the breeder is feeding the pups a high-quality food (forgot to ask, oops!) so if this is true, hopefully it shouldn't be a super hard switch to Orijen. I'm planning on switching by mixing the old food with the new, alongside maybe some pumpkin and probiotics. I'll pick up some slippery elm powder as well. I'm not really worried about cannon-butt itself, but I am worried about the carpet in the new apartment  I think we'll do Orijen for the morning meals and transition to raw for dinner. If Orijen doesn't work out, I'll definitely try Acana if we stay on partial kibble, but I really like how Orijen has freeze-dried offal in their mix.

I just realized that San Francisco has this awesome raw dog food co-op (SF Raw), so I'll definitely take a look there! It looks very affordable with a membership, and they sell raw goat milk and green tripe, which is a huge plus, and the owner can help put a diet plan together for your dog. I'm planning on finding a holistic-type vet for Newpup as well, so I'll be sure to clear her diet with the vet. I feel like I'm going to be a new parent lol, I'm so afraid of messing my new pup up.

Thanks guys!


----------



## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

In the title, you mention The Honest Kitchen; it's dehydrated not freeze dried and it's not raw.


----------

