Dehydrated Dog Food??

So I'm at the Whole Foods, where I've gone to pick up a bag of their store brand of dog kibble, which I use to supplement the real food I cook up for Cassie & Ruby and as doggy treats. There I come across these bags of dog food priced at (hang to your hat) $43 and change.

Gasp! What could be in a $43 bag of dog food?

Turns out it's dehydrated meat, veggies, and other real-world ingredients. It contains no weird chemicals. It's all real food (if you believe the label), each item dehydrated and mixed with the others to create this magical mystical dog food.

You're supposed to add water to reconstitute. Evidently a little goes a long way, because this small bag (about 5 pounds, I'd estimate) supposedly equates to SIXTEEN POUNDS of ordinary boring dog kibble.

If that's true, $43 might be fairly cost-effective, compared to the lavishly outrageous stuff I feed my dogs (custom-prepared dog food supplemented, in a pinch, by the $14/package rolled stuff that lasts about 8 days for two dogs). But I wonder about its quality and palatability for the dogs, and whether it retains full nutritional value through the dehydration process.

Has anybody ever tried this stuff?

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Permalink Reply by Marcie on July 11, 2016 at 7:08pm

I use dehydrated and love it. Becca eats Honest Kitchen, usually the Force formula. Sometimes I change proteins and will get another flavor with approximately the same calories. Honest Kitchen comes in four or ten pound boxes. A four pound box box lasts me about four weeks. Becca gets 1/3 cup, mixed with 2/3 cups of water twice a day. You just mix it with warm water and let it sit for a few minutes. It looks like greenish oatmeal when its ready. A four pound box of Force is $43. My only issue is that it isn't sold anywhere close, I live in a rural area. I plan accordingly and purchase a few weeks before I will run out. I've also ordered it from Amazon. Honest Kitchen has their own ordering system on their website as well. They don't sell in big box stores and its usually found in the smaller pet stores.

Becca is a very fit, active corgi. She has always been healthy until our current Lyme disease battle, nothing food related. Full disclosure she will eat anything that is even close to being edible. However a friends Aussie, Ellie, is an extremely picky eater. Last year while we were at a motel (dog show weekend), Ellie showed interest as I mixed up Becca's rations. My friend said, "She will never eat that." I plopped a spoonful on top of Ellie's kibble and she promptly ate every bit. She's been eating Honest Kitchen ever since.

I have found that Becca drinks far less than other dogs I know. I asked the vet and she said thats typical of dogs that eat a raw or dehydrated diet.

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Permalink Reply by Jill M on July 13, 2016 at 10:30pm

We feed FROMM KIbble and Honest Kitchen dehydrated food.

I buy THK directly from their website. Several flavors do come in 2 lb boxes besides the 4 and10 boxes and they sell samples as well. Many flavors to allow variety and meet the health needs of most dogs.

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/

I know several people with who have several different breeds of dogs that feed entirely or do like I do and "supplement" with THe Honest Kitchen.