The Cost of things: August 2014

Tags

budgeting, creston valley meats, dog treats, elanco, pet finances, poop bags, vet

Incredibly busy lately. I have about two posts in me for September, and this is one, already way later than usual.

This is my fourth year of tracking pet finances at the House of Two Bows. This is an ongoing effort to get a practical sense of what it costs to keep two 20 ~ 30 pound adult dogs in an area of the US with relatively high costs of living. Previous posts in this series can be found under the category of finances.

The Cost of (Pet) Things for August 2014:

• Food: $211 [previous month, $30]
• Treats: $49 [previous, $31]
• Grooming: $16 [previous, $5]
• Vet & Medical: -$35 [previous, $411]
• Accessories and misc: $50 [previous, $0]
• TOTAL: $291 [running average for 2014: ~$200/month]

Crazy high food total included a 15 lb. bag of Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, one more 4 lb box of Honest Kitchen Embark, and an unanticipated, large order from Creston Valley Meats. I decided to buy another two large boxes of ground turkey, as well as an order of lamb bones. It may be a while before my schedule frees up so I can make their delivery times, so I decided to restock while I could. I did not anticipate over 20 pounds of lamb bones in my order, which I’ve been trying to disperse generously amongst my dog friends. Apparently, I need to know more raw feeders, because an extra freezer is really not in my budget. Yet it was hard to pass up lamb bones at 55 cents a pound!

I loaded up on buy 3 get 1 treats at the local Pet Food Express, and dehydrated a whole bunch more chicken hearts, in order to appease the Bows when I left them with a housesitter back in August. I went overboard, so plenty of treats remain.

In grooming, I finally got my act together to order a bulk box of poop bags from Amazon. 700 poop bags for $16, with Prime shipping? Can’t really argue with that deal.

Bowdu’s major veterinary appointment was postponed for this month, September. It already happened, and I’ll have more to say about that later. What I did receive last month was my $35 Elanco rebate, slightly more than what is normally offered as a “loyalty rewards” customer. I honestly was not expecting to receive the check so efficiently. I was even notified by e-mail when the check was on its way — overall resulting in my most positive experience yet with the company that manufactures Comfortis/Trifexis.

Finally, I tacked on a somewhat arbitrary $50 fee to Miscellaneous, which includes a rare expense category for the House of Two Bows: boarding and pet care by an outside helper. The only reason I could go to Denmark was because I roped a dog-savvy friend into watching the house and the Bows, all in exchange for a free place to stay and unlimited access to all food and drink in the house. I did lug back some Danish beer as payment, so that and some miscellaneous extras are included in the $50.

Under normal circumstances, in-home pet sitting would cost way, way more — like $50 for each night, let alone seven. All the more reason that friendships with dog-friends must be carefully cultivated, with the expectation that we’re always paying it forward, and that the winning personalities of your canine charges will help balance out the karmic scales.

DIY delicacies

Tags

dehydrators, dog treats, frugal living

This is what about $5 worth of dehydrated chicken hearts produces:

At $2.69/pound, the meat wasn’t on sale. They came from the grocery store that tends to have less fat on their chicken hearts, so I barely had to trim anything. Slicing each heart in half before throwing it into the dehydrator also stretches out the portions.

This’ll last a month or two, in combination with other treats. I keep one container at a time in the fridge (they’re smaller than they appear). The rest go in the freezer until needed.

The Cost of things: May 2014

Tags

acana, budgeting, creston valley meats, dehydrators, dog treats, honest kitchen, kibble, pet finances, pig ears, raw turkey, zignature

Don’t look now… it’s that time of month again.

This is my fourth year of tracking pet finances at the House of Two Bows. This is an ongoing effort to get a practical sense of what it costs to keep two 20 ~ 30 pound adult dogs in an area of the US with relatively high costs of living. Previous posts in this series can be found under the category of finances.

The Cost of (Pet) Things for May 2014:

• Food: $194 [previous month, $15]
• Treats: $41 [previous, $12]
• Grooming: $0 [previous, $0]
• Vet & Medical: $0 [previous, $0]
• Accessories and misc: $0 [previous, $0]
• TOTAL: $235 [running average for 2014: ~$161/month]

Another high total bumping up the monthly average, unfortunately. This month I splurged on a couple sales and bulk orders.

Placed another food order with Creston Valley Meats, a practice which I only seem to manage about once a year. This round included a 12-pound box of ground turkey meat and bone, which I mix with Honest Kitchen Preference at about a 2:1 ratio (heavy on the meat), and about 7 pounds of chicken’s feet at $1.50 a pound, sold as “all natural, home grown, most fed on organic feed.” This is slightly cheaper than the local Asian groceries, and apparently better quality (from what little I can tell by visual inspection). Given the way I stagger meals, this supply should last through the rest of the year.

Also on the pricey side, I threw down for more Honest Kitchen products since the local Pet Food Express chain was running a promotion: buy one, get one half off. I snagged a 10 lb. box of The Honest Kitchen Force for an additional $20 off because the packaging was damaged (though the contents were unaffected), so I matched that with a 7 lb. box of Preference at discount. That amount of Preference has lasted about a year before, perhaps a bit less.

10 lb. box of THK Force (old packaging) vs. 2 lb. trial size box (new packaging)

Not sure if the sale was because the store wanted to clear the shelves to make way for THK in its new packaging (shown on the 2 lb trial size box that Bowpi is licking). Review preview: You will hear more about The Honest Kitchen Force and their new packaging in the next post…

For kibble, the Bows got a 15 pound bag of Acana Pacifica, probably the most expensive kibble in their rotation (and thus only appearing about once a year), because I managed to comp a small bag of Acana Grasslands with a special order.

Finally, there was one last 4 lb. bag of Zignature Wild Trout recipe at half off. We’ve tried a couple Zignature formulas before. Since then, the retail price on the small bag at my local pet store was adjusted to $12.98 a bag, which makes it comparable to Taste of the Wild. I’m not convinced that it’s a better kibble, though at less than $7 a bag, it’s totally worth another chance.

So that was a lot of food that should allow us to aim for a single-digit food total next month…

For treats, restocked on The Honest Kitchen Beams at buy 3, get 1 free (went for the small size this time). Also eight raw pig’s ears, hacked up and thrown into the dehydrator. Lots of crunchy bits to get us through the month…

The Cost of things: April 2014

Tags

budgeting, dehydrators, dog treats, mary's pet food, pet finances, pig ears, pitman family farms, raw turkey

This is my fourth year of tracking pet finances at the House of Two Bows. This is an ongoing effort to get a practical sense of what it costs to keep two 20 ~ 30 pound adult dogs in an area of the US with relatively high costs of living. Previous posts in this series can be found under the category of finances.

The Cost of (Pet) Things for April 2014:

• Food: $15 [previous month, $83]
• Treats: $12 [previous, $31]
• Grooming: $0 [previous, $13]
• Vet & Medical: $0 [previous, $80]
• Accessories and misc: $0 [previous, $15]
• TOTAL: $27 [running average for 2014: ~$142.50/month]

Well check that out. We rocked this month! This is the whole point of stocking up in previous months though, yeah?

Poultry organs are always cheap. The most expensive food item was this one pound chub of Mary’s Pet Food, purchased on a whim when I saw it at my local grocery store. There’s not a lot of online information about this particular product, which does claim to be a “complete” meal suitable for both dogs and cats (hmm…). I was even confused as to whether it was actually cooked, semi-cooked, or raw, as the label doesn’t even say; the meat was not pink, yet it was bloody and drippy after thawing. The website printed on the package doesn’t actually say anything about pet food, but it does tell about Pitman Family Farms, the parent company. Apparently they specialize in “less stressful” slaughtering techniques for poultry, using a process called Controlled Atmosphere Stunning. Interesting.

That sounds like a lot of technology to support for $7.99 + tax, which made me think it was a fair price. I bought it, but I’m not sold on the product. The overall feeding experience itself wasn’t anything special and actually pretty messy for what it was. There’s a reason that other raw food manufacturers freeze their portions in nuggets or patties; chubs are leaky and inconvenient to handle if you don’t use the entire thing at once. And since it was sold frozen, thawing it out rendered the convenience of a grab-and-go meal rather moot, for my purposes.

The dogs, of course, loved it, and digested it just fine. But honestly, I think I could prep them a better, fresher meal just as easily.

Anyway, the real fun this month was in treats. Aside from the usual chicken hearts, I introduced a new ingredient to the home dehydrator: pig ears!

A pack of three very large ears at $3.39 a pound cost less than $4 at Ranch 99. The best part about doing it yourself is that I can easily trim each piece into less gluttonous, treat-sized strips before popping them into the dehydrator. I did leave them in for nearly 16 hours, which may have been overkill. They looked great on the other side though! Given that one whole ear can cost $3 at the pet store these days, this was definitely worth the time and effort. We’ll be doing this again for sure.

The Cost of things: March 2014

Tags

budgeting, dog clothing, dog harnesses, dog treats, hurtta, pet finances

This is my fourth year of tracking pet finances at the House of Two Bows. This is an ongoing effort to get a practical sense of what it costs to keep two 20 ~ 30 pound adult dogs in an area of the US with relatively high costs of living. Previous posts in this series can be found under the category of finances.

The Cost of (Pet) Things for March 2014:

• Food: $83 [previous month, $10]
• Treats: $31 [previous, $12]
• Grooming: $13 [previous, $8]
• Vet & Medical: $80 [previous, $121]
• Accessories and misc: $15* [previous, $44]
• TOTAL: $222 [running average for 2014: ~$181/month]

How did I spend so much on food?? Well, there was a 15 pound bag of Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, and I stocked up on four canisters of The Honest Kitchen Sparkle while they were offering free shipping, and while they still have this discontinued item in stock.

Bowdu has been stripped of nearly all his underfur, as you can tell above. My strategy in the past couple years has been to kick up the skin and coat supplements as he’s growing his coat back, easing into the spring allergy season. The remaining fur still doesn’t feel great after his February flea disaster, but the dandruff’s basically gone since there’s no more fluff to hide in.

simultaneous self-grooming, side-by-side

The rest of the food expenses were rounded out by about $10 of raw chicken on sale.

Treat expenditures were relatively high this month, despite spending it almost exclusively on chicken gizzards and hearts for the dehydrator. That’s because about half of the 10+ pounds was gifted to my next door neighbor in exchange for some house maintenance assistance.

Last time I mentioned them, they were fostering a pit bull named Ashley. Well, they’ve since adopted her (saw that one coming!), and renamed her Addy. I’m lucky not only to have dog-friendly neighbors — they’re also handy and they’re willing to help for dog treats! Okay, okay, I also threw in a huge bag of fancy dark chocolate as well, but that comes out of the human budget, whereas I’m making the Bows absorb the cost of the treats even though it wasn’t all for them. It makes sense to me, since dog-life and human-life are interrelated, so the budgets may as well reflect that.

In grooming needs, I bought poop bags from the pet store. I have a bad habit of waiting until the last minute to restock, necessitating an in-person purchase instead of just ordering online, where I can get 5x the amount of bags at the same cost. Though I generally prefer to support my local businesses, that’s a situation where I’d much rather buy online for significant savings.

For vet fees, refer to Bowpi’s most recent visit.

In accessories, the Bows got updated ID tags from American Pet Classics. I paid and filled out their forms at my local pet store, and they mailed it off on my behalf. Turnaround was fairly quick — about a week. However, the tags are not particularly aesthetically pleasing. The fonts are all wonky and the spacing is uneven. They also misspelled Bowpi’s tag, so I had to return it for correction, taking another week of time. Anyway, these are just cheap temporary tags while contact information is in transition at the House of Two Bows, so it’s more important that they’re legible and functional rather than pretty.

Meanwhile, Bowpi’s Freedom No Pull harness finally arrived, and I’m very happy with it. A more full update later.

For all the doodads, the accessories and misc. total this month appears low because I decided to return the Hurtta jacket after all. I underestimated the size that Bowpi needed, and got her a 15″ jacket (length along spine) when I probably should’ve gotten the 18L (the next size up in stock where I got it). The material is nice, and overall well constructed.

However, the design just won’t work with Bowpi, because she’s too squirmy to wrangle into these overalls. Basically, you have to stuff all four feet into the rather narrow sleeves before you can zip up the jacket along the spine. It’ll only work if your dog is accustomed to standing still in one place, which Bowpi is not. By the time I managed to get two feet into the jacket, the other two had already fallen out. I quickly gave up, and decided to return the item at a loss of shipping.

I’m glad these dogs don’t have many sartorial needs, because tailor-made wearables have worked out best. Dogs come in a funkier range of shapes and sizes than humans, after all.

she looks so funny when she’s putting on her collar

The Cost of things: February 2014

Tags

budgeting, canine dental, comfortis, dog clothing, dog treats, flea allergies, flea preventatives, hurtta, pet finances, petmeds, soloxine, virbac

This is my fourth year of tracking pet finances at the House of Two Bows. This is an ongoing effort to get a practical sense of what it costs to keep two 20 ~ 30 pound adult dogs in an area of the US with relatively high costs of living. Previous posts in this series can be found under the category of finances.

The Cost of (Pet) Things for February 2014:

• Food: $10 [previous month, $67]
• Treats: $12 [previous, $50]
• Grooming: $8 [previous, $0]
• Vet & Medical: $121 [previous, $0]
• Accessories and misc: $44 [previous, $23]
• TOTAL: $195 [running average for 2014: ~$167.50/month]

Yeah for an awesomely low FOOD total! Well, that’s about as low as it ever gets, anyway. Rocking the power of 50% discounted chicken, cheap organs, and working through the food we already stockpiled.

For treats, the Bows got a bag of C.E.T. HEXtra Chews in the “petite/small” size, which I have found to work pretty well even though they’re marked for dogs under 11 pounds. The other sizes are made from chlorhexidine coated rawhide, while the petite size is about a five-inch long stick of what I can only describe as a “hide-like compound.” Well, I mean, they are made of actual beefhide, and other ingredients, but it doesn’t look like it. They seem less of a choking hazard and less apt to cause intestinal blockage for the Bows, anyway.

These days, I’m hard pressed to find anything I need to bump up my PetMeds orders to reach their minimum threshold for free shipping. I tacked on one grooming/hygiene item, another tube of dog toothpaste, because an order was necessary in the next category.

For Vet and Medical needs, Bowdu got another 250 days of Soloxine refills at 8 cents a pill for 0.4 mg (or 0.2 mg per dose, twice a day) from PetMeds. That’s a good deal.

What was not a good deal and kind of pissed me off was that Comfortis prices have yet again been jacked up, at $100.53 for a box of 6 ordered directly from my vet. No free dose this time. This is up about $10 from last year, purchased at $92.12. Yet, it’s still cheaper to get it directly from the vet, since this is the only way you qualify for the ongoing Elanco rebate (minus $10 on a pack of 6, or $25 on a pack of 12). PetMeds charges $98.99 for the same amount, and the rebate does not qualify.

Not that the rebate is much to praise. My WTF, Elanco? post, in which I ranted about the company’s repeated difficulties with processing my simple rebate, has become one of this blog’s most visited and commented posts, even a year after I wrote it.

I swear, I only stick to Comfortis because we have no better alternative, specifically for Bowdu and his flea allergy dermatitis that is made worse with his thyroid condition (more on that in another post). Anyway, if I’m ever at the vet at the same time that the Elanco rep is dropping in, boy do I have a lot I want to say…

[Edit 7 March 2014: Elanco now has an online electronic rebate submission form. Interesting. Let’s see if that streamlines the process at all…]

Finally, in accessories, I picked up a Hurtta outdoor jacket for Bowpi, because rain! (we need it badly, here in California). And I got it on sale at an excellent price! And her three-year-old Outward Hound jacket (pictured below) is getting ratty and in need of replacement!

And… and… Dammit, I really don’t have any good excuse to have spent $40+ (with shipping) on a freaking dog jacket. Sigh. I admit, I did it in a moment of weakness. The item hasn’t arrived yet, and I’m skeptical about feeling like my purchase was justified once I receive it. At least, given the good things I’ve heard about Hurtta, it better not suck.

REVIEW and GIVEAWAY: The Honest Kitchen Quickies

Tags

dog food, dog treats, fish, giveaways, honest kitchen, training treats

Product: The Honest Kitchen Quickies
Quantity: 2 oz tin
Price: $9.99 via THK site (here, and a special Valentine’s edition here; Valentine’s edition available in a case of 6 for $45, online special only)
Ingredient: Dehydrated haddock
Guaranteed analysis:

• Crude Protein, Min 83.5%
• Crude Fat, Min 0.85%
• Crude Fiber, Max 0.75%
• Moisture, Max 11.85%

Country of origin: Iceland; packed in the USA
Company information: The Honest Kitchen; 145, 14th Street; San Diego, CA 92101
Web Presence: TheHonestKitchen.com, on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere

Though I’m cynical enough to write off Valentine’s Day as a commercial holiday, I do think there’s merit to celebrating companionship in all its forms, not just in romantic, coupled, traditional terms. Indeed, there is much to be said for the enrichment that pets bring to human lives, and vice versa. One of the primary ways I express love and friendship is through food. Whether meticulously prepared in my kitchen or carefully selected in a store, food serves multiple, significant functions. Food not only nourishes our bodies, but also strengthens interpersonal bonds.

This is something that the folks at The Honest Kitchen obviously understand, judging from the rather amorous names to their products. Their treats, in particular, revel unabashedly in the pleasures of little displays of affection — Nuzzles, Pecks, Smooches, etc.

So then what are Quickies all about?

Quickies demand a more concentrated, intense technique. There’s a degree of spontaneity and furtiveness that you don’t get with other, more noticeable displays of affection. It’s not something you gloat publicly about. That’s not the point. Rather, it’s something that you keep private, tucked away, a secret to be shared only between you and the most deserving of intimates.

Translated in edible form, The Honest Kitchen got it exactly right: one tiny, pea-sized niblet of densely flavored, fishy goodness. Their Quickies training treats are made from a single ingredient, dehydrated haddock, and pressed into a heart shape. They have the texture of Smarties candies. I bet they provide a similarly potent burst of flavor.

While I want to indulge the Bows, I have to regard these Quickies as a more special treat to be doled out as a super jackpot. At 1.1 kcal per treat, they’re not excessive by any means. But the shape and the texture make for a special feeding experience.

What I love the most about the Quickies is the packaging. I actually squealed when I opened up the box and saw the tiny canister inside. The tube has a convenient, pop-open tin lid, and fits comfortably into the front pocket of my pants.

Is that a tube of Quickies in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

Coolest thing about this packaging is that you can shake the canister and train your pets to respond by basic Pavlovian conditioning. As a fairly tasty, high value treat, it shouldn’t be hard to integrate this into your training regimen with just a few repetitions.

The Bows love these treats. No question there. And I am completely enamored by the special Valentine’s Day packaging, which conjures up all kinds of nostalgic remembrances from childhood. I kind of want to order these by the case (the Valentine’s Quickies are available in quantities of 6 for $45) and deliver them to all the dogs in my neighborhood… Maybe the cats too, since I think they’re appropriate across species. Now, if only I knew all their names.

The only drawback about these treats is the price. Ten bucks seems like quite a lot for this little container… but let’s do the math here. 2 ounces is approximately 57 grams. At 1.1 kcal per treat, measured out at 333 kcal per 100 grams, we can say there’s about 190 kcal in this tiny little tin, or about ~170 treats.

Well, that sounds like quite a lot, actually! No, I didn’t do a proper count. And a couple weeks later, we’re still working on our first canister… but be warned that they can go pretty quickly.

So they’re not the most economical treats out there. That said, high quality, fish-based edibles tend to be more expensive in general, and are pretty few and far between. Quickies are worth trying at least once, because the packaging is worth saving. It’ll probably take us a month to finish our canister, and when they’re through, I’ll be holding onto the tube for a while yet.

After all, the Bows are coming to associate the rattle of that canister with the promise of a tasty tidbit.

Final Grade: A-

BONUS GIVEAWAY: We are giving away one 2 oz. canister of Quickies to a randomly chosen commenter who responds to the following question: Do you have a pet crush? That is, is there a cute pet you’ve noticed (any species) in your neighborhood, your group of friends, or even on social media? (It’s fine if your answer is no.) Just leave a comment by Thursday, February 13th, 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time for a chance at your own canister of Quickies.

Note: Winner must reside within the US or Canada. The Honest Kitchen provided us with two canisters of Quickies treats — one for review, and one for a giveaway. Opinions expressed in this post come from M.C. and the House of Two Bows.

REVIEW: True Chews Lils Pig Ear Pieces

Tags

chewy.com, dog food, dog treats, pig ears, true chews

Today’s post is a special treat, and not just for the dogs. I am excited to post the first review by R.J., the other human inhabiting the House of Two Bows.

Product: True Chews Lils Pig Ears Pieces
Quantity 2.5 oz (approx. 6 pieces of ear portions)
Price: $7.99 via Chewy.com
Ingredients: Pig ears, natural smoke flavor
Guaranteed analysis: ??? [N/A on their website, not listed on the packaging for this product]
Country of origin: USA
Company information: Tyson Pet Products, Inc.; 812 Third Street NW; Independence, IA 50644
Web Presence: Truechews.com, on Facebook, etc.

We’ve got two middle-aged dogs. A brash Shiba and a sneaky Basenji. Male and female, respectively. I’ve watched them snarl, yelp and snarl some more over discarded bones in a flooded gutter.

They’re driven by a desire to eat. All dogs are. They don’t discriminate.

I wish I could write that True Chews Lils Pig Ear Pieces brought a reverential calm over my dogs. That they both politely sat down and, before gently taking the pigs’ ears from my hands, blinked in unison. That they lingered over them, sniffed them, licked their chops… maybe tossed a glance my way, with gratitude in their eyes.

Actually, the pigs’ ears were snatched from my fingers (before I could be comfortably seated) and devoured inside of five minutes. The Shiba’s sitting tough at thirty pounds. The Basenji’s just over twenty. I mention this because the treats are marked as being for dogs up to twenty pounds. Usually the Basenji takes slightly more time with her food.

So these treats might be a little smaller than what the dogs are used to. To me, they seemed a little thicker than the ones plucked from a pet store bin. It doesn’t seem likely that they can be broken down into small pieces by clumsy humans.

The dogs, however, took fifteen seconds to figure out the right angle of attack, to gain the proper leverage for eating. Once each found the sweet spot, the ears were promptly broken down into three or four pieces and cruncha-cruncha-crunched. After the last pieces had been swallowed, the dogs spent an additional two minutes sniffing out and licking the microscopic debris left behind. Then they switched places, each searching for what the other might have overlooked.

This was, more or less, a typical encounter with chewing products. No one was hurt, no intestinal duress ensued. What more could you want from a dog treat?

The good people at True Chews insist that you are to supervise your dog’s enjoyment of their chewing treats. And to make sure there is clean drinking water at hand.

True Chews Lils Pig Ear Pieces are made with pride in Independence, Iowa.* They are rawhide-free, contain no filler, and marked as 100% natural. A natural smoke flavor has been added.

True Chews is also a proud sponsor of The United States War Dogs Association, Inc. Check this fine organization out, if you’d like, at http://www.uswardogs.org/ and give the US War Dogs’ Theme Song by Murray Weinstock a listen.

I do sincerely wish True Chews success. Their products seem as simple as they are satisfying. Six chews for eight bucks might be pushing it, and I don’t think the dogs really care about the natural smoke flavor. The Shiba will chew wood if you let him.

”

I’m giving this product an enthusiastic B+ rating.

text by R.J., photos by M.C.

* M.C. would like to highlight the fact that all True Chews are clearly labeled as US-made products, which provides some assurance for those of us concerned with country of origin for our pets’ edibles.

[Disclaimer: The House of Two Bows received a sample bag of treats from Chewy.com in exchange for our honest review.]

REVIEW: Primal freeze-dried products

Tags

dog food, dog treats, freeze-dried raw, honest kitchen, primal raw, sponsored reviews

Product: Primal Freeze-Dried Canine Chicken Formula (complete meal)
Quantity: 14 oz. bag (approx. 64 nuggets)
Price: $27.99*
Ingredients: Chicken, Chicken Necks, Chicken Gizzards, Organic Kale, Organic Carrots, Organic Yams, Chicken Livers, Organic Broccoli, Organic Apples, Cranberries, Blueberries, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Copper Carbonate, Sodium Selenite), Organic Parsley, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Salmon Oil, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Quinoa Sprout Powder, Dried Organic Kelp, Alfalfa, Natural Vitamin E, Mixed Tocopherols (natural preservative)
Guaranteed analysis:

Crude Protein (min), 37%
Crude Fat (min), 37%
Crude Fiber (max), 1%
Moisture (max), 2%

— AND —

Product: Primal Freeze-Dried Turkey Liver Munchies (treats)
Quantity: 2 oz. pouch
Price: $6.99*
Ingredients: Turkey Liver
Guaranteed analysis:

Crude Protein (min), 52%
Crude Fat (min), 5%
Crude Fiber (max), 1%
Moisture (max), 3%

Manufacturer: Primal Pet Foods
Country of origin: USA
Company information: 2045 McKinnon Ave, San Francisco, CA 94124; Phone: 415.642.7400 or 866.566.4652; Founder and President: Matt Koss (est. 2001)
Web Presence: Primalpetfoods.com; on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

* Prices are based on one local retailer. We received one bag of each product from Primal Pet Foods in exchange for our honest review.

Primal was Bowdu’s first raw food love. If you search through the early archives of this blog, you’ll find me singing the praises of this company’s products, as they did so much to help us transition to a healthier diet during Bowdu’s summer of immune system meltdowns. Bowdu learned to literally sing for his dinner once we started feeding Primal raw, as demonstrated by this post and video back from 2010. He still serenades me every single night during dinner prep, and it’s all thanks to Primal that he found his voice.

However, it’s been a while since we’ve stocked any Primal meals, mainly because our limited freezer space has been occupied by meats, now that we’ve got the swing of a more DIY raw feeding system. So when Primal offered us a chance to test out a couple items in their freeze-dried product line, we gladly accepted the offer.

Primal’s freeze-dried raw offers several advantages over their frozen product. It’s lightweight, easier to store, and easier to prepare, though the process is entirely different. When we fed their frozen raw, I would portion out the appropriate number of nuggets the night before, thaw for about 24 hours in the refrigerator, then quickly temper the meat in hot water before serving — the last step being the extra push that really encouraged both Bows to take to a raw diet, as the warmer meat was more appealing to them. The freeze-dried products appear to use the same recipes, but the format is different.

You drop the desired number of nuggets into a bowl, and add water. I use water pumped out of my trusty Zojirushi heater (not straight off a boil, but hot), and let it cool to still-warm temps as the product soaks and rehydrates.

The instructions recommend about 1/4 cup of water for four nuggets, which is what you see above. I was impressed that rehydration happened within seconds. Once soaked, the nuggets were easily broken down with a spoon to help force water into the pores. This is quite different from other freeze-dried meals we’ve tried, which took much longer to reach an edible consistency. Primal’s freeze-dried nuggets are ready within minutes. Ideally, you want the end result to appear gloopy and mushy, as extra moisture is part of what rounds out the nutritional superiority of raw meals.

Bowpi (20 pounds) should get eight nuggets a day, and Bowdu (30 pounds) should get about twelve. They are both accustomed to quite a raw variety now, but I still eased them into the product by combining it with The Honest Kitchen’s Keen, which they’ve had regularly for the last couple months. This gave me a chance to compare the two products side by side.

They are comparable dehydrated pet foods from two companies with nutritional philosophies that I respect. The difference is that THK uses slow, air-drying processes, where ingredients are brought up to high enough temperatures so that they can’t bill their product as completely raw. Primal, on the other hand, can call itself a raw diet, as freeze-drying, or lyophilization, is a different (and more expensive) process. They also use High-Pressure Processing (HPP), a “unique, non-thermal process that kills pathogenic bacteria through high-pressure, water-based technology,” to ensure the food safety of their raw poultry products.

The Honest Kitchen formula that I happened to use for this comparison took slightly longer to rehydrate and came out bulkier. Some THK formulas do contain grains though, whereas Primal’s are all grain-free. Another major difference with Primal is the smell. Primal definitely registered in my nostrils as a RAW product, though not in an unpleasant way. It’s the scent of fresh meat and produce, which I’m sure added to the olfactory experience for the Bows.

Suffice to say, it was a big hit! I couldn’t really get pictures of the meals because they were consumed way too quickly.

What I could get the Bows to pose for were the Turkey Liver Munchies. This was just what I needed to help Bowpi weather some of our off-leash outings in the midst of fireworks season. I mentioned in a recent post that she gets extremely skittish when strange sounds are in the air. Though delicious liver treats were not a cure-all, they were an effective “adhesive,” keeping Bowpi closer than she otherwise would have stayed.

Bowdu is cool, Bowpi is hiding — but at least she’s with us

It’s hard enough for me to find raw turkey liver, so at least I can get it in this form. I love that these treats are made with a single protein, named organ. Even though we’re paying by the ounce, retail cost is reasonable, relative to other freeze-dried treats currently available. I just have to ration the goodies. Each bag contains many pieces in a variety of sizes. It’s best to break up the bigger chunks, as too much liver in either raw or dessicated form can be overkill.

But speaking of breaking things up — this is my biggest complaint. Like many freeze-dried products we’ve encountered, the pieces are just too crumbly, so you often end up with a bag of flakes or dust instead of whole, manageable pieces. I counted the nuggets I was able to count, and got to 40 pieces before I ended up with…

… this. Smithereens city. Given that each bag is supposed to contain about 64 nuggets, the crumbled portions account for over a third of the bag. Yikes!

This wouldn’t be so bad if rehydration and feeding guidelines were based on approximate dry volume, instead of nugget count. The crumbs still absorb water the same way, after all. Once you get used to the routine, it’s not too hard to eyeball the amount and adjust the moisture levels to the needs of your own pet. Meanwhile, the liver treat crumbs can be sprinkled onto any meal as a topper. Nothing need go to waste. Nevertheless, I do wonder if there’s a better way to package the product.

My other main issue is, unfortunately, cost. This is not an item that I can afford to feed exclusively, as both Bows would go through a single bag in about three days! I sometimes don’t even spend $9 a day feeding myself, let alone my dogs. To me, this is suitable as an occasional treat or perhaps emergency rations. I would much rather pack freeze-dried nuggets than heavy tubs of kibble on a camping or cross-country trip, for example. Resealable zippers add to the convenience of these products, but it all comes at a premium.

Overall, I have no complaints about the quality of ingredients, the processing method, or the reputation and overall standards of the company. Primal offers a lot of additional information about their products on their website, including where they source their ingredients and detailed nutritional data beyond what is required on the packaging, down to the percentage of organic ingredients, organ meat, bone content, and even calcium-to-phosphorus ratio (for example, see the complete listing for the chicken formula).

Reviewing these Primal products was like coming “home” in a way. They are familiar to us from our early days of food experimentation, and they’re also local. The company is headquartered just across the Bay in San Francisco, and they maintain strong links with local businesses and animal partners. However, Californians are not unique in how we treat or want to treat our pets. Primal products are distributed from coast to coast in the US and Canada, for now. They are one of several modern pet food companies that has helped raise the bar for how we live with our pets, and so they remain one to keep an eye on.

FINAL GRADES:
Primal Freeze-dried Canine Chicken Formula: A-
Primal Turkey Liver Munchies: A

REVIEW: Orijen Alberta Wild Boar freeze-dried treats

Tags

acana, champion pet foods, chewy.com, dog treats, freeze-dried raw, mr. chewy, off leash, orijen, pork, sponsored reviews

Product: Orijen Alberta Wild Boar singles freeze-dried treats
Manufacturer: Champion Pet Foods
Quantity: one pouch, 2 oz. (approx. 45 pieces) [also available in 3.5 oz packages]
Price: $7.99 via Chewy.com
Ingredients: Wild boar liver, boneless wild boar
Guaranteed Analysis:

• Crude Protein, 40% min.
• Crude Fat, 50% min.
• Crude Fiber, 1% max
• Moisture, 2% max

Country of origin: Canada
Company Information: Champion Pet Food; 11403-186 Street NW; Edmonton, Alberta; T5S 2W6 Canada
Web Presence: ChampionPetFoods.com, on Facebook

Champion Pet Foods, the makers of Orijen and Acana, have quite a reputation for making what they call “biologically appropriate™” kibble with a surplus of whole prey ingredients that is supposed to mirror what dogs and cats would eat if left to fend for themselves in the “wild.” That part of their marketing platform has always been less impressive to me than their claims of sourcing “authentically fresh regional ingredients” that come from named, sustainably farmed sources. They are generally brands that the Bows do well on (Acana, specifically), though they’re priced beyond our capacity to feed them exclusively.

Knowing they’ve got a solid foot in the market for high-end pet consumers, Orijen has boldly trotted out a new freeze-dried treat. This product is so new, I didn’t even know this was in the works until alerted by the folks at Chewy.com, who gave me the opportunity to review from the selection which includes single-protein blends of beef, bison, duck, lamb, or wild boar, as well as three blends based on some of their popular kibble recipes, Regional Red, Tundra, and Orijen Original.

from the Champion Pet Foods channel on YouTube

(Call me weird, but I actually seek out company-produced PR videos to get a sense of how the company markets itself and what kind of information they think is valuable for others to know. I do, however, take their presentations with a healthy sense of skepticism and intent to read between the lines, wherever I can.)

For this review, we chose the wild boar recipe, primarily because there are very few completely pork-based pet foods on the market. I’m already favorably disposed to this line of treats for offering novel proteins catering to pets with protein sensitivities (as seems to be the case with so many dog people we know)

Upon receiving the 2 ounce bag in an oversized box from Chewy.com, I admit thinking… this is it?? as I shook the lightweight package before the Bows. Freeze-dried products tend to be very porous, so it’s hard to feel like you’re making a satisfactory purchase at the outset. It’s one reason that I’m not a huge fan of this type of food processing. Previous experiences have left me feeling that the crumbly mess that often accumulates at the bottom of the bag makes it a particularly un-economical way to feed.

These treats, however, aren’t quite as crumbly as others we’ve tried. Chewy.com’s protective packaging seems to help ensure that you’re not getting a pouch full of crushed bits.

Lightweight they may be, freeze-dried products tend to be pretty rich — though these are less than 7 calories per treat. At any rate, you really don’t need to feed many of these at a time. The Bows, however, were completely taken by the novelty of the smell, taste, and texture.

They glommed so close when I busted out these treats that I realized this would be the perfect incentive for practicing more “difficult” maneuvers. They’re a good size, not particularly messy, and totally irresistible. I don’t do much complex training with the Bows, but I do frequently take them off leash in high distraction areas, something which neither Shiba Inu nor Basenjis are known to be good at…

Okay, so the Bows are already accustomed to off-leash walking on vast acreage, and this is only one lesson of “Off Leash 101,” so my video may very well simplify the process and exaggerate the efficacy of these treats… What is unusual, however, is the way that both Bows remain underfoot and jump up like unruly Compsognathus, Jurassic Park style. Point is that this is a special treat, as confirmed by the Bows’ responses!

Given how effective these are, I think the price point is just right, at least relative to other freeze-dried dog treats on the market. I’m not willing to spend more than $10 on a pouch of treats that will be finished off in days or a handful of training sessions, but Chewy.com’s price for the small pouch is fair for the quality of this product.

I’ve yet to see these at my local pet stores, so I don’t know how normal retail price compares. We are grateful that Chewy.com provided us with a free sample in exchange for our honest review.

Final Grade: A