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- Not a substitute for professional veterinary help.
This article was made in partnership with Open Farm, who provided samples in exchange for an honest review.
The past decade has seen radical changes in the world of dog food. With an ever-increasing focus on everything from unusual single-source proteins to fresh, live and freeze-dried options, the latest dog foods offer a varied diet with flavors and textures. new structure, making eating much more enjoyable. They are also increasingly delivering big wins for sourcing high quality and environmentally sustainable ingredients.
But new foods aren’t right for every dog — that’s why pet parents can be pleased to know that traditional dry dog food is getting an update at the hands of Open. Farm, the company that has made a name for themselves with sustainability, environmental friendliness. clean food.
We test and review the dry food line that brings dry food back into the conversation.
Review of Open Farm’s Kibble Recipe
Does Kibble need to be fun? For most parents and dogs, dry food is still the optimal choice. Kibble is easy to store in bulk, convenient to feed, and a reliable source of daily nutrients — all without the need for additional dishes. Plus, it can go where your dog goes without rehydration, freezing, or refrigeration. And a lot of dogs find it delicious.
However, where dry food has traditionally been lacking in consumer-focused perks such as transparent ingredient sourcing, human-grade quality standards, sustainable packaging, and wellbeing. animals — standards are more often associated with fresh foods. Open Farm dry food aims to provide all three, while meeting a wide range of special dietary needs.
Oscar poses next to Open Farm’s salmon recipe like a model test puppy.
Focus on healthy foods for a variety of diets
One thing that particularly impressed our testers was variety of gems The open farm has been handcrafted. Many of them are a good choice for special diets and allergies.
Dog food allergies are not common, but they are a headache for pet parents with sensitive puppies. The most frequent culprit is protein – what makes many of Open Farm’s new proteins (proteins the dog is unlikely to be allergic to) so useful.
Open Farm’s kibbles:
You can also find nearly all of their recipes in grain- and grain-free options (though cereal is rarer because it’s allergenic). And for those who want to serve puppy or senior dogThere are also recipes for that.
Open Farm’s salmon and lamb recipes offer new proteins.
Clearly sourced ingredients
There’s been a lot of talk about how to read dog food ingredient labels. Basic precautions include looking for protein as the first ingredient and watching out for fillers and mystery meals. But some of the most premium fresh dog foods go a step further and offer transparent sourcing of ingredients: the ability to look up a unique batch code to find out where a particular package’s ingredients come from. .
Open Farm is now bringing this benefit to kibble — and making it easy, according to our testers. We visited Open Farm on the web and entered the batch code for our bags to find out when they were packaged and where each ingredient came from. For example, Oscar’s salmon is wild-caught from the North Pacific off the coast of Alaska, and the pumpkin in the recipe comes from Michigan.
Oscar’s salmon recipe was packaged just a few months before it reached us.
High quality standards
“Human grade” is a term not commonly associated with dry dog food — but Open Farms offers their human-grade, antibiotic- and hormone-free meats from the same supply chain companies. suppliers like Whole Foods and their fish are only wild-caught from clean waters. Animal-based protein makes up at least 70% of all formulas.
Gentle cooking at low heat preserves nutrients, and processing is kept to a minimum with ingredients like pumpkin and apples.
They have also undergone extensive testing, with every formula being formulated in-house by a team of veterinarians, animal scientists and nutritionists, then tested by accredited laboratories. Third-party accreditation verifies the nutritional profile (approved by AAFCO) and guarantees 100% germ-free food.
We duly rewarded Oscar for this well-timed wink.
Dr Angie Krause, DVM, CVA, CCRT and Open Farm Vet Partner, is in charge of their work. She tells Rover, “The best way to support the health and longevity of your dog or cat is to feed a high-quality diet that is free of harmful preservatives, artificial colors and free from harmful chemicals. corn and soybeans. … The formulas are nutritionally top for even the most sensitive pets. “
Sustainable practice creates sustainable kibble
Open Farm’s efforts towards sustainability also impressed our testers — and, according to Open Farm, also made a difference in the quality of their food.
Packaging is recyclable. Most pet food bags contain a mixture of plastic and foil that can’t be recycled — but Open Farm has partnered with TerraCycle to help pet parents mail their empty food bags to a facility that turns them into reusable plastic pellets to make everything from park benches to shipping pallets. We tried the process and found it simple (though normally saving the planet requires a bit of effort).
Local ingredients. More than 90% of Open Farm’s vegetables are grown locally, which helps reduce vehicle emissions and supports farmers. This is part of their 10-year plan to offset direct operations and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Strict farm animal welfare standards. Open Farm ensures that their animal protein comes only from animals that meet the humanitarian requirements of the Global Animal Partnership and Ocean Wise Seafood, including a healthy diet and space to go. wandering.
They make the case that those standards also affect nutrition and taste, arguing that stress-free animals follow a natural vegetarian or grass-fed diet (no antibiotics and growth hormones). growth) tends to be leaner meat with a better amino acid profile. Our test pups largely agreed — and Turkey especially a win with a very picky eater who ate her portions enthusiastically and had no snacks (unprecedented for a kibble).
Meda, the picky eater mentioned, is a fan of the Ancient Grain Turkey.
Our recommendation: Open Farm Raise the Kibble Sword
For pet parents who feel intrigued by fresh dog food but can’t switch — for health, budget or practical reasons — Open Farm has done an outstanding job in transforming the benefits of fancy options into a dry food. Our reviewers were impressed by their commitment to sustainability, and our test rats liked the variety of dry cobblestone they tried.
Overall, we think Open Farm dry dog food is likely to be a winner for pet parents.
- want the convenience of a cup with the quality standards of newer substitutes
- are looking for a sustainable, environmentally responsible way to raise their puppies
- Prioritize transparent sourcing
- need a new protein for a dog with food allergies
However, dry food is not for all pups, and among those who may want to look elsewhere are pet parents who are
- have a picky eater who likes the texture of fresh or wet food
- need a wet food that provides hydration
- want to prioritize a cost effective kibble
For those in the latter camp, Open Farm’s gently cooked fresh food (also tested and approved by our pups) or bone broth additive may provide useful alternatives.
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