The Farmer's Dog Review - Real, Fresh Food for Dogs

In November 2021, we discovered a healthy addition to Epicenter Willie's prescription kibble dog food diet: The Farmers Dog. Real, fresh food for dogs!

The Farmers Dog offers several options: Meal Plans, Topper Plans, and Do-It-Yourself Recipe Plans. We chose the Topper Plan to try it out and we're glad we did. A simple change in what we put in our dogs’ bowls can truly have a transformative impact on their health, improving digestion and weight issues, to energy levels and life span.

Flash back to several years ago: Willie K (our white shih-poo poodle mix) had a bout of acute pancreatitis. And, although he is healthy now, Willie is on a special prescription low-fat diet because he is at risk for another bout of pancreatitis in his lifetime. We started researching fresh, healthy dog food to enhance (or replace) his low-fat Rx kibble diet. We decided to give The Farmer's Dog a try. We chose the "Topper Plan" for Willie. And now Willie's baby brother, Rico Suave (our newest baby boy, a Cavapoo), gets in on some of the Farmer's Dog Food action too!

Healthy, fresh food for picky eaters and recipes for dogs with special dietary needs. It's not an inexpensive option, but it's Real, Fresh Food Made for Dogs!!! You will also get 50% off and Free Shipping with your first order!

The Farmer's Dog works closely with vets to figure out the optimal meal plans for different combinations of breed, age, activity level, ideal weight, and sensitivities. They ask you the right questions to create a plan that’s truly customized to your dogs’ characteristics and needs. After you start, their extremely helpful team is there for you every step of the way to help monitor your dog’s progress and make any needed adjustments to your plan. If you ever have any questions or problems with a shipment, their customer service is absolutely top-notch.

All ingredients in The Farmer's Dog are human-grade and sourced from reputable food suppliers, local farms, and other human food purveyors that meet USDA standards. They never use feed-grade ingredients, and they don’t process ingredients to be shelf-stable which ensures that your dog is getting the highest quality, most natural nutrients available.

The Farmer’s Dog creates recipes that are simple in nature. Every recipe uses clean USDA proteins, mixed with simple produce, and balanced with vitamins and minerals. That’s it. Their board-certified veterinary nutritionists carefully formulate each recipe to be 100% complete and balanced according to AAFCO standards with all human-grade ingredients and processes. You can find the specific ingredients lists for any recipe on the “Your Plan” section of the meal plan questionnaire.

For answers to all of your questions, please visit The Farmers Dog FAQ page.

Shelf Life

Every delivery from The Farmer's Dog arrives frozen. In your freezer, it will store for up to 6 months from the packing date. Once thawed, each pack will last about 4 days in the refrigerator (conveniently, each pack provides about 4 days' worth of food for Willie).

Pet Food Long Term Storage

Over the years, we have researched dog food for long-term storage for emergency preparedness. Because most dry pet foods contain fats and oils, dry pet food can go rancid over time. Although storing dry pet food in Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers will extend the shelf life, it is important to continuously rotate your kibble pet food storage every 3 to 4 months (or until the expiration dates on the packages) to avoid mold growth and/or rancidity. Dry pet food should always be stored in a cool, dry place but it is only a short-term solution. Canned food will last longer than dry food, but it may not be cost efficient and will likely take up a lot of space in your food storage/pantry.

Recently, we have found a number of freeze dried pet foods on the market designed for long-term storage, but we are not convinced that commercially packaged freeze dried pet food is the very best choice, especially with dietary restrictions involved and, still, a rather short shelf life and not ideal for long-term storage.

Freeze Drying The Farmer's Dog Food for Long-Term Storage

Although we have already stored away some freeze dried chicken, bone broth, and vegetables for Willie's emergency food plan (using our Harvest Right Freeze Dryer), we decided to freeze dry some of Willie's Topper Plan packs from The Farmer's Dog (low fat diet formulation). We have been very pleased with the results. Freeze-drying a package or two of Farmer's Dog from each shipment has given us additional peace of mind that there will be healthy meals for Willie in the event of an emergency situation. We package the freeze dried Farmer's Dog food in small 8x8 Mylar bags with a 300cc oxygen absorber (each 8x8 bag equals about 4 days' worth of "topper" for Willie's kibble). We take the freeze dried version of the topper meals for camping trips and we also have a few stored away for emergency use as well.

A variety of sizes of Mylar Bags and Oxygen Absorbers are available and in stock here at TheEpicenter.com.