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Woof Whiskers Rating - 6.5/106.5/10
Summary
Just Food For Dogs focuses on quality through research, which is apparent given the hefty team of 11 veterinarians on staff. However, they are outperformed by The Farmer’s Dog in terms of convenience and meal plan customization.
The best dog food for 2020 is The Farmer’s Dog.
In our opinion, We prefer The Farmer’s Dog. They offer excellent fresh quality and better convenience through customized meal plans. Get 50% off by clicking here or the coupon link below.
Coupon: 50% off Farmer’s DogJustFoodForDogs Review
JustFoodForDogs is one of the original fresh dog food delivery companies who has a laser focus on nutrition and quality. While the company wasn’t backed by as many huge investors like competitors NomNomNow and The Farmer’s Dog, JustFoodForDogs never lost sight of what’s most important: quality, human-grade dog food through research.
Apart from their excellent selection of recipes – which we’ll dive more into later – what we absolutely love about this company is their team of eleven veterinarians on staff. This impressive team works to formulate each recipe by ensuring the food meets all AAFCO guidelines for your dog’s nutritional needs.
In addition, it’s obvious that JustFoodForDogs is in business to improve the health of dogs – even if it means turning less profit – because of the DIY recipes they offer. Available for $19.95, you can order a tailored nutrient blend which is used to add to the DIY recipes you create. Each blend makes up to 30lbs of dog food. So if you’re interested in cooking up the food yourself, this is an excellent option.
Overall Just food for dogs reviews go in that direction, but let’s dive into our experience with Just Food For Dogs before we analyze each recipe.
Delivery and Unboxing
One of the interesting things about JustFoodForDogs is that they have multiple brick and mortar kitchens across the US where they cook and sell fresh pet food. If you live close to one of these, you can actually have your dog food delivered by one of their company vehicles and packed with gel ice packs.
If you’re like me and live far away from their kitchens, standard delivery is available all across the US through standard courier services. These boxes are packed with dry ice and insulation to ensure they stay frozen much longer.
As with all fresh dog food delivery companies, you are encouraged to freeze the bulk of it as soon as you receive it, leaving only enough in the refrigerator for one or two days at a time. Every time you feed a pack from the fridge, take one out of the freezer and place it in the fridge and it will be thawed and ready for the next feeding.
Nutritional Analysis
Before we dive into each recipe, I wanted to point out that the Just Food For Dogs ingredients list appears longer at first than most fresh dog foods. But that’s because they list out their vitamin/mineral mix while most other companies simply list “supplement mix”. So this is actually a big plus in our book that they are this transparent enabling you to really see all the human-grade ingredients put into your dog’s food.
Turkey & Whole Wheat Macaroni
The turkey recipe is one of their more average offerings in terms of protein, fat, and carb levels. Overall this is a solid nutritional breakdown, however, pasta can sometimes be a bit more difficult to digest than rice.
Ingredients: USDA Certified Ground Turkey, Whole Wheat Macaroni, Broccoli, Zucchini, USDA Certified Turkey Liver, Carrots, Cranberries, Premium EPA/DHA, Natural Calcium, Dicalcium Phosphate Dihydrate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Bitartrate, Sodium Chloride, Vitamin E (as a-tocopheral succinate), Taurine, Magnesium Bisglycinate Chelate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Bisglycinate Chelate, Riboflavin, Natural Kelp (for iodine), Manganese Gluconate Dihydrate, Vitamin B1 (as thiamine mononitrate), Vitamin D3 (as cholecalciferol), Vitamin B12 (as cyanocobalamin)
Chicken & White Rice
The chicken recipe is very similar to the turkey in terms of nutrition breakdown. Typically fresh chicken recipes are pretty high in protein since it is one of the cheaper sources of protein, but this one is about average.
Ingredients: USDA Certified Chicken Thigh, Long Grain White Rice, Spinach, Carrots, Apples, USDA Certified Chicken Gizzards, USDA Certified Chicken Liver, Premium EPA/DHA, Dicalcium Phosphate Dihydrate, Natural Calcium, Sodium Chloride, Choline Bitartrate, Natural Kelp (for iodine), Zinc Oxide, Magnesium Bisglycinate Chelate, Vitamin E (as a-tocopherol succinate), Ferrous Bisglycinate Chelate, Copper Bisglycinate Chelate, Vitamin B3 (as cholecalciferol), Vitamin B5 (as calcium d-pantothenate), Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 (as cyanocobalamin)
Lamb & Brown Rice
The lamb recipe has the lowest amount of protein and supplements that void with more healthy fats. This can be beneficial to dogs with sensitive stomachs, as too much protein can sometimes be hard to digest.
Ingredients: USDA Certified Lean Ground Lamb, Long Grain Brown Rice, Spinach, Cauliflower, Carrots, USDA Certified Lamb Liver, Blueberries, Safflower Oil, Premium EPA/DHA, Natural Calcium, Dicalcium Phosphate Dihydrate, L-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Natural Kelp (for iodine), Sodium Chloride, Taurine, Vitamin E (as a-tocopherol succinate), Ferrous Bisglycinate Chelate, Zinc Oxide, Selenium Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin D3 (as colecalciferol), Riboflavin
Beef & Russet Potato
Surprisingly the beef recipe has the highest amount of fat, considering they use “lean” ground beef. This could be a good option for dogs that are underweight or struggle to gain weight. We recommend this food for active dogs like Dobermans and other working dogs — they can burn the calories.
Ingredients: USDA Certified Lean Ground Beef, Russet Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Green Beans, USDA Certified Beef Liver, Green Peas, Apples, Safflower Oil, Premium EPA/DHA, Natural Calcium, Dicalcium Phosphate Dihydrate, Choline Chloride, Magnesium Bisglycinate Chelate, Taurine, Zinc Oxide, Natural Kelp (for iodine), Vitamin E (as a-tocopherol succinate), Manganese Bisglicisnate Chelate, Riboflavin, D-Biotin, Vitamin D3 (as cholecalciferol), Vitamin B1 (as thiamine hydrochloride), Selenium
Fish & Sweet Potato
The fish recipe has the lowest fat levels by far and equal levels of protein and carbs. We really like that Just Food For Dogs offers a fish recipe; a great option for those with poultry or red meat allergies.
Ingredients: Wild Caught Pacific Cod, Sweet Potatoes, Russet Potatoes, Green Beans, Broccoli, Safflower Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate Dihydrate, Natural Calcium, Sodium Chloride, Choline Bitartrate, Vitamin E (as a-tocopherol succinate), Zinc Oxide, Iron Glycinate Chelate, Vitamin B5 (as calcium d-pantothenate), Copper Citrate, Vitamin D3 (as cholecalciferol), Riboflavin, Manganese Citrate, Natural Kelp (for iodine), D-Biotiin, Vitamin B12 (as cyanocobalamin)
Raw fish is a great source of protein for dogs. All though it should be prepared according to guidelines.
Related article: Can dogs have sushi?
Venison & Squash
The venison recipe has the most protein of all of their formulas.
Ingredients: USDA Certified Ground Venison, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Cranberries, Safflower Oil, Premium EPA/DHA, Natural Calcium, Dicalcium Phosphate Dihydrate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Bitartrate, Sodium Chloride, Vitamin E (as a-tocopheral succinate), Taurine, Magnesium Bisglycinate Chelate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Bisglycinate Chelate, Riboflavin, Natural Kelp (for iodine), Manganese Gluconate Dihydrate, Vitamin B1 (as thiamine mononitrate), Vitamin D3 (as cholecalciferol), Vitamin B12 (as cyanocobalamin)
Getting Started
Placing your first order is pretty straight forward. Simply find which recipe you want for your dog and select either 18oz or 72oz packages (29 Calories per ounce), depending on the size of your dog. They have a feeding calculator to help with this, but unfortunately they do not offer tailored sizes. This isn’t a huge drawback, but competitors such as NomNomNow and the Farmer’s Dog tailor specially-sized packages depending on your dog’s breed and weight (however it does result in more packaging waste, so Just Food For Dogs is more sustainable).
Overall Thoughts
Just Food For Dogs is a solid choice for pet parents looking to improve the quality of their pup’s food. They focus on quality through research producing human-grade food, which is what you ultimately want in a dog food manufacturer. However, orders are not tailored specifically to your dog, resulting in you using calculators to determine how much to feed, which is a negative in our book.
The best dog food for 2020 is The Farmer’s Dog.
In our opinion, We prefer The Farmer’s Dog. They offer excellent fresh quality and better convenience through customized meal plans. Get 50% off by clicking here or the coupon link below.
Coupon: 50% off Farmer’s Dog
I buy JustFoodForDogs in Tetrapacks available on Amazon. Does this affect quality? I never see this brand on recommended lists as compared with Nom Nom or the Farmers Dog.
Why do you always change the Venison recipe from seeing all of the meat to just seeing all orange mush my dog can only eat the venison. When he eats the Orange much he gets direa and throw up.
lamb and brown rice. my dog will dig up cat turds and eat them but will not eat your dog food. dogs eat with their noses first and it does not smell like food.
What is with this company? Even on autoship the product arrives late—if at all. Went weeks without fish and then now haven’t gotten venison since early april. this for a dog on a strict allergy diet. While the quality of the food is excellent, that only helps if you get it delivered! Calls to customer service if you can get through are a joke. Client is never notified that order will be delayed/missing items/not arriving at all!
Lots of apologies but no follow through. You can not depend on this company to delivery what it promises, even to loyal autoship customers. company should stop signing on new customers and start providing the services that customers are paying for.
I second everything you said in your post. It’s absolutely ridiculous. I haven’t Been able to get my auto ship on time or at all since April. They cancel your order without telling you even if it’s an auto ship. Each time I call customer service I wait a minimum of 30 minutes to talk to someone. The only protein my dog can digest is fish. She loves their food but I need to find a company with consistent and timely delivery.
Hi Brenda: I agree with both you and Kelly about the failure of Just Food For Dogs to maintain a regular supply of its product over the last 3 months – since April 2021 – so that we owners are left struggling week after week. I happen to live in Orange County, California and I have been unable to reach management or a corporate office despite numerous attempts. One of my dogs is quite sick and on the Prescription Hepatic Diet and the other is healthy and on the Chicken & Rice diet. Just Food For Dogs has been unable or unwilling to provide either of these diets on a consistent basis and it is extremely stressful. For that reason I would discourage any new customers to try another vendor. Posted July 15, 2021.
Hi Kelly & Brenda: : DOG OWNERS BEWARE! I am having the same bad experience that each of you has described.
I hope other dog owners read our comments before they try this food because Just Food For Dogs has been unable to regularly supply its customers with its food for almost 3 months. I live in San Juan Capistrano, California and none, I repeat none of the 5 local suppliers, are able to properly service existing accounts. It doesn’t matter whether you have a standing order or if you call every week. Both the Chicken & Rice food and the PRESCRIPTION HEPATIC DIET are seldom available. And if you have a dog you know you can’t just substitute different foods willy-nilly. I tried getting in touch with management to no avail and am repeatedly told by the local staff that this is due to Covid. I don’t think so. I think the Just Food For Dogs engaged in a marketing plan that solicited various veterinarians and now the customer base has increased to the point that JFFD can’t produce enough food for its existing customers. And rather than not take on new customers, JFFD has decided to put our dogs health “at-risk” instead of limiting new “enrollees” until it gets a reliable “supply side plan” in place.
Heather,
That makes total sense. My vet just prescribed this dog food and I’ve never heard of it in my life. There’s probably vets all around the country prescribing this dog food and now there’s not enough to go around
Why don’t you just drive to Petco or other store that supplies it. Was in Petco today and they had all the varieties and more. If you can afford fresh for your dog drive and get it or purchase twice what you need that way if there’s a problem with your order you have extra for back up. We’re also in the middle of a pandemic so what do you expect. But from what I saw today there doesn’t look to be a shortage at a store sourness by people.
My dog is on your renal lower protein diet (and loves it) but I notices that there is not Taurine in the ingredients. Unless I missed it she needs to have that for her heart. If it is not in this specific diet, do you offer supplements.