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Protein/Carb Ratio - 10/10
10/10
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Quality of Ingredients - 10/10
10/10
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Variety - 9/10
9/10
Summary
If money isn’t an object, then Ziwi is the ideal food we should all feed our dogs – it’s simply in a tier of its own in terms of quality and ingredients. However, most of us can’t afford to spend $13+ per pound for dog food (especially if you have a bigger dog!), and thus will be priced out of Ziwi until we hit the lottery.
About Ziwi Dog Food
Ziwi is a New Zealand based company that makes use of a unique, air-dried method of preparing its food in order to create a more natural meal for your pet. With a pledge that all of their foods are “carefully crafted to mirror the whole-prey meat-rich, diet that dogs & cats require for a long, happy, healthy life,” Ziwi foods are steadily spreading out from their home country and finding new customers in the United States and across the globe.
About Air-Drying Dog Food Process
The process is similar to the dehydration process. The aim is to slowly evaporate moisture from the fresh ingredients with air-drying. This way all harmful bacteria disappear while all high-valuable nutrients are preserved. Air-dried dog food is the closest to the raw food (BARF) diet.
What should be noted upfront is that Ziwi food is both some of the highest quality commercially available dog food available, but it’s also by far the most expensive! If you have a large dog, the cost of this dog food will likely be too much to bear.
About Ziwi Company
Ziwi was founded by the husband and wife team of Peter and Kimberly Mitchell, who were looking to create a 100% natural diet that was free of unnecessary fillers and preservatives. After several tests, the Mitchell’s created a new, air-dried food that they call a raw-alternative, distinct from other products in the raw category as it does not have to be frozen or thawed before serving.
After finding a wide audience for their new raw alternative foods, the Mitchell’s decided to take their business international, setting up new manufacturing plants across the USA to meet growing demand. Today, all Ziwi products are manufactured in either the United States or New Zealand, using only high-quality ingredients from New Zealand.
Ziwi Dog Food Review
Quality of Ingredients
Ziwi makes high-quality ingredients a priority, and promises to only use free-range animal protein sources either raised on New Zealand farms or caught in the waters off the coast. The company also puts a big emphasis on the fact that there are never any hormones or antibiotics put into its meat and promises that they never use any unnecessary fillers or byproducts that are known to cause reactions in some animals.
The company also says that they hand select each of the vitamins and minerals, and make use of interesting and unique natural sources to fortify their foods, using items like green mussels, tripe, and kelp to provide healthy vitamins and minerals, as opposed to the artificial additives that many other companies typically make use of.
Full Ingredients and Analysis
We’ve talked up the high quality ingredients that Ziwi uses, but now let’s prove it! Here’s a look at Ziwi’s Tripe & Lamb formula dog food, notice how heavily they use real meat sources, and just how few unnatural additives are in this dog food compared to many others.
Full Ingredients:
Lamb Tripe, Lamb, Lamb Liver, Lamb Heart, Lamb Kidney, Lamb Lung, Lamb Bone, New Zealand Green Mussel, Inulin from Chicory, Dried Kelp, Sea Salt, Parsley, Minerals (Potassium Bicarbonate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Selenium Yeast, Manganese Amino Acid Complex), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B1 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid). Naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols.
The guaranteed analysis of this food is truly the best we have seen. 36% protein contents is outstanding, but what’s even more impressive is the 5% carbohydrates, a mere fraction of what most dry dog foods have (30-40%).
Ziwi Dog Food Pricing
However… this top of the line food is very costly! Ziwi dog food can run $13-15 per pound, which is about 5-6x more expensive than other high-quality dry dog foods, but also cheaper than most high-end freeze-dried products.
Dry Dog Food Product Line
Ziwi’s dry dog foods are unique in the fact that, rather than the traditional baking techniques used to create the kibble found in most dog foods, the company uses air drying, which allows them to get the most amount of meat possible in every bag. According to their website, this technique allows all of their recipes to be “98% meat, organs, and bone, including 3% New Zealand Green Mussel for natural glucosamine and chondroitin, and 7% species-specific tripe for added palatability and digestive benefits.”
Mackerel and Lamb
Designed for all breeds and all life stages, Ziwi’s Mackerel and Lamb formula makes use of protein sources born and raised on farms in New Zealand and wild-caught off the coast, and is an excellent source of healthy Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. The food is also guaranteed to be free of any corn, wheat, or soy, and is billed as an excellent alternative for dogs with a number of food sensitivities, as it avoids the use of any fillers or by-products, and is fortified by a range of beneficial vitamins and minerals for a complete meal in every bowl.
Venison
Making use of free-range, grass fed deer raised on local New Zealand farms, the Venison blend is touted not just as an alternative to the more traditional protein sources on the market, but also for its ability to reduce the symptoms of IBS and IBD in many dogs. Ziwi also adds kelp into the mix as a natural source of vitamins and minerals and finishes off the product with a bit of New Zealand Green Mussel, which is hailed as a natural provider of joint healthy glucosamine and chondroitin.
Beef
Free-range, antibiotic free, grass fed beef is the first ingredient in Ziwi’s Beef formula, but that’s not all it has. Like many other Ziwi products, this one is also fortified by kelp and mussels, but also is packed full of other vitamins and minerals to provide the proper nourishment required by many growing and active dogs. Because of the single protein nature of the food, the company also recommends it for dogs with sensitivities, especially sensitivities to poultry.
Lamb
New Zealand is famous for its lamb, so it only makes sense that Ziwi has a lamb formula as well. Utilizing only locally grown, free range, grass fed lamb, this is another excellent choice for food sensitivities thanks to the fact that it makes use of just a single protein. As an added benefit, however, the company says that this formula also helps to improve skin and coat health, keeping your pup not only feeling good but looking good as well.
Tripe and Lamb
Building upon the penchant for lamb that New Zealand is known for, the Lamb and Tripe formula combines a classic with a rather unusual protein source for many American customers. The tripe, which also comes from lamb, is promised to be “kept in its most natural form possible and never scalded, steamed or bleached,” so that it “retains beneficial minerals, enzymes, and probiotics” and provides the maximum health benefit to your pup.
Like the Venison formula, the Lamb and Tripe is also touted to help alleviate the symptoms of IBS and IBD, and the company says that it makes a great choice for picky dogs who might not be so quick to eat more traditional proteins.
Wet Dog Food Product Line
Original
Like their dry dog food line, canned food is also inspired by New Zealand’s rich landscape. Wet recipe formulas include similar tastes as Ziwi dry dog food:
- Mackerel and Lamb
- Venison
- Free-Range Chicken
- Beef
Provenance
This is a special premium line of dog food combining wild animal protein sourced from different New Zealand regions. For example, East Cape Recipe for Dogs includes ingredients like free-range and grass-fed mutton and goat, along with a blend of wild-caught and whole fish – kahawai, white trevally, and blue mackerel. There are two more available recipes: Ziwi Hauraki Plains and Ziwi Otago Valley.
Provenance wet dog food recipes have limited availability depending on the market.
Ziwi Dog Food Recall History
To this date, Ziwi has never been recalled. The company operates from 2015. producing high-quality premium pet food and is available on 19 different markets globally. This is expected from a premium dog food brand.
Where to Buy
Ziwi is still working on making inroads into the American market, and as such might not be found everywhere. Most of the larger chain retailers still don’t carry the product, however, it is available at smaller independent stores across the country. The company website provides potential buyers with a helpful store locator, so that interested pet parents can find out where they can get the product near them without having to call every store in the region.
Ziwi can also be purchased from a number of online retailers, such as Chewy, Jet, and Amazon, and can also be ordered directly from the company website, allowing even customers in areas that might not typically see Ziwi products to get bags delivered straight to their door.
We just started feeding our maltipoo the lamb/mackerel air dried food and so far she loves it. Sometimes she tires of food but we will see if the love of the food lasts. We also bought a can of the Ziwi chicken and one of the lamb to try since she is used to the Fromm wet. Since she is less than 14 lbs, the cost is not an issue.
I love the thought of ziwi and the ingredients however, I don’t think its an alternative for my Rottweiler. 30 lb. bags don’t last long. I’m a fan of Bil-Jac. Its made at low temperature like ziwi, the bag states 25lb. of fresh chicken used to make this 30 lb. bag of food. I don’t think I’ve seen that on any other food. I lived in Medina county Ohio when I got my first Rotty so I guess I’m just lucky that Bil-Jac is from Medina. I think it’s as good as Ziwi and about 20% of the cost.Try their challenge and see for yourself. Your dog will thank you.
We are loving ZiwiPeak for my 9 year old dog for the last few months. She gets this and Dr.Harvey’s. One caveat – be careful ordering this from Amazon. I ordered a 2.2lb bag and it was moldy. Went back and read the reviews on Amazon and there were many complaints – wish I had read that beforehand. I have not had any trouble with quality ordering anywhere else, though. I contacted ZiwiPeak about this and much to my surprise they were pretty crummy about it, denying there is a problem, even though I supplied screen shots of the bad reviews. I had read great stories about their customer service and was let down. Scares me that they don’t seem to care about the apparent distribution/storage problem.
Hi Barbara! I have a question for you, I to am feeding ZIWI Peak to my English Bulldog pup and Love it, I also fed it to my Last Rottweiler as well and she did amazingly well on it. My question is that I read you use Dr Harveys along with it, Could you tell me if it is the Paradigm formula you are using with it? I want to do the same with my Bulldog but not quite sure how I can add it in with the ziwi peak & figuring out the details of calories, protein and carb intake mixing the two together. BTW I to also had the same issue ordering Ziwi Peak from Amazon, It’s sad that Ziwi Peak wasn’t nicer when you asked them about the situation. I think a lot of food and supplements sit on the shelfs at amazon for a period of time and are not the freshest. I have the same problem with liquid Supplements I have bought for my dog and they show up old and not fresh even though the expiration dates are still good on them it’s so frustrating. Thank you for taking time out to read my message I greatly appreciate any and all information you can provide. Have a Beautiful Day and a Fabulous Weekend!
my Location is in Hong Kong or mainland china , where to order ?
My 3 Chi’s LOVE it. They tired of the ZIWI chicken because it take a little over a month for them to eat 2.5 kilos of the small portions, so I switched to lamb and it was like feeding them treats. My elder boy was losing hair on his chest and it’s coming back. I had read that it is the grain that causes their eyes to weep the dark stains, so I searched for grain free dog food and ZIWI was the only one. READ labels carefully. The stains are going. They are shiny and happy and I’m thrilled with ZIWI.
My 2 small Chihuahuas absolutely love Ziwi lamb. The smaller, 7 lb, would only eat cooked people food until I spoke to a lady at an animal supply. She gave me Ziwi and Instinct freeze dried raw. My littlest chi loved both but mostly Ziwi. I use both with some Nutro lamb kibble. If they get bored I top with a little cooked meat. But Ziwi has been a time saver coz I don’t have to cook so much for the dogs and easier to travel with.
Also, I bought coffee beans through Amazon and the use by date had passed. And too many things through Amazon from China have been cheap, broken, and unsafe for pups and babies.