Just Food For Dogs review

If you've had the chance to read my recent review of my dogs' obsession with Nom Nom, you'll know that I am the proud pet parent to Lucy and Poppy. My journey to move away from kibbles and venture into fresh-made food started when Lucy began having dental issues. After losing most of her teeth, I went on a search to find her healthy alternatives that were nutritionally complete while also being gentle on her remaining teeth. I tried everything from wet canned foods, frozen meals in the freezer section, cooking from scratch at home and then came across fresh made dog food delivered to my doorstep.

Lucy, my chihuahua and yorkie mix, is as easy as it gets. She eats pretty much anything and everything you give to her. On the other hand, Poppy, my maltipoo, is probably the pickiest dog on the entire Earth. She sniffs out everything and if it doesn't smell to her liking, well, she turns her head and walks the other way— she would rather starve, and I'm not kidding." So finding the perfect fresh food for Lucy meant that Poppy had to like it too, or it was a no go. Hence, we've had many more fails than wins. In our quest to find our favorite food over the past year, we've tried many brands including Just Food For Dogs. 

Just Food For Dogs is a fresh food brand that we actually tried out exactly one year ago, but because of Poppy's pickiness towards the fish and sweet potato recipe, we stopped buying it. Well, over that course of the year trying out different foods and brands, we realized that Poppy hates all fish recipes, so we are giving Just Food For Dogs another try.

What is Just Food For Dogs?

Just Food For Dogs is exactly what the name says, food for dogs—but even better, it's food that's made fresh. There's something to be said about fresh food, both from a nutritional standpoint and taste for your dog. Additionally, if convenience is a big thing for you, whether it's getting it delivered straight to your door, shipped at your convenience, or even picked up at a local store, Just Food For Dogs may be a perfect fit for you and your pooch.

So let's get down to the nitty gritty.  After you choose your recipe, you can click on the "Feeding Calculator" to see how much food you need to purchase. First, you enter your dog's name, your name, your email address. Then, you select your dog's breed, sex, whether or not they've been neutered or spayed, birth month and year, their weight in pounds, body type (skinny, just right, a little husky, chubby), activity level (normal, high), their current food (kibbles, wet food, fresh frozen, etc.), and if they get treats. Once you enter all of your dog's information, you can "View Vet Recommended Results" by clicking "View Results."

The results take you back to your recipe page with your dog's recommended amount and a cost breakdown. Since I entered Lucy's info, the results showed that it would cost $2.25 per day for Lucy ($72.03 per month), and she would need a small box, lasting her 32 days. The small box contains seven 18-ounce packages, so she would be consuming about 3.9 ounces or a little more than a quarter of a package per day.

Then, you choose your box (small, medium, or large)—you can either do a one-time purchase or autoship with your preferred schedule (every 1-8 weeks). If you decide on autoship, you can save 40% off your first order and 5% off any subsequent recurring autoship orders.

After you choose a one-time or autoship purchase, you will be taken to the checkout page. There, you will be prompted to create an account if you don't have one, enter your shipping address, your payment info, and it will indicate that the shipping time will take between 3 to 5 business days. Click on "Place Order" and just wait for your food to appear at your doorstep (or you can choose to pick it up in store).

What kind of dog food does Just Food For Dogs sell?

Just Food For Dogs sells fresh dog food that's human grade and made from whole food ingredients— absolutely no preservatives. Basically, your dog's food is made with the same ingredients you would find in a restaurant or a grocery store. Additionally, as the number one vet recommended fresh dog food (according to the brand), the recipes are developed by vets and backed by research. They claim their food is more digestible and boosts immune health in dogs.

The food is freshly cooked for maximum nutrient absorption and if you're lucky enough to be in California, you can see the food being made at one of their open-to-the-public storefront kitchens in California. If you're not local to California, rest assured, the food is still freshly made at either the Irvine, California or New Castle, Delaware kitchens. 

When it comes to recipe selection, Just Food For Dogs has just about everything you can imagine, even for your vegan pooch. A combination of fresh whole food ingredients including different kinds of proteins, veggies, fruits, and grains are used. You can skim through the ingredients list to see which recipe may be a good fit for your pup. For mine, I know they hate fish and I also thought they both hated pork, but I was wrong—they licked up *every bit* of pork from the Joint and Skin Support recipe. 

If you're unsure, you can try out the sampler variety pack which comes with six different recipes (Chicken and White Rice, Fish and Sweet Potato, Turkey and Whole Wheat, Beef and Russet Potato, Lamb and Brown Rice, and Venison and Squash) and decide which one your dog likes best. Plus, every recipe includes fish oil and Just Food For Dogs nutrient blend (multi-vitamin and mineral blend) for a well balanced diet. 

If your dog has a health condition or is on a vegan diet, there are recipes to meet those needs too, such as the Balance Remedy, Joint and Skin Support, Sensitive Skin and Stomach Variety Pack, Large Breed Support, and Tofu and Quinoa recipes. 

You can also choose between frozen or pantry fresh food. The choices are endless, but if none of the recipes work for your dog, you can also create a custom diet with a nutrition consultant for a one-time formulation fee—there's something for every dog.

If you want treats, supplements, and even cat food, Just Food For Dogs has that too. From Do-It-Yourself Nutrient Blends so that you can cook your meals at home, supplements like Omega Plus and Joint Care (plus more), treats in many flavors and even fresh food (and treats) for your cat.

What I loved about Just Food For Dogs

The plethora of choices

When you have a picky dog like Poppy, having a lot of choices makes all the difference. Just Food For Dogs is everything a picky pet parent can ask for. From a variety of protein choices (beef, turkey, chicken, fish, lamb, venison, tofu) to special recipes to support dogs with different issues (gastrointestinal, joint, skin, renal, hepatic, metabolic, plus more) and custom diet formulations for dogs with specific needs, Just Food For Dogs pretty much covers it all. For me, having a variety of options is a big deal because, like I said, I have a picky eater named Poppy. 

An option to customize your pet's food

When you have a dog with specific needs, whether it's an underlying condition or allergies, the foods on the market may not be right for your pooch. In many cases, you'll have to cook fresh meals for your dog in your own kitchen—which can be great if you have the time and a nutrition plan to guide you. The truth is: it's extremely time consuming and super costly. 

Just Food For Dogs allows you to customize your dog's diet by scheduling a free consultation with a nutrition consultant to go over the process of customizing a diet, as well as a formulation fee (lower than most formulation fees) to start the process. Once the formulation fee is submitted, a certified veterinary formulator will go over a list of recommendations with you. For any dogs on a restricted diet for a medical need, the veterinary team will work with your vet to create a custom recipe. After your formulation is complete, you can expect to see your dog's custom recipe at your door every month.

The price is right

Just Food For Dogs is passionate about making fresh dog food affordable with its mission-based pricing. According to the website, on average, it is 30% more affordable than other fresh food brands. The lower prices allows for as many dogs to have access to fresh food that's made with whole food ingredients—including rescue dogs (Just Food For Dogs donates to rescues).

As someone who has tried multiple fresh food brands, I can say that Just Food For Dogs is by far the cheapest. To give you perspective, the lowest I've paid is around $20 a week per dog and the highest I paid is around $32 per week per dog. With Just Food For Dogs, it costs around $15.75 per week for Lucy and around $9.45 per week for Poppy (costs can vary between recipes)—that's significantly lower for both dogs combined.

After seeing how Lucy and Poppy ate up every little pebble of food off their bowls, I purchased another month for both dogs. The price is better than any brand I've tried thus far and clearly the dogs love it—especially Poppy.

The convenience is second to none

If you're like me, convenience is sometimes more important than the price—as long as the price isn't outrageous. Just Food For Dogs is not only available for delivery, you can choose to pick up (or delivered via Door Dash) at one of their open-to-the-public kitchens in California or even better, from Petco or Petfood Express (for delivery or in-store pickup). Oh...and if you are an Amazon shopper, well, you can shop for your Just Food For Dogs fresh food there too. Getting your Just Food For Dogs fresh food is as easy as it gets wherever you live. The convenience is unbeatable.

What I didn't love about Just Food For Dogs

The dogs were still hungry

Poppy and Lucy both eat the recommended amount based on their activity level and weight, but they seemed to still be hungry. I'm not sure if they love the food so much, they want more, or if they are truly hungry. Lucy always wants more food so I have to look at Poppy as an indicator to determine if she and Lucy are both hungry—when Poppy is done with her food, she'll normally walk away.

Well after switching to Just Food For Dogs, she's been licking at her bowl after she's long finished. She also lingers around her bowl and looks at me with what I interpret as, "I'm still hungry" eyes. Lucy has also started licking the floor around her bowl while staring at me. At this point, it's hard to determine if they love it so much that they want more or if they are truly needing more food—only time will tell. 

There's no way to choose which recipes go into the variety packs

I'm definitely a fan of variety packs as you get to sample as many foods to determine what is right for your dog. Just Food For Dogs sampler variety pack comes with Chicken and White Rice, Fish and Sweet Potato, Turkey and Whole Wheat Macaroni, Beef and Russet Potato, Lamb and Brown Rice, and Venison and Squash.

Since I know Poppy hates anything fish, it would be nice to be able to substitute the Fish and Sweet Potato recipe for something else. Additionally, if my dog requires any dietary support, it would be nice to add the Balanced Remedy or the Joint and Skin Support for an added cost to try out. The variety packs are a nice option to have, but having the ability to customize them is even better.

What kind of research is Just Food For Dogs doing?

Just Food For Dogs recipes not only meet AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) standards, they exceed the testing requirements. AAFCO only requires four blood parameters for testing in six dogs over the course of six months, but Just Food For Dogs test the recipes over the course of a year in 30 dogs, and according to the website, they look "at complete blood counts (CBC) and full internal organ chemistry (CHEM) panels." 

Additionally, they refused to use "caged laboratory animals" in their feeding trials and instead, worked with two major universities to make "robust, yet more humane feeding trials." As a result, they have "the largest-scale humane feeding trial ever conducted by a pet food company at an independent university."

Through their research, data has shown the benefits of their recipes in "long-term feeding" while also promoting "healthy functioning of the immune system." In addition, as the only fresh whole food company to have done digestibility studies at a major university, they have found that their six daily diets is up to 40% more digestible than kibbles in similar studies.

What do vets think of Just Food For Dogs?

Just Food For Dogs' claims about dog nutrition makes it seem like a no-brainer to make the switch to fresh foods, but on the flip side, are these claims really true or are they exaggerated? 

According to Dr. Zonram Liao DVM of Wellnergy Pets, "In all transparency, I think their claims can be both true and exaggerated at the same time. While I believe their claims that a well balanced, veterinary nutritionist developed home-made diet can yield palpable benefits to a pet are well founded, I think their denouncement of commercial kibble as a terrible alternative is a bit exaggerated, as a well formulated veterinary nutritionist developed kibble can also yield good benefits for your pet as well. Always, the important thing is to avoid pet food companies that have not put in the research, or consulted with board certified veterinary nutritionists to develop healthy pet food formulations. You want to be careful with these unbalanced diets, as they can cause some serious issues in the long run."

I was also curious to know if Just Food For Dogs had all the nutrients needed for good health and Dr. Liao explains, "Yes, Just Food for Dogs' ingredients definitely meet the nutrients required to maintain good health for dogs. They actually not only have a full board certified veterinary specialists working for them, but has even worked with two major universities to create trials that have yielded research and data that showed not only were the recipes beneficial for long-term feeding, but they also promoted healthy functioning of the immune system in dogs. Research and data that has been substantial enough to be published in the Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition." 

Should you buy Just Food For Dogs?

Yes, if you want your dog on a healthy fresh food diet that's affordable, backed by research and convenient to find.

If you've been hesitant about switching to a fresh food diet because of costs or the lack of studies on fresh food diets, then Just Food For Dogs may be the match you've been searching for. The fresh food brand is not only affordable, it has years of studies to prove digestibility and immune health support. On top of that, the choices are endless with a variety of protein choices, special diets and even the option to customize your dog's diet.

The biggest selling point, aside from the extensive research and attractive prices, was the convenience. Not only can I buy the fresh food to be delivered to my doorstep, I have the option to pick it up at any open-to-the-public kitchens near me or grab a few packages by swinging by my nearest Petco or Petfood Express. Now if I'm feeling really busy or just super lazy, I can simply order it off my Amazon app while binge watching my favorite shows on Netflix.

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