Small batch dog food ongoing out back in 2003 in the California Bay area. In the beginning, the couple who own the business personally brought their homemade pet food door-to-door to their customers by bicycle now that’s obligation. Their produces were so well established those small batches have since grown into a regional business that works with over 400 retailers and grosses over $3 million a year. All the meat from their food is free-range and antibiotic- and hormone-free. They only usage 100% organic fruits and veggies, and their formulas don’t comprise any non-natural supplements.
The track down of small batch pet food constituents already separates this company from the bunch, but they hardly break there. They give those all-natural goodies all the affection they can by:
Not separating meat mechanically
Not using high-pressure pasteurization (HPP) techniques
Only using natural supplements, such as organic bee pollen and organic kelp
Not using any food fillers, additives, artificial colors, and preservatives
Freezing and freeze-drying their raw food
Small batch dog food is accessible in the form of frozen, freeze-dried, or lightly cooked sliders or patties, and they also suggestion meat-only and meat veg chubs. They have several treat options, too jerky, frozen bites, frozen hearts, and marrow bones.
As for senses, meats are always the foremost components, followed by veggies, herbs, and fruit. They base their formularies on these meats:
Chicken
Beef
Turkey
Lamb
Duck
Rabbit
Pork
Many recipes comprise veggies like yams, carrots, broccoli, kale, and squash. Particular of their formulas may perhaps comprise fruits, such as cranberries and apples, and not quite all of them have salmon oil and sweet-smelling herbs, such as basil and rosemary.
Small batch Dog Food
Dog Frozen Raw
Chicken batch
Turkey batch
Beef batch
Duck batch
Lamb batch
Rabbit batch
Pork batch
Dog Freeze-Dried
Chicken freeze-dried
Beef freeze-dried
Turkey freeze-dried
Duck freeze-dried
Lamb freeze-dried
Pork freeze-dried
Dog Lightly Cooked
Chicken batch
Beef batch
Turkeybatch
Small batch Blends
Meat only
Meat & veggie
Treats
Freeze-dried bites
Freeze-dried hearts
Jerky
Bones
Our Evaluation Process
To be without a glitch honest, we liked what small batch articulates about their pet-food-making practices, but we were unwilling to take their word for it. So we had to checker whether their entitlements were too good to be true.
Proper dog nourishment has to be made from named components, not slaughterhouse by-products, and it has to contain vitamin- and mineral-packed fruits and veggies, as an alternative of fillers like corn and iceberg lettuce cores. Since all of small batch dog food meets those terms, we relied on the sophisticated palates of our and our readers’ doggos to assistance us regulate which recipes would make the final cut.
Afterwards the five-month period, it was clear which recipes took the win in every one category presented below. Subsequently you read through our small batch dog food assessments, dig into all the details of our research.
| Categories | Alpha Paw Picks | Rating |
| Best small batch Raw Dog Food | Frozen Turkeybatch | 5 |
| Runner-Up | Freeze-Dried Duck batch | 5 |
| Best for Sensitive Tummies | Lightly Cooked Chicken batch | 4.9 |
| Best Treat | Beef Jerky | 4.8 |
Even though we received only positive reviews about all flavors from the small batch Frozen Raw Dog Food product line, turkey give the impression to take the win. Furthermost dog parents opted for this recipe because turkey is an ideal choice for allergy-prone doggos.
Frozen raw dog food is accessible in three portion sizes:
Sliders (3lb)
Small bites (4lb)
Patties (6lb), which also come in 18lb bulk boxes
The turkey batch formula is prepared from 88% humanely grown turkey. It makes usage of turkey meat, necks, backs, and numerous organs, all of which make sure the mixture has an ideal protein-fat ratio. The bony bits, such as the bird’s necks and backs, are rich in calcium, which is the nutrient that is generally scarce in raw dog diets.
The recipe also has enough vitamins and minerals, all of which originate from organic veggies cauliflower, celery, squash, and green beans and natural complements, namely salmon oil, organic kelp, and organic bee pollen. This formula doesn’t use any root vegetables, such as potatoes, which are every single so every so often well-organized to be too rich in carbs for dogs to put away and are frequently dubbed as filler components.
Guaranteed Analysis
Moisture (max) 73.4%
Crude Protein (min) 16.2%
Crude Fat (min) 5.9%
Crude Fiber (max) 0.5%
Ash (max) 2.4%
Calcium (min) 0.7%
Phosphorus (min) 0.5%
Calories
Approx. 36 kcal per slider
Approx. 291 kcal per patty
Components:
88% humanely raised and harvested turkey, 10% organic produce, 2% natural supplements: turkey, turkey necks, turkey backs, turkey livers, turkey hearts, turkey gizzards, organic squash, organic celery, organic cauliflower, organic green beans, salmon oil, organic bok choy, organic apple cider vinegar, organic kelp, organic dandelion, organic cilantro, organic bee pollen, organic wheat grass, organic bilberry, organic garlic, organic thyme, organic oregano.
Runner-Up: Freeze-Dried Duck batch:
Small batch freeze-dried goodies have undistinguishable formulas as their frozen dog foods, apart from that these are supplementary convenient to usage even though wandering or as snacks and treats. All you need to do is pour half a cup of water over the sliders, a scrumptious meal for doggo is ready.
The foremost component in the recipe we liked the most from this line is duck, which is well thought-out a novel meat source in dog nutrition. Novel meats are praised for being tasty, hypoallergenic, easy to digest, and protein-packed.
The duck batch formula is completed from a selection of organic veggies, aromatic thyme and oregano, and various parts of the bird, as well as bones, gizzards, hearts, and livers. Just like chicken and turkey, duck is classified as poultry, but you needn’t fear the bones as they are perfectly safe for pooch to consume when raw.
Reconstituted Analysis / As Fed
Moisture (max) 8.1%
Crude Protein (min) 59.5%
Crude Fat (min) 27.6%
Crude Fiber (max) 1.7%
Calcium (min) 3.3%
Phosphorus (min) 2.1%
Calories 56 kcal per slider
Components:
88% humanely raised and harvested duck, 10% organic produce, 2% natural supplements: duck including bones, duck gizzards, duck hearts, duck livers, organic squash, organic celery, organic cauliflower, organic green beans, organic bok choy, salmon oil, organic dandelion, organic apple cider vinegar, organic kelp, organic cilantro, organic bee pollen, organic wheat grass, organic bilberry, organic garlic, organic thyme, organic oregano.
Best for Sensitive Tummies: Lightly Cooked Chicken batch:
Even though small batch are strong advocates of a raw cat and dog diet, they do suggestion their most popular formulas in a lightly cooked version, too. The quality and source of the components are the same, except that this time from one place to another, they are cooked sous vide for coarsely five minutes. This accomplishes pasteurization and makes the food gentler on sensitive tummies.
Guaranteed Analysis
Moisture (max) 74.1%
Crude Protein (min) 14.6%
Crude Fat (min) 4.7%
Crude Fiber (max) 0.5%
Calories Approx. 43 kcal per slider
Bone Grind Size ⅛ inch
Components:
85% humanely raised and harvested chicken, 13% organic produce, 2% natural supplements: chicken neck, chicken gizzard, chicken back, organic carrots, chicken liver, chicken heart, organic yams, organic broccoli, organic zucchini, salmon oil, organic kale, organic collards, organic parsley, organic bee pollen, organic garlic, organic bilberry, organic wheat grass, organic basil, organic rosemary, vitamin e, zinc glycinate, copper glycinate, manganese glycinate.
Best Treat: Beef Jerky
Small batch Beef Jerky is a delicious treat or snack for any doggo, irrespective of their stage of life. All their jerkies are made of a single component in this case, beef heart coming from humanely raised and grass-fed cattle. The recipe doesn’t take in glycerin, salt, grains, or any other filler.
This formula is fantastic because beef is a rich source of high-quality protein that provisions pup’s muscles and gives them energy. Beef hearts are slenderness in their own right they are loaded with essential amino acids, iron, selenium, phosphorus, and zink. In case your pooch is allergic to beef, smallbatch jerky is also available in other flavors:
Chicken
Turkey
Pork
Guaranteed Analysis
Moisture (max) 15%
Crude Protein (min) 70%
Crude Fat (min) 10%
Crude Fiber (max) 1%
Ingredients
100% beef heart.
Small batch Dog Food Recall History:
small batch had only two product recalls one in 2016 and one in 2017, both of which they give out gladly. The 2016 recall involved one lot of Frozen Dog Duck batch sliders since it was suspected that that batch was dirtied with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.
What We Enjoyed the Maximum About smallbatch Dog Food:
Best features of small batch dog food are following
Sourcing of ingredients: All their foodstuffs contain humanely raised and harvested meat and organic fruit, herbs, and veggies.
Manufacturing processes: They no longer use HPP, a process that lowers the nutrient value of food, and they don’t distinct meat from bones mechanically, which worth that by-products can’t find their way into their formulas.
Support of local foods and businesses: All the components they use derived from local farms and people they know generally the only product that is not U.S.-grown is biological kelp, which they import from Iceland. All small batch products are sold only by local retailers.
Transparency: All components and their origin are displayed publicly on their website, and anyone who would like to know supplementary about small batch can get in touch with them via email or phone.
Drawbacks of small batch Dog Food:
Even though we were quite impressed with this raw pet food brand, there is also room for development. Here is what we didn’t like:
The delivery possibly will be late: company’s products are in high demand, and they acknowledge that delays in delivery are possible.
Garlic: Some of their formulas contain organic garlic. It is listed fairly down on the component list, which means it is found in small quantities, but the fact remainders that this component is toxic for dogs.
Dangers of raw food: company claims that raw is the way to go, but the fact remains that there is not enough research to back up their claims. Even though our pooches are relatively resilient to raw food contaminants, we are not, and we risk our health every time we pick up their poop, pet them, or cuddle with them.
