I’ve fed my Dachshunds Darwin’s Raw Dog Food on and off for years.
I feel it’s top quality, I really like that I can have it delivered, company relies here in Western Washington so I can be ok with supporting a small, local company.
In this text, I share my experience with the Darwin’s raw food regimen to assist folks that could also be considering it for his or her dog.
About Darwin’s Raw Dog Food
Darwin’s Raw Dog Food is produced from high-quality, human-grade meats and vegetables.
Darwin’s raw meal formula is:
- 75% meat
- 25% vegetables
- Gluten-free & grain-free
- Freed from steroids, hormones, and antibiotics
- A nutritionally balanced complete meal
- High in protein, moderate in fats, and low in carbohydrates
With that being said, there are three different meal types available on their website.
Darwin’s Natural Selections™
Darwin’s Natural Selections™ is their premium recipe line of raw pet food produced from cage free (free-roaming), pasture raised, or grass fed (depending on the proteins) meats and organic vegetables.
Darwin’s BioLogics™
Darwin’s BioLogics is their value line.
It uses the identical complete and balanced formula as Natural Selections, however the formula is produced from fresh, conventionally-raised and grown meats and vegetables.
Although the meats will not be free range or grass fed, they’re still hormone and steroid-free.
The vegetables used are from the identical farms that offer supermarkets.
Darwin’s Intelligent Design™
For dogs with special needs, in addition they have an Intelligent Design™ line (available by prescription only) which incorporates a kidney, liver, cancer, and joint & musculoskeletal support formulas.
From what I can tell on their website, this food relies on the Natural Selections formulation, but could have less of 1 ingredient, or a further one, to handle specific health issues.
What Makes Darwin’s Raw Dog Food Different?
Darwin’s raw pet food was considered one of the primary that I heard of and definitely the primary I used to be aware of that delivered.
Today, there are lots of raw dog foods available on the market and no less than a dozen of corporations that may deliver the food on to you.
So what makes Darwin’s stand out to me?
- Gary, the corporate’s founder, began in his own kitchen making raw food to handle his own dog’s health issues. He refined his formulation through years of experience.
- Darwin’s offers a free menu consultation (for each latest and existing customers) for those who will not be sure what or how much to feed your dog.
- You possibly can place an introductory 10 lb order for $14.95 to check out the food before fully committing to a subscription.
- Shipping is free for orders which can be 20 or more kilos, except to Hawaii and Alaska. Orders under this amount are charged a $10.00 flat rate shipping fee.
My Experience With Darwin’s Raw Dog Food
I attempted Darwin’s for the primary time around 2014. I signed up with their introductory offer for brand new customers, but went back to getting my Dachshund’s frozen raw pet food in person from the pet store after almost a 12 months.
Nonetheless, after trying several different brands of raw pet food, I got here back to Darwin’s.
Note: Should you’ve been following us I prefer to rotate dog’s food commonly.
To at the present time, Darwin’s food continues to be considered one of the raw foods in our rotation.
My favorite times to make use of Darwin’s food are:
- When I would like to feed a raw meal without adding organs and vegetables myself
- In a Kong or on a lick mat in order that I do know my dogs will go nuts and so they are getting balanced nutrition as a substitute of junk food
- After I get bored with having to run to the pet store all the time
The food is available in individual pouches. I neither like or dislike this.
The most important plus for Darwin’s is that the pouches are easy to open, even with wet hands.
I don’t use one full pouch, even to feed two miniature Dachshunds one meal, so there’s at all times a partially opened pouch within the refrigerator.
It might be nice if there was an choice to buy a bulk container so less packaging is used, but the person pouches help prevent the food from being contaminated by bacteria, so I’m not positive I would really like one big container.
Shipments have at all times arrived in a timely manner, without damage, and the food was still frozen.
Have There Been Any Recalls for Darwin’s Raw Dog Food?
Should you don’t learn about them already, in some unspecified time in the future, you will likely discover that there have been voluntary recalls of Darwin’s raw food, and a pair Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warnings, previously.
Darwin’s pet food is monitored for potentially unsafe bacteria each by the corporate and by the FDA.
The FDA maintains a zero-tolerance policy which disallows any presence of Salmonella, even in quantities too low to cause harm to either humans or pets, in pet food.
In line with my knowledge and DogFoodAdvisor, that is the recall history.
2017 – voluntary recall by Darwin’s in consequence of internal testing that detected potential Salmonella contamination. No pet illnesses were reported to the corporate.
2018 – voluntary recall by Darwin’s in consequence of internal testing that detected potential Salmonella contamination in a single case of pet food. No pet illnesses were reported to the corporate.
2018 – voluntary recall by Darwin’s in consequence of internal testing that detected potential Salmonella and/or E. Coli contamination. No pet illnesses were reported to the corporate.
2019 – the FDA issued a public warning after testing indicated Salmonella contamination. No pet illnesses were reported to the corporate.
Necessary note: Darwin’s had already contacted customers who indicated the food had already been consumed with no issues. The FDA issued the warning after Darwin’s refused to show over private customer data.
2023 – the FDA issued a public warning after testing indicated Salmonella contamination. No pet illnesses were reported to the corporate.
You possibly can read the official statement by Darwin’s made after probably the most recent FDA warning HERE.
I feel it’s relevant to say a few points here:
- The digestive system of most dogs is in a position to process pathogens comparable to Salmonella or E. coli without harm, unless they’re already unwell with another condition.
- Likewise, humans are typically unaffected by low levels of bacterial contamination unless they’ve an underlying health issue or compromised immune system.
- Recalls will not be something that only happens with raw food. Voluntary recalls have been made on all types of food previously – kibble, canned, and raw.
Personally, I’m zero fearful about these voluntary recalls and warnings.
The truth is, voluntary recalls tell me that they company is monitoring their food for safety and at all times erring on the side of caution.
Neither my dogs or I actually have significant health issues or compromised immune systems though.
Disclosure: I really like Darwin’s Raw Dog Food and buy it myself. Nonetheless, they’ve sent me a pair shipments previously without charge in exchange for sharing my thoughts with you.