The raw diet is all the rage in dog communities now, and Primal Pet Foods is one of the most popular brands on the market. In today’s article, we analyze the Primal raw diet, their food ingredients, and give our honest opinions on their products. Here is our Primal Raw dog food review.
Overview of Primal Pet Foods
Primal Pet Foods was founded in 2000 by Matt Koss and his dog, Luna, who was showing early signs of renal failure. They tried many different ways to help her, and eventually found success with a diet based on bones and raw food.
Not only did Luna’s symptoms improve, but her appetite and overall happiness improved as well.
Using Matt’s food specifically created for Luna, he created Primal Pet Foods to help owners see the power behind a raw food diet and help them to give their pets a happier and healthier life.
Since then, the recipe has been refined and focused on improving health through what they call “species appropriate nutrition.” They use hormone-free proteins, organic produce and natural vitamins and minerals in all of their products.
Pros and Cons of Primal Raw Dog Food
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| High in protein | Must be hydrated before feeding |
| Uses cage-free chicken and grass-fed beef | Pronto food is more expensive than standard dog food |
| Organic ingredients | |
| Grain-free products | |
| No additives or fillers |
Our Primal Raw Dog Food Review
Primal Raw Freeze-Dried Nuggets
Their nuggets are by far their most popular (and best in my opinion) items they offer.
These little poppers work great for growing dogs that seem to never stop eating. They also work perfectly for any dogs that aren’t getting enough protein in their standard diet.
All you do is crumble one of the nuggets into a bowl, add some water, broth or milk, then mix it up and serve it.
The nuggets are only about 1/4 ounce before hydrating and just under 1oz after adding liquid, so they’re not very big. But the nuggets are meant to supplement and not replace their dog food, the small size of nuggets works perfectly.
At first glance, the ingredients list looks long, but surprisingly, all the ingredients add value to the food.
The first ingredient in all their flavors is the meat itself and often ground bones. The next ingredients are usually some mixture of organic apple cider vinegar, organic coconut oil, organic pumpkin seeds, organic sunflower seeds, fish oil, organic ground alfalfa, and dried organic kelp.
By their ingredients list, it does seem that they’re living up to their claim of being a “wholesome raw food diet.” The meat and bones provides the protein while these other ingredients fill in all the gaps with additional vitamins and anti-inflammatory foods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids.
Their most popular flavor is the beef formula, and that is a great option. My personal favorite is the venison because it has the highest protein % of all their flavors (57% in venison vs. 46% in beef). The venison is a little more expensive than the beef, but to me, it’s worth it.
Their other flavors are:
Chicken
Duck
Lamb
Pork
Rabbit
Turkey & Sardine
All of the nuggets can be stored in a cabinet or other cool, dry place. If you’d prefer a frozen treat, they also have Primal Raw Frozen nuggets available on their website.
Primal Raw Freeze-Dried Food Topper
The nuggets are meant to be eaten by themselves, but their toppers serve as a sort of sauce for their standard dog food. Just plop it right on top of their kibble for an additional food supplement.
For those that are considering switching their pups onto a raw diet, the Primal Raw Toppers are great for the transition period.
They seem to follow the same healthy theme with the toppers and use quality ingredients. The beef topper ingredients include:
Beef
Beef liver
Organic sweet potato
Organic kale
Organic egg shell
Organic cranberries
Organic turmeric
Organic ginger
Organic rosemary
Additional probiotics
While the crude protein % might seem low (39%), it’s actually in the higher range of protein for food toppers on the market. Plus, all of the organic fruits and vegetables give you plenty of vitamins and nutrients you are unlikely to find in standard kibble.
But this next part has to be said.
While I do like the beef and chicken recipes, I do not recommend the fish recipe unless you want your whole house to smell like fish. The ingredients are good, but as soon as I opened that package, the fish smell hit me like a brick wall. No, thank you.
It has decent reviews, so some people don’t seem to mind it. The fish recipe is definitely not for me though.
Primal Raw Pronto Dog Food
Primal’s Freeze-Dried Raw Pronto food seems to be one of their least popular product lines, but it’s not for a lack of quality.
Primal Pet Foods continues its theme of healthy and organic ingredients with a high protein base (39% guaranteed for the chicken recipe), and all dogs seem to love it.
My guess is that the “hydration” stage of preparing the food is too inconvenient for owners. When you’re mixing 1/2oz of water in a nugget, that doesn’t take much effort. When you try to mix 1/3 cup into 1 cup of food, it takes much longer.
For instance, it took me roughly 3-5 mins of stirring and mixing to get my dog’s food prepared. It would’ve been much easier to just pour it out without adding any water.
Their Pronto dog food is also more expensive than many other dog food brands.
Other Primal Pet Foods Products
Outside of their most popular products, Primal Pet Foods also offers:
Treats – their treat selection includes fruit and vegetable-based freeze-dried treats with goat milk, meaty treats, and treats made with bone broth.
Hydrators and Fresh Toppers – Primal offers 4 bone broth selections, 5 goat milk flavors, and 3 fresh food toppers.
Bones & Chews – they have beef and buffalo bones as well as moose, elk and stag antlers for your pup to chew on.
Primal Pet Foods FAQs
Primal Pet Foods was founded in 2000 to deliver a more species-specific diet to pets that can help them be happier and healthier.
Primal Raw dog food is completely safe for dogs to eat. Dogs evolved to eat raw meat. Their raw frozen foods are packaged and shipped frozen, so there is no risk of contamination. The freeze-dried foods remove any moisture in the food and they are sealed dry, so bacteria and mold cannot grow on them.
Primal Pet foods has dozens of products with varying ingredients. As an example, the ingredients for the Primal Raw Freeze-Dried Beef Nuggets are as follows: Beef Hearts, Beef Livers, Ground Beef Bones, Organic Carrots, Organic Squash, Organic Kale, Organic Apples, Organic Broccoli, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Organic Blueberries, Organic Cranberries, Organic Parsley, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Montmorillonite Clay, Fish Oil, Organic Rosemary Extract, Organic Quinoa, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Ground Alfalfa, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Dried Organic Kelp.
Yes! Primal Pet Foods uses a high protein base and organic ingredients in their foods to mimic a natural diet that is most appropriate for the canine species.
In 2022, Primal Pet Foods voluntarily recalled a single lot of Raw Frozen Patties. There were no claims of illness in pets or humans due to this recalled product. All other products and lots outside of this single one (#W10068709) were unaffected.
Conclusion – Is Primal Raw Dog Food Worth It?
The Primal Raw Nuggets and the Primal Raw Dog Food Toppers are absolutely worth it. These diet supplements add much needed protein and vitamins to a dog’s diet. Their Pronto dog food is still an extremely high quality, but the high price takes it down a smidge.
Check out our Raw Paws pet food review to compare.
How we reviewed Primal Dog Food
We are dedicated to providing the most accurate, unbiased information on latest industry trends and reviewing reputable products and services.
Dog food products are reviewed based on ingredient quality, nutritional value, flavor, variety, company reputation and price.
We conduct extensive research, analyzing pros and cons, competitors, quality of service, user feedback, and more. We frequently review our articles for factual accuracy and ensure our analysis is up-to-date.
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