In this article
Pet food has come a long way, with many brands, options, and ingredients claiming to be this or that. Pet food manufacturers go the extra mile with their marketing efforts, claiming their brand is complete, balanced, and wholesome for your dog. Sometimes, the options can get confusing, leaving you frustrated and unsure of what to feed.
All pet owners want the best for their four-legged friends, and that heavily involves feeding the utmost nutrition for a healthy life. With all the options for dog food, we have done some of the work for you and compared two brands: Dr. Marty Dog Food and The Farmer’s Dog. Both of these brands offer fresh ingredients with no fillers or artificial flavors. But how do you choose? Come with us and learn the comparisons between the two so that you can make the best decision that suits both your dog and you!
A Sneak Peek at the Winner: The Farmer’s Dog
When comparing the two brands, The Farmer’s Dog comes in as our winner. Here’s why: The Farmer’s Dog looks like human food, and it’s no wonder with the human-grade ingredients. Dr. Marty Pets and The Farmer’s Dog take different approaches to fresh, minimally processed nutrition. Dr. Marty’s Nature’s Blend is freeze-dried raw — gently freeze-dried at low temperatures to preserve raw nutrients, then shelf-stable until water is added. The Farmer’s Dog is a refrigerated fresh food sold in single-protein recipes (turkey, beef, chicken, or pork). Dr. Marty’s flagship Nature’s Blend recipe uses a multi-protein blend that includes turkey, beef, salmon, and duck, and the brand also offers five additional Nature’s Blend recipes — Premium Origin, Active Vitality, Small Breed, Healthy Growth (puppy), and Sensitivity Select — for different life stages and dietary needs.
| Rating | Image | Product | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Best Overall
|
|
The Farmer's Dog |
|
Click to Save 50% + Get Free Shipping |
Runner Up
|
|
Dr. Marty’s Nature’s Blend |
|
Check Price |
About Dr. Marty’s Dog Food
Dr. Martin Goldstein (Dr. Marty) is a renowned veterinarian who has been in practice for over 40 years. During that time frame, he’s learned a thing or two about dog and cat nutrition, and what he’s learned compelled him to formulate a healthy pet food with all the vital nutrients that dogs and cats need to thrive.
This food is not quite as expensive as its competitors, but it’s not cheap either. However, with quality ingredients and no fillers or artificial preservatives, this food may be worth the extra expense if you prefer a freeze-dried raw format over fresh refrigerated food.
How Is Dr. Marty’s Food Made?
Dr. Marty’s food is freeze-dried to preserve all the nutrients. The website does not give much information about where the food is made, but you can buy this food on multiple online sites and select retail stores. Their headquarters are located in Woodland Hills, California.
The freeze-dried method is designed to preserve raw nutrients, and if your dog does better on a shelf-stable freeze-dried raw food than a refrigerated fresh food, Dr. Marty’s could be the better option.
What Ingredients Are in Dr. Marty’s Natural Blend?
Instead of having multiple recipes to choose from, the Natural Blend recipe gives your dog a multitude of ingredients, including turkey, beef, salmon, duck, beef liver, turkey liver, turkey heart, flaxseed, sweet potato, apples, blueberries, carrots, pumpkin seed, and more.
How Is the Food Packaged?
Unlike The Farmer’s Dog, this food comes in a package that does not require refrigeration, nor does it need to be frozen. Feeding instructions are on the package, and it goes by your dog’s weight. All you do is pour the food into your dog’s bowl with water, let it sit for three minutes, and serve.
What if My Dog Doesn’t Like This Food?
If your dog does not like the food, Dr. Marty offers a 100% money-back guarantee within 90 days of purchase. However, you will need to send back any unused portions of the food.
- Vital ingredients rolled into one recipe
- No freezer or refrigeration required
- Affordable
- Easy to serve
- 100% money-back guarantee
- Pricier per ounce than conventional dog food
- Multi-protein blend in the flagship Nature’s Blend recipe
About The Farmer’s Dog
The Farmer’s Dog takes a different approach to their food. You won’t see any kibble here—only fresh, human-grade ingredients that look scrumptious to even humans. It all began with one co-owner’s dog, Jada.
Jada suffered from digestive issues, and her owner tried just about every food on the market with no improved results. His veterinarian recommended cooking for Jada at home with fresh ingredients, prompting The Farmer’s Dog owners to recruit board-certified veterinary nutritionists to help formulate the healthiest dog food possible. The rest is history.
This food is on the expensive side, but with the human-grade ingredients and complete and balanced meals, the price is worth the expense if it fits into your budget. You’ll also need to sign up for a subscription, but you can pause, cancel, or resume at any time.
How Is The Farmer’s Dog Food Made?
All food is prepared in USDA kitchens and adheres to AAFCO’s nutritional standards. The food is gently cooked at low temperatures to retain all the nutrients, and then it’s frozen (not deep-frozen) for shipment.
What Are the Ingredients in The Farmer’s Dog’s Food?
The Farmer’s Dog offers four different recipes: turkey, beef, chicken, and pork. All of them have similar ingredients, with some varying slightly. All recipes have USDA-certified meat as the first ingredient, followed by wholesome vegetables, vitamins, and minerals.
The company formulates a meal plan based on the information you enter about your dog, such as weight, age, breed, and activity level. However, in order to see the recipes they offer, you must enter your dog’s information. They then recommend which recipes will work best for your dog. All ingredients come from trusted local farms and reputable suppliers.
How Is the Food Packaged?
The food comes frozen. All you need to do is thaw and serve it. It comes pre-portioned, taking the guesswork out of how much to feed. The box comes with instructions on how to store and feed your pup, and you can add hot water if your doggie prefers hot food. The food may take up freezer and fridge space, but the easy serving offsets this mild inconvenience.
What if My Dog Doesn’t Like the Food?
In the chance your dog turns its nose up at the food, The Farmer’s Dog offers a 100% money-back guarantee, but with a twist: you must donate the unused food to an animal shelter of your choosing.
- Food is prepared in USDA kitchens
- Fresh, human-grade ingredients
- Pre-portioned packages
- Meets AAFCO’s nutritional standard
- 100% money-back guarantee
- May take up freezer and fridge space
- Expensive
- Subscription required
The Most Popular Dr. Marty Dog Food Recipes
As far as dog food recipes, Dr. Marty has only one, so let’s take a look at this recipe more in-depth.
1. Dr. Marty’s Nature’s Blend Essential Wellness
Dr. Marty’s Nature Blend consists of turkey, beef, salmon, and duck as the first four ingredients. Beef liver1 and turkey liver1 are the next listed ingredients, which are nutrient-dense and excellent to add to your dog’s diet for protein, vitamins, and minerals. This high-protein dog food provides more energy and helps promote healthy skin and coats. It’s loaded with fruits and vegetables, and it’s easily digested. It also has no fillers, additives, artificial flavors, or any synthetic ingredients.
This food only comes in a 16-ounce bag and is pricey for the size, especially if you have a large dog. Also, some pet parents have a hard time getting their dogs to eat the food. While the ingredients are superb, the most common complaint about this food is the price of the bag size. They do offer free shipping when you subscribe on the website, which helps with the cost a bit.
| Protein content: | 37% |
| Fat content: | 27% |
| Fiber: | 4% |
| Calories: | 256 kcal/cup |
- No additives, fillers, artificial flavors, or synthetic ingredients
- High in protein with raw meats
- Promotes healthy skin and coat
- Complete and balanced
- Free shipping for subscribers
- Only comes in a 16-ounce bag
- Expensive, especially for the bag size
The 3 Most Popular Farmer’s Dog Food Recipes
The Farmer’s Dog offers more variety in recipe options. Let us now examine three of these recipes up close.
1. The Farmer’s Dog Fresh Beef Recipe
The beef recipe has USDA beef as the first ingredient, and it’s packed with vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin B12, E, D3, and taurine1. It also contains beef liver, which provides excellent nutrition for dogs. It has a rich protein content of 11% and 721 calories per cup. The carrots, kale, and sweet potato provide excellent fiber sources, and all the quality ingredients make this food complete and balanced. It also has fish oil for healthy skin and coats.
It does contain lentils, which is a bit of a controversial ingredient due to the FDA’s ongoing investigation1 of whether or not lentils are linked to dilated cardiomyopathy1. This study has not yet been concluded.
- USDA beef is first ingredient
- Contains beef liver
- High protein content
- Contains plenty of vitamins and minerals
- Fish oil for healthy skin and coat
- Contains lentils
2. The Farmer’s Dog Fresh Chicken Recipe Dog Food
The Farmer’s Dog chicken recipe has USDA chicken as the first ingredient, and it also contains chicken liver, which is another excellent nutrition source. It has a slightly higher protein content than the beef recipe (11.5%), and it includes Brussels sprout, broccoli, and bok choy. It does have a higher fat content of 4.5%, but it also contains plenty of vitamins and minerals to keep your dog energized and healthy. The calorie content is 562 calories per cup, and dogs seem to love this recipe. It contains fish oil for healthy skin and coat.
If your dog has a chicken allergy, you’ll want to avoid the recipe. However, the company would not recommend it if you list in your dog’s information that it has a chicken allergy, which is a perk of using this company for your dog’s diet.
- Contains USDA as first ingredient
- Contains chicken liver
- High protein content
- Contains plenty of vitamins and minerals
- Fish oil for healthy skin and coat
- Contains chicken, a potential allergy for some dogs
- High-fat content
3. The Farmer’s Dog Fresh Turkey Recipe
The Farmer’s Dog turkey recipe has the same vitamins and minerals as the beef and chicken recipes, only with USDA turkey as the first ingredient. Turkey liver is among the ingredients, as well as fish oil for healthy skin and coat. Other ingredients include chickpeas, carrots, broccoli, parsnip, spinach, and fish oil. It has the lowest protein content of 8% compared to the other two recipes, a fat content of 4.5%, and a calorie content of 562 calories per cup.
The company may not suggest this recipe if your dog requires a higher protein content.
- USDA turkey is first ingredient
- Contains turkey liver
- Full of fiber
- Excellent sources of vitamins and minerals
- Lower protein content
Recall History of Brand Dr. Marty’s Food and The Farmer’s Dog
To date, neither Dr. Marty’s Nature’s Blend Essential Wellness nor The Farmer’s Dog have any history of recalls.
Get Free Dog Food Recall Alerts!
Stay in the know. Get instant updates on dog food recalls here
Dr. Marty’s Dog Food vs. The Farmer’s Dog Comparison
Availability
Dr. Marty’s dog food is available through multiple online sites and a few retail stores, such as Walmart or Tractor Supply. The Farmer’s Dog, on the other hand, is only obtainable through their website. Before you can see the recipes, you must enter your dog’s information so that they can recommend which recipes will work best for your dog. You also have no choice but to wait on the shipment from The Farmer’s Dog, whereas you can buy Dr. Marty’s dog food in person at certain retail stores.
Nutritional Value
Both companies offer fresh ingredients with no fillers, additives, or artificial flavors. They both provide human-grade ingredients, and all meals are complete and balanced.
The biggest difference is in the texture of the food. Dr. Marty’s is freeze-dried kibble, and The Farmer’s Dog uses fresh ingredients that look like human food. Both companies use methods of cooking that retain all the nutrients as opposed to dry kibble from other manufacturers, which can be stripped during the manufacturing process.
Price
Dr. Marty’s offers free shipping on orders $50 or more, but you can receive free shipping by subscribing via their website. Check the website often, as they run limited deals from time to time. The 16-ounce packages are expensive, especially if you have large dogs, because you’ll run through them quicker.
The Farmer’s Dog offers 50% off your first order, and they always offer free shipping. You’ll receive 20% off your first order, and you can pause, cancel, or resume your subscription at any time.
Selection
Dr. Marty Pets offers six Nature’s Blend freeze-dried raw dog food recipes:
- Nature’s Blend — the flagship multi-protein recipe (turkey, beef, salmon, duck)
- Nature’s Blend – Premium Origin — premium-sourced proteins
- Nature’s Blend – Active Vitality — for active adult dogs
- Nature’s Blend – Small Breed — formulated for small breeds
- Nature’s Blend – Healthy Growth — puppy formula made with 79% real meat
- Nature’s Blend – Sensitivity Select — formulated for dogs with food sensitivities, using alternative proteins that exclude common allergens
The Farmer’s Dog has four different recipes to suit your dog’s needs.
- Turkey Recipe
- Chicken Recipe
- Pork Recipe
- Beef Recipe
Convenience
The Farmer’s Dog’s food comes pre-portioned, and all you need to do is thaw and serve it. You can purchase their DIY packets, which contain all the necessary nutrients to ensure your dog is getting a complete and balanced meal if you make your own dog food. You don’t need a subscription to purchase the DIY packets.
Dr. Marty’s food is easy to serve. Pour the required amount of freeze-dried raw food into your dog’s bowl based on the feeding guidelines on the package, add water, wait 3 minutes, and serve. There’s no refrigeration or freezing required, and the package is resealable.
Conclusion
The Farmer’s Dog is our winner due to the different recipes, customizable options, and the fresh, human-grade ingredients used. While both companies use human-grade ingredients, dogs tend to love the texture of The Farmer’s Dog over the freeze-dried kibble of Dr. Marty’s Nature’s Blend Essential Wellness.
Both companies are priced at the premium end of the category. Dr. Marty’s Nature’s Blend is available in 6 oz trial size and 16 oz regular size, with larger multi-pack options available through retail partners like Amazon. Because Nature’s Blend is freeze-dried, bag weight reflects the dry product before water is added per the feeding instructions. The package is resealable, whereas The Farmer’s Dog’s packaging is not.
The Farmer’s Dog food comes pre-portioned and easy to serve, but it requires fridge and freezer space. Dr. Marty’s does not require refrigeration or freezer space, and you have to figure out the serving size.
In the end, both companies offer the utmost nutrition for dogs without any harmful ingredients, and it will depend on your budget to determine which to go with. However, you can’t go wrong with either one regarding nutrition.
Disclaimer: The term “human-grade” is not legally regulated and serves largely marketing purposes only.
2 Responses
We recently adopted a Pomeranian from a rescue group and took her to our vet for a checkup. He doesn’t recommend using the higher priced dog foods. She is a grazer which has kept her weight down. We are retired so money is limited. In your opinion are the higher priced foods better for our Pom? Thank you for you help. My granddogs are all on Farmers Dog and use Dr Marty’s as a topping.
Hello Sandi,
thank you for reaching out to us. This sounds like a question for a vet. Our in-house veterinarian Dr. Paola would be happy to answer it.
Could you please submit it using this link?
https://backyard-legacy-staging.dogster.com/ask-dr-paola/
This section is exclusively for comments, but she will receive your question via that link.
Although asking Dr. Paola is free, it is not certain that your question will be answered right away, so if you're interested in speaking to a vet face-to-face, you can book a video call appointment with one of our veterinarians from www.PangoVet.com. In a 20-minute call you can ask all your questions and our vets will take a look at your dog and give you their professional opinion.
Hope this helps!