Sunday, March 16, 2014

Raw Food Diet Made Easy

The folks at Sojos asked us if we would be interested in reviewing their dog food.  When we told them we would, we ASSUMED that they would send us some kibble and we would just test it out.  Boy were we wrong!  When mom opened up the box and took out the bag, me and Stanley looked at each other in shock!  This was taking dog food to a whole other level!


This was a whole new thing we NEVER even heard of before!  The food they sent us had freeze-dried RAW BEEF!  All you have to do is reconstitute it by adding water!  It was a raw food diet made easy! This is what it looks like in the bag:


But when you add water, a miracle happens! 


The minute mom started measuring it out (1 cup dehydrated is mixed with 1.5 cups warm water), our noses started going CRAZY!  Mom yelled at dad to turn off the vacuum and then when she looked at Stanley she realized Dad wasn't vacuuming, Stanley was trying to sniff so hard at the food mom was mixing that he was nearly causing a wind tunnel!!

Now we know dog food is a highly controversial thing and mom always says it is impawtent to read the labels.  So we checked the label and the ingredients:   sweet potato, USDA beef, celery, carrots, cabbage, whole egg, flax meal, tricalcium phosphate, cranberries, papaya, pumpkin, rosemary, parsley, ginger root, dried alfalfa, dried kelp, zinc sulfate, vitamin E acetate, vitamin D3, vitamin A palmitate.

The other thing we discovered is that 1 pound  dehydrated makes 4 pounds of fresh raw food.  And the reason they call it fresh is because it is made and then the package is stamped with a birthday!  The bag we received was only 5 days old!



Mom decided to check into the cost of the Sojos Complete dog food and to be honest, the price was so shocking that me and Stanley had to jump on her chest to make her heart start beating again.  So we did some checking on their web site and (addressing that very issue) they said (from their website):  Our food contains no fillers, so you feed less than what you would with traditional pet food. As a result, the price per day is about the same or less than most premium commercial pet foods. In the long run feeding your pets fresh, wholesome pet food can also save you money on vet bills.

These are DRY measurements BEFORE it is reconstituted with water.

The 8 pound bag they sent us sold for $94.90 on their website  but you could find it for $72.11 on Amazon and $69.99 at wag.com.  The other thing we checked out was to see how this food compared to what we normally ate.  Mom and Dad buy our food at Costco, the Kirkland Rice & Vegetable made by Diamond but we like to compare against Hills' Science Diet (Adult Advanced Fitness, Small Bites Lamb and Rice) because so many people think that is the best in the universe (we disagree but that is a whole other blog post).

Protein:  Kirkland 26%, Science Diet 24.2%, Sojos 22% (all minimum values)
Fat:  Sojos 8%, Kirkland 16%, Science Diet 16.4% (minimum values)
Fiber:  Sojos 8%, Kirkland 4%, Science Diet 2%
Calories:  Sojos 333, Science Diet 367, Kirkland 393 (per cup)

We liked the fact that Sojos had the lowest calories and less fat and thought that would be good for dogs who needed to watch their weight or weren't real active.  The other thing that stood out was that Sojos had a much higher fiber content than the other two.  

The manufacturer suggests slowly introducing the raw diet to dogs.  Considering the increased fiber, mom thought it was a good idea so she has been using the Sojos for supper and we eat our regular kibble otherwise.  Mom was concerned that we might have some bad poops from the additional fiber so she has been "watching".  When we were on our regular 6 mile run Friday, both Stanley and me stopped for a poop (not unusual).  When mom and dad went to pick it up they noticed that it was shiny.  Stanley looked at my poops and gave it a good sniff (I pooped first) and said, "Brother, your poops are glistening in the sunlight".  He must have really liked it cuz then a mile later he had some glistening poop too.  But mom said it was normal otherwise.  Actually, I think she called it "nice poop".

When we see that mom is putting the Sojos Complete in a bowl for us, we get excited and Stanley cranks up his "vacuum" again.  We LOVE the raw diet.  Mom says it's not too much of a hassle since it can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.  Mom likes the idea that it is a low calorie, clean food too.  We think it would be a good alternative for doggies with allergies since it is such a "clean" food.  The ingredients are human grade and it is all made in the USA!

We think this is a great dog food.  The only drawback would be for those who free-feed since you cannot let raw meat sit in a bowl all day long.  Stanley and I free feed (we know, against everybody's advice but it works for us) but we have a definite time we like to eat in the evenings and that is when mom gives us the Sojos Complete dog food.  It is working out well for us.  

If you want to try this food out for yourselves, you can always purchase a smaller bag.  It also comes in a 2 pound bag.  But if you do, don't blame us if your doggie's nose turns into a vacuum cuz we warned you!  Mom asked me and Stanley if we gave this food a paws up and we said:



This product is endorsed by Murphy and Stanley.  We were not paid a fee for our honest opinion but the product was supplied free of charge.

Murphy & Stanley

20 comments:

Unknown said...

Sounds like it was a great hit. Enjoy. Not sure if we have anything like that over here. Must have a look.
Have a serene Sunday and let us all get on some big easy today.
Best wishes Molly

Millie and Walter said...

Sounds like you boys were lucky to be picked for this taste test.

said...

Great review guys! It does look delicious :) my Mom was also glad to learn she's not the only one to study my poops when adding new things to my diet!

The Adventures of the LLB Gang said...

Oh my DOG......This would be perfect for MR. allergy man Arty...Thanks so much for the great review!!

Smileys!
Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo

Mollie said...

Looks super yummy, we have never heard of that . Have a super Sunday xxoxxx


Mollie and Alfie

Frankie Furter and Ernie said...

NOW this is a SUPER review.... you covered all the ImPAWtant thingys.... even the fact that there is a lot of Food Controversy. WE have NOT heard of THIS one before. We know that it SOUNDS expensive... butt Water from YOUR TAP is WAY cheaper than what gets put into a CAN of our Foods. SO that makes the Price come down INSTANTLY.
It is grrrreat that it can be "MIXED" and then stored for 4 days in the fridge.
We have a Self Feeder... BUTT we get a "Wet Foods" Supper every evening, just like you dood do. WE do not abuse the self feeder thingy either. It is there if we get hungry. AND we are just like Peeps... Sometimes we DO get hungry at different times of the day or evening. Mom believes that if SHE can open the Fridge or Pantry whenEVER she wants to... WE should have the same thingy available to US.
We will have to check this Foodable out. Wonder if Chewy.com carries it. THEY always have such super prices and quick service.
THANKs fur telling us about this... BUTT you furgot to tell us about the SHINY POOPS thingy.

Molly the Airedale said...

Wow - this sounds like a winner to us. Mom says we're going to be checking it out! Thanks, Murphy and Stanley!

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

My Mind's Eye said...

OMDoods you might need to take on a few more BDA gigs to help pay for that caddylac dog food.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it though. I love the smell of meat so I would have sounded like a mini cac
Hugs madi your bfff

Cowspotdog said...

It is excellent stuff - we also tried a brand from "You Me and LOVE" and that was very good too. We have had and half and half diet all our lives - half raw and half fish kibble and we love it.

Ruby said...

I LOVES freeze dried stuffs!!!! I eat freeze dried chickens all the time..butts I just eat it dry, and it's most FABulous! Ma loves the thought of this, I am already on a high fiber diet cause of my colitis, so maybe this would be easy for me to switch to. Butts, like F&E, I'm a 'free eater' and have a kibble dispenser too. This would be a switch, butts maybe a good one!
Thanks for the most FABulous review (both of the foodables and the poops!!! BOL )
Kisses,
Ruby ♥

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

Sounds like you're onto a winner! We've never had freeze-dried.

XXXOOO Bella & Roxy

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
yes, way to go!! This was not available when I was feeding Jade, so it was straight out beef ribs, or liver with grated carrot and such made up by myself. But the thing is it is a really good diet. Glad you gave it the paws up doods! Hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx

KB said...

Wow, what a review! It looks like Shyla might have allergies to her current food, so I read with great interest. We homecook for R, and we were thinking of starting that for Shyla since then we'd know exactly what she's eating. But, Sojo might be an option. Thanks!

Two French Bulldogs said...

I heard a lot about freeze dried. Hmmm, it sure looks worth a try
Happy St. Patrick's Day
Lily & Edward

stellaroselong said...

We have been reading about freeze dried also, my mom is always on the lookout for better foods.
stella rose

Lucy-Fur, as typed by Dr. Liz said...

Sounds very interesting! Although Mom admits that when she read freeze-dried beef, she was thinking of the MREs from the Army (Dad was in the army, not Mom, but he still has one from a million years ago - he's afraid to even open it!)!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Misaki @ misadventuresofMisaki said...

What a great idea, sounds yummy!

M. K. Clinton said...

Murphy & Stanley are adorable!! I didn't know there were mini Goldendoodles! This could be dangerous knowledge for me because I LOVE them!! That food sounds amazing! We want to try it too!

Murray's Mouth said...

Great review! Thanks for sharing :)

haopee said...

Wow... that is expensive. But if it's that good, then it must be worth it. We don't like Hills Diet... it's like Pedigree... just because they spend so much in advertising, doesn't mean it's honestly good.