A Pup Above Review (2026): Pros, Cons & Is It Worth the Price?
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Key points
- Best for: Dog owners who want fresh dog food with a sous-vide cooking method.
- Our experience: Copper and Skye enjoyed A Pup Above, especially the beef and chicken recipes.
- Biggest positive: High-meat content, sous-vide cooking method, and bone broth included in the recipes.
- Biggest drawback: High subscription cost and less personalization compared to other fresh dog food brands.
- Best alternative: The Farmer’s Dog remains my top pick for fresh dog food thanks to its better personalization and superior value.
- Our price: We paid $321.96 (one-time order) for a month’s worth of food for Copper and Skye (or around $305.86 with the subscription discount).
Have you been weighing up whether to place an order with A Pup Above but would like to know a little more about the brand first?
Quick verdict
I had a positive experience feeding A Pup Above to Copper and Skye during our trial period. My Klee Kai enjoyed their recipes and I felt like the sous-vide cooking method, bone broth, and high-meat content helped appeal to my picky eater Skye. They offer less personalization than some other fresh dog food subscriptions. The meal packets are much bigger, which means fewer individual packets to store, but they’re more awkward for portioning. Based on price, personalization and ease of feeding, I’d choose The Farmer’s Dog ahead of A Pup Above if you want fresh dog food.
There’s so much choice when it comes to pet food, and it can be overwhelming trying to decide which dog food is best for your canine companion.
I’ve got a fussy eater (Skye) and a food-motivated pup (Copper), so I’ve experienced some of the headaches associated with trying to satisfy a picky dog.
I first encountered A Pup Above nearly six years ago, and a lot has changed since I first tried their pet food on my Klee Kai, including a rebrand!
We updated this article in 2026 to reflect their latest pricing and recipes, and tested A Pup Above on our Alaskan Klee Kai dogs for a month to see how they responded.
We loved their sous-vide method and their fresh and air-dried dog food offerings, and my Klee Kai liked their food. The main drawbacks were the price and the lack of customization.
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A Pup Above Pros
Human-grade ingredients
The first thing I look for when checking out a dog food delivery brand is the quality of the ingredients. I was encouraged to learn A Pup Above use human-grade ingredients in their recipes. A Pup Above stands out among the 30 dog food brands I’ve reviewed and tested on my dogs because it uses a sous vide cooking method.
I did research to understand how sous vide works. Here’s my understanding: it’s a cooking technique that involves vacuum-sealing food in a bag and then cooking it in a water bath at a precise, controlled temperature.
High protein content
A Pup Above’s recipes have a high meat content, which appealed to my fussy Klee Kai Skye and certainly appealed to my food-motivated dog, Copper.
It wasn’t a surprise to see my Klee Kai happily eat A Pup Above when we tested their food because they love brands with a high-meat content, like Sundays and We Feed Raw.
A Pup Above’s website claims that its food has 50% more protein than other brands. I’ve reviewed over 30 different brands, and I must say this is a high-meat content compared to other fresh dog food companies I’ve tested.
When I examined A Pup Above’s fresh frozen meals, the first four ingredients were all meat and organ meats. That was encouraging to see.
Seven recipes
If you’ve got a fussy pup like me, you’ll probably like to see some recipe variety. A Pup Above offers five proteins: beef, chicken, duck, pork and turkey.
They launched Turducken in 2025, which, as the name suggests, combines duck and turkey. So now you can choose between seven recipes in their fresh range.
I’d consider that a good variety, although my favorite two brands in the UK provided over 10 recipes! Copper and Skye liked beef and chicken the best, so I’d recommend starting with those two if you’ve got a fussy pup.
Bone broth plus superfoods
A Pup Above’s recipes include bone broth and superfoods. I’ve seen other brands promote the inclusion of superfoods in their recipes, but I haven’t seen many include bone broth. That intrigued me because of the potential benefits.
It can be a hassle to buy bone broth separately, whether it’s from the same brand or a different one. I was interested to learn A Pup Above creates their bone broth using the bones from their fresh food range. A nice way to be sustainable!
Taste test
The all-important taste test! My Alaskan Klee Kai dogs did enjoy A Pup Above’s beef and chicken recipes. Even Skye appeared content to eat their food.
I did notice some pickiness at times, but for the most part, she finished her meals. I felt like the sous-vide method did add extra flavor that enticed her to eat.
While Copper and Skye enjoyed A Pup Above’s dry range, they appear to have discontinued it, something which I noticed in the summer of 2026. That’s a shame!
A Pup Above Cons
Expensive
A Pup Above is pricey. You’re paying for the high-quality ingredients, superfood, bone broth and subscription service. A Pup Above came in at the more expensive end of the fresh dog food range.
For Copper and Skye’s fresh meals, I ended up paying $321.96 or I could save 15% if I subscribed, which reduced the price to $305.86 (previously $282.17).
In comparison, The Farmer’s Dog cost me under $251.04 for a month’s supply.
Lack customization
There’s a lack of customization with A Pup Above’s service. Unlike other dog food brands such as Ollie, Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog, there’s no sign-up questionnaire.
So you don’t get a “custom meal plan”. They do provide a feeding guideline based on your dog’s weight. So that’s something!
I was disappointed at the lack of customization, and even finding feeding guidelines on their website is tricky. I couldn’t find any for the air-dried food.
Ordering
It was a little awkward to order with two dogs. I had to do some mathematics to figure out how much food I required for two 15lb dogs.
A Pup Above sells their dog food in two-bag bundles. You can’t buy a single bag. To me, that’s a little awkward.
No dry formats
As I mentioned above, seven fresh recipes is great, although I noticed they seem to have discontinued their dry food range.
I’ve found that the more recipes I can alternate between, the more likely my Klee Kai is to be excited at mealtime.
If your dog likes different textures, you could mix dry and fresh. In comparison, some fresh dog food brands offer dry food, such as Spot & Tango and Ollie, while others, like The Farmer’s Dog and Nom Nom, don’t.
Is A Pup Above Worth It?
A Pup Above is a premium option within the dog food subscription market, and I’d question whether it represents value for money.
My Alaskan Klee Kai did enjoy their recipes, even my fussy eater, Skye, so they impressed from that perspective.
However, A Pup Above doesn’t offer much customization, and I found it difficult to figure out how much food I needed before placing an order.
These are two areas where I’d love to see improvement from A Pup Above: offering a custom scooper for their air-dried food.
I paid $321.96 for their fresh food for a month, which I consider expensive, considering The Farmer’s Dog only charged me $251.04.
The Farmer’s Dog offers more customization, individually labeled meal pouches (if you have multiple dogs), and a better price.
If you’ve previously tried The Farmer’s Dog or Spot and Tango, A Pup Above is worth a try for your picky eater. But there’s better value elsewhere.
Reasons to buy A Pup Above
- Multiple pet food formats
- Pet owners who want air-dried dog food
- Five recipes for picky pups
- Sous vide method locks in flavor
Who should skip A Pup Above?
- You don’t want to pay a premium price
- You’re looking for greater customization
- You want an easy ordering process
- You want a custom scooper
A Pup Above FAQ
A Pup Above is cooked using a sous vide method. That method involves a cooking technique that involves vacuum-sealing food in a bag and then cooking it in a water bath at a precise, controlled temperature.
A Pup Above is cooked using a sous vide method for its fresh dog food recipes.
A Pup Above charged me a monthly price of $321.96 for Copper and Skye. That’s expensive compared to The Farmer’s Dog, Spot and Tango and Ollie.
A Pup Above is made in a USDA-inspected, human-grade kitchen in the US.
Wrapping Up
So there we have it! We’ve reached the end of our article, which highlights the pros and cons of A Pup Above based on our experience.
While A Pup Above wouldn’t be my top recommendation, whether you’re looking for fresh frozen meals, they’re still a good option.
I believe A Pup Above is better than traditional kibble and wet food, so if you’re looking for something fresher and healthier, you won’t go wrong.
However, my fussy Alaskan Klee Kai dog preferred some other fresh dog food brands and dried pet food companies.