Best Air-Dried Dog Food For Picky Eaters (2026 Ultimate Guide)
Key points
- Our experience: We’ve tested a range of air-dried dog foods with Skye and Copper over the past three years, including Sundays, Badlands Ranch, Ziwi Peak and The Pets Table.
- Best overall: Sundays For Dogs is my top pick because my dogs consistently ate it over a year, and it remains good value compared to the other brands we tested.
- Best for meat content: Ziwi Peak came out on top for meat content, with up to 96% meat, organ and bone. It offers a wider range of proteins.
- Best for superfoods: Badlands Ranch combines high meat content with fruit, vegetables and superfood ingredients.
- Best for flexibility: The Pets Table allows dog owners to combine fresh and air-dried dog food in the same bowl, which could appeal to picky eaters.
- Important to know: Air-dried dog food is easier to store compared to fresh and raw dog food but tends to cost more than traditional kibble.
Are you ready to embrace air-dried dog food? It’s a pet food format that we’ve relied upon to satisfy our picky eaters for over three years. So we’re here to help!
Quick verdict
After testing several air-dried dog food brands, Sundays For Dogs is my number one pick. Sundays combines a high-meat content, high-quality ingredients, treat-like texture, and customization in a reasonably priced subscription package. If you want to combine fresh dog food with air-dried dog food, The Pets Table offers that flexibility with a mixed plan.
We’ve tried a range of different air-dried dog food brands since returning to California from London over three years ago. It took a little time but we landed on one brand that Copper and Skye love!
Yasmin and I were attracted to the idea of air-dried dog food because it’s more convenient than fresh food and raw dog food when it comes to serving and storage.
Having said that, we do currently feed a raw dog food brand alongside one of the air dried options mentioned in this article. We find mixing and matching works best on our picky pup Skye.
In this article, I’m going to call upon my seven years of experience reviewing dog food to share my top picks, whether you care about price, recipe variety, customization or experience.
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Watch: The Best Air-Dried Dog Foods Ranked & Tested
Overall Winner: Sundays For Dogs
Sundays for Dogs is responsible for transforming my Alaskan Klee Kai dogs from fussy eaters to food-motivated pups. We experimented with a few different brands when we first moved back to the USA before landing on Sundays. Copper and Skye loved the treat-like texture of their food.
They use human-grade ingredients in recipes with around 80% protein. I’m sure this high protein content played a part in encouraging Skye to eat her Sundays food consistently. Sundays offer three recipes: beef, chicken and turkey. I’d recommend starting with beef because it was my Klee Kai’s favorite.
Sundays offer a custom meal plan, which pet owners generate by completing their questionnaire when they get started. Once you’ve provided the details about your dog, you’ll get your plan. My only criticism of Sundays is the lack of a custom scooper. It’s something UnKibble provides, and it makes a difference!
However, I can’t argue with the price. Sundays ranks among the best-value dog food delivery companies. We pay $184.40 for Copper and Skye’s air-dried meals. That price makes it one of the more affordable pet food brands offering human-grade food and home delivery.
It’s worth highlighting that Sundays raised my price from $139 to $184 to $218 over the past three years since I first reviewed their air-dried dog food. That’s an $89 increase!
Pros
- Skye and Copper consistently ate it
- Shelf-stable, no fridge, freezer, or thawing required
- Treat-like texture appeals to picky eaters like Skye
- Strong value compared to other brands
Cons
- Only three recipes
- More expensive than traditional kibble
- No custom scooper included
- Only available online, not in pet stores
Best For Superfoods: Badlands Ranch
Badlands Ranch is another option if you’re in the market for air-dried dog food. They launched a couple of years ago, with their founder Katherine Heigl. Badlands Ranch place an emphasis on the superfood element of their recipes.
Badlands Ranch offer recipes with 87% meat content and 13% fruit, vegetables and superfoods. Their recipes are formulated to support potential health issues such as skin and coat, digestion, immune function, and energy. This may appeal to pet owners who have dogs with any of these ailments.
They offer beef, chicken, wild fish and turkey, lamb and venison, and bison and beef recipes. So they’ve got a good range if you’ve got a picky eater and you need to regularly mix up the protein in their bowl. This was the case with Skye until we found Sundays.
Badlands Ranch worked out a little more expensive to feed my Alaskan Klee Kai dogs over the course of a month. We paid around $287.55 for a month’s supply. However, you can find Badlands Ranch on Amazon so you can avail of quick delivery if you’re a Prime member.
Pros
- 87% meat, organ and bone
- Jerky-like texture for fussy dogs
- Good range of recipes compared to Sundays
- Includes superfood ingredients
- Available at pet stores
Cons
- One of the most expensive air-dried dog food brands we’ve tested
- Small bag sizes can take up a lot of cupboard or storage space
- Limited personalization
- Skye and Copper preferred Sundays
Best For Meat Content: Ziwi Peak
If meat content is your priority, Ziwi Peak is best in class. Their recipes contain up to 96% meat content, made up of meat, organ and bone. We first encountered Ziwi Peak while we lived in the UK. But we’ve also used them in California if we’ve run out of Sundays.
Their protein is mostly sourced from New Zealand. We opted for the New Zealand grass fed beef recipe for our Alaskan Klee Kai dogs. Copper and Skye liked their Ziwi Peak recipes. It wasn’t customized to their particular needs because we purchased through Amazon.
However, I was impressed by their sheer range of choice. You can pick from over six air-dried recipes, which is perfect for picky eaters like my female dog Skye. We used Ziwi Peak’s air-dried food as dog treats on walks because they’re small in size.
You can buy a range of bag sizes on Amazon, from one pound up to nearly nine pounds. The price ranges from $29.98 for one pound and $199.98 for the nine-pound bag.
Pros
- Up to 96% meat, organ and bone
- Wide protein and recipe variety
- Skye and Copper enjoyed it
- Shelf-stable and easy to serve
- Available at pet stores
Cons
- Premium price
- No custom meal plan when bought at a pet store
- No custom scooper or personalization
Best For Price: The Pets Table
The Pets Table provide fresh dog food and air-dried meals. For the purposes of this guide, we’ll be looking at their air-dried food. You can opt to sign up to just get their dry food range, which is great if you don’t want to pay for fresh.
HelloFresh are the company behind The Pets Table, so dog owners who have previously used the food delivery service will be familiar with sign-up process. The Pets Table only offers two air-dried recipes: chicken and beef. Although you sign up for a custom meal plan, there’s no custom scooper included.
Copper and Skye weren’t big fans of The Pets Table, but I’ve included it in this breakdown because of its affordability.
I updated my review in 2026 and my price for a month’s supply of air-dried dog food was $193.20. I’d consider that fair value when you consider Sundays cost me $184.40 a month.
Pros
- Can combine fresh and air-dried dog food in one plan
- Mixed plan gives you more texture variety
- Custom meal plan
- Competitive price compared with alternatives
Cons
- Only three air-dried recipes
- No custom scooper
- Skye was less consistent with it than Sundays for Dogs
- Still more expensive than regular kibble
Wrapping Up
We’ve reached the end of our guide on the best air-dried dog food for pet parents in the USA.
If you’ve got a fussy eater like my Alaskan Klee Kai dog Skye, I’d recommend starting with Sundays for Dogs based on our great experience.
While there are other brands with more variety, we’ve experienced great success since introducing Sundays to Copper and Skye’s diet.
However, I’m confident that there is something for everyone in this guide, whether you care about sustainability, meat content or convenience.