Reviews

Best The Farmer’s Dog Alternatives – Affordable Options, Tried & Tested

Last Updated on August 22, 2024 by Kieran Beckles

Are you looking to end your subscription plan with The Farmer’s Dog in favor of a better or cheaper alternative that doesn’t sacrifice fresh food or health benefits?

Since returning to California with my picky Alaskan Klee Kai dogs, Copper and Skye, in 2023, I’ve been testing a range of fresh dog food, raw dog food, and dry dog food options.

Fresh dog food can be expensive, and pet owners want to get the best bang for their buck while continuing to use human-grade food as part of their dog’s diet.

The Farmer’s Dog in the dog bowl (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

If you have a fussy eater like me, you may find that your picky eater has lost interest in The Farmer’s Dog and needs to find some new fresh dog food brands to reignite their mealtime motivation.

In this article, we’ll examine the best alternatives to The Farmer’s Dog to help pet owners who want to continue feeding fresh dog food but are open to trying other fresh dog food companies.

1) Sundays For Dogs

Sundays For Dogs
Sundays For Dogs (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

Sundays For Dogs is a great option for pet parents who want to feed fresh food containing human-grade ingredients without the expense and the hassle sometimes associated with fresh dog food like The Farmer’s Dog.

Sundays has three recipes (beef, chicken, and turkey) formulated by veterinary nutritionists and containing human-grade ingredients. They gently air-dry their recipes before shipping them directly to your door.

Sundays For Dogs
Sundays For Dogs (Photo: lifewithkleekai.com)

Unlike The Farmer’s Dog, Sundays doesn’t require fridge or freezer space. You simply open Sundays, pour directly into your dog’s bowl, reseal the bag and pop it back in the cupboard. It’s that simple! There’s no faff and no mess.

Pet owners can save money because Sundays is significantly cheaper than The Farmer’s Dog. Feeding Sundays to Copper and Skye costs me $138 a month, which is nearly $20 cheaper than The Farmer’s Dog. That’s a savings of $240 over the course of a year.

Sundays For Dogs turkey recipe
Sundays For Dogs turkey recipe (Photo: lifewithkleekai.com)

While my Alaskan Klee Kai dogs love eating fresh frozen meals such as The Farmer’s Dog, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much they loved eating Sundays and finished their air-dried food at mealtime.

You can save 50% on your first order of Sundays For Dogs by clicking this link or hitting the button below.

2) Maev

Maev's raw dog food for weight and digestion (Photo: lifewithkleekai)
Maev’s raw dog food for weight and digestion (Photo: lifewithkleekai)

There are plenty of fresh food brands in the American pet food industry but some dog owners might like the idea of trying raw dog food. If you’re already feeding fresh dog food like The Farmer’s Dog, it’s not that big an adjustment to try Maev.

Maev offers frozen raw dog food made from human-grade food, like the best fresh dog food brands. The food contains chunks of meat, green beans, blueberries, and more. When you peek inside the raw food bag, you’ll see many vibrant colors.

Maev raw dog food
Inside Maev bag (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

At the time of writing, Maev only offers two protein sources—beef and chicken. However, they have four different health formulations that cater to dogs with specific issues, such as anxiety and calming, hip and joint, and weight and digestion.

While Maev does require freezer space, you don’t need to worry about defrosting food. Unlike fresh dog foods, Maev doesn’t need to be thawed, and you can serve it directly from the bag into your dog’s bowl. Maev explains that frozen raw food can slow down fast eaters and promote good dental health.

Skye and Copper wait for their Maev food (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

Having fed fresh dog food for the best part of five years, I was reluctant to move away from fresh dog food subscriptions. However, I was blown away by Copper and Skye’s reaction to Maev’s raw dog food. My Klee Kai cleaned their bowls every time!

Maev costs slightly more than The Farmer’s Dog (one of the most affordable dog food delivery services). I paid $236 a month to feed Maev to my Alaskan Klee Kai dogs.

You can save 25% on your first Maev order through this link or the button below.

3) We Feed Raw

We Feed Raw box and meal pouch
We Feed Raw box and meal pouch (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

We Feed Raw is one of the best raw food companies that we’ve tested on our Klee Kai dogs.

While raw feeding can be intimidating to some pet owners, We Feed Raw makes it simple to introduce it to your dog’s diet. In many ways, their service is similar to fresh dog foods.

We Feed Raw in the dog bowl (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

You complete a sign-up questionnaire to provide the dog food brand with key information about your dog. This allows We Feed Raw to figure out your dog’s daily portions.

We Feed Raw have more recipes than even the best fresh dog food brands. You can select from six protein sources which is a big bonus for a dog like Skye, who is such a picky eater.

Skye waits for We Feed Raw (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

Unlike some raw food companies, We Feed Raw use meal pouches to store your dog’s raw food. It creates less mess and less confusion about the portion size.

Copper and Skye are obsessed with We Feed Raw, which was incredible because Skye is a fussy pup. She devoured her We Feed Raw meals and made sure Copper couldn’t get near her bowl!

Copper and Skye eating We Feed Raw (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

I pay $199.52 for Copper and Skye’s raw meals, which is more expensive than The Farmer’s Dog but worth the extra cost seeing as my Klee Kai love We Feed Raw.

You can save 40% on your first We Feed Raw order by clicking this link or hitting the button below and use the code “LIFEWITHKLEEKAI40”.

4) UnKibble

UnKibble
UnKibble (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

If you previously fed dry food before switching to fresh dog food, you may want to go back. However, you don’t need to return to store-bought food. There are plenty of dog food subscription services providing elevated dry dog food. UnKibble is one such fresh food brand.

UnKibble is dry food made by Spot and Tango as part of their popular dog food delivery services. I like UnKibble’s limited-ingredient recipes, clear labeling, and customization. They’ve got four recipes – Beef & Barley, Chicken & Brown Rice, Cod & Salmon and Turkey & Sweet Potato.

UnKibble bag and scooper
UnKibble bag and scooper (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

UnKibble offers a customized scooper to help your dog achieve a healthy weight and promote its health. UnKibble dry food contains human-grade ingredients that dog owners will recognize, and it is gently cooked to lock in flavor and nutrients.

If you’re signing up for a fresh dog food delivery plan, you must provide the brand with key details about your dog, such as your dog’s age, breed, activity level, food allergies, and more.

Skye and Copper wait for UnKibble (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

UnKibble provides a customized scooper to help dog owners practice portion control. This helps the brand stand out when compared to other dog food subscriptions.

I paid $139 a month to feed UnKibble to my Alaskan Klee Kai dogs, which is $19 cheaper than The Farmer’s Dog. Over the course of a year, UnKibble will save pet owners $228.

We managed to secure a 50% discount for our Life With Klee Kai community, but you’ll need to use “LIFEK50” at the checkout and click this link.

5) Spot & Tango

Inside Spot and Tango box (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

If you want to stick with fresh dog foods, you could switch from The Farmer’s Dog to Spot & Tango.

I can understand why some dog owners will be reluctant to move away from fresh foods if you’ve seen your dog’s eating habits or dog’s health transformed while eating fresh foods.

Spot and Tango lamb recipe
Spot and Tango lamb recipe (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

Spot & Tango offers fresh dog food delivery alongside their UnKibble range. You can pick from Turkey & Red Quinoa, Beef & Millet, and Lamb & Brown Rice. It’s one recipe less than The Farmer’s Dog.

Like UnKibble, Spot & Tango use limited-ingredient recipes formulated by veterinary nutritionists. They are gently cooked, tailored to your dog’s specific requirements, and delivered to your door.

Spot and Tango lamb recipe (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

Spot & Tango is considered one of the best fresh dog food delivery companies in the USA, alongside The Farmer’s Dog. You can read some of the reviews from other pet parents.

However, Spot & Tango is more expensive than The Farmer’s Dog. I paid $237 for Spot & Tango, which is $80 more than The Farmer’s Dog on a monthly basis. Admittedly, that’s a big difference!

Skye chows down on Spot and Tango (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

We managed to secure a 50% discount for our Life With Klee Kai community, but you’ll need to use “LIFEK50” at the checkout and click this link.

Reasons To Stick With The Farmer’s Dog

Inside The Farmer’s Dog (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

If you’re thinking about ditching The Farmer’s Dog, you may want to think twice. Having reviewed many fresh dog food delivery companies over the past seven years, they’re arguably the best fresh dog food.

I really like that The Farmer’s Dog offers a portion guideline on the front of their fresh dog food meal pouches. I haven’t seen any other fresh food companies incorporate this idea.

The Farmer’s Dog (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

When I signed up to The Farmer’s Dog, I entered Copper and Skye’s information as I do with every fresh dog food brand.

However, The Farmer’s Dog is the only brand that provides individually labeled meal packets. This highlights to me that The Farmer’s Dog is truly working to achieve your dog’s weight goals.

Skye waits for The Farmer’s Dog (Photo: Life With Klee Kai)

The Farmer’s Dog is the best fresh dog food brand in terms of price. I haven’t reviewed other dog food companies that quoted less than $200 for their service.

If you haven’t tried The Farmer’s Dog and you want to sign up, you can save 50% on your first order here or via the button below.

Anything Else To Consider?

If you’re ready to change your fresh dog food or ditch wet dog food or dry dog food in favor of one of the brands mentioned in this article, you should speak to your vet.

Wrapping Up

Skye and her Sundays For Dogs food (Photo: lifewithkleekai)

We’ve reached the end of our article looking at the best alternatives to The Farmer’s Dog.

I’ve highlighted five brands I like when searching for dog food brands similar to The Farmer’s Dog.

My top pick is Sundays For Dogs based on the price, passing the taste test, and overall service.

But I don’t think you’ll go wrong if you choose Maev, We Feed Raw, UnKibble or Spot and Tango.

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