Last Updated on July 8, 2024 by Kieran Beckles
Are you ready to make a change to your dog’s diet, but you can’t decide between Maev and Open Farm Pet?
There’s no shortage of fresh food options available to pet parents who want to ditch traditional kibble, canned food, wet food or store-bought pet food in favor of something healthier.
You may have already tried fresh frozen meals or customized kibble with mixed success, but you want to give a raw dog food diet a try to see the potential benefits for your canine companion.
Maev offers raw dog food in a much more convenient dog food format than traditional raw dog food brands, while Open Farm has a range of freeze-dried raw food for dog owners who want to give raw meat a try but don’t fancy the hassle of having to handle organ meat.
In this comparison article, we’re going to be taking a look at Maev’s raw dog food and Open Farm Pet’s freeze-dried dog food, taking a look at how their food is made, the recipes on offer, how their subscription plans work and my experience feeding their dog food to my Alaskan Klee Kai.
CUT TO THE CHASE: We recommend Maev dog food and you can save 20% on your first order via this link when you use code “KLEEKAI20”.
Maev Vs Open Farm Pet: Who Do We Recommend?
Let’s cut to the chase. Who do we recommend, Maev raw food or Open Farm freeze-dried raw? Our recommendation would be Maev.
Copper and Skye have never really shown much interest in raw dog food, so I was really surprised to see just how much they loved Maev. Copper would become vocal at mealtime when I got the Maev bag out of the freezer, while Skye would jump up and do pirouettes, such were her eagerness to eat her human grade raw food.
I could clearly see that Maev uses human-grade ingredients in their recipes (formulated by vets) – and my Alaskan Klee Kai showed much improved digestion eating this fresh food.
If you feed raw, you may be accustomed to dealing with messy raw meat that’s just a lot of hassle. I loved that Maev could be stored in the freezer and poured direct into their bowls at mealtime.
Copper had to take his time eating the frozen meat cubes and Skye’s teeth got a good clean, while we noticed firmer and smaller stools when feeding Maev. This spoke to their good digestive health.
While you won’t go wrong with Open Farm if you decide to go with their human-grade dog food, my recommendation would be Maev.
Maev Raw Dog Food
Maev offers a range of raw dog food recipes that cater to dog owners who want to adopt a raw food diet for their dogs but don’t want the hassle that comes with traditional raw dog food.
Maev dog food is 100% USDA-certified, vet-formulated, AAFCO-compliant, contains high-quality ingredients, is made in the USA and adheres to world-class food safety standards.
They use USDA-approved lean meat alongside human-grade ingredients such as fruit and vegetables, plus superfoods. In doing so, you can feel confident your dog is eating human-grade food free from additives, nasties or preservatives.
The raw dog food company has a beef recipe and a chicken recipe, but you can also opt for their variety pack. Maev offers formulations targeting specific health conditions – Weight & Digestion, Anxiety & Calming, Skin & Coat and Hip & Joint.
Maev doesn’t have a thorough questionnaire to get a suggested meal plan, but you can simply head to the “shop” section of their website and select the raw meals that you’d like to purchase for your dog.
Maev will ship your raw dog food direct to your door, and you have to store the raw food in the freezer to prevent it from spoiling. When it’s mealtime, you simply serve direct into your dog’s bowl – you don’t need to defrost or thaw.
Maev explains that their frozen raw food can help slow down fast eaters like my male Klee Kai Copper, as well as keep your pup’s teeth clean and prevent plaque buildup, something which is a concern with my female mini husky Skye.
If you’ve been a longtime follower of Life With Klee Kai or you’ve read a lot of our content on this website, you’ll know that we’ve traditionally fed fresh frozen meals to Copper and Skye. I’ve never had much success feeding raw food to my Alaskan Klee Kai, but I decided to give Maev dog food a try after reading about their innovative pet food.
When I received my first Maev order, I was impressed by the human-grade meats clearly visible in the bag, such as chicken liver alongside fruit and vegetables that I’d eat as part of a daily diet.
It was easy to store Maev’s raw dog food in my freezer, and I really liked that I didn’t need to thaw their frozen raw meals. I could just serve direct into Copper and Skye’s bowls.
I was really surprised to witness Skye’s mealtime excitement when it came to eating Maev’s raw food. She devoured her raw food every mealtime without hesitation. It was clear Maev was one of the best raw food brands we’ve tried based on Skye’s reaction.
Maev is great value, considering they use human-grade ingredients in meals formulated by vets. For instance, I pay $152 every month for Copper and Skye’s meals, which I consider to be very competitive.
Open Farm Pet’s Freeze Dried Dog Food
Open Farm is a dog food brand that offers a wide range of pet food formats to cater to the different needs of dogs and dog parents in the USA and Canada.
For the purposes of this comparison article, we’re going to be taking a look at Open Farm’s freeze-dried dog food that has been created for adult dogs and senior dogs.
Most dog owners will be familiar with traditional pet food formats such as kibble or wet food, but Open Farm has created their Freeze Dried Raw Range to give pet owners a chance to try something different.
Open Farm’s freeze-dried raw meals are made from humanely-raised and sustainably sourced protein, containing a high protein content including 85-95% meat, organ and bones paired with fruit, vegetables and superfoods.
They explain on their website that their freeze-dried raw food, morsels and patties can be used as a meal or a table topper depending on whether dog owners plan to feed raw or want to get creative with their pet food.
As with all Open Farm’s pet food, they don’t use any additives, nasties or preservatives in their raw food, just natural ingredients like organ meat, chicken liver, green beans, sweet potato and supplements like fish oil.
Open Farm has a lot of recipes on offer within their raw pet food range, including beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, pork and surf and turf. In my quest to find the best dog food delivery for Skye and Copper, I ordered some Open Farm.
From a pet owner’s perspective, I really like what Open Farm stands for. They only use humanely raised meat that’s been sustainably sourced. Pet owners can trace each ingredient’s journey from the farm to your dog’s bowl. There’s a lot of transparency.
I did feel that Open Farm lacks some of the customization that you might come to expect from a premium dog food company. I spent some time on their website but couldn’t find a sign-up questionnaire.
Instead, I paid attention to their feeding guidelines to make sure I fed the appropriate amount of Open Farm to my Alaskan Klee Kai once I received my delivery of freeze-dried raw meals.
Copper and Skye had a lukewarm reaction to Open Farm’s meals. Copper was more interested, but Skye didn’t show much eagerness for their meals. This may not be the case with most dog parents, but unfortunately, Open Farm wasn’t a hit with my fussy Alaskan Klee Kai.
Open Farm is an affordable option if you want to feed human grade meals to your dog without breaking the bank. For instance, a 31.5oz bag of their beef recipe costs $69.99.
Where To Buy Maev
You can only buy Maev’s raw food, supplement bars and bone broth direct from their website.
You can get 20% off your first Maev order when you click this link or the button below and use the coupon code KleeKai20.
Where To Buy Open Farm Pet
If you’ve decided to give Open Farm Pet a try, you may be able to find their pet food at your local pet store. Alternatively, you can head to their website here or click the button below.
At the current time, we don’t have an offer for Open Farm Pet for our Life With Klee Kai community.
Wrapping Up
We’ve reached the end of our comparison article, taking a look at Maev and Open Farm Pet.
Having bought, tried and tested these two raw dog food brands, my favorite and my Klee Kai’s favorite was Maev.
I was really impressed by the fact that Maev is convenient and affordable. They’ve made feeding raw to my Klee Kai and other dogs.
My wife and I felt good knowing that we were feeding fresh meals that were protein-rich, made in human-grade kitchens, catered to dogs with sensitive stomachs and made free from artificial ingredients.
Kieran runs Life With Klee Kai on social media and other online platforms alongside his wife Yasmin. With over 10 years of experience as a journalist and a passionate dog owner, Kieran loves to combine his passion for pets and writing to share useful insights and product reviews to help other dog owners.