Last Updated on February 16, 2026 by Kieran Beckles
Are you ready to switch to fresh dog food, but you can’t decide between The Farmer’s Dog and Just Food For Dogs?
The Farmer's Dog Quick Verdict |
 Overall, The Farmer’s Dog is my top pick for fresh food if you want high-quality ingredients and the convenience of pre-portioned pouches. It’s the easiest way I've found to feed fresh without the guesswork. |
We decided to ditch traditional pet food in favor of fresh dog food over six years ago when my female Alaskan Klee Kai Skye stopped eating her regular kibble.
A chance meeting with a Samoyed owner at the dog park introduced us to fresh dog food, which we were unfamiliar with at the time, as we were new to the pet food industry.
When we moved back to the USA in 2023, we started looking for fresh dog food because Copper and Skye’s favorite company doesn’t operate in the USA.
In our search for the best fresh dog food companies, we came across The Farmer’s Dog and Just Food For Dogs, so we decided to subscribe to both fresh dog food brands.
Note: We’ve kept this article updated by ordering from The Farmer’s Dog and Just Food For Dogs every year since first reviewing these two dog food brands.
The Farmer’s Dog Vs Just Food For Dogs: Comparison Table
| Brand | The Farmer's Dog | Just Food For Dogs |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Yes | Yes |
| Available in stores | No | Yes |
| Meal customization | Fully personalized | Standard guidelines |
| Recipes | 4 core recipes | Multiple product lines |
| AAFCO compliant | Yes | Yes |
| My monthly cost | $194.40 | $312.30 |
| Cold storage required | Freezer | Freezer |
| Picky Eater approved | Loved it | Mixed |
| Best For | Tailored experience | Convenience |
The Farmer’s Dog Vs Just Food For Dogs: Our Verdict
We’ll dive straight into the key part of this comparison article. Based on our experience feeding these two fresh dog food brands, I’d recommend The Farmer’s Dog.
The Farmer’s Dog offers a more customized service through its thorough sign-up questionnaire, which tailors your dog’s food to their needs, rather than a feeding calculator.
While The Farmer’s Dog has fewer recipes than Just Food For Dogs, I still consider four recipes a good selection for fussy eaters who like variety.
The Farmer’s Dog offers a more personal feel with their individually labeled meal packets.
If you’ve got multiple dogs, this comes in handy to make sure your dog is eating food tailored to their weight goals.
It’s great to see The Farmer’s Dog provide dog owners with a useful pre-portion guide on the front of the meal packets, taking the guesswork out of how much food to give at mealtime.
The Farmer’s Dog costs less money to feed Copper and Skye than Just Food For Dogs. The price difference was $117.90 per month. A significant saving.
Finally, Copper and Skye enjoyed The Farmer’s Dog fresh meals more than Just Food For Dogs, which ultimately was the deciding factor for me.
The Farmer’s Dog
The Farmer’s Dog is one of the leading fresh dog food brands in the USA, providing 100% human-grade food in tasty recipes formulated by board-certified veterinary nutritionists, which adhere to AAFCO standards.
You can feel confident knowing The Farmer’s Dog only uses human-grade meat and vegetables in their recipes. They never use meat meals, artificial preservatives, brown pellets or any nasties. The Farmer’s Dog uses clear labelling, too
To get started, you’ll need to fill out their sign-up questionnaire. Once The Farmer’s Dog have received the information, they’ll tailor their gently cooked meals to meet your pet’s specific needs and pre-portion their meal packets to ensure they meet their weight goals.
The Farmer’s Dog offers four recipes on its menu: beef, chicken, pork, and turkey. When you’ve finalized your subscription plan, The Farmer’s Dog will ship your dog’s balanced and complete meals frozen.
Once your first box arrives, you can store most of the meal packets in the freezer, but keep a few thawed dog meals in the fridge, ready to serve.
It’s easy to feed The Farmer’s Dog. You just follow their pre-portion guidelines on the meal packet rather than having to consult with a feeding calculator or nutritional guidelines.
When I got my hands on our first box, Copper and Skye’s meals were frozen. I was able to stack most of the meal packets in the freezer without too much trouble and keep a few in the fridge ready to give to my Alaskan Klee Kai.
There were two things that struck me about The Farmer’s Dog and their meal pouches.
Seeing as I went to the trouble of completing their sign-up questionnaire and sharing my Klee Kai’s respective weight goals, it was fantastic to see The Farmer’s Dog follow through on their promise of creating meals to cater to Copper and Skye’s specific health needs.
They help dog parents to practice portion control by using a clever graphic on the front of their meal packets to indicate exactly how much dog food you should feed.
I was pleasantly surprised by The Farmer’s Dog price. We paid $194.40 to receive enough fresh dog food meals to last us 30 days. Compared to other competitors in the market, The Farmer’s Dog represented great value.
Having reviewed a lot of American and British fresh dog food companies over the past six years, The Farmer’s Dog stands out because of these two small details.
Just Food For Dogs
Just Food For Dogs is another well-established company in the fresh dog food marketplace. They offer a wide range of dog food, but for this comparison article, we’ll look only at their fresh-frozen meals.
They use human-edible ingredients that you’d likely have in your fridge or pantry for your meals, and you won’t find any preservatives in Just Food For Dogs fresh frozen meals, just natural ingredients.
At the time of writing, Just Food For Dogs offers seven protein-specific recipes. They’ve also got health-specific veterinary support meals.
Just Food For Dogs has a sign-up questionnaire, but it isn’t as detailed as The Farmer’s Dog. You can use their feeding calculator to estimate general feeding requirements.
You can find Just Food For Dogs at your local pet store or visit their website to start selecting meals for your dog’s diet. Of course, if you want a prescription diet or health-specific diet, you may not always find these options at your local Pet Food Express.
After heading to my local Pet Food Express, I decided to check out the Just Food For Dogs freezer and pick up a handful of meals. I was eyeballing how much food I’d need for Copper and Skye, seeing as I hadn’t consulted the feeding calculator before heading to the pet store.
Copper and Skye had a lukewarm reaction to Just Food For Dogs. They liked the chicken recipe, but my fussy eaters were nonplussed about the other meals.
I was a little disappointed with their reaction, but my Alaskan Klee Kai can be a fussy eater, like a lot of the breed. Skye, in particular, is really picky.
To estimate the monthly cost of feeding Just Food For Dogs, I was quoted $312.30 for a subscription on the Just Food For Dogs website after entering my Klee Kai’s details.
The Farmer’s Dog vs Just Food For Dogs: Price Breakdown
| Brand | The Farmer's Dog | Just Food For Dogs |
|---|---|---|
| Daily price per dog | $3.24 | $5.21 |
| Monthly price | $194.40 | $312.30 |
| Annual cost | $2,332.80 | $3,747.60 |
The Farmer’s Dog Vs Just Food For Dogs Frequently Asked Questions
The Farmer’s Dog proved better than Just Food For Dogs in my experience, based on my testing with my Alaskan Klee Kai dogs. They offered a seamless ordering experience. I valued their personalization of Copper and Skye’s food, including the pre-portioned guidelines.
The Farmer’s Dog is more affordable if you’re planning to sign up for a monthly subscription. I paid $194.40 for The Farmer’s Dog, but Just Food For Dogs is priced at $312.30. However, Just Food For Dogs is more convenient because you can pick up their food at your local pet store.
I found The Farmer’s Dog to be a better pick for my picky eater, but every dog is different. Skye preferred The Farmer’s Dog to Just Food For Dogs when we tested their meals on our Alaskan Klee Kai dogs.
The Farmer’s Dog and Just Food For Dogs provide human-grade dog food for pets in the US. Their recipes are made in facilities that meet human food safety standards.
Wrapping Up
We’ve reached the end of our dog food comparison article.
Our recommendation is The Farmer’s Dog, based on our success feeding their fresh meals to Copper and Skye.
Not only did my Alaskan Klee Kai prefer Just Food For Dogs to their meals, but I also liked their service better from a pet owner’s perspective.
The Farmer’s Dog worked out cheaper on a monthly basis, too.
With these three key factors in mind, I’d suggest trying The Farmer’s Dog before Just Food For Dogs.
Kieran Beckles is an NCTJ-qualified journalist, a former pet nutrition student, and co-founder of Life With Klee Kai. He has been reviewing pet food and products since 2018, testing over 50+ brands, and has raised his dogs, Skye and Copper, since 2017. His work blends hands-on testing and nutrition knowledge to help pet owners make informed decisions.