RawMix50 Premium Freeze-Dried Raw Cage-Free Chicken Recipe Dog Food, Protein Rich, Includes Kibble, Non-GMO, No Wheat or Corn, 12 oz

Confusing claims. Raw mixed with kibble?
First, my dogs love this stuff. Even our two very picky eaters cleaned out their bowls the very first time they tried it.Our other two dogs will eat almost anything that is remotely edible, so we don’t rely upon their opinions when writing food reviews.This dog food promotes itself as being healthier and better for digestion because it is raw and freeze-dried, meaning not cooked. Yes, cooking does destroy the foods’ natural enzymes that then forces the animals to produce their own enzymes to digest cooked foods. Because white blood cells (leukocytes) are burdened with this task of enzyme creation, it not only taxes their energy, but it also distracts the leukocytes from their more important task of hunting down any worrisome culprits that might pose health issues.The issue for me is that rather than being entirely freeze-dried, the food appears to be pieces of kibble mixed in with freeze-dried bits. The food is promoted as being the solution to boring kibble and messy raw: “RawMix”; i.e., a mix of kibble and raw. The entire bag of food is described as being half raw, and half “high protein bites”. It seems clear that the “high protein bites” are actually kibble, that has been made by cooking at very high temperatures. So, the bag of food is as the bag implies: kibble with raw added.If you are simply going to be feeding your dog a blend of kibble and raw, then I do not understand why you wouldn’t simply buy the kibble separately from the freeze-dried raw, and blend it at mealtime yourself. Unless you live in New Zealand or Australia, it doesn’t make sense to have kibble and ‘fresh and raw’ foods shipped half way around the world to you. There are likely plenty of good local sources of kibble nearer to home. And because the kibble has had so many nutrients cooked out of it, the ingredients label includes a long list of vitamins, minerals and other additives. And with all the great “organ meat” in this food blend, it is unclear why they would need to include “pea protein” and “chicken meal.” It just doesn’t add up.The one good thing I will say about their kibble is that it is made without any hormones, colorings, grains or other common allergens. But does contain a boatload of additives.As for the freeze-dried portion of the food; yes, I do believe that it is much healthier and probably tastier. But there are also probably other sources for freeze-dried foods closer to home.There is also a process called air-drying, where the food is neither cooked or freeze-dried, but is slowly dried out, thus preserving the vast amount of enzymes and natural nutrients. Consequently, air-dried food doesn’t need to be supplemented with artificial nutrients.If, however, you don’t mind having your food shipped from New Zealand (where food sources may have exceptional purity), and you are happy feeding your dogs half raw and half kibble, then this dog food may be a good choice for you. Considering that it ships from New Zealand, the price is not too unreasonable, and if you ask my dogs, they’d tell you that your dogs will love it.

My picky eater likes it
My dog is so picky with food it’s hard to get her to eat anything but this food she liked and came back for seconds which surprised me. I received this from vine in exchange for an honest review and ended up paying for a 2nd bag when it was on sale for $16.99.

Surprisingly not as satisfying
I had higher expectations for this food for my puppy that being said he did eventually eat it throughout the evening as long as I didn’t give in. It seemed that he did liked some freeze dried pieces in the food but he is a very picky dog so I will just say this one was not for us.

High quality ingredients and my dogs love it
My dogs are big fans of this food! The ingredients are high quality and nutritious. It is more expensive than most brands of dog food, so I use it as a mix-in or treats to ensure my dogs are getting something wholesome in their diets.