Pet Plate Dog Food Review

Pet plate is a relatively new company in the pet industry, founded in 2016, it has since become a well-known brand within the fresh pet food space. PetPlate has placed a priority on the science of nutrition and has consulted with Dr. Renee Streeter (DVM, DACVN, Veterinary Nutritionist) to formulate and consult with the creation of all four of the recipes. All the recipes are made with human-grade ingredients, with additional testing and certificate of analysis done on all inbound ingredients.

Pet Plate Dog Food offers a total of four recipes that are complete and balanced for both adult dogs and puppies, each recipe contains a single protein (beef, chicken, lamb, pork, venison and turkey). Diets range from low to high in protein, fat and carbohydrates on a caloric basis (23-34% protein, 24-46% fat, and 27-50% carbohydrates).

The variety in composition of the PetPlate recipes allows for pet parents to find foods that meet their dogs individual nutritional needs depending on medical needs, activity level and life stage. For active dogs the Pet Plate Chicken Recipe or the Pet Plate Beef Recipe may be a great options as they are high in fat and protein, while being moderate carbohydrates – this composition is great for both short-term and longer lasting energy. For dogs who need a novel protein due to food allergies – Pet Plate offers three different options depending on your dog’s needs: a pork, lamb or venison recipe. All the recipes are complete and balanced for puppies and adult dogs.

OVERVIEW:

Company Responded to Questions Asked via Email: Yes. The information gathered below was from an email conversation on May 28th 2021 and their website December 2021.

Who formulated Pet Plate Dog Food? All of the Pet Plate Dog Food recipes are formulated by Dr. Renee Streeter, who is a board-certified veterinary nutritionist and a member of the BSM Veterinary group.

Where does Pet Plate source their Ingredients from? All ingredients in PetPlate products are human-grade and meet all standards for human consumption.

Where are Pet Plate’s Human Grade Dog Food Recipes Manufactured? All of PetPlate’s Dog Foods are produced in human food manufacturing facilities. In most cases, PetPlate is the only “pet” product produced in these facilities. All of of the PetPlate partners have robust food safety and quality programs and are third party audited annually to a GFSI standard (SQF, BRC, ISO).

What Quality Control Procedures does Pet Plate Lightly Cooked Dog Food perform on their foods? All PetPlate products go through a series of testing and verification prior to sale. This includes organoleptic, micro and nutritional evaluation.Testing and verification is conducted based on the unique risks of each material. Testing/verification of inbound ingredients is performed in accordance with our Food Safety and Quality programs all of which meet the GFSI standards for human food.

Has Pet Plate Invested in Digestibility or AAFCO Feeding Trials? All the PetPlate recipes have undergone Digestibility Trials. You can see the results here, however PetPlate has not yet invested in AAFCO Feeding Trials on their recipes, however they do have plans to do so in the near future.

Are Full Nutritional Profiles Found Online for the PetPlate Recipes? Only guaranteed analysis is available for these products, however they are available upon request.

Has Pet Plate Dog Food ever been Recalled? No.

RECIPES:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ( FAQ )

Where to buy Pet Plate fresh Dog Food?

You can purchase PetPlate fresh dog food recipes online on their website and are shipped frozen directly to your door within the USA. In order to set your dog up with a meal plan you simply fill out their questionnaire and set up an account, then you can get Pet Plate quality dog food sent directly to your door on a schedule so you never have to worry about being out of their healthy fresh recipes.

How do you store and feed PetPlate?

When your shipment of Pet Plate meals arrives, they will be frozen on dry ice in order to preserve freshness. It is generally recommended to thaw 2-3 days worth of food in your refrigerator, then store the remaining food in your freezer. As you feed a meal, simply rotate another meal from your freezer to your fridge. Meals should defrost within 24 hours within your fridge, however if for whatever reason you need to thaw a meal more quickly you can place the food in a microwave-safe container and use the defrost setting to quickly thaw the PetPlate diets. Usually this takes less than 5 minutes, but largely depends on the size of the meal you are thawing.

A word of caution – do not heat up the PetPlate recipes using your microwave or stove-top to cook them. This can reduce heat-sensitive vitamins and minerals which may cause long-term nutritional deficiencies over time. Also do not leave food out on the counter to defrost – this is not considered food safe and may cause food-borne illness.

Is Pet Plate cooked Food Balanced for Puppies?

Yes, all of the PetPlate cooked dog food recipes are balanced for puppies, including large breeds.

Pet Plate vs. Kibble – how does it compare?

There are two main differences between a kibble and a fresh dog food like Pet Plate – processing and preservation. Most kibbled dog foods are cooked to both dehydrate for shelf stability and to cook to remove pathogens – this usually means kibbled products will either use high heat or prolonged heat in order to cook foods. In comparison to lightly cooked diets like Pet Plate which cook just enough to remove pathogens, however do not continue the cooking process to dehydrate completely.

Another differences comes down to preservation method. Kibbled dog foods tend to use some type of preservative in order to maintain freshness of their diets – this may be a natural preservative like mixed tocopherols (vitamin E) or rosemary extract, or it may be a synthetic antioxidant like BHT/BHA. In contrast with fresh frozen diets like PetPlate which do not use preservatives, and instead rely on freezing as the preservation method.

Research comparing kibbled dog foods to fresh food diets is still in it’s infancy, however some research has shown increased digestibility, potential immune system benefits, a possible more stable and robust microbiome, and even cancer-protective effects when diets also contain vegetables. Many pet parents have also found fresh food anecdotal to improve skin/coat, stool quality, and energy level.

Is Pet Plate a Raw Dog Food?

No, PetPlate is not a raw dog food, it is a lightly cooked dog food. By gently cooking their diets Pet Plate is able to remove potential harmful pathogens while maintaining the nutritional benefits of a fresh food diet. This is important because 20-50% of raw human-grade meats found in our local grocery stores (even those labeled as organic, grass-fed and free-range) are contaminated with pathogens such as Salmonella, E.Coli, Listeria and Campylobacter. Currently there is no research to suggest that raw foods are more beneficial than a lightly cooked diet.

Can PetPlate be Used as a Topper?

Yes – you can very easily set up your dog with a PetPlate topper plan. Simply fill out the nutritional questionnaire to find out your dog’s nutritional needs, select the recipes you would like your pup to eat, then choose the Topper Plan at checkout. The PetPlate Meal Topper Plan is designed to be 25% of your dog’s daily caloric needs, which is a great way to add to supplement to your dog’s kibbled diet.

Topping your dog’s regular food with PetPlate may be beneficial if you have a picky dog, a senior dog, or a dog that needs to gain weight as the fresh food recipes can stimulate your dog to want to eat. Using PetPlate as a toppers may also be a nice way to get some of the benefits of fresh food while staying within your budget.

How much does PetPlate Cost?

The price of feeding PetPlate dog food will largely depend on the size of your dog, their activity level, their individual metabolism and also the recipe your dog is eating. Some of the PetPlate recipes are more expensive than others – in particular the more exotic meats like the Venison Recipe.

However if you were to feed the PetPlate Chicken Recipe to a 50 lb dog, who is moderately active and eats about 1000 calories per day you would expect to spend about $289 per month, or about $9.63 per day.

Are Pet Plate Recipes Good for Dogs with Allergies?

Pet Plate recipes can be a good choice for dogs with allergies, though depending on the type of allergies your dog has, one recipe may be a better choice than another. In dogs we see two main types of allergies – food allergies and environmental allergies. Both of these conditions have similar clinical signs, where dogs will be itchy, they may have yeast infections or bacterial infections, they also may chew on their paws, have ear infections or skin inflammation.

In order to know what type of allergies your dog has you will need to do something called a food elimination trial with your veterinary team. This involves choosing a novel diet that contains foods your dog has never been on before, and feeding that for 8-12 weeks. After this period if your dog is not longer itchy you start to “challenge” with different single foods to see what exactly your dog is allergic to. This will give you a list of foods to “avoid”.

For dogs with food allergies we simply need to avoid the foods that they are allergic to. Though this seems simple, it can be difficult depending on what your dog is allergic to. Considering the most common food allergies in dogs are chicken, beef, dairy, eggs, soy and wheat – the best choices for dogs with food allergies may be the Pet Plate Venison Recipe, PetPlate Lamb Recipe, or PetPlate Pork Recipe. However it is important to note that dogs can be allergic to ANY protein. Which is why food elimination trials are so important.

For dogs with environmental allergies they will not improve with diet change, and for these dogs we typically look for diets that are high in protein, omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants to help rebuild the skin barrier. For dogs with environmental allergies the PetPlate Beef Recipe, PetPlate Turkey Recipe or PetPlate Pork Recipe may be excellent choices as they have the best omega 3 to 6 ratios, and are higher in protein. If your veterinarian advises you to add additional fish oil to the recipe in order to help with your dog’s environmental allergy management the Venison Recipe may be the best choice since it is lower in fat, thus less likely to cause diarrhea with additional fat added to the diet.

Are Pet Plate Meals Good for Dogs with Loose Stools or Diarrhea?

Typically when we look for diets for dogs with sensitive stomachs we tend to reach for diets that are low in fat and highly digestible. In some cases (like with IBD) we look for diets that are also “novel” meaning they contain ingredients your dog has never been exposed to before. Given this information the best PetPlate recipe for dogs with loose stools is probably the PetPlate Venison Recipe as it is low in gat (at 11% on a dry matter basis, and 24% on a caloric basis).

However it is important to understand that there are many causes of loose stools in dogs, if your dog is suffering from chronic diarrhea it is always a good idea to discuss diet change prior to make sure it’s the best choice for your dog.

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