PURE Dog Food Review

PURE is a fresh dog food company that was founded out of the need for providing a highly digestible and nutritious food for dogs. Each recipe is hand-crafted in a commercial kitchen using the same ingredients as found in Los Angles local restaurants, frozen, and shipped directly to your door.

Pure Dog Food offers five different fresh food recipes that are balanced for both adult dogs and puppies. Each recipe contains a single protein (chicken, turkey, beef, and salmon), along with carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables. One of the recipes is grain-free (beef), but the remaining four recipes are grain-inclusive.

Generally speaking, all the PURE dog food recipes are higher in protein (greater than 29% on a caloric basis), and range between low to high in fat, and moderate to high in carbohydrates (16-46% fat, 22-47% carbohydrates on a caloric basis). Due to the range in composition of the PURE recipes, they offer both lower and higher caloric density diets that are higher in protein, making them a chosen choice for weight loss, and for highly active dogs depending on the recipe. They also offer several low-fat diets which may be helpful for dogs with sensitive stomachs.

OVERVIEW:

Company Responded to Questions Asked via Email: No. The information gathered below was from their website December 2021.

Who formulated PURE Dog Food? PURE was formulated by an un-named veterinary nutritionist and consults with Patrick Mahaney, a holistic veterinarian as the chef medical officer.

Where does PURE source their Ingredients from? All ingredients are sourced within the human food chain.

Where are PURE Human Grade Dog Food Recipes Manufactured? Recipes are cooked in small batches in their Culver City location and hand-packaged prior to shipping. Limited information is given online as to the type of facility they use, and if they own or are renting space in a commercial kitchen on rotation with other chefs.

What Quality Control Procedures does PURE Lightly Cooked Dog Food perform on their foods? No mention was given on their website of quality control procedures including mycotoxin testing, or pathogen testing.

Has PURE Invested in Digestibility or AAFCO Feeding Trials? No AAFCO Feeding Trials or Digestibility trials were mentioned on their website.

Are Full Nutritional Profiles Found Online for the PURE Recipes? Only guaranteed analysis is available for these products, it is unknown if full nutritional profiles were tested.Has PURE Dog Food ever been Recalled? No.

RECIPES:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ( FAQ )

Where to buy PURE fresh Dog Food?

PURE Dog food can be purchased on their website and can either be shipped nationwide in the USA or if you live within the LA area free delivery may be available for purchases over $30. The full PURE Dog Food Menu can be found online, and you are able to mix and match diets to create a healthy meal plan for your dog! 

How do you store and feed PURE?

PURE Dog Food is frozen directly after cooking, and will arrive frozen on dry ice to your door. To feed you can defrost the food by placing the container in your fridge overnight OR if you need the food sooner, you can do a “quick thaw” by placing the food in a microwave-safe container, then use your defrost setting to thaw. This can be useful if you forget to order food or if you forget to thaw fresh food (it happens to everyone!).

It is important to note that you should never leave food on the counter to defrost OR heat up food on the stovetop. Leaving food on the counter to defrost is not considered “food safe” and offers an opportunity for harmful pathogens to take hold. Heating food can degrade heat-sensitive vitamins causing an accidental deficiency.

PURE dog food should be stored in your freezer until needed, then can be placed in your fridge up to 3 days defrosted (similar to the food you eat!). If you have further questions or need more instruction on how to feed PURE contact their customer service. Over time you will become confident with the rotation of freezer – fridge – bowl.

Is PURE cooked Food Balanced for Puppies?

Yes, all of the diets are labeled for “all life stages” which means they are complete and balanced for puppies.

PURE vs. Kibble – how does it compare?

The main difference between lightly cooked dog food like PURE and kibbled dog food comes down to processing and preservation. Lightly cooked diets are typically cooked just enough to remove potentially harmful pathogens, but not enough to dehydrate completely. This method is not ultra-processed, and leads to a highly nutritious final product that may have higher digestibility and even benefits to the microbiome (which houses over 80% of our pet’s immune system). 

Kibble on the other hand cooks to both remove pathogens, and to dehydrate enough to remove moisture – this works as part of the preservation process along with adding in additional preservatives so that it can be kept shelf-stable. The convenience and ease of transport of kibbled diets can make them good options for travel or emergency situations. Kibbled diets are also typically less expensive than fresh food diets as they tend to use “scraps” from the human food industry such as chicken back meat, fattier cuts of beef, or less desirable by-products like kidney, liver, tongue, eyes, etc. 

Another difference between a fresh food diet like PURE and Kibble is the use of preservatives. PURE – like most frozen fresh food brands – uses freezing as their preservation method instead of adding natural or synthetic preservatives like vitamin E (Mixed Tocopherols), Rosemary Extract, BHA, and BHT.

Though we are seeing some research that supports the potential benefits of fresh food and we see many anecdotal reports of increased energy, improved coat quality, and decreases in allergies or loose stools – we have limited research at this time showing the benefits of fresh food.

Is PURE a Raw Dog Food?

No, PURE is a lightly cooked dog food. Unlike a raw dog food, PURE cooks its foods just enough to remove potentially harmful pathogens. This is important because we know that 20-50% of human-grade grocery store meats are contaminated with pathogens such as Salmonella, E.Coli, Campylobacter, and Listeria. And we have research that says our dogs can get sick from these pathogens, and they can also shed these pathogens into the local environment. Currently, we have no research to support that raw food offers any additional benefits to that of lightly cooked – digestibility between raw and lightly cooked diets of similar compositions is not significantly different, both foods are highly nutritious.

Can PURE be Used as a Topper?

PURE can easily be used as a topper to whatever diet you are currently feeding. You can also fairly easily setup PURE Dog Food as a topper plan – simply enter your dog’s weight and get an estimate of how much they would be fed every two weeks, and you can either quarter that amount to feed at 25% of the diet (and have it shipped directly to your door!), or you can extend your – out to every-other-month. Using PURE as a meal topper can be a great option for picky dogs or those that need to gain weight, however many dog moms use PURE to enhance their dog’s regular diet with the addition of whole fresh food items.

How much does PURE Cost?

The price of feeding PURE dog food will vary based on your dog’s size their activity level, and their life stage, and depending on what you are currently feeding it may be more or less expensive. However, if you have a 50 lb dog the estimated cost to feed them PURE Chicken and Quinoa each month will be around $486, or about $16.20 per day. You can get a free quote on their website if you need more information on how much it costs to feed PURE dog food.

Are PURE Recipes Good for Dogs with Allergies?

Though food and environmental allergies do display similar clinical signs such as bacterial and yeast infections, itchiness, skin irritation, and hives – the nutritional management of allergies differs based on what type of allergies your pup has.

For food allergies we simply look to avoid the food allergen in question – thus if your dog is allergic to chicken, you avoid chicken. However, it’s important to note that dogs can be allergic to any food item that contains protein molecules – even more exotic proteins like venison, kangaroo, and fish! Thus diet choice is based on dietary history, and the results from something called a food elimination trial. But statistically speaking the most common allergens are chicken, beef, dairy, and egg – thus either the PURE Salmon & Pasta or PURE Turkey recipe may be a good choice.

For dogs with seasonal allergies, we want to provide all the building blocks to support a healthy skin and coat and also provide compounds that are more anti-inflammatory such as omega 3 fatty acids (in the form of EPA & DHA) and antioxidants. Probably the best choice for a dog with environmental allergies would be either the PURE Salmon Recipe or the PURE Beef Recipe. Both are higher in protein and fat to provide the building blocks dogs eed for skin and coat health and have a good balance of omega 3 fatty acids to help with inflammation.

Are PURE Meals Good for Dogs with Loose Stools or Diarrhea?

Typically when we consider foods for dogs with gastrointestinal conditions we look for low-fat, highly digestible diets. PURE offers two diets that are lower in fat that may be a good option for dogs with sensitive stomachs – the PURE Chicken and Spinach Recipe, and the PURE Chicken and Quinos Recipe. However it is important to note that there are many difference causes to loose stools in dogs, including IBD, food allergies/intolerances, fiber responsive diarrhea, and even diseases such as liver disease. If you are unsure if PURE Dog food is right for your pup that suffers from diarrhea talking to your vet prior to purchase may be the best idea.

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