We're always hearing that Natura is the best dog food in the world :rolleyes:, here is a dog food that IMO exceeds Natura. Read this and see what you think. They have simple formulas and there's even a formula without flax.

My dog LOVES the Thrive formula, I sliced up a boiled chicken breast and put it on one side of the bowl and thrive on the other, my dog ate the thrive first!


We love what we do, and we hope your animal companions will love it, too! We take pride in preparing fresh, healthy products that make a meaningful difference in pets' lives and in our world.

The Honest Kitchen provides natural human-grade pet food products that promote nutritional awareness, environmental responsibility, and a sustainable community. We aim to create a stir and provoke change - in individual animals and the pet industry as a whole. We operate with foresight, thoughtfulness, insight and integrity, and will be accountable for all that we do.

At The Honest Kitchen, we believe that our selection of fresh wholesome, human grade foods are much better than the cooked mixture of by-products, fillers and other processed ingredients being served to many unfortunate pets, day after day.

We offer four completely gluten-free, grain-free diets and all our products are guaranteed 100% wheat free.

All our grains are certified organic. Our meats are hormone, antibiotic free and our fruits and vegetables are guaranteed non GMO. Our Quinoa is certified fair-trade.



Our food bridges the gap between raw, homemade and commercial, ‘kibbled’ pet foods. We start with fresh, raw ingredients and gently dehydrate them so that almost all the valuable vitamins, minerals and enzymes remain. Dehydration makes food completely safe even for pups, and senior pets with compromised immune systems. Our finished products are nutritious, delicious, and healthy – some even call them gourmet!

What’s more – human beings actually taste our products as part of our diligent Quality Control Process – and all raw ingredients are individually tasted by people during Research and Development of every new diet we make. Not a lot of pet food companies can say that!

Production occurs in a human food facility right here in California, alongside products such as breakfast cereals and beverage mixes for human consumption. Our facility is FDA inspected.

Because dehydration takes place at moderate temperatures, the majority of our ingredients are still considered raw. The only exceptions are the meats and eggs, which are dehydrated at high enough temperatures to kill any bacteria present and are therefore essentially considered 'cooked'. This ensures that all finished products maintain their ‘human edible’ status, which is required by our manufacturing facility.

Our line of healthy pet food recipes offers something for even the most discerning palate. Each of these diets is carefully blended to encompass a broad array of amino acids, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and enzymes to help achieve and maintain optimum health. All our foods, except for Preference, are formulated to meet and exceed the AAFCO Nutrient Profiles.


Thrive:
Ingredients

Hormone-free Chicken, Organic Quinoa, Sweet Potatoes, Spinach, Parsley, Organic Kelp, Rosemary, Vitamins and Minerals

Suitable For

All life stages; puppies, pregnancy, lactation, active adult dogs & healthy seniors. Thrive is naturally low-carb, with just 37% carbohydrates. Low carb diets are often indicated as part of a holistic approach to cancer recovery.

Never heard of Quinoa? Pronounced Keen-Wah, it's a treasured ancient grain from Bolivia in South America. Our Quinoa is fair-trade, sustainably grown and 100% certified organic.

Naturally gluten-free, Quinoa is a valuable source of complete protein. It contains every single amino acid and is especially well-endowed with the amino acid lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. In addition to protein, quinoa features a host of other health-building nutrients.

Nutritional Information (http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/nutrition-for-dogs.shtml) (pg. 12 for Thrive)

Does anyone else have experience with this food?

That is a good food. I think the problem lies in the fact it is not kibble. Most people want the convenience of kibble and don't want to re-hydrate dog food. Not all people, but probably the majority.

Nancy

I think Sojos is better than THK... but THK is a good food.

That is a good food. I think the problem lies in the fact it is not kibble. Most people want the convenience of kibble and don't want to re-hydrate dog food. Not all people, but probably the majority.

Nancy

Really???

It's much more compact then kibble. Adding water is too much trouble?

I think Sojos is better than THK... but THK is a good food.

Why?

Really???

It's much more compact then kibble. Adding water is too much trouble?


It is for some. Maybe not you Doppler and I'm not saying it's not a good food - it is. My friend used to feed it and quit because he just got tired of rehydrating it. I believe it has to rehydrate for 10-15 minutes if I remember. You have to admit - people like convenience that comes with kibble.

Nancy

Really???

It's much more compact then kibble. Adding water is too much trouble?

I'd looked into various types of food in the past and seem to remember that the rehydration took at least 4 hours....it's not just adding water and stirring. It's got to sit around. I can't remember what brand(s) I looked at....it's been a while.

I know I didn't feel like messing with that. I'm not a "just easy kibble" person, but I don't like food sitting around.

Barb

No, you wait 10 minutes. 4 Hrs :eek:

Mine did very well on this food. Honest kitchen I think is the only one legally allowed to say human grade, and humans taste test it.

Another plus was it was easier to give fish oil caps in. It says hydrate 5-10 minutes on the box.

They replaced the organic quinoa with a "flaked" sticker so it now reads "flaked quinoa" which concerns me a little, not because its not organic, but because I wonder if it was a mix up of some sort. Still we loved it here.

Does it say it isn't organic? Maybe it's the same quinoa but in a different form.

Does it say it isn't organic? Maybe it's the same quinoa but in a different form.

No it says it is, but it recently changed. Not that it is a big deal, I just was wondering if it was a mistake. Mine were on it for 4-5 months and LOVED it.

Its actually pretty true too, its supposed to make 43lbs, which I did last aboutas long as it says it should. I didn't expect that.

FWIW, Sojos never struck me as great, my dogs pooped everything back out whole. :tapfoot: I like their cookies!


Edit: Im wearing my THK shirt right now actually, heh. Their t shirts are organic... heheehe

I almost went with THK but instead went with Ziwi. I know many who love THK.
www.ziwipeak.com/nzl/cuisinefamily.shtml (http://www.ziwipeak.com/nzl/cuisinefamily.shtml)



I still believe this is one of the best foods for an active dog but I know it's very pricey.

Sojo's hardly gives any information about the quality of their ingredients and I didn't find a nutrient analysis. Only one of their mixes is a stand alone dog food. The Honest Kitchen has several stand alone dog foods and one mix to be used with whole foods. I wonder why someone would say Sojo's is better than The Honest Kitchen :confused:. I couldn't find enough information that would make me think that.

The nutrient analysis for Thrive looks real good and it's suitable for puppies too. It seems like this food should appeal to the pickiest of dog food connoisseurs except you have to add water. There is no "meal" in this or rendered products.

I almost went with THK but instead went with Ziwi. I know many who love THK.
www.ziwipeak.com/nzl/cuisinefamily.shtml (http://www.ziwipeak.com/nzl/cuisinefamily.shtml)



I still believe this is one of the best foods for an active dog but I know it's very pricey.

When I looked at Ziwi before I think the cost was more than I wanted to pay and it wasn't very easy to get. I'll have to look at Ziwi again.

The HK formulas are what I DO primarily feed along with my own meats. However, not everyone can afford to go this route or cares too.

But yes, I'm definitely for the HK formulas a LOT more then Naturapet products. But realistically speaking, it can be very very expensive for big dogs or multiple households.

Around here a 30# box of the Preference pre-mix lasts my gang quite some time; but I only have one big guy and 2 little guys.

Rehydrating is not an issue at all; takes 15-20min...that's not the concern. Concern is the meat-based formulas can get real expensive. The Preference version isn't too bad price wise and it goes a long way!

I feed the Preference version which contains only fruits/veggies, not a single grain, and I add my own meat/eggs, etc.

We looked at it, and I think it is a good food.

I do find that for me, feeding raw bones (bulk) and muscle meat is cheaper. I also feed kibble in the a.m. and feed Acana because its a good food and cheap(er) than some food. With two dogs that eat a lot I need to think of our budget.

I think Sojos is better than THK... but THK is a good food.

See, I don't think the Sojos is better cause they don't include a vitamin/mineral premix into their formula, at least not the grain/meat free version.

We looked at it, and I think it is a good food.

I do find that for me, feeding raw bones (bulk) and muscle meat is cheaper. I also feed kibble in the a.m. and feed Acana because its a good food and cheap(er) than some food. With two dogs that eat a lot I need to think of our budget.

HK has a meat free version that is solely fruits/veggies that you mix with your own meats. But is probably not really necessary in your situation if you're feeding kibble am and raw meat bones in the evening. Just make sure the muscle meat is balanced with proper calcium levels.

Quinoa is in the beet family. It is not a grain. I love quinoa. We use it like a rice or put it in soups or make salads with it. It's interesting that they put it in their food. I wonder if it has the same effect that beet pulp has on the poops.

My two dogs have been eating Honest Kitchen Thrive formula for dinner for the past several months. They are on a kibble rotation for breakfast.

I mix warm water with the dehydrated Thrive; stir; and let it sit for 10 minutes. Once in a while I'll add a scrambled egg or a little bit of canned food.
Thrive has a higher protein and lower carb level than some of the other formulas. Quinoa is an ancient grain, but not of the same family as most grains like wheat or rice. It's one reason that my older golden who is grain intolerant can eat the Thrive with no problems.

I called the Honest Kitchen company about the "flaked" quinoa sticker on the front of the box. Their explanation is that they still use "organic" quinoa and it will continue to say that on the back of the box. However, the word "organic" quinoa on the front of the box seemed to confuse people and led them to believe that all the ingredients were organic.

What's the pricing on this product?

No, you wait 10 minutes. 4 Hrs :eek:


I just nosed around to try to find what I'd seen before.....it was probably SoJos. Their formulas are different but tend to say "preferably overnight" for soaking. I think that's what I remembered....it was a LOT longer than 10 minutes. I agree....:eek:

Barb

I tried out a small box of Thrive but I had an unopened bag of some kibble that I had already bought. As soon as I finish the bag of kibble I'm going to try it again. I was feeding it 2 x's a day and found that I liked the texture of it the best when I used water heated in the microwave, let sit and then cool for 5 minutes in the fridge. It was similar to firmly cooked oatmeal but much more dense. There was more volume to eat compared to kibble and maybe one of the reasons my dog seemed so satisfied with this food. It also took longer to eat than kibble. At the very least, I will keep a box around for feeding one or two times a week for a special treat. I couldn't believe my dog preferred it to straight chicken, maybe it's the quinoa. The extra effort/time to add water was so worth it (to me) after seeing how much my dog enjoyed this food.

I paid around $31 + shipping for the small 4 lb. box of Thrive (makes 17 lbs. of fresh food), the large 10 pound box was around $61 and makes 43 lbs. of fresh food. You can "find stores" on their site, order online or get it directly from them http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/ .

It does look like a wonderful food and one that I would consider, but I don't see any reason to bash on Natura to promote it. This food, like Natura's food, each serve their purpose. I'm just glad there are more and more options out there.


We're always hearing that Natura is the best dog food in the world :rolleyes:

My two dogs have been eating Honest Kitchen Thrive formula for dinner for the past several months. They are on a kibble rotation for breakfast.

I mix warm water with the dehydrated Thrive; stir; and let it sit for 10 minutes. Once in a while I'll add a scrambled egg or a little bit of canned food.
Thrive has a higher protein and lower carb level than some of the other formulas. Quinoa is an ancient grain, but not of the same family as most grains like wheat or rice. It's one reason that my older golden who is grain intolerant can eat the Thrive with no problems.

I called the Honest Kitchen company about the "flaked" quinoa sticker on the front of the box. Their explanation is that they still use "organic" quinoa and it will continue to say that on the back of the box. However, the word "organic" quinoa on the front of the box seemed to confuse people and led them to believe that all the ingredients were organic.

Thanks for the info on the flaked sticker. I emailed them a few weeks ago, but forgot to ask about that in particular!

It does look like a wonderful food and one that I would consider, but I don't see any reason to bash on Natura to promote it.

I don't see my comment as bashing Natura. Natura is a very good food and I was mostly reacting to comments from other threads. If you only read this forum you would think that Natura is the only dog food that is made to high standards. The Honest Kitchen is just another choice that may appeal to some discriminating dog food buyers.

And, yes, thank you LuckyLuna for posting the info about the sticker. My box did not have a sticker on it.

Sojo's hardly gives any information about the quality of their ingredients and I didn't find a nutrient analysis. Only one of their mixes is a stand alone dog food. The Honest Kitchen has several stand alone dog foods and one mix to be used with whole foods. I wonder why someone would say Sojo's is better than The Honest Kitchen :confused:. I couldn't find enough information that would make me think that.

The nutrient analysis for Thrive looks real good and it's suitable for puppies too. It seems like this food should appeal to the pickiest of dog food connoisseurs except you have to add water. There is no "meal" in this or rendered products.

I didn't was it WAS better... I said I THINK it's better... as IMO.

The reason I prefer the Sojos Complete to THK is because Maxwell has eaten sample packs of both... his stool was much better on Sojos than on THK. Though he didn't seem to actually enjoy either one of them so I don't buy them.

With both THK and Sojos, I mixed a pound of ground beef.

Sorry.. I should have been more clear in my first post. The only reason I prefer Sojos is because it agreed with my dog more so than THK. :o:

I didn't was it WAS better... I said I THINK it's better... as IMO.


Yep, my mistake, sorry. Thanks for the explanation. Was that Preference? I've only tried their Thrive.

OK, I haven't seen anyone post about how its 76$ for 10ibls! That is Crazy!:eek:

I wish i had that kind of money. :rolleyes:

I am planning on starting to use Preference Honest Kitchen with our own added raw ingredients next month. Excited at the prospect and hopefully Sophie will do well on it. I order through a raw co-op which makes it slightly more affordable.

OK, I haven't seen anyone post about how its 76$ for 10ibls! That is Crazy!:eek:

I wish i had that kind of money. :rolleyes:

I don't know which formula you are looking at, I only can speak about Thrive and a 10 lb. box will make 43 lbs of whole food.

OK, I haven't seen anyone post about how its 76$ for 10ibls! That is Crazy!:eek:

I wish i had that kind of money. :rolleyes:

In my area, I usually pay about $62-$63 for a 10 lb. box of Honest Kitchen Thrive. It sounds misleading; because when you add water to hydrate the food it actually provides 43 lbs. of food from the 10 lb. box. Ready to eat, cup per cup, I end up spending less to feed the Honest Kitchen than a kibble like Orijen. I know Orijen is a high-priced kibble, but I didn't want people to think that Honest Kitchen is in a whole other ball park. Also, they have a newer formula "Keen" which is turkey and oatmeal based and costs a lot less.

Price has always been the reason I've never considered it. First I have to pay $45-65 for the food and then more for meat to add to it?! Its just too much money for a college student living on loans and part time work, especially now that I've got 2 big mouths to feed!

Price has always been the reason I've never considered it. First I have to pay $45-65 for the food and then more for meat to add to it?! Its just too much money for a college student living on loans and part time work, especially now that I've got 2 big mouths to feed!

THC only has one formula that you have to add meat to, the others are stand alone dog foods and you don't have to add anything except water.

THC only has one formula that you have to add meat to, the others are stand alone dog foods and you don't have to add anything except water.

Right, the cheapest version is the one you have to add stuff too. Besides, I just looked at the ingredients closer and most have potato in them which I think Palomar is allergic to. I'm not saying its not a good food or anything, just that its too expensive IMO.

I totally understand the tight budget; we're on a single income of $24k yearly, trying to support 3 dogs, a new to us house, 3 trucks, and other loans as well.

The Preference formula is the one you would add meat too; yes, it does have sweet potatoe in it.

I pay around $50 for a 15# box of it, but it goes a LONG way....with my 2 little guys, it lasts them over 2 mnths.

I like the other versions too, but sometimes wonder if they have more veggies/fruits/grains then actual meat content. I have thought about feeding one of the ones with meat and simply adding it to the raw meaty bones the dogs already get.

Perhaps after we get moved and settled again, right now there's so much going on.

RC has tried some of THK before it has been probably a year and a half the samples I got were Force and Thrive. Do not remember which formula RC liked better, but the one that was very green when mixed he looked at me like "what is this" he did not like so much

Have not been to their site for a while so was looking around (thanks op) and they now have a PDF that shows the nutrient profile on formulas. I was thinking of trying a few more samples but after seeing the numbers changes once hydrated on PDF I am not so sure.

Maybe I am looking a it wrong or incorrectly or should have known before hand , but I did not realize how much the numbers change once hydrated . Am glad when RC tried some I added meat after looking at PDF last night

Here is link to PDF from honest kitchen with nutrient profiles

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/images/profiles.pdf

kathy

I may get some samples again to have on hand, food can always be in place of one meal or add a little to kibble

An explanation of the 3 separate profiles is given in the original link that I posted: (before you download PDF)
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/nutrition-for-dogs.shtml

You have to compare apples to apples. The dry-matter basis column can be compared to other nutrient profiles that are expressed on a dry-matter basis. The 3 profiles are different ways of expressing the same value.

They just started carrying this at the fancy dog store in town. i had never heard of dried dog food in that form. interesting. certainly very compact for storage.

the problem i would have is that we'd drown from the drooling that would take place while the food rehydrated for 10 minutes. in the 1 minute it takes me to scoop kibble, there is a huge puddle in the kitchen.

In my area, I usually pay about $62-$63 for a 10 lb. box of Honest Kitchen Thrive. It sounds misleading; because when you add water to hydrate the food it actually provides 43 lbs. of food from the 10 lb. box.


I admit, I had looked into this but not read the site closely enough. When I saw the price for 10 pounds, I figured it was out of my price range. But now that I understand you get 43 pounds for 10 pounds, it seems a lot more reasonable. It's still not cheap but more realistic for me. I may have to think about trying this.