Darwin’s Pet Review 2023: Is the Raw Diet Right For Your Dog?

Overview

When it comes to our four-legged family members, their health and happiness are incredibly important to us. There are more options than ever before when it comes to food. Raw food is one of the trending options and is becoming increasingly recommended by veterinarians. I did a deep dive into Darwin’s Natural Pet Products to bring you all the relevant information about this delivery service.

Is going raw a good idea for your animal? What are the benefits? Darwin’s was created by a pet owner who was struggling to find relief for his dog’s arthritis. His vet told him to try raw food and he spent time carefully preparing raw meat and vegetables. After seeing great improvements with his own dog, he decided to start the company to get this diet out to more pets.

You can give it a try thanks to a great introductory offer. I’ve got all the information you need in this review to help make your decision.

Pros

• Top-quality ingredients used

• Five different protein choices

• Specific formulas for medical issues

• Special discount: Get 10 Pounds For $14.95!

Cons

• Amount of packaging

• Handling raw meat isn’t easy

• Takes time to prepare

Darwin’s Is Best For

• Anyone looking for a raw diet option

• Pets who need a grain-free diet

• Health-conscious owners

Darwin’s May Not Be Great For

• Pet owners on a budget

• People that don’t have a lot of freezer space

• Brand new puppies

Darwin’s Meals

Plans and Recipes

There are three different types of food to choose from. The Natural Selections is the most popular option. The five recipes in this line are chicken, lamb, turkey, beef, and duck. The meat used was raised cage-free or pasture-raised and didn’t have any steroids, antibiotics, or growth hormones added.

The Biologics line is made using conventionally-grown meat that you would find at your local supermarket. It’s a more affordable option and comes in three recipes–chicken, turkey, or beef.

The third option is the Intelligent Design which was created for dogs with certain health issues. These meals are only available to those with a veterinary prescription. The recipes are specifically designed to support different health concerns. There are recipes available for kidney support, liver support, cancer support, and joint and musculoskeletal support.

Ingredients

All of the ingredients used by Darwin’s Pets are human grade and USDA-approved. In the Natural Selections meals, all of the meat is pasture-raised and grass-fed, so your pet is receiving top-quality meat.

Each recipe has different vegetables and ingredients to provide the necessary vitamins and nutrients. For example, cod-liver oil from wild-caught Alaskan codfish is added to provide additional vitamin D from a natural source.

Let’s take a closer look at the Natural Selections Turkey for Dogs. The ingredients list is simple with meat and vegetables.

It’s made up of 74.64% antibiotic-free meat consisting of meat, livers, hearts, and gizzards. The hearts are a good source of nutrients because they’re muscle meat. The liver is a lean protein that provides vitamin A.

Then you have organic vegetables making up another 24.66% including sweet potato, lettuce, carrots, seasonal squash, celery, and parsley. These give your pup food fiber and different vitamins and minerals.

Finally, the remaining 0.77% is the special nutrient mix with organic flaxseed, sea salt, inulin, cod liver oil, and more. These ingredients are high in Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D.

Darwin’s Natural Selections Turkey for Dogs recipe

You can see this complete breakdown with each recipe. If your pup has a carrot allergy, you can avoid carrots by switching to the lamb recipe. The information’s easy to find on the website.

Nutrition

The raw food diet provides all the nutrition your dog needs and none of the extras that their gut struggles to process. The recipes all have around 13% protein (except for the liver support formula), 6-12% fat, 1% fiber, and the rest is moisture. The options range from 28-44 calories per ounce.

All recipes are balanced and tested to meet or exceed the AAFCO nutritional profiles. All the food is minimally processed because it’s raw, so the diet is close to what your pet was designed to eat. The vital nutrients aren’t cooked out of the food, so the animals are able to enjoy all the good stuff without any of the fillers.

Unboxing

It’s important to remember that you’re handling raw meat, so make sure to wash your hands and all the surfaces and keep the food separated from other foods. All of the meals you order will come frozen and you can transfer them directly to your freezer on arrival.

The food comes in four-packs that are attached by perforated plastic. That way you can rip off the quantity you need to thaw for your pup. Each half-pound portion has a corner that easily peels open.

The first order will come with a thaw tub that you can keep in your refrigerator. Depending on the temperature of your freezer, it should take about a day to thaw. Once you move it from the freezer, make sure to use it within 2-4 days for freshness. All you need to do is transfer the food to a dish and serve.

There’s a lot of packaging that comes with a Darwin’s delivery to help keep all of the food frozen while in transit. However, you’ll find a return label in your packaging to return any of the materials you can to be reused. It isn’t the best option, but it’s better than completely tossing it all out.

Shipping & Delivery

Darwin’s Pets offers a few different delivery options. You can sign up for convenient auto-ship so you don’t have to remember to place future orders. Reminder emails will be sent before your orders ship in case you want to make any changes or updates to the order.

It’s simple to change or cancel your order if you need to use up the meals you already have or need to increase the amounts. Your account on the website will give you access to make all the changes you need to.

Darwin’s uses UPS to complete its shipping. Everything is packed with dry ice in insulated coolers after being frozen on-site in vacuum-sealed packages, so you won’t have to worry about the food during shipping, but it’s a good idea to try and be home when your delivery comes so you can put it away when it arrives.

Ordering from Darwin’s Natural Pet Products

The Darwin’s Natural Pet Products website is incredibly user-friendly and it just takes a few minutes to sign up and get the suggestions specific to your pet.

How to Sign Up

To sign up for Darwin’s Pets, you’ll have eight questions to answer. Fill in basic information about your pet like the breed, age, name, and ideal weight. It takes less than 30 seconds to get through them and the result is a recommendation for the right amount of food for your pets.

Managing Your Subscription

With your first order, you’ll create an online account and you can make any changes to your delivery schedule and which recipes you’re ordering. It’s simple to swap things or add on additional treats and bones with the food.

Customer Service

The customer care team at Darwin's, who love animals as much as you do, are available for phone calls from 6 AM to 6 PM Pacific time, Monday through Friday. They also provide an email address and a contact form on the website, though a live chat feature is not available.

The FAQ section covers a lot of great information about how to help transition your dog to a new type of food and lots of research about why a raw food diet is the right choice for your family pet.

If there are any issues with your first order, the team will work with you to try and find a better replacement. And if you need to cancel and close your account, you just give them a call or send them an email letting them know.

Darwin’s Pet Recalls

Recalls happen often in the pet food industry and even though Darwin’s uses very high-quality ingredients, the FDA points out that raw food is more likely to carry different foodborne pathogens. Darwin has had a few recalls in the last few years, so I’ll point those out.

• March 2018 – FDA issued a recall for a few of the ZooLogics and Natural Selections raw dog food for potential salmonella and e. coli contamination.

• March 2019 – FDA issued a recall for three different recipes in the Natural Selections product line due to potential salmonella contamination.

• Darwin’s did voluntary recalls in 2017 and 2018 for potential salmonella contamination and listeria contamination as well.

It’s important to note the lot numbers on each of your packages because you’ll use those to see if your future deliveries are part of a recall. They’re not common, but it does occur.

Prices

Darwin’s Pets prices its recipes by the package which is about two pounds of food. Chicken is the most affordable protein option and lamb is the most expensive. The Biologics line offers the lowest price chicken at Price: Missing Product darwin's per package compared to the Natural Selections chicken product which is about $2 more per package.

The amount of food you need depends on the size of your dog. If the dog is about 30 lbs, it would eat about 5 lbs per week. For the Biologics plan, that would cost around $27.41 per week. With Natural Selections, it would cost about $33.24 per week. If you have a larger dog of about 75 lbs, you would need to double your order and feed them 10 lbs per week. That would double the cost.

For first-time orders, you can get a great introduction deal to see if it’s a good fit for your pup. Get 10 Pounds For $14.95! with Darwin’s Pet.

Each order needs to be a minimum of 20 lbs, so most people order about a month’s worth of food at a time. Shipping fees are included in the price so you’ll just be paying for the packages you order.

The Bottom Line: Is Darwin’s Pet Worth It?

Raw food diets work great for many dogs. With no preservatives, additives, hormones, or grains, it’s a diet that helps your dog absorb all the necessary nutrients with none of the extras. Customers say that their pets had more energy, a shiny and healthy coat, relief from common skin problems, and improved quality of life.

Darwin’s Raw Food is a great option for dog food. If you’ve been wanting to try the raw food diet for your pet, go with the company that’s been in the business for 15 years with many success stories and happy customers.

FAQ

What is the best raw food diet for dogs?

Darwin’s Natural Pet Products offers a great selection of different recipes that fit in a raw diet for pets. Raw wild is another option to consider if you want different proteins like elk and venison hunted right in the United States.

How do I switch my dog to a raw diet?

When transitioning your dog to a raw diet, like Darwin’s pet food, you’ll want to do it slowly over a few days. Mix the food so it’s 25% raw for the first few days, then mix it half and half, and finally use 75% raw until it’s been 7-9 days and you’re completely transitioned.

What is the best food for my dog with an illness?

There are many different diets that a veterinarian will recommend. Darwin’s Natural Pet Products offers recipes for different health concerns like kidneys, liver, and cancer support.