StayLabs Review 2023: High-Quality Human-Grade Dog Food

Update March 2023: Unfortunately, StayLabs is no longer accepting new orders. For an alternative, you can try The Farmer’s Dog. It offers vet-approved recipes and human-grade ingredients. Plus, you can Get 60% off on your first order!

Overview

Are you looking for some high-quality dog food? StayLabs's human-grade recipes are a solid choice. If you want a little more info, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve done the research and analysis on StayLabs so you don’t have to.

Located in Brooklyn, NY, StayLabs crafts natural human-grade food for your dog. The company creates a personalized feeding plan for every dog it serves according to the characteristics of each animal.

However, the claim to fame of the company is really the human-grade dog food it offers. It’s healthy, natural, and well-balanced for nutrition. StayLabs also helps you stay on track of your dog’s health by periodically sending you a poop sample kit so the company can analyze your fur buddy's gut health.

So, to learn more about StayLabs, let’s dig in and get started.

Pros

• Human-grade ingredients

• Health-conscious meals

• Free shipping

• Three recipes (with a fourth on the way)

• An App to manage your account

• Special discount: 60% OFF for 2 weeks + GIFT!

Cons

• The chatbot on the website did not seem to function properly

• Cancellation can’t be done directly from your account

StayLabs Meals

Plans and Recipes

StayLabs currently offers 3 recipes for your dog – chicken, beef, and turkey. A fourth recipe is on the horizon, and the company may even release one more by the end of the year. The meals are designed to support a healthier gut.

The meal plans are customized on the basis of portion size for the purpose of controlling caloric intake. The customization takes into account such things as weight loss goals and better poops to make its determination. It also figures out which recipe is best suited to reach these goals.

The recipes are created and developed by an expert team of board-certified veterinarians and expert nutritionists, and then brought to life by the resident head chef.

These experts include Dr. Joe Bielitzki, the Chief Science Advisor and former NASA Chief Veterinary Officer; Dr. Shirley Furmanski, the lead veterinarian with over 30 years of experience who earned her DVM from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Dr. Sara Fernandez, the Head of Nutrition and Formulation, who holds an MSc. in Nutrition and Functional Foods.

Ingredients

StayLabs only uses human-grade ingredients for its recipes. Each recipe is carefully crafted to make sure it adheres to AAFCO guidelines. The nutrient profile of your dog is tracked and monitored on an ongoing basis to allow for modification of the portion size, switching out the recipe, or both.

The specific ingredients for each recipe are listed in detail on the StayLabs site. Let’s take a look at the chicken recipe to get a feel for the quality of the food: chicken, butternut squash, chicken gizzards, chicken liver, green peas, chicken hearts, dehydrated egg, parsnips, sprouted lentils, carrots, kale, anchovy oil, whole ground oats, flaxseeds, blueberries, psyllium seed husk, calcium carbonate, wheat germ oil, dicalcium phosphate, sea salt, dried brown algae (kelp), zinc gluconate, dried ginger, dried turmeric.

Just by scanning the recipe list, you see that most of the ingredients in it are fairly common everyday foods. These include chicken meat and a few chicken organs, as well as several common vegetables. All of these ingredients are included for very particular health benefits.

Butternut squash, for example, is great for boosting your dog’s energy and increasing his/her red blood cell formation. It’s also an excellent source of vitamins A and C, potassium, and fiber. Carrots, on the other hand, support eye health, boost the immune system, and make the skin and coat healthier. They also make an excellent source of vitamin A, fiber, and antioxidants.

Nutrition

The StayLabs website also lists the nutrition details of each recipe in its corresponding Guaranteed Analysis label. For the chicken recipe we mentioned above, the Guaranteed Analysis listed was:

• Min crude protein 10.5%
• Min crude fat 6.5%
• Max crude fiber 1.8%
• Max moisture 73%

The recipes themselves are made in New York (Brooklyn, specifically) by the Head Chef Jared Hargreaves. He uses the freshest ingredients available and cooks the food in small batches using low temperatures. Then, the meals are immediately frozen. This serves to preserve as many of the nutrients as possible.

Unboxing

StayLabs sends the meals for your pet in an insulated box, which keeps the meals frozen while in transit. For the first delivery, in addition to your order of dog food, you’ll also get a free Gut Health (Microbiome) Test, and a free Digital Scale.

The meals sent are NOT pre-portioned. That’s why the company gives you the free scale. It allows you to measure out the appropriate amount of dog food for every serving. Handy, eh?

The amount of dog food you receive is predetermined by StayLabs according to the information you provide about your dog when you sign up. For example, in my case, when I filled out the questionnaire for my dog, Cicero, StayLabs recommended 11 containers (16 oz. apiece) of the Chicken recipe for a two-week trial. The total cost listed came to $33.82 after a 50% discount.

The meals will last several months if stored in the freezer and 4 days if thawed and stored in the refrigerator. The company recommends thawing the food in the refrigerator and then serving it directly to your pet. There’s no need to reheat it.

Like many other companies these days, StayLabs is committed to preserving the environment and limiting its own impact on it. Not only is its cardboard recyclable, but the insulation it uses is completely compostable. Further, the company only uses sustainably-sourced paper food cartons and always stays on the lookout to find more sustainable solutions and decrease its environmental impact.

Shipping & Delivery

StayLabs meals are delivered with a frequency dependent upon the needs of the animal in question. The frequency usually occurs in increments of one week. As large dogs eat more than smaller dogs, shipments to large dogs tend to be more frequent.

A 125 lb. dog, for example, would receive its meal package every 2 weeks. A diminutive 3 lb. dog would receive its meal package every six weeks. As you can see, size makes a big difference.

If you’re curious, it’s the board-certified veterinarians on staff who know how much the dogs should eat and who schedule deliveries accordingly.

It’s not particularly difficult to reschedule a delivery. You just have to reach out to the StayLabs customer care team by emailing support@staylabs.com or texting (856) 517-8604, and they’ll take care of it. Just note that the weekly cutoff is Monday 12 PM Eastern time to order a delivery or make changes. Orders are shipped on Wednesdays.

To help make the delivery process smoother, StayLabs will send you an email with the precise shipping information as well as tracking information.

Ordering from StayLabs

Signing up and managing your subscription for most pet food delivery companies is usually fairly easy. StayLabs is no different.

How to Sign Up

Signing up for StayLabs is pretty basic. From the home page, you simply click the Get Started button and fill out the questionnaire. The questionnaire provides the company with information about your dog. It consists of about 11 steps:

1. Dog’s name, gender, age, number of dogs, and is he/she fixed?

2. Breed

3. Weight and body type

4. Activity level

5. Dog’s current diet

6. Frequency of snacks

7. Health issues and challenges for the dog

8. Any food sensitivities or prescription diet

9. Recommended meal type (Chicken or Beef, Turkey is Coming Soon)

10. Meal Plan summary

11. Checkout

As you can see, it’s a thorough, detailed process, but it’s not complicated.

Managing Your Subscription

Managing your subscription is also relatively simple. It’s largely handled by StayLabs’ customer support team.

You can cancel at any time or make changes to your order. Although the company doesn’t give directions in the FAQ, it provides contact information should you have an issue you want to be addressed. For help, you can contact StayLabs via email (support@staylabs.com) or text (856 - 517-8604).

Customer Service

It’s not difficult to contact the StayLabs Customer Care Team. At the current time, if you have an issue you need to deal with, you can email the team at support@staylabs.com or text or call them at (856) 517-8604. 

In any event, the company provides an email form that’s currently accessible by selecting the help icon at the bottom of the screen. I tried it out. I had a question about the dog recipes and I sent the following email:

I sent the email and got a response the same day from the Customer Care team. Unfortunately, though, due to the nature of my inquiry, the team had to refer my inquiry up the corporate hierarchy to get a full response, and a full response I got:

StayLabs will fully refund the first shipment for any reason and it doesn’t charge cancellation fees. The FAQ mentions that cancellation isn’t a problem, but it gives no details on how to cancel. However, as noted above, you can use the contact information of the Customer Care team: support@staylabs.com or call/text at (856) 517-8604.

StayLabs Recalls

StayLabs hasn't had any recalls for its dog food.

Prices

When buying food for a dog, one of the most influential factors in the cost of the food is the dog’s size and weight. StayLabs’ dog food is no different. I ran the numbers a couple of times and found out that a 2-week supply of food for a 3 lb dog costs $14.80. A two-week supply for a 125 lb dog costs $87.60. Quite a difference!

At the present time, StayLabs doesn’t offer treats or extras other than the free gut-health test and the free digital scale that comes with your first order. It also has a service for periodic poop tests to track the health of your animal.

Additionally, StayLabs offers a discount that you can check out here – 60% OFF for 2 weeks + GIFT!. Shipping is always free – which is always a plus – and StayLabs offers a 100% money-back guarantee on its first shipment for any reason as long as it’s within 30 days of the shipment.

And, finally, should you choose to cancel, it never charges cancellation fees.

The Bottom Line: Is StayLabs Worth It?

I definitely think StayLabs is worth a serious look. It has a line of serious talent behind its recipes, its product is more reasonably priced than many other high-quality dog food companies, and it does an excellent job of tracking your dog’s health.

It currently offers 3 varieties of dog food, and more may be coming in the near future. The only real drawback I found with this company was the limitations in its Customer Service (no chat bot), but that’s hardly a large issue. In fact, it’s really just a personal preference of mine. You can check out StayLabs recipes and services here.

Overall, I give the company two thumbs up.

FAQ 

Is Stay Labs dog food raw?

Is Stay Labs dog food good for dogs?

StayLabs dog food is definitely good for dogs. It’s made from natural, human-grade ingredients and the recipes used are developed by highly-skilled veterinarians and veterinary nutritionists. StayLabs also tracks your dog’s gut health, so that you and they can stay on top of your fur buddy's changing needs.

Is Stay Labs dog food good for puppies?

Stay Labs produces three types of dog food – chicken, beef, and turkey. Neither the chicken nor the beef recipes are specifically formulated for puppies. However, the turkey recipe is made with puppies in mind. So, if you have a puppy, you can order the turkey recipe and that should suit his/her needs nicely.