If you’ve ever met a dog, you already know they’re meat connoisseurs. They may not be the most particular meat connoisseurs—most pups are happy to chow down on anything from chicken to beef—but the fresher the meat, the more they enjoy it. Right?
That’s what I was thinking when I decided to compare two of the best fresh dog food meal delivery plans on the market. Aside from the convenience of pre-portioned meals, both The Farmer’s Dog’s and A Pup Above’s fresh-packed dog food promise to delight your dog’s palate with a meaty burst of flavor—something you will not get from dry dog food. They’re also great for your dog’s nutrition with more than 10% protein.
But flavor and protein aside, which brand is better in terms of quality, convenience, and cost?
Who should get The Farmer’s Dog?
If you don’t mind signing up for a subscription and paying a standard price, The Farmer’s Dog’s fast dog food delivery service might impress you (and their customer service is pretty great, too).
CLICK HERE: Get my best deal for The Farmer’s Dog →Who should get A Pup Above?
If you’re looking to add more high quality, fresh ingredients and a higher-than-average serving of protein to your dog’s diet, A Pup Above is another great choice. Plus, they don’t require a subscription!
CLICK HERE: Get my best deal for A Pup Above →Quality
To test the quality of both brands, I examined and compared each brand’s beef and turkey recipe based on their respective appearance, smell, taste, and ingredients.
Appearance
I don’t know about you, but I tend to eat with my eyes first. So let’s start by taking a look at how visibly delicious (or not) each brand’s meals turned out.
Everything from The Farmer’s Dog looks more appealing—to me, anyway—than the meals from A Pup Above. Not only are they more vibrant in color with obvious chunks of sweet potato, green beans, broccoli and other vegetables, but it’s obvious that the ingredients are exceptionally fresh. Overall, The Farmer’s Dog’s fresh dog food offerings just have better visual appeal.
By comparison, the visual appeal of the dog food I received from A Pup Above was pretty disappointing. Their advertisements use images that appear much tastier than the actual food I received in the mail.
Smell
Similar to homemade meals, The Farmer’s Dog smells true to its promised flavors. Each recipe’s aroma was an exact match for either turkey, pork, or beef. It was a pleasant and appetizing surprise.
A Pup Above’s recipes smell like meat, too, but with an aromatic component thanks to the addition of culinary herbs. Both definitely smell more appetizing than dry food.
Taste
The Farmer’s Dog impressed me. Its straightforward flavors tasted exactly like meat—not at all like dog food!
The recipes from The Farmer’s Dog have a clean and simple flavor profile. You can taste the main ingredients without any unexpected or unpleasant aftertastes.
As far as taste is concerned, A Pup Above is a bit more complicated. They use herbs and spices that tend to drown out the flavor of the meat itself, which isn’t necessarily bad. It just means that A Pup Above’s recipe flavors are a bit more focused on herbs and spices than meat—this was especially apparent with their Texas Beef Stew recipe.
One more thing: I was pleasantly surprised to discover that A Pup Above’s pork recipe is more delicious than the one from The Farmer’s Dog.
CLICK HERE: Get my best deal for The Farmer’s Dog →Ingredients
Both A Pup Above and The Farmer’s Dog use whole ingredients with supplemental nutrients, in accordance with AAFCO standards—both brands promise improvement on your dog’s health. Veterinary nutritionists formulated the recipes at both companies, as well, although The Farmer’s Dog specifies that their nutritionists are board certified whilst A Pup Above does not.
Both companies produce fresh food from USDA-inspected kitchens. That’s one of several factors that contribute to why these meals qualify as human-grade dog food.
Always consult your veterinarian when it comes to your dog’s personal and specific nutritional needs.
For me, personally, the biggest nutritional factor I look at is protein content. The Farmer’s Dog’s recipes have a fairly standard protein content of 8-11% as fed. A Pup Above comes in higher at 13-14% protein as fed.
Given the above numbers, it’s clear that A Pup Above delivers more high-quality protein to your dog than the recipes from The Farmer’s Dog.
Convenience
And now, I’ll share with you my own experiences with purchasing, shipping, and packaging practices from The Farmer’s Dog and A Pup Above. Read on to learn how they differ.
Purchasing
With The Farmer’s Dog, you’re required to purchase a subscription if you want to try their food. However, their user-friendly account dashboard makes it easy to cancel.
Pet parents can buy fresh dog food from A Pup Above one shipment at a time—no subscription required.
Should you opt for a subscription, however, they currently offer a discount. Click the link below to get the best available discount I know about for A Pup Above:
CLICK HERE: Get my best deal for A Pup Above →Shipping
Which of these two dog food subscription services is quicker at delivering your orders? I placed an order with The Farmer’s Dog on a Sunday and the shipment arrived 2 full business days later, on Wednesday. Needless to say, the shipping was really fast.
I ordered dog food from A Pup Above on a Sunday, too, but received the package not the following Thursday—but the Thursday after that. At a week and a half of waiting, that’s the longest shipping time I’ve experienced thus far.
Packaging
Both brands’ orders arrived in the form of frozen patties and dry ice to keep the food fresh, about 1 pound each.
Since The Farmer’s Dog’s individual food packs come in thin patties, they’re quick to thaw in the fridge. The food stays good for another 4 days after thawing.
A Pup Above’s frozen food arrived, prepared a unique cooking method called sous vide, in standard brick-size portions. For that reason, they were a little slower to thaw, but stayed fresh in the fridge much longer at 7 days.
Cost
Finally, let’s compare costs.
My calculations found The Farmer’s Dog is priced at $7 per pound. A Pup Above, by contrast, is $13 per pound—nearly double the cost of The Farmer’s Dog.
Given such a significant difference in price, it’s hard not to point out that The Farmer’s Dog gives you double the food for what you’d spend at A Pup Above.
However, with A Pup Above, you can save money by buying in bulk or signing up for their subscription service.
If you’re more inclined to go with The Farmer’s Dog, check out the link below to get the best available price I know about.
CLICK HERE: Get my best deal for The Farmer’s Dog →The Farmer’s Dog’s affordability, coupled with the high quality of its fresh dog food, makes them an obvious choice for the discerning dog owner.
Of course, A Pup Above offers many features that still make it worth the higher price tag.
CLICK HERE: Get my best deal for A Pup Above →