Open Farm vs. Stella & Chewy’s Dog Food 2023 Comparison: Which One Is Better?
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With so many options available in dog food, it can be hard to know which one is right for you. This comparison will highlight the differences between Open Farm and Stella & Chewy’s dog food. Both companies have kibble, wet food, and freeze-dried raw foods. They both use high-quality ingredients and offer subscription delivery services. So, what makes one better than the other? Let’s find out!
A Sneak Peek at the Winner: Open Farm
Open Farm offers a wide variety of recipe choices, different types of dog food, and an affordable subscription dog food service for its customers. If you are looking for transparency regarding ingredients and sourcing, Open Farm is an open book. They offer exceptional customer service and unique choices for your dog’s diet.
Here are our two favorite Open Farm recipes:
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Our Favorite
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Open Farm Turkey & Chicken |
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Open Farm Freeze-Dried Surf n Turf |
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About Open Farm
Open Farm is a family-owned and -operated company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The company’s founders wanted to develop pet food that was high quality and made from ethically sourced ingredients. The company prides itself on providing full transparency about its ingredients, sourcing practices, and impact on the environment.
Open Farm manufactures high-quality, raw, wet, dry, and fresh foods. Each is made with a different protein as the main ingredient, and there is a wide variety of recipe choices for each type of food.
- Family-owned and operated
- Prides itself on ethical sourcing of ingredients
- Transparent about manufacturing processes
- Good customer service
- Easy to customize subscription service
- Lots of recipe choices
- Only available through a subscription service
- Not very many single-protein recipes
- The minimal choice for puppies and senior dogs
About Stella & Chewy’s
Stella & Chewy’s origin is similar to that of Open Farm. The company’s founder, Marie Moody, developed a passion for pet nutrition after recovering an ill rescue dog. The necessity of feeding this dog a raw diet led her to find an easier way for pet parents to feed their dogs highly nutritious, quality food without the excessive amount of time and effort required to make their own.
While Stella & Chewy’s started as an exclusively raw-food company, it has since expanded its pet food lines to include a variety of different options and recipes.
Stella & Chewy’s frozen and freeze-dried raw foods are made in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. They are made using a 100% natural antimicrobial process to inactivate any pathogens in fresh food. The source of the ingredients is unclear, however. The only information available regarding sourcing is that they are obtained from “trusted” partners. While this doesn’t imply a lack of sustainably sourced, high-quality ingredients, it does raise questions about where they come from.
- Focus on high-quality nutrition
- No additives or preservatives
- Focus on fresh food
- Meat is the first ingredient in all recipes
- Added supplements
- Lack of information about ingredient sourcing
- Lack of dry and wet food options
The 3 Most Popular Open Farm Dog Food Recipes
1. Open Farm Homestead Turkey
*Use code HEPPER20 and save on your first auto-ship order.
Open Farm’s Homestead Turkey and Chicken dry dog food contains real meat in the top three ingredients. It is a low-fat food at 30%, making it a good option for dogs that have difficulty maintaining a healthy weight. DHA is added to this recipe to promote brain health and cognitive development. The kibble is small, so this food is appropriate for dogs of all sizes.
Since this recipe contains both chicken and turkey, it’s not suitable for dogs with protein sensitivities. It is also quite expensive compared to other dry dog food brands.
- Real meat is the first ingredient
- Low-fat content
- Appropriate for all life stages
- Small kibble
- Supplements added to promote cognitive health
- Two protein ingredients
- Expensive
2. Open Farm Surf & Turf Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food
*Use code HEPPER20 and save on your first auto-ship order.
Open Farm’s Surf and Turf Freeze-Dried Raw recipe offers a high quantity of organic meats combined with organic fruits and vegetables. This recipe has a protein content of 41% and a fat content of 32.5%. This food is tasty for dogs but expensive compared to many other dry foods.
Open Farm Surf and Turf can be purchased in bags up to 22 oz. in size. You dole out each portion of your dog’s food and set your auto-ship schedule according to how much you need. This provides good value for your money and creates less waste overall.
- High in organic ingredients
- High protein content
- Customized portion sizes
- Customizable auto-ship subscription
- Good value for the money
- More expensive than dry or wet food
- Only available online
- Requires freezer or refrigerator storage
3. Open Farm Gently Cooked Homestead Turkey
The gently cooked Homestead Turkey Recipe from Open Farm offers quality fresh food for your dog. This food contains a single protein source, so it’s a good choice for dogs with food sensitivities. The ingredient list is transparent and filled with superfood ingredients to provide optimum nutrition.
This Open Farms recipe is provided in pre-packaged portions for fresh food that opens, thaws, and feeds. It is shipped frozen to avoid spoilage, but you will need freezer space to store the food. The Homestead Turkey cooked recipe can be served as a meal or as a topper to dry food.
- Single protein source
- Good choice for dogs with food sensitivities
- Short ingredients list
- Added superfood ingredients for optimum nutrition
- Avoids the risk of feeding raw food
- Pre-packaged portions
- Use as a full meal or topper
- Requires freezer space
- Must be thawed prior to feeding
The 3 Most Popular Stella & Chewy’s Dog Food Recipes
1. Stella & Chewy’s Chicken and Ancient Grains
Stella & Chewy’s Chicken and Ancient Grains recipe is part of its wholesome grain kibble line. The first ingredient is real meat, and the food is pea, lentil, and potato free. It’s packed with added supplements like omega fatty acids, glucosamine, chondroitin, and taurine. This recipe has a protein level of 25% with a low-fat content of 15%. This food is suitable for all life stages.
The manufacturing process used by Stella & Chewy’s for their dry kibble recipes ensures that the nutritional quality of the original ingredients is maintained. Unfortunately, this also makes the food more expensive than other kibble options.
- The first ingredient is meat
- Low-fat content
- Single protein ingredient
- Added supplements to promote overall health
- Suitable for all life stages
- More expensive than other kibble options
2. Stella & Chewy’s Duck Duck Goose Dinner Patties
Stella & Chewy’s Duck Duck Goose Dinner Patties are made from 95% raw poultry, organs, and bone. This is rounded out with a mix of organic fruits and vegetables. Taurine, probiotics, and antioxidants are included to round out the nutritional profile. Protein and fat levels are 38% and 32.5%, respectively. The form of this food makes portioning relatively easy. However, it also makes Stella & Chewy’s raw food expensive. It offers less value for the money than Open Farm, which comes in large batches and more customizable portion sizes.
Stella & Chewy’s patties are small. A 40-pound dog would require approximately 10 patties per day if this food made up their whole diet. A 100-pound dog would require 19 patties.
- Fantastic nutritional profile
- Quality ingredients
- Added vitamins and minerals
- Convenient patty form
- Expensive
- Small patties
3. Stella & Chewy’s Gobblin’ Good Gently Cooked Turkey Recipe
The Gobblin’ Good gently cooked frozen food recipe from Stella & Chewy’s looks remarkably similar to the Homestead Turkey from Open Farm. The ingredient list is almost identical, and the food offers your dog a protein-rich, low-carb option. The protein content is slightly higher for Stella & Chewy’s.
This food is delivered in pre-packaged portions of fresh food that you open, thaw, and feed to your dog.
- Single protein source appropriate for food sensitivities
- Avoid the risk of contamination from handling raw food
- Quality nutritional profile
- Low carbohydrate option
- High protein content
- Pre-packaged portions
- Requires freezer storage
Recall the History of Open Farm and Stella & Chewy’s
Our research shows that there have been no recalls on Open Farm pet food. Stella & Chewy’s have had two recalls, both for Listeria contamination. The company issued voluntary recalls of affected foods both times.
Open Farm vs Stella & Chewy’s Comparison
Open Farm and Stella & Chewy’s both offer quality, nutritious dog food. How do the companies themselves compare?
Availability
- Edge: Stella & Chewy’s
Stella & Chewy’s dog food is easier to find than Open Farm. It is available to order from several popular online retailers, the company itself, and multiple pet stores. Open Farm has more limited availability. While it is sold in some stores, it is difficult to find outside of online ordering.
Nutritional Quality
- Edge: Tie
Open Farm and Stella & Chewy’s both offer high-quality, sustainably sourced, nutritious dog food. You can’t go wrong with either one.
Price
- Edge: Open Farm
Open Farm offers a more economical option for consumers, particularly its dry dog food recipes. Stella & Chewy’s dry food is more expensive and may not be appropriate for dog owners on a budget.
While the price of dry dog food is significantly lower with Open Farm, Stella & Chewy’s offers more affordable wet food.
Selection
- Edge: Open Farm
Open Farm offers a good selection of products to choose from for dogs. These include dry recipes, wet food, gently cooked fresh foods, freeze-dried raw meals, treats, toppers, and supplements.
Stella & Chewy’s have many of the same offerings, but they are primarily known for their freeze-dried raw foods. They do sell dry and wet food, but there is less recipe selection than Open Farm.
Overall
- Edge: Open Farm
Open Farm has more recipe choices and more affordable options, and they are more transparent about their ingredients than Stella & Chewy’s. Open Farm has also never been recalled, whereas Stella & Chewy’s food has been recalled twice.
Conclusion
If you are looking for quality, nutritious food for your dog, both Open Farm and Stella & Chewy’s provide this. They use quality ingredients and place your dog’s health first when developing their recipes. Both offer several novel protein and limited-ingredient recipes, as well as age-specific formulas. However, Open Farm comes out as the winner over Stella & Chewy’s. Its food is more affordable, it’s more transparent about its ingredient sourcing, and its products have never been recalled. While Open Farm dog food isn’t as easy to find on store shelves, it has a user-friendly website where you can sign up for an auto-ship subscription service. These factors make us recommend Open Farm as the better choice over Stella & Chewy’s.
