The recipes contain good meats but the vegetables are Not species appropriate & unnecessary.
Response from The Farmer's DogMar 17, 2023
Thanks for this feedback! The Farmer's Dog is a complete and balanced diet for all dogs 8 weeks and older, and we include vegetables for their phytonutrients and multiple health benefits. Dogs are also actually omnivores due to their digestive tracts evolving over thousands of years, which means that certain carbohydrates are very digestible and beneficial to them! Please feel free to reach out to our team at [email protected] if you'd like to discuss this further, but we also have an article on our Digest that you can check out in the meantime: https://www.thefarmersdog.com/digest/can-my-dog-eat-vegetables/
L
L
After trying out my first order of food
I ordered the first box of food. Everything arrived well boxed and totally frozen. The rectangular packs fit easily into my medium-sized freezer compartment as space is limited in it.
I transitioned my toy poodle over 7 days from kibble to FD pork food. That part was easy as she liked the new food better.
It was really hard and messy dividing out the package into so many parts to transition my dog.
After the first week it was a tiny bit better, but still messy. I have a very small dog, so portions are smaller.
Now if my dog was a large dog I’m guessing that it would be easier to handle each package amount to feed. Cut in half maybe. And done.
Once getting through the transitions I cut open the next defrosted overnight plastic package. Getting the food out neatly into a plastic container was hard, a messy challenge. I used a container of my own that fit the ingredients of the package much better. When I got that done there was still bits of food stuck in the plastic packaging. I didn’t want to waste any food, so I tried to roll it out. But it didn’t work. Once it was in my container, I then patted it around to get it be be more even. Then I scored lines to measure out 4 sections and then divided those by two, for the two meals a day.
The packages are recyclable but not with the bits of food still stuck inside. I’d had to work to wash it out with soap and warm water, which took a while to do. It also doesn’t help conserve our water supplies.
My doglet liked the pork food better, but not so much with the beef food. I found the food to be not hugely unpleasing. It did look somewhat too mushy, with some small bits here and there. Many flat green things in it. It did fluff up easily to look better to me, but Molly wasn’t a bit concerned about how it looked. I suspect it looks the way it does to accommodate fitting into the flatter packaging.
If the packaging were different, more user friendly, easier to divide out the food, to get it out of the plastic packaging, to nit have to wash it so much to recycle it- I’d have stayed on, not ordered any more of the beef again, as they do have another option.
Their Customer service was really outstanding. They really care.
Response from The Farmer's DogFeb 17, 2023
Thanks for sharing this feedback with us. We completely understand your concerns here and see a member of our Customer Experience team was able to reach out via email to gather more information on your experience. In the meantime, we'll be sure to pass this message along to the team, as we're always looking for ways to improve our product and service.
JO
JoeG
I’ve been using the Farmers Dog for a few months.
I’ve been using the Farmers Dog for a few months now and my dogs seem to really enjoy the food. I issue I have with this company is their inconsistent delivery schedule. The orders came like clockwork the first couple of months, but the deliveries have become inconsistent. I spend nearly $160 a week feeding my 2 dogs, and I’m fine with this. What I’m not fine with is not knowing when my next order to arrive. I was preparing my dogs food fresh before and it looks like that’s going to be my least stressful choice going forward. I cancelled my subscription. If I can’t rely on a delivery every week, I’ll make my own food. It’s a fraction of what this inconsistent service charges.
Response from The Farmer's DogJan 26, 2023
Hi Josef, we're sorry to hear this. We strive to make our delivery process as seamless as possible and we apologize for any confusion that was caused here. A member of our Customer Experience department sent you an email to gather a little more info and see how we can help. Please know we welcome and value all feedback and appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.
TB
Tom B.
Cons and Pros
I had been a big fan of Farmer's Dog, believing their product to be nutritious and a good choice for my senior beagle. However, after a couple of months my dog--for whatever reason--refused to eat her food. I tried everything, but only once we returned to Simply Nourish was she back at her bowl, tail wagging. So, the cons: that, plus the hefty price. A big pro: the outstanding customer service, which is quick, friendly, and truly understanding.
Response from The Farmer's DogJan 25, 2023
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with us. We're so sorry to hear your dog hasn't been excited about her fresh recipes lately. While all dogs are different, we understand how difficult it can be to find a food your dog truly loves. We've sent over an email to see how we can help.
RO
Robert
They don’t tell the meal calorie count before signup
When I signup they ask questions about my dog but don’t say how many calories they provide for a day’s meals. They sent less than 2/3 the calories recommended on the internet. They believe that’s sufficient, but my dog is still hungry so I end up paying for larger meals. My dog does like the food though.
Response from The Farmer's DogJan 4, 2023
Hi Robert! Thanks for taking the time to leave this review. We'd love to provide some some additional information. Since our food is all fresh, it's much more nutritionally dense than most commercial foods. This means that in their bowl, it can look like less food than your dog usually eats. It's also more digestible than dry and wet foods, and dogs typically require fewer calories to meet their nutritional needs when eating fresh food as a result. Keeping your dog lean is one of the easiest ways to extend their life, so while it may benefit a pet food company to recommend feeding more of their food, your dog’s well-being is our highest priority. For that reason, we typically err on the slightly lower side with calorie recommendations and make adjustments if needed. If you have any questions about this or would like to make any changes to your dog's plan, send us an email at [email protected].
KG
kristin G.
CAUSING SEVERE DIARRHEA AND GAS
SO MY 2 PITBULLS LOVE IT. I GIVE THEM A TINY PORTION MIXED WITH DRY FOOD IN THE MORNING. LIKE REALLY TINY AND ITS BEEN ABOUT A GOOD WEEK NOW AND THEY ARE BOTH HAVING SEVERE DIARRHEA AND GAS. THEY ARE USED TO EATING BAKED CHICKEN AND DRY FOOD AT NIGHT. MY FRIENDS DOG TOOK ABOUT A WEEK AND SHE HAS SEVERE SYPTOMS AS WELL. EVEN THOGH WE ARE ONLY GIVING THEM A TINY BIT ONCE A DAY
Response from The Farmer's DogNov 22, 2022
Hi Kristen, we're sorry to hear this. While some change in stool and an increase in gas can occur when making the switch to a new food, our team would love to look into what's going on here. The health of each dog we feed is our top priority. Please email us at [email protected].
PF
Peggie F.
We are still undecided because we are…
We are still undecided because we are just introducing the food to Belle.
HOWEVER, I see that I have already been charged for another shipment!! I still have 10 packets left. Why can't I tell you when I need more? This is very annoying.
This situation has been resolved by an incredible customer service department!
Thank you.
Response from The Farmer's DogNov 2, 2022
We're sorry for any confusion here, Peggie. We see you've been in touch with Madi, a member of our Customer Experience department, regarding your subscription so please let us know if there's anything we can do to help.
LD
Lacey D.
Food Is Good; Scheduling Is Terrible
I have mixed feelings about this product/service. The pros: My dog likes the pork flavor...but only the pork one. The cons: It is expensive if you have a large dog and the website cannot do simple math.
We get to the 12 pack in each delivery to save some money but the dashboard always schedules the next shipment 7 days after. So in 8 days we receive 24 packs of food!!
And it is hard to reschedule deliveries. There is very little time between when a shipment is sent and the next one (less than a week) and no notification email about the next one. (Other subscription services I use will send me an email saying "You have X days left to modify your next delivery.") So by the time I receive an email that a 12-pack box has shipped, it is already too late to reschedule the next 12-pack box since shipments automatically default to one week, we end up with 24 packs in 8 days. This is a real pain, and expensive.
The dashboard shows the next four deliveries (Current Delivery and Three Future Deliveries) but you can only modify one of them. The first delivery is the one that is going to you, the next deliver is 7 days later and has the status "Preparing" so no rescheduling allowed. The third delivery can be rescheduled and the fourth delivery cannot be rescheduled and automatically defaults to 7 days after the third delivery.
To avoid getting 24 packs in 8 days you must be very vigilant about going to the dashboard after the third scheduled delivery as there are no email notifications. Many other subscriptions services allow you to reschedule deliveries 2-4 weeks out online, no problem.
They added a Packs Left widget on the dashboard that is just rubbish. It never properly shows how many packs I have, and it doesn't matter anyway. They always send 12-pack deliveries every 7 days unless you go in and manually reschedule them. This seems like a simple algorithm fix (If 12 packs are selected, use 12 day shipping scheduling) but they just want to make money faster and make rescheduling difficult for consumers.
This is supposed to be a "tech" company that delivers fresh dog food but can't even monitor simple scheduling and client inventory accurately.
Bottom line, I'm still using it because my dog eats it but the scheduling defects are pushing to look for other fresh dog food delivery services.
Response from The Farmer's DogJul 18, 2022
Thank you for your feedback, Lacey. We're always here to help with anything you may need along the way. We're always working to make feeding fresh more convenient and we're sorry to hear this wasn't the case here. Rest assured, everything we do, we do for dogs. If you're ever finding you're unable to get your delivery schedule just right, please feel free to email us at [email protected]. You can also make changes to the recipes you prefer to receive in future orders in your Customer Account or by reaching out to us via email. A specialist from our Customer Experience department has reached out to assist you further, let us know if you need help with anything else 😊