SoulMate Dog Food Review
SoulMate for dogs (and cats) is available exclusively at Petstock, and is clearly one of the better pet foods they sell.
Unlike most dog foods which are made in the same way but with different recipes, with SoulMate you get freeze-dried, air-dried, oven-baked, and a canned food. Well, that kinda makes it difficult for me to review, doesn’t it?
Let’s start with a quick look at how SoulMate dog food is marketed, then cover each type of food and what may or may not work for you (or more specifically, your dog).
What the marketing says
I was browsing the SoulMate website and stumbled on the quote “We’re like the sous chefs to your pet’s palate”.
That’s cute.
I also stumbled on a list of benefits which you may care about – No HGPs, No GMOs, No artificial preservatives, and 100% sustainably sourced meat, fish and produce.
Well, that all sounds very good, doesn’t it?
Types of SoulMate dog food
Freeze-Dried “Roar Roar Roar”
Freeze-drying is a process of extracting the moisture from a food. In terms of dog food this is a great thing, as (1) it leaves all the nutritious parts intact, and (2) removing moisture greatly extends shelf life which makes it keep much longer – a bit like kibble, just without nutrients being zapped by high-temp cooking methods.
Just add water before you feed it to your dog.
On the flipside, consumers tend to complain at the cost per kilo, but when you realise you’re paying through the nose for “water sufficient for processing” for most wet foods, freeze-dried isn’t as expensive as you may think. With a freeze-dried food, you’re not paying for water.
One thing I note with SoulMate is there’s no mention of raw ingredients, so I’m not sure if the ingredients they’ve used were pre-cooked before freeze drying (which would reduce the benefits of freeze drying!).
Australian freeze-dried pet food Frontier Pets uses raw ingredients, and raw is more nutritious for your dog.
I found it odd the SoulMate website doesn’t state whether they use raw ingredients or not (and I should really get in touch and ask).
If freeze-dried works for your dog, then great. However, I’ve found some dogs don’t take to freeze-dried foods as much as air-dried or cooked foods – especially when they’re used to kibble or wet.
Air-Dried “Low & Slow”
Kibble is made with high temperatures, which means air-dried is a much better way of retaining nutrition. Such is the case with SoulMate Low & Slow.
Air-dried dog foods like ZIWI Peak and Australia’s own Eureka Pet consistently make the best rated list, because your dog benefits more from a more whole-prey diet of meat, organs, and healthy superfoods, dried rather than blasted with nutrient-zapping heat.
SoulMate Low & Slow may cost you more than kibble, but compare the ingredients to any kibble and you’ll see it’s much better, and much more digestible for your dog. If your dog is used to kibble, they may take to Low & Slow more than Roar Roar Roar initially.
If cost is an issue, most people introduce air or freeze-dried foods as a “topper” (where you mix some in with kibble), and I find air-dried pieces also make fantastic – and healthy – training treats.
Oven-Roasted “Roast & Slow” (with air-dried pieces)
Given the benefits of freeze-drying and air-drying, you may wonder why you would choose a cooked food. I expect the answer would be palatability – some dogs may prefer this food style, or if you’re concerned about raw foods (assuming the above use raw meat ingredients).
Personally I’m not afraid of raw feeding or bacteria – it’s more a risk to me than my dog, which is why I take precautions and wash my hands. However, if you have any concerns, oven-roasted will be the best choice for you.
Compared to kibble, you’re onto a winner whatever style of SoulMate you choose.
There’s nothing stopping you mixing and matching as well, and I’d love to know what style works for you and why (so please say so in the comments!)
Wet food “Can Can Can”
We all know what wet foods are. They’ve been around for decades.
What matters is the ingredients, and quality of ingredients.
Most wet dog foods opt for a formula of some meat, some filler, water, and any necessary vitamins and minerals added as a powder mix.
The best wet foods opt for prey-ingredients, such as meat, organs, ground bones, and other beneficial ingredients
SoulMate Can Can Can food is on the better side of wet dog foods, using a combo of meat + liver, although with some potato starch to thicken it up (and probably reduce production costs).
We find some nice inclusions like green lipped-mussels – a staple in dog foods from New Zealand, and super healthy for joints, glossy coats, and overall health and wellbeing.
What the ingredients really say
I’m happy to say – like most New Zealand dog foods – the ingredients look very good.
All types of SoulMate have decent formulas, with a focus on meat and organs. This is exactly what your dog needs, and what they will benefit from the most nutritionally.
If we look at SoulMate Roar Roar Roar, a red-meat formula, we find all the top ingredients are appropriate for your dog – beef, beef lung, beef liver, and tuna.
The remaining ingredients will all be in small amounts, but all look beneficial. I love seeing green-lipped mussels in a dog food to further support your dog’s joints, heart health, skin and coat. Fish oil is included as well, as a further source of omega fatty acids.
We find some fruits and vegies, along with a little bit of manuka honey which provides antibacterial, antioxidants, and hopefully benefit your dog’s gut health. Dried kelp as a natural multivitamin from the sea.
We could question the quality of ingredients, but as a dog food recipe it all looks really good, high quality stuff.
Ingredients
Ingredients of SoulMate dog food (freeze dried Roar Roar Roar with Red Meat):
Beef, Beef Lung, Beef Liver, Tuna, Flaxseed, Green Lipped Mussel, Fish Oil, Natural Flavour, Kiwi Fruit, Blueberry, Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, Carrot, Manuka Honey, Dried Kelp, Dipotassium Phosphate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols, Iron, Zinc, Vitamin E, Selenium, Copper, Vitamin B1, Vitamin A, Manganese, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B2, Vitamin D, Vitamin B6, Biotin, Vitamin B12, Iodine, Folic Acid.
