FurFresh is arguably the swankiest dog food available at Petbarn. It even features a cute little “paw” above the u in “Fur” to make it extra swanky.
But is this freeze dried dog food made from 100% human grade ingredients any good? Read our FurFresh dog food review to find out!
FurFresh review
What the marketing says
The bag says “Food you’d feed yourself”, which is a little odd as not many of us would be daft enough to eat raw chicken (😬), but my guess is they’re referring to FurFresh being made from “100% human grade ingredients”.
In terms of Australian standards human grade dog food is a good thing. Pet grade meats can be somewhat shoddy, which is something I’ve seen numerous times with other brands.
There’s a few claims on the bag such as “#1 Ingredient Real Australian Chicken”, which actually looks to be true for this dog food! You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve seen such a claim when the reality is the bulk of the food is something like corn or wheat (yep, looking at you Royal Canin and Hill’s).
“100% Australian Meat & Veggies” will appeal to many who love to support Australian produce.
“0% Preservatives” is good to see (one of the numerous benefits of freeze-dried dog foods), and “0% Grain” is great to see too.
It’s worth mentioning freeze dried foods have some great benefits. Shelf life is one, but another great benefit is the process of freeze drying locks in the nutrients. This means you get more “bang for buck” compared to kibbles. A downside is price, but keep in mind freeze dried foods are more densely packed with nutrition.
As far as the marketing goes FurFresh freeze dried sounds really good, so lets take a look at what this dog food is made from and how good it might be for your dog…
What the ingredients really say
For this review we’ll take a look at FurFresh Freeze Dried Australian Chicken & Chia recipe, but will mention fundamental differences with the Beef and Salmon formulas through the course of the review.
The best nutrition for a dog is what they would intuitively eat – animal ingredients. That’s why, and you’ll be pleased to know, that FurFresh dog food is made mostly of meat. In the Chicken & Chia recipe we find the bulk of the food to be chicken and chicken offal 👌
The chicken recipe is really high protein but low in fat. Alternatively the beef and salmon recipes are lower in protein, but the Salmon is higher in fat. You could mix and match, but which would suit your dog? All dogs need protein, but if you have a lazy lap dog perhaps opt for chicken or beef rather than the higher fat salmon recipe.
Moving on from the meat ingredients we find carrots and spinach 3rd and 4th respectively. Pictures speak a thousand words, and it’s nice to see these two healthy inclusions amongst the freeze dried meat:
The goodness doesn’t end there. We find flaxseeds (linseed) as a decent source of omega fatty acids (omega 3 and 6) for heart health, skin and coat. Next up comes the wonderfully nutritious kelp, and right near the end the other half of the recipe name – chia seeds.
All you healthy smoothie drinkers will know the numerous benefits of chia seeds, and they’re just as nutritious for dogs. They’re another great source of omega 3 and 6, boost brain function, help protect joints, support bones, as well as being high in fibre and protein. In FurFresh dog food they’re only included as a small moderation, but they’re a nice inclusion to boost your dog’s health.
The rest of the ingredients make up the vitamins and minerals required to make the food “complete and balanced” as per the AAFCO pet food standard.
So, should you feed FurFresh to your dog?
The FurFresh freeze dried dog foods seem really good and worth feeding. It would be great to see the types of offal listed specifically as they are with other “raw”/”barf” brands, but nevertheless this is much much better than others on the shelves.
The recipes differ slightly in composition (i.e. the Salmon recipe has more fat, and the Chicken recipe more protein). Unless your dog has a specific condition (such as pancreatitis) it’s well worth feeding a variety.
Another great product is the FurFresh bone broth, which is definitely worth adding to your dog’s bowl. Check that out too, even if you decide against FurFresh freeze dried.
If you want to compare FurFresh with like for like products then refer to our list of alternative dog food reviews.
Hopefully our FurFresh dog food review has been enlightening and helpful! If it has, tell others! 🙏
Where to buy
You can order FurFresh freeze dried pet foods direct from Petbarn or directly from FurFresh.
Get some of the bone broth as well – wonderful stuff!
Ingredients
Ingredients of Fur Fresh freeze dried dog food (Chicken & Chia Recipe):
Chicken, chicken offal, carrots, spinach, linseeds (flax), king island kelp, chia seeds, vitamin supplements (A, D, E, C, K, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12, Biotin), trace mineral supplements (Zinc, Iron, Copper, Manganese, Iodine, Selenium), L-Carnitine, Taurine.
Typical analysis
FurFresh use a typical analysis rather than a guaranteed analysis and may vary in composition. A guaranteed analysis specifies an absolute minimum protein and fat, whereas typical figures can be less than what is stated.
Typical analysis of Fur Fresh freeze dried dog food (Chicken & Chia Recipe):
| Protein | 36% (Beef is 28%, Salmon is 28%) |
| Fat | 10.7% (Beef is 10%, Salmon is 19%) |
| Crude Fibre | 3.5% |
| Carbohydrates * | Minimal |
FurFresh dog food recalls
There are no known recalls at the current time.
Previous recalls:
- None.
hi, ive been using fur fresh for around 5 months or longer, beef, blue berries, problem is im getting half a bag of dried spinach and carrots, more spinach than anything else, and half a bag of meat only, dogs cant eat all this amount of spinach, not good, im wondering is all this spinach put in the bags to save money on meat?? just seems this way. yous need to correct the problems. only reason im still using the food, due to my dog seems to not have a upset tummy on this beef, blue berry as she has sensitive tummy issues which other dog food brands caused..PLEASE fix that issue, cheers.
I am transitioning my 8 year old Mini Schnauzer from Prime Roo and vegetables and Hills small dog kibble to fur fresh chicken and bone broth with some extra vegetables, a teaspoon of pot set yoghurt and the occasional egg.
Baxter has Cushings and has had his gallbladder removed 12 months ago & had been doing well up to about a month ago. His last tests showed elevated liver so I want to lower the purine in his diet. Can you suggest what else I should be feeding to ensure his diet is kept low fat and to assist with his liver. Thank you
Hi Julie, most brands offer a low fat dry food, but it’s also worth looking into raw or fresh foods as part of the diet. I find this a great way of tailoring a diet to the needs of your dog without spending a lot of money on one of the prescription dog foods.
Furfresh has completely changed my Staffy’s life from just a hair over 19kg and being asked if she is pregnant to a fit, healthy and energetic 13.5kg ideal weight which has been maintained for months. Kuro enjoys the Beef Bone Broth with Beef and Blueberry freeze dried with some chopped veg and berries in it for breakfast and then dinner is the Beef or Kangaroo raw food with their Joint and Immunity supplements plus often some berries. Her snacks in the day are chopped carrots and zucchini plus the Furfresh Sardine and Mussels. Presently out of stock but when the Chicken breast treats are in Kuro enjoys that too. She is still full of energy, has a gorgeously shiny coat and I would not change a thing with her diet what so ever. Coming across Furfresh was the absolute best thing for Kuro and am so appreciative. Also they are a local business. I tend to order some things direct online and some things through Petbarn to help them maintain sales and continue stocking Furfresh as I hope more pawrents try them.
What an awesome website this is. Well done. How do you make your revenue so we can help contribute in some way. Maybe a request for a donation if the review has been helpful?
I love and use Frontier Pets and Furfresh, I have a question…what are your thoughts on Furfresh not having much carbs at all? Doesn’t this put the dog into ketosis? And if there isn’t much fat in the ingredients (chicken/beef) then where does the body get the fat to burn it? FF and FP brands already have turned my daschie into a lean mean fighting machine. I purposefully put my dog on these brands because freeze dried is the best and doesn’t contain carcinogenic acrylamide which all kibbles do. The other big seller is they are both low carb – I think FP have a higher carb content – which stops glucose spikes.
I often wonder for myself, just how much carb content I should be consuming?
My other daschie had some crystals in urine a year ago so shifted him to hills science urinary care (not good) and slowly now trying to transition him back to FP/FF. I would love it if you could make comment on how friendly the brands you review are for struvite – oxalate urinary conditions. If a vet could do a one off rating scheme for the brands.
Hi Joanna, great comment and great questions!
Firstly, what was your daschie fed when she had crystals? Was it FP/FF or something else? It would be interesting to know, as I find urinary issues less common on moisture-rich “raw” foods.
Not sure if you’ve read the urinary cat food article I wrote yesterday? Or if that led you here?
When it comes to carbs I’m of the belief dogs are more carnivorous than “science” makes out them to be, for the simple reason they are much more similar (in many ways) to cats than omnivores like us. Their digestive systems are very similar, so are their teeth, and also their natural instinct. Over the past 15 years or so I’ve been writing about pet food there always seems to be a trend with overweight or diabetic dogs fed high carbohydrate kibbles, yet on the other hand – like you say – most dogs fed a more natural “carnivore” diet are lean, mean, fighting machines.
My dog has some carbs, and it doesn’t overly concern me, but I keep them to a minimum. Because I feed a variety of foods the ratios of protein/fat/carbs average out, if that makes sense, although I aim for suitable ratios of meat, organs, and bone, and would never feed an excess of lean meat or pure animal fat.
There’s some really interesting research into ketosis in dogs. From Googling a little one study of epileptic dogs showed 10 of 21 improved significantly on a keto diet – 7 had a 50% reduction in seizures, and 3 became seizure free. I should do more digging as an important factor would be what those dogs were fed until that point, which is something most research neglects to consider.
Generally I see the health of dogs improve the more they transition from [cheaper] kibbles to more raw/carnivore/whole prey diets.
He was eating a combination of Big Dog patties (full of moisture) and Balanced Life air dried (water added to rehydrate it). So interestingly not a dry kibble diet. I’ve been trying to transition him onto FP and FF over past two weeks and I feel FF might have the edge – that’s just a hunch though. I need to know there phosphorous/phosphate load – I queried it on 17 May and still waiting for a response.
No o hadn’t read the article about cats before writing the my post. Will take a read though.
I feel all mammals, including us) should eat what keeps their glucose levels stable. And carbs are the culprit to spikes. There is a growing trend in the US and the UK of people using CGM’s (continuous glucose monitors) to see the effect their daily eating habits have on their glucose levels. I’d love to be able to do the same for dogs and there’s no reason why it can’t be done. I would love to put a monitor on the dog that is eating a combo of the hills Science kibble and FF/FP.
The other thing I would love to see more mainstream dog health Is Microbiome health. It is also very much a growing trend amongst humans and stool testing will become just as important as having a blood test. There was a company in Saint Kilda Victoria, who was selling gene tests and microbiome mapping for dogs using a stool test kit, but they had to discontinue because at the moment there is just not the interest, but internet will explode very soon. I want to test the same dog who had the crystals because I had him from eight weeks, and the other I got it at 10 months, and the former was exposed to some pretty heavy levels of mould in the house we were living in which always compromises the Microbiome.
I just fed the Salmon one to my girls a Westie and a Cairn and they loved it. I usually feed Prime 100 Salmon to my Westie but ran out so gave this a try. Will see what happens next but so far so good.
My dogs didn’t like Furfresh, I threw away the samples, but they eat Frontier Pets and Eureka
Opened a salmon one and it smells like plastic, maybe because of the veg it got inside? You can see the meat and veg have good portion and balance but it seems too much veg for my dog and he won’t eat a thing, i have tried all the freeze dried food on the market, so far K9 is still the best to my dog
In my view, Bowlsome Dog Food has the best fresh dog food. $1.68 for 100g
Hi i like to read your reviews and i am thankful that you spend time doing it. Very helpful , but more i read more not sure what should i feed my pugs. I rescued 6 pugs with different health issues, sadly 3 passed away now for age and health problem, how ever i like to
provide the best for that 3 pug i still have. They age is 13.5 10 and 7 years old. All 3 have the dry eye problem they getting medicated eye drops every day till the rest of their life to try to keep their eye sight . I tried many different kibbles ( never supermarket)at the moment they eat purina proplan sensitive skin and stomach, that helped with bloating and gas problem and the itching is less as well. They also get home cook turkey loaf with veggie i make it or prime 100 from the pet shop. I did try frontier they loved it , only one of them was vomiting up that food, but its a bit expensive in multiple dog home , they love air dry ziwi use it as topping . I like to ask your opinion how i can feed my pugs better one of my pug is need to lose some weight too 🙂 . Thank you
Hi Georgie, when it comes to eye problems in Pugs I must say I’m no expert, but personally I would consider foods such as eggs and organ meats a good option as they provide all manner of nutrients, amino acids, omegas, as well as proteins and fats. Perhaps a little oil added to the diet such as salmon oil. All these foods can be added alongside what you’re currently feeding (i.e. the dry, Prime 100, ZIWI etc), and should help the overall health of your Pugs.
ProPlan Sensitive Skin & Stomach works because it doesn’t contain problematic ingredients such as wheat/cereals or meat proteins such as chicken, beef, or lamb. Instead it contains fish, oats, sorghum etc. Your Pugs may have an intolerance to any of those problematic ingredients, and if one reacted to Frontier Pets then it’s possibly an issue with whichever meat protein was in that formula.
Clean water and chewing on bones may also help, the latter is a good way to prevent periodontal disease which not only affects teeth and gums but also organ health.
Thank you so much your advise, the pugs trying now orijen senior formula, i loved your review on that they tried lyka as well they like it, until the turkey bowl was full
of feathers , how ever the company was very good they did refund, so i may try again. Lyka is a very convenient feed that for sure . Was thinking give a go to furfresh as well as they say i can cook their meal in frypan if my dog not do well on raw. But confused regarding offail they said on their webside they not include in their meal how ever the chicken chia seed ingredients list say otherwise. Thanks again your reviews i always read them before i try some new food for the pugs:)
hey! I’m thinking of getting this brand since it’s at petbarn, but I’m really curious why it’s rated less than frontier pets!
Hi Tully, both FurFresh and Frontier Pets have shown to be excellent choices, so I wouldn’t look too much into it. Frontier Pets has been around a little longer, and I’ve personally visited the facility, so on a personal basis feel a little more comfortable to rate the product a little higher.
Amazing! Thak you so so much, I can definitely see how that would make you feel better about it!
It would be good to add cost per 100 grams to these reviews to give readers the opportunity to balance cost vs quality. E.g FurFresh is more than double the cost compared to Lyka and slightly more expensive than Ziwi Dried.
Hi Liam, I agree with you, but it gets too hard for me to track with so many brands and varying prices. It’s also nigh on impossible to compare by weight, especially between a freeze dried food without moisture to a fresh food like Lyka. Feeding guidelines also vary a great deal so aren’t reliable either.