Does Smallbatch have probiotics like Stella & Chewy's?

Not as supplemental strain blends. Smallbatch’s prebiotic / probiotic function is delivered through organic kelp + organic wheatgrass + organic apple cider vinegar + the chicken liver organ meat. Steve’s Real Food delivers prebiotic / probiotic function through raw goat’s milk (naturally-occurring lactobacilli + bifidobacteria) + inulin. Both brands take a whole-food approach to gut microbiome support rather than the synthetic-strain supplementation approach Stella & Chewy’s uses (four lactobacilli strains added). Whole-food vs synthetic-strain delivers similar functional outcomes through different biological mechanisms.

Smallbatch vs Steve's Real Food: Which Is Better for Your Dog?

Q: Is Smallbatch or Steve's Real Food better for dogs?

Both score A/90 on the v15 rubric — tied. Both are A-tier freeze-dried raw chicken recipes from long-tenured independent brands. Smallbatch delivers twelve USDA-certified-organic produce ingredients (highest organic load in category), true prey-model carcass portions, and single-source-farm Pacific NW production. Steve’s Real Food delivers raw goat’s milk at #9 (unique whole-food enzyme + probiotic delivery), eggshell membrane for joint cartilage support, supplemental taurine, salmon oil for direct marine omega-3, and the shortest 18-ingredient panel in the freeze-dried raw A-tier. Pick on organic-produce priority (Smallbatch) or goat’s milk + joint support priority (Steve’s).

Q: Why does Steve's Real Food include raw goat's milk?

Raw goat’s milk is a uniquely valuable whole-food supplement. Goat’s milk fat globules are roughly one-third the size of cow’s milk fat globules and lack the agglutinin protein that triggers fat-globule clustering — this makes goat’s milk significantly easier for many dogs to digest than cow’s milk. The raw (unpasteurized) form retains naturally-occurring lipase, amylase, and lactase enzymes that pasteurization denatures. Raw goat’s milk also carries naturally-occurring lactobacilli and bifidobacteria probiotic cultures at densities synthetic probiotic supplements can’t match. Steve’s is one of the only freeze-dried raw brands at scale to use raw goat’s milk as a primary supplement ingredient.

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The short answer: Tie at A/90. Both are A-tier freeze-dried raw chicken recipes from long-tenured independent brands. Smallbatch leads with twelve USDA-certified-organic produce ingredients (highest organic load in the freeze-dried raw category), true prey-model carcass portions (skinless chicken necks + backs), and single-source-farm Pacific Northwest production. Steve’s Real Food leads with raw goat’s milk at #9 (unique whole-food enzyme + probiotic delivery vehicle), eggshell membrane for joint cartilage support, salmon oil for direct marine omega-3, and the shortest ingredient panel in the freeze-dried raw A-tier (18 ingredients).

The scores

Smallbatch Freeze-Dried Raw Chicken Sliders for Dogs: A (90/100) — Skinless Chicken Necks, Chicken Backs, Chicken, Chicken Livers, Chicken Gizzards.

Steve's Real Food Freeze-Dried Raw Chicken Nuggets: A (90/100) — Ground Chicken, Raw Ground Chicken Bone, Chicken Livers, Chicken Gizzards, Broccoli.

How the ingredients compare

The top-five ingredients reveal the formulation split between these two products:

Smallbatch: Skinless Chicken Necks, Chicken Backs, Chicken, Chicken Livers, Chicken Gizzards

Steve's Real Food: Ground Chicken, Raw Ground Chicken Bone, Chicken Livers, Chicken Gizzards, Broccoli

Both products earn effectively the same v15 score, but the ingredient lineups tell different stories about how they got there — that is where the actual pick decision lives.

Where Smallbatch pulls ahead

Twelve USDA-certified-organic produce ingredients (highest organic load in category): Smallbatch Chicken Sliders includes organic carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, broccoli, kale, collards, parsley, blueberry, kelp, wheatgrass, rosemary, and basil. Steve’s Real Food Chicken Nuggets includes carrots, broccoli, romaine lettuce, and cantaloupe in the produce section but doesn’t carry USDA-certified-organic status at the same coverage level. For owners specifically prioritizing certified-organic produce sourcing in raw feeding, Smallbatch is the structurally aligned pick. Shop on Amazon →

True prey-model carcass portions (skinless chicken necks at #1, chicken backs at #2): Smallbatch leads with skinless chicken necks at #1 and chicken backs at #2 — bone-in carcass portions that deliver whole-prey calcium / phosphorus ratios directly through the bone content of the carcass portions. This is closer to a true ancestral / prey-model formulation than the ‘ground muscle + ground bone’ approach. Steve’s Real Food uses ground chicken at #1 and raw ground chicken bone at #2 — an excellent assembled-formula approach but a step removed from carcass-portion delivery.

Single-source-farm Pacific Northwest production transparency: Smallbatch operates a single-source-farm Pacific Northwest production model with direct family-farm relationships and farm-to-bag traceability. Steve’s Real Food operates from Salt Lake City, Utah with US-grown meats sourced from multiple regional suppliers — well-sourced and small-batch in production scale, but without the same single-source-farm transparency emphasis as Smallbatch.

Where Steve's Real Food holds its own

Raw goat’s milk at #9 (unique whole-food enzyme + probiotic delivery vehicle): Steve’s Real Food includes raw goat’s milk at position #9 — no other freeze-dried raw brand in the KibbleIQ catalog uses raw goat’s milk as a primary supplement. The biology is meaningful: goat’s milk fat globules are roughly one-third the size of cow’s milk fat globules and lack the agglutinin protein, making it significantly easier to digest. The raw (unpasteurized) form retains naturally-occurring lipase, amylase, and lactase enzymes, plus naturally-occurring probiotic cultures (lactobacilli + bifidobacteria) at densities synthetic supplements can’t match. For owners specifically interested in raw goat’s milk supplementation as part of their feeding philosophy, Steve’s is the structurally distinct pick. Shop on Amazon →

Eggshell membrane + supplemental taurine + salmon oil: Steve’s includes eggshell membrane (naturally-occurring glycosaminoglycans for joint cartilage), supplemental taurine (belt-and-suspenders over the organ-meat-derived natural taurine), and salmon oil for direct marine omega-3 (EPA + DHA). Smallbatch includes pollock oil for marine omega-3 but doesn’t carry eggshell membrane or supplemental taurine. For owners specifically interested in joint-cartilage support or DCM-pathway taurine reinforcement, Steve’s supplement section is structurally aligned.

Shortest ingredient panel in freeze-dried raw A-tier (18 ingredients): Steve’s Real Food Freeze-Dried Chicken Nuggets carries an 18-ingredient panel — the shortest in the freeze-dried raw A-tier (Smallbatch carries 26, Northwest Naturals 27, Stella & Chewy’s 40+). For owners specifically prioritizing ingredient-panel minimalism, Steve’s is the structurally tightest option in the category.

The bottom line

Tied at A/90 on the v15 rubric — structurally similar A-tier freeze-dried raw chicken recipes from long-tenured independent brands. Pick on the trade-off you weight more heavily. Smallbatch delivers twelve USDA-certified-organic produce ingredients (highest organic load), true prey-model carcass portions (chicken necks + backs), and single-source-farm Pacific NW production. Steve’s Real Food delivers raw goat’s milk at #9 (unique whole-food enzyme + probiotic delivery), eggshell membrane + supplemental taurine + salmon oil, and the shortest 18-ingredient panel in the freeze-dried raw A-tier. For organic-produce priority, Smallbatch. For goat’s milk + joint support priority, Steve’s.