Is We Feed Raw or The Farmer's Dog better for dogs?

Effectively tied at A/90 vs A/90 on the v15 rubric — the pick comes down to raw-vs-cooked feeding philosophy. We Feed Raw is frozen raw with explicit 80/10/10 prey-model ratio, PhD veterinary nutritionist oversight, and six-variant protein rotation. The Farmer’s Dog is gently cooked with sweet potato + lentils carbohydrate base, broader DTC scale with maximally-personalized subscription, and pathogen-mitigated format. Pick We Feed Raw for raw-feeding philosophy and PMR ratio alignment. Pick The Farmer’s Dog for pathogen-mitigated cooked safety and maximally-personalized subscription convenience.

Is raw food better than gently cooked for dogs?

It’s a feeding-philosophy decision with real trade-offs, not a one-better-than-the-other answer. Raw delivers maximum nutritional intactness (no heat denaturation of vitamins, proteins, or enzymes) but requires careful raw-meat handling and carries baseline pathogen-load risk (Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria). Gently cooked delivers pathogen mitigation at slight nutrient cost (some thermolabile vitamins are partially denatured during low-temperature cooking). For healthy households practicing standard raw-meat hygiene, both are appropriate. For households with immunocompromised members (cancer patients, organ-transplant recipients, infants under 12 months, elderly), the CDC and AVMA both recommend gently cooked alternatives over raw to reduce cross-contamination risk. The pick depends on household composition and feeding-philosophy priority.

Does The Farmer's Dog use sulfate-form trace minerals like We Feed Raw?

The Farmer’s Dog uses a combination of chelated and sulfate-form trace minerals depending on the specific recipe and nutrient. We Feed Raw uses sulfate-form trace minerals (zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate) throughout the recipe. Chelated trace minerals are typically 30-60% more bioavailable than sulfate forms. The whole-food meat content in both brands supplies substantial bioavailable mineral content, so the supplementation-form difference is incremental rather than primary. For owners specifically prioritizing chelated trace mineral forms across the entire supplement panel, neither brand fully matches that specification — brands like Primal (chelated throughout) or ZIWI Peak (amino acid complex trace minerals throughout) are the structurally aligned picks.

We Feed Raw vs The Farmer's Dog: Which Is Better for Your Dog?

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The short answer: Effectively tied at A/90 vs A/90 on the v15 rubric. Both are A-tier DTC subscription dog food brands with beef-based recipes. We Feed Raw is frozen raw — explicit 80/10/10 prey-model ratio with beef + organs + beef necks with bone. The Farmer’s Dog is gently cooked — beef + sweet potato + lentils + carrot + beef liver in a low-temperature cooked format. The structural difference: raw vs cooked feeding philosophy. Raw delivers maximum nutritional intactness with pathogen-handling responsibility on the owner; cooked delivers pathogen mitigation at slight nutrient cost. Pick on raw-vs-cooked philosophy, freezer storage preference, and household pathogen-safety needs.

The scores

We Feed Raw Beef Recipe Frozen Raw: A (90/100) — Beef, Beef Heart, Beef Liver, Beef Kidney, Beef Necks (with bone).

The Farmer's Dog Beef Recipe: A (90/100) — Beef, Sweet Potato, Lentils, Carrot, Beef Liver.

How the ingredients compare

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

We Feed Raw: Beef, Beef Heart, Beef Liver, Beef Kidney, Beef Necks (with bone)

The Farmer's Dog: Beef, Sweet Potato, Lentils, Carrot, Beef Liver

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 We Feed Raw pulls ahead

Maximum nutritional intactness via raw format: We Feed Raw is uncooked — no heat denaturation of thermolabile vitamins (vitamin C, some B-vitamins), no protein denaturation, no enzymatic inactivation. The Farmer’s Dog uses gentle low-temperature cooking that eliminates pathogens but does partially denature some heat-sensitive nutrients. For owners specifically prioritizing maximum nutritional preservation and raw-feeding philosophy, We Feed Raw is the structurally aligned pick. Shop on Amazon →

Explicit 80/10/10 prey-model ratio (PMR philosophy): We Feed Raw is formulated to the classic PMR ratio — 80% muscle meat, 10% organ meat, 10% raw meaty bone. The Farmer’s Dog uses a more balanced muscle-meat + organ + vegetable + legume formulation, structurally different from strict PMR. For owners following PMR feeding philosophy specifically, We Feed Raw is structurally aligned.

Beef necks with bone for natural calcium-to-phosphorus + DIY-replacement convenience: We Feed Raw uses actual beef necks with bone for the calcium source — structurally equivalent to what owners DIY-raw-feeders would use, but pre-portioned and AAFCO-substantiated. The Farmer’s Dog uses calcium and mineral supplementation in synthetic-form for the calcium source. For owners specifically wanting whole-bone calcium (vs synthetic calcium carbonate supplementation), We Feed Raw is the structural pick.

Where The Farmer's Dog holds its own

Pathogen-mitigated cooked format (structurally safer for immunocompromised households): The Farmer’s Dog gently cooks all recipes to eliminate Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, and Campylobacter to safe levels. For households with immunocompromised members (cancer patients, organ-transplant recipients, infants under 12 months, elderly), the CDC and AVMA both recommend cooked alternatives over frozen raw to reduce cross-contamination risk. We Feed Raw is uncooked and requires careful raw-meat handling. For households with immunocompromised members or owners specifically prioritizing pathogen-load mitigation, The Farmer’s Dog is the structurally safer pick. Shop on Amazon →

Sweet potato + lentils carbohydrate base (BARF-aligned with low-glycemic-load carbohydrates): The Farmer’s Dog includes sweet potato + lentils + carrot as the carbohydrate-and-fiber complement — the polyphenols, antioxidants, fiber, and phytonutrients that organic produce contributes. We Feed Raw is strict PMR with no vegetables — structurally aligned for PMR feeding but missing produce-derived micronutrients. For owners following BARF philosophy or specifically wanting low-glycemic-load carbohydrate inclusion, The Farmer’s Dog is the structural pick.

Broader DTC scale + maximally-personalized subscription: The Farmer’s Dog is the largest gently-cooked DTC brand by subscriber count with integrated subscription that calculates portion size and recipe rotation based on the dog’s individual weight, age, activity level, breed, and feeding goals. We Feed Raw subscription customization is less granularly personalized. For owners wanting maximally-personalized portion-and-recipe automation, The Farmer’s Dog is structurally aligned.

The bottom line

Effectively tied at A/90 vs A/90 — the pick comes down to raw-vs-cooked feeding philosophy. Pick We Feed Raw for raw-feeding philosophy with maximum nutritional intactness, explicit 80/10/10 prey-model ratio (PMR alignment), beef necks with bone for natural whole-food calcium, and DTC subscription with six-variant protein rotation. Pick The Farmer’s Dog for pathogen-mitigated cooked format (structurally safer for immunocompromised-household feeding), sweet potato + lentils carbohydrate base with low-glycemic-load alignment, broader DTC scale with maximally-personalized subscription automation, and elimination of raw-meat-handling responsibility.