Stella & Chewy's / The Honest Kitchen / Instinct: what is in it, and what we would feed instead
Freeze-dried, dehydrated raw, or raw-coated kibble · PetSmart, Pet Valu (made in the USA)
Our take
Freeze-dried raw is real raw food, dried. It is a good choice. It also costs more per day than fresh raw and needs water added back, so we usually suggest it as the travel food, not the everyday one.
What the label says
Freeze-dried raw (Stella & Chewy's, The Honest Kitchen, Instinct) is good food: the process removes water at low temperature and keeps most of what was in the raw ingredients. The honest considerations are cost per day, which is usually higher than fresh raw, and moisture, which you have to add back.
- Raw-coated kibble is still mostly kibble
- Freeze-dried is dry; it needs water added back
- Often one protein per bag
- Expensive per day compared with fresh raw
- Made in the USA
- Whole, named protein
- Moisture in the food (raw is about 70% water; kibble about 10%)
- Protein rotation
- No starch binder
- Fresh fats and omega-3s
Rehydration reality: Freeze-dried foods require rehydration to deliver the moisture benefit (70% vs 10%). If you're feeding dry without adding water, you're missing one of the biggest physiological benefits of raw feeding. Always rehydrate.
The switch at Barks N Purrs
COEVO Freeze-Dried Raw (BC-made) is the Canadian version at Barks N Purrs. Big Country Raw or Perfectly Raw is fresh raw at a lower cost per day; SMACK is the Winnipeg-made dehydrated option.
Website prices on 2026-09-26. Cost per day is a starting estimate at 2.5% of body weight for an adult dog; your plan uses your pet's real weight and age.
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