JustFoodForDogs vs. The Farmer’s Dog in 2024

JustFoodForDogs and The Farmer’s Dog deliver excellent frozen fresh dog food. Both are great services, but which is best for your dog?

To answer that question, I’ve researched both brands. I’ve examined menus, studied reviews, pored over ingredient lists, and consulted my canine-loving colleagues. This was a very tough fight between 2 of the best dog food delivery services in the business. But after careful consideration, I’ll give the edge to The Farmer’s Dog by a cold nose.

While it came in second, JustFoodForDogs is also a great dog food delivery service. Its line of prescription diets may make it the better choice for dogs that require a specialized diet due to health issues. In this contest, your dog wins no matter which service you pick.

Read on to see which of these 2 great choices works best for your canine companion.

At a Glance: Who Won Each Category?

Ingredient Quality: Both Services Provide Preservative-Free Meals

This round is too close to call. Both services use human-grade ingredients, with fresh, chopped whole foods and vegetables. Both slow-simmer their meals to kill pathogens while preserving the nutritional benefits of raw diets.

The Farmer's Dog ingredients are human-grade and prepared in USDA kitchens. Each recipe is gently cooked at low temperatures to meet USDA-facility standards and then quickly frozen (never deep frozen!) to ensure safe shipping and easy storage for you.

JustFoodForDogs uses meats and vegetables intended for human consumption in recipes balanced to NRC standards. JFFD meals are cooked in small batches to ensure your canine companion gets the freshest food possible.

Neither company uses preservatives and both perform their own feeding trials to ensure the food is safe, healthy, and nutritionally balanced. Both formulate their meals in consultation with veterinarians and animal nutritionists.

The Farmer’s Dog offers meals made with beef, turkey, pork, or chicken. All Farmer’s Dog meals are grain-free and contain between 8-11.5% crude protein with 4.5-8.5% crude fat.

JustFoodForDogs offers chicken, turkey, fish, lamb, beef, or venison meals with whole grain and grain-free options. Its meals contain between 7.5-10% crude protein and 2-10% crude fat.

Both competitors offer excellent, healthy food that your dog will love, and I feel comfortable giving both services a gold star for ingredient quality.

Meals and Customization: JustFoodForDogs Offers Customized Diet Plans

While our first round ended in a tie, JustFoodForDogs handily won here.

Both services start you out with a questionnaire asking about your dog’s weight, age, breed, spay/neuter status and activity levels. Both ask if your dog is allergic to the ingredients offered. Both also offer nutrient mixes with recipes you can use to make homemade fresh dog foods. But JustFoodForDogs gives you more flexibility, especially for dogs with veterinary issues.

In its questionnaire, The Farmer’s Dog asks about health conditions. I repeated my earlier information for Big George, but added 3 conditions common to Chihuahua/French Bulldog mixes – gas, tear staining, and anxiety.

The recommended meal plan was identical to another I received earlier. A healthy fresh food diet will definitely help most dogs suffering from gas, tear staining, or anxiety. But what if Big George had bigger medical problems? And what about doggie snacks? Sadly, The Farmer’s Dog doesn’t offer any specialized diets.

JustFoodForDogs offers 6 prescription Veterinary Support diets like Low Protein Renal Support and Metabolic Diet for diabetes and thyroid disorders. And JustFoodsForDogs even offers customized diets created in consultation with its team of Veterinary Nutritionists.

If that isn’t enough, JustFoodForDogs also has a line of healthy snacks, and those who have cats can buy fresh cat food for their feline furbabies. This selection is tough to beat, and JustFoodForDogs takes this trophy home.

Ordering and Delivery: Both Offer a Great Service

This is yet another round that’s too close to call. Both services deliver to the continental United States, but JustFoodForDogs also ships to Alaska and Hawaii.

You can change your delivery address and pause or cancel your subscription through your Farmer’s Dog customer account on the website. JustFoodForDogs also lets you change or cancel your autoship orders on the website.

JustFoodForDogs offers free shipping, regular deliveries, and a 5% discount through its Autoship program, but welcomes 1-time orders (though with a $10 shipping fee). All Farmer’s Dog orders include free shipping.

How Do the Meals Arrive? The Farmer’s Dog Offers Personalized Pouches

This was another close round, but I gave it to The Farmer’s Dog for its conveniently sized personalized pouches.

Because both companies send fresh-frozen food, you must store meals in the freezer. Leave the pack overnight in the refrigerator before feeding, then serve after it’s completely thawed. You can warm the food up with a bit of hot water if your dog prefers.

JustFoodForDogs says that its food can be kept in the freezer for up to a year, while thawed and unopened JFFD food remains fresh in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Open bags of its meat recipes can be refrigerated for 4 days, and 3 days for fish recipes.

The Farmer’s Dog meals can be kept in the freezer for up to 4 months, while thawed Farmer’s Dog meals are good in the refrigerator for 4 days. Check out our The Farmer’s Dog review for more information on serving and storage.

The Farmer’s Dog food arrives in packages with your dog’s name prominently displayed. This is a nice touch and makes life much easier if you’re feeding more than a single dog. Your dog may take half a pouch, 2 pouches, or some other combination. Don’t worry, the feeding amounts are clearly displayed.

JustFoodForDogs sends its frozen food in 18-ounce and 72-ounce sealed packages. You can order small (7 x 18-oz), medium (21 x 18 oz) or large (7 x 72 oz) boxes of food. All JFFD insulated shipping containers are CFC-free and 100% recyclable.

JustFoodForDogs also gives feeding amounts based on your dog’s caloric requirements. But it gives the measurements in cups and ounces, which means you need to get a scale or break out the measuring cup when feeding your dog. This makes feeding a bit more complicated than TFD’s personalized pouch approach.

Pricing: The Farmer’s Dog Is More Affordable Overall

For most pup parents, The Farmer's Dog costs will likely be the less expensive option. I calculated the prices using the figures for Mookie, my late 72-pound American Staffordshire Terrier and also evaluated the cost to feed "Big George," a 13-pound French Bulldog/Chihuahua mix.

Feeding Big George according to The Farmer’s Dog costs $3.33/day. Just Food For Dogs recommends its Turkey and Macaroni mix, which costs $3.01 per day.

Mookie’s recommended Farmer’s Dog plan costs $8.45/day. JFFD also recommends Turkey and Macaroni for Mookie, but the plan costs $9.48/day.

Both services let you move away from their recommendations. If you swap a Farmer’s Dog meal for another, the price stays the same. But with JustFoodForDogs the price may increase. For example, giving Big George JFFD’s grain-free Beef and Russet Potato diet would cost $3.50/day, and feeding Mookie Chicken and Rice would set you back $12.75/day.

Your first Farmer’s Dog box is a 2-week trial order. If your dog turns their nose up at The Farmer’s Dog, you can get a full refund if you donate the remaining food to a local animal shelter.

JustFoodForDogs offers a refund if you’re dissatisfied with any purchase, so long as you make your claim within 30 days of your order.

JustFoodForDogs vs. The Farmer’s Dog – Quick Overview

And the Winner Is: The Farmer’s Dog

This was a hard-fought match from start to finish, and both contenders proved themselves to be among the finest pet food delivery services out there today. While I gave the nod to The Farmer’s Dog, it was by the closest of margins. 

The Farmer’s Dog is a bit cheaper than JustFoodForDogs, and I like the personalized pouches with your dog’s name on them. TFD is run by 2 dog lovers who got their start making food for their own Rottweiler. They put the same care and attention into your pup’s meals. 

But if your dog needs a prescription diet, JustFoodForDogs is your only choice. Its prescription meals can improve both length and quality of life for your sick furbaby. And whether you choose The Farmer’s Dog or JustFoodForDogs, you can be sure your dog will be a winner.

FAQ

Is JustFoodForDogs owned by Petco?

While JustFoodForDogs is an independently-owned brand, you can find JustFoodForDogs meals in many Petco or Pet Express stores. JustFoodForDogs products are also available at over 200 veterinary clinics and on Chewy and Amazon.

Can I microwave The Farmer’s Dog meals?

The Farmer’s Dog recommends against microwaving its meals. TFD meals are cooked at low temperatures to preserve their vitamins and nutrients. Heating fresh dog food in the microwave destroys many of those nutrients. If your dog likes their food warmed, add a bit of hot water or bone broth before serving.

Do vets recommend JustFoodForDogs?

Vets recommend JustFoodForDogs enthusiastically. JFFD scores high marks with vets both for its fresh and healthy general meals, and for its prescription line of Veterinary Support meals that are designed for dogs with serious medical issues.