Dandy Lamb is the richest thing in the Meal Mixers line, and that's the whole case for it and against it depending on your dog. At 38 percent protein and 38 percent fat it's the only recipe in the range where those two numbers are equal, and at 5,270 kcal per kilogram it carries more energy per scoop than the chicken, the beef, or the turkey.
So who is it actually for.
Start with the dog who won't eat. A hard keeper, a dog coming off a long illness, a working or sporting dog burning more than a house dog does, or an older dog who has stopped finding dinner interesting. Fat carries flavor, and the dogs who turn their nose up at leaner food will often clean a bowl with this on it. That's not marketing, it's just what fat does. If you've been fighting with a picky dog, ask us about it next time you're at 1288 Highway 33 and we'll tell you honestly whether we think it's the right lever to pull.
It's also worth a look if you want a protein your dog hasn't had before. Most dogs in this county have eaten chicken and beef their entire lives. Dandy Lamb is grass-fed lamb at 95 percent lamb, organs and bone, and the organ list is the deepest of any recipe we've compared: spleen, liver, heart, kidney and bone. Spleen sits second, ahead of the liver, and appears in nothing else in the line.
Now the part a lot of stores skip.
If your dog is already carrying extra weight, this is not the recipe to start with. The same quarter cup that would be a sensible topper on the chicken recipe delivers noticeably more calories here. Stella's own guidance is that toppers shouldn't exceed ten percent of a dog's daily calories, and it's easier to blow past that with lamb than with anything else in the range. That's not a knock on the food. It's a reason to match the recipe to the dog instead of to the flavor you like the sound of.
People also assume the richer bag is the better bag. We don't think that's true, and we say so on the floor. Richer is a tool. For a lean, hungry, hard-working dog it's the right tool. For a twelve pound dog who gets one walk a day and a lot of biscuits, the chicken recipe does the job with less room for error.
Practical notes if you go with it. It carries a feeding chart with two columns, one for using it as a complete meal and one for using it as a topper, and the amounts are very different, so read the one that matches how you're actually feeding. It comes in 18 and 35 ounce bags. And if lamb ends up being what your dog eats, our freeze-dried Frequent Buyer card is worth asking about, because dinner patties, meal mixers, dinner morsels and dinner dust all qualify. Treats and 1 oz trial bags don't, the free item comes from the same species and size group as the nine you bought and is of equal or lesser value than the least valued item on the card, and you'll need a valid email and a current loyalty account with us.
If you're ordering rather than stopping in, freeze-dried orders over $75 ship free anywhere in the country, and local delivery in New Jersey is free.
Weigh your dog before you switch. Then weigh them a month later and see whether the scoop you chose was the right one.