Dr. Marty Freeze Dried Nature's Blend Healthy Digestion Dog Food

Dr. Marty Nature's Blend Healthy Digestion Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food

Healthy Digestion is the odd one out in the Nature's Blend line, and in a good way. It is the only formula built on turkey and whitefish rather than the usual four proteins, the only one containing fermented vegetables, and the one with the highest protein guarantee of the lot at 45%.

The five fermented vegetables, and what they actually do

Five ingredients carry both the word organic and the word fermented, and they are the only organic items in the whole recipe: cabbage, cauliflower, dandelion greens, Jerusalem artichoke and chicory root.

Here is the honest version of what that means, because it is widely misdescribed. Jerusalem artichoke and chicory root are the two best-known natural sources of inulin, a fibre that feeds the bacteria already living in a dog's gut. That makes them prebiotic rather than probiotic. There is no live culture declared on this label... no Bacillus, no Lactobacillus, and no guaranteed CFU count anywhere on the bag.

So if you are specifically after a food that adds live organisms, this is not it, and we would rather tell you that than let you find out later. What it does offer is a fermented, fibre-forward recipe built around ingredients chosen for gut support, which is a reasonable thing to try for a dog with an unsettled stomach... alongside a vet's view, because persistent digestive trouble is rarely only about the food.

What's in it

Turkey leads, then whitefish, turkey liver and turkey heart. Whole egg follows, then pumpkin, spinach, flaxseed, sweet potato and pumpkin seed before the five fermented vegetables. Apple, carrot, kelp, ginger, sunflower seed, broccoli and kale finish it. Mixed tocopherols, a natural vitamin E, are the only preservative.

No pea ingredient of any kind, which sets it apart from Essential Wellness and the puppy formula. No corn, wheat, soy or added grain. Dr. Marty describes the recipe as 86% real meat, which is their figure rather than a label guarantee.

The number people misread

At 181 kcal per cup this is the least calorie-dense formula per cup in the line, and a level cup weighs only about 38 grams against 51 for Essential Wellness. The feeding chart therefore asks for noticeably more cups.

That is the chart being correct, not the bag being worse value. You get more cups out of a bag and you feed more of them, and the total calories per bag land close to the others. Compare using the feeding chart, never by counting cups.

Full ingredient list

Turkey, Whitefish, Turkey Liver, Turkey Heart, Egg, Pumpkin, Spinach, Flaxseed, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin Seed, Organic Fermented Cabbage, Organic Fermented Cauliflower, Organic Fermented Dandelion Greens, Organic Fermented Jerusalem Artichoke, Organic Fermented Chicory Root, Apple, Carrots, Dried Kelp, Ginger, Salt, Sunflower Seed, Broccoli, Kale, Mixed Tocopherols (preservative).

Guaranteed analysis

• Crude Protein (min) ... 45%
• Crude Fat (min) ... 30%
• Crude Fiber (max) ... 3%
• Moisture (max) ... 6%
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids (min) ... 1.5%*

*Omega-3 fatty acids are not recognized as essential nutrients by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.

Read off the bag in our store. If you find different figures online, the package governs.

AAFCO statement

Formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for adult maintenance. Not a puppy food.

Calorie content

4,773 kcal/kg ... 181 kcal per cup. A cup means a standard 8-fluid-ounce dry measuring cup, filled level, holding about 38 grams of this food. It does not hold 8 ounces by weight.

Feeding guidelines

Dr. Marty's published amounts, dry and before water, split across two meals.

Starting points, not prescriptions. If you are switching because of a digestive problem, go slower than the usual ten days rather than faster... a gut that is already unsettled does not want another abrupt change.

How to rehydrate

Warm water at two parts food to one part water, three minutes, then stir through. The food is raw and uncooked, so handle it like raw meat: wash hands and bowl afterwards, and don't leave a made-up portion out.

Switching over

Ten days as a baseline. 25% of the new food on days one to three, 50% on four to six, 75% on seven to nine, all of it from day ten. Stretch it to two weeks if the dog's stomach is the reason you are here.

Sizes, and how many cups you get

16 oz, 48 oz and 80 oz, which work out to roughly 12, 36 and 60 level cups... more cups than any other formula, for the reason explained above. For a 50 lb dog eating 3¾ cups a day that is about three days, nine days, and sixteen days.

Storage

Seal it fully after each use, cool and dry. Dr. Marty puts an opened bag at up to three months, shortened by heat and humidity.

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