Surf 'N Turf Dinner Patties Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food, 25-oz bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Stella & Chewy's Surf 'N Turf Dinner Patties is a freeze-dried raw dog food primarily featuring beef, beef heart, and beef liver.
This food offers a strong protein profile, with beef as the first ingredient, providing high biological value. It also includes quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber. The inclusion of ground salmon, beef heart, and beef liver adds diverse, highly bioavailable protein.
The ingredient deck for this formula does not contain any notable negative drivers or flagged ingredients.
Good fit for adult dogs of any size. Nothing serious working against it.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Strong fit for adult Golden Retrievers and similar active sporting breeds navigating diet-associated DCM concerns. Beef anchors position 1, with zero pulses in the top 15, plus beef heart at position 3 (a natural taurine precursor) and ground salmon at position 2. In its 2022 update on diet-associated DCM, the FDA identified Golden Retrievers as the most reported breed, with 121 cases out of 1,382 total canine reports (8.8%) received between January 1, 2014, and November 1, 2022 (FDA, 2022) .
Looking at this for adult Golden Retrievers or Golden Retrievers with diet-associated DCM concerns ? We are building dedicated pages for these combinations.
Auto-matched from this product's measurements (ingredients, life stage, calorie density) to a breed archetype. Not a substitute for vet input on your specific dog.
Research informing this analysis
MethodologyThe Sniff System grades this product against 3 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
- FDA, 2022cardiac · epidemiology · breed predisposition· cited in 5 claims
- FDA, 2019diet composition· cited in 2 claims
- NRC, 2006nutrient bioavailability
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Solid grade. 69/100 (B) reflects the structural fit of this formula against The Sniff System's eight scoring components. Protein quality did the heavy lifting (+20.5 points): Strong protein profile with beef as the primary ingredient, delivering high biological value. The supporting beat: carbohydrate quality (+12 points). Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber. What's keeping it out of A-tier: fat-quality declaration (7 of 16 possible). Full fat-quality declaration requires a named-species animal fat (e.g., chicken fat, salmon oil) plus a marine oil with declared EPA/DHA milligram content.
Strong protein profile with beef as the primary ingredient, delivering high biological value.
Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein.
No negative drivers crossed our reporting threshold.
- Lowest crude fiber in Stella & Chewy's's lineup (5.3% DMB)
- Top quartile for DMB protein in Stella & Chewy's's lineup (47.4%)
- Top quartile for DMB fat in grain-free freeze-dried foods (35.8%)
Computed against the rest of our catalog. Percentiles refresh on each catalog update.
Similar dog foods worth considering
Three lenses on products with formulation profiles similar to this one.
Stella & Chewy's Remarkable Red Meat Recipe Dinner Patties Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food, 14-oz bag
Scores 4 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Stella's Super Beef Dinner Patties Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food, 25-oz bag
$30.71/lb vs your seed's $41.47/lb (26% less) at a comparable score.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.
- 1protein animalbeef
Real meat. Dense in protein and iron. Some dogs are sensitive to it, but for most it's an excellent base.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2ground salmon
Real fish meat. Natural source of omega-3s, which kibble usually has to add back from oil.
Position 2: co-primary protein. Two named animal proteins in the top 2 is a strong protein build.
- 3protein animalbeef heart
Position 3. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 4protein animalbeef liver
Organ meat. Among the most nutrient-dense ingredients available, rich in B vitamins, iron, and vitamin A.
Position 4. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 5beef bone
Position 5: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 6pumpkin seed
Real seed. Source of magnesium, zinc, and traditionally used as a mild dewormer (the evidence is folkloric, not clinical).
- 7fruitcranberries
Often added with a urinary-tract-support marketing angle. Real cranberry compounds help in concentrate form, but kibble doses are small.
Position 7: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 8vegetablespinach
Leafy green. Some iron, vitamin K, and fiber. The dose in kibble is small but it's real food.
Position 8: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 9vegetablebroccoli
Real vegetable. Adds fiber and some antioxidants. Fine in the small amounts used in kibble.
Position 9: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 10beets
Whole beets, not to be confused with beet pulp. Real vegetable, fiber and antioxidants.
- 11vegetablecarrots
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, and a small amount of antioxidant value.
Position 11: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 12squash
Real vegetable. Fiber, vitamin A, gentle on the stomach. Similar nutrition role to sweet potato.
- 13fruitblueberries
Antioxidants, real. But the amount in any kibble is too small to do much. Mostly marketing.
Position 13: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 14fenugreek seed
Herb seed. Trace inclusion, mostly for flavor and label appeal.
- 15mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 16supplementdried kelp
Natural source of iodine and trace minerals. A common premium-brand inclusion.
- 17sodium phosphate
Mineral source and preservative. Standard inclusion at small doses.
- 18preservative naturaltocopherols
- 19supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 20dried pediococcus acidilactici fermentation product
- 21probioticdried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product
A probiotic strain. Whether the dose is high enough to actually colonize is debated, but it's a real beneficial bacterium.
- 22dried bifidobacterium longum fermentation product
- 23probioticdried bacillus coagulans fermentation product
Probiotic strain. More heat-stable than lactobacillus, which means more of it likely survives kibble processing.
- 24mineralzinc proteinate
Zinc bound to protein for better absorption. The premium form of the mineral, versus zinc oxide which sits cheaper on the label.
- 25mineraliron proteinate
Iron bound to protein for better absorption. The premium form versus inorganic iron sulfate.
Showing first 25 of 39. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
20 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.