Surf & Turf Patties Frozen Raw Dog Food, 6-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Stella & Chewy's Surf & Turf Patties Frozen Raw Dog Food is a frozen raw wet food featuring beef, beef liver, beef heart, and salmon.
Beef provides good protein quality and amino acid coverage. The inclusion of organ meats like beef liver and heart, along with salmon, adds diverse, highly bioavailable protein. It also includes quality carbohydrate sources that provide fermentable fiber.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for dogs who thrive on a raw diet and owners looking for high-quality protein sources.
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 liver 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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Sniff scored this formula 67/100, landing in B-tier territory. The biggest contributor was protein quality (+19 points): Reasonable protein quality. beef delivers solid amino acid coverage. Also adding to the lift: carbohydrate quality (+12). Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber. The 8-point gap to A-tier sits mostly in 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.
Reasonable protein quality. beef delivers solid amino acid coverage.
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.
- Top 10% for DMB fat in grain-free wet foods (34.3%)
- Top 10% for overall Sniff Score in grain-free wet foods (67/100)
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.
Instinct FreshRaw Patties Grass-Fed Beef Recipe Dog Food, 6-lb bag
Scores 3 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Stella & Chewy's Dandy Lamb Patties Frozen Raw Dog Food, 12-lb bag
$7.50/lb vs your seed's $8.83/lb (15% less) at a comparable score.
Surf & Turf Pâté for Dogs
Whitefish instead of beef, 1 point lower, different brand.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Wet and fresh foods contain more water than kibble (typically 65-78%). On a dry-matter basis, this food's protein content is roughly 43%, comparable to premium kibble (typically 30-45% DMB protein).
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 liver
Organ meat. Among the most nutrient-dense ingredients available, rich in B vitamins, iron, and vitamin A.
Position 3. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 4protein animalbeef heart
Position 4. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 5pumpkin seed
Real seed. Source of magnesium, zinc, and traditionally used as a mild dewormer (the evidence is folkloric, not clinical).
- 6fruitcranberries
Often added with a urinary-tract-support marketing angle. Real cranberry compounds help in concentrate form, but kibble doses are small.
Position 6: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 7vegetablespinach
Leafy green. Some iron, vitamin K, and fiber. The dose in kibble is small but it's real food.
Position 7: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 8vegetablebroccoli
Real vegetable. Adds fiber and some antioxidants. Fine in the small amounts used in kibble.
Position 8: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 9beets
Whole beets, not to be confused with beet pulp. Real vegetable, fiber and antioxidants.
- 10vegetablecarrots
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, and a small amount of antioxidant value.
Position 10: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 11squash
Real vegetable. Fiber, vitamin A, gentle on the stomach. Similar nutrition role to sweet potato.
- 12fruitblueberries
Antioxidants, real. But the amount in any kibble is too small to do much. Mostly marketing.
Position 12: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 13fenugreek seed
Herb seed. Trace inclusion, mostly for flavor and label appeal.
- 14mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 15supplementdried kelp
Natural source of iodine and trace minerals. A common premium-brand inclusion.
- 16sodium phosphate
Mineral source and preservative. Standard inclusion at small doses.
- 17preservative naturaltocopherols
- 18supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 19dried pediococcus acidilactici fermentation product
- 20probioticdried 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.
- 21dried bifidobacterium longum fermentation product
- 22probioticdried bacillus coagulans fermentation product
Probiotic strain. More heat-stable than lactobacillus, which means more of it likely survives kibble processing.
- 23mineralzinc proteinate
Zinc bound to protein for better absorption. The premium form of the mineral, versus zinc oxide which sits cheaper on the label.
- 24mineraliron proteinate
Iron bound to protein for better absorption. The premium form versus inorganic iron sulfate.
- 25supplementtaurine
Amino acid critical for heart health. Especially important in grain-free or pulse-heavy formulas where natural taurine precursors run thin.
Showing first 25 of 38. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
21 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.