Venison Blend Dinner Patties Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food, 5.5-oz bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Stella & Chewy's Venison Blend Dinner Patties is a freeze-dried raw dog food with venison as its primary protein.
Venison is the first ingredient, giving this food a strong protein profile with high biological value. The formula also includes quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber, and organ meats like lamb liver and venison liver add diverse, highly bioavailable protein.
One thing to note is the absence of a declared omega-3 source. Ingredients like fish oil, salmon oil, or algae oil are not present in the formula.
Good fit for adult dogs whose owners prefer a freeze-dried raw diet. Less ideal if you want a food with a declared omega-3 source.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Strong fit for active large sporting breeds like Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Irish Setters navigating diet-associated DCM concerns. Venison anchors position 1, with zero pulses in the top 15, plus lamb liver at position 3 (a natural taurine precursor). 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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.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 (+23.5 points): Strong protein profile with venison as the primary ingredient, delivering high biological value. The biggest detractor was fat quality (-8 points): No declared omega-3 source. Fish oil, salmon oil, and algae oil all absent. To reach A-tier, this formula would need to gain about 8 points, most likely through fat quality.
Strong protein profile with venison 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 declared omega-3 source. Fish oil, salmon oil, and algae oil all absent.
- Lowest crude fiber in Stella & Chewy's's lineup (5.3% DMB)
- Top 10% for protein quality in Stella & Chewy's's lineup (23.4/27)
- Lowest fat quality in Stella & Chewy's's lineup (4/16)
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 6 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Stella & Chewy's Dandy Lamb Dinner Patties Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food, 25-oz bag
$30.71/lb vs your seed's $54.60/lb (44% 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 animalvenison
Real meat, lean and gamey. Used as a novel protein for dogs with sensitivities.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2protein animallamb
Real meat. Often used for dogs with chicken or beef sensitivities. Slightly higher fat content than chicken.
Position 2: co-primary protein. Two named animal proteins in the top 2 is a strong protein build.
- 3protein animallamb liver
Organ meat. Same nutrient-density story as chicken or beef liver, dense in B vitamins, iron, vitamin A.
Position 3. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 4venison liver
Position 4. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 5venison lung
Position 5: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 6lamb kidney
Position 6. Functional organ inclusion. Adds amino acids and micronutrients even at smaller weight.
- 7lamb spleen
Position 7. Functional organ inclusion. Adds amino acids and micronutrients even at smaller weight.
- 8lamb heart
Position 8. Functional organ inclusion. Adds amino acids and micronutrients even at smaller weight.
- 9venison bone
Position 9: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 10olive oil
Position 10: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 11pumpkin seed
Real seed. Source of magnesium, zinc, and traditionally used as a mild dewormer (the evidence is folkloric, not clinical).
- 12fruitcranberries
Often added with a urinary-tract-support marketing angle. Real cranberry compounds help in concentrate form, but kibble doses are small.
Position 12: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 13vegetablespinach
Leafy green. Some iron, vitamin K, and fiber. The dose in kibble is small but it's real food.
Position 13: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 14vegetablebroccoli
Real vegetable. Adds fiber and some antioxidants. Fine in the small amounts used in kibble.
Position 14: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 15beets
Whole beets, not to be confused with beet pulp. Real vegetable, fiber and antioxidants.
- 16vegetablecarrots
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, and a small amount of antioxidant value.
- 17squash
Real vegetable. Fiber, vitamin A, gentle on the stomach. Similar nutrition role to sweet potato.
- 18fruitblueberries
Antioxidants, real. But the amount in any kibble is too small to do much. Mostly marketing.
- 19fenugreek seed
Herb seed. Trace inclusion, mostly for flavor and label appeal.
- 20mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 21supplementdried kelp
Natural source of iodine and trace minerals. A common premium-brand inclusion.
- 22preservative naturaltocopherols
- 23sodium phosphate
Mineral source and preservative. Standard inclusion at small doses.
- 24supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 25dried pediococcus acidilactici fermentation product
Showing first 25 of 45. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
16 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.