Stella's Super Beef Dinner Patties Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food, 14-oz bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Stella & Chewy's Stella's Super Beef Dinner Patties is a freeze-dried raw dog food featuring beef and a variety of beef organ meats.
This food offers good protein quality from beef and various beef organ meats, which also adds diverse, highly bioavailable protein sources. It also includes quality carbohydrate sources that provide fermentable fiber.
The main thing to note is the absence of a declared omega-3 source, like fish oil or algae oil, which are important for overall health.
Good fit for dogs whose owners want a freeze-dried raw food with a beef and organ meat profile. Less ideal if you prioritize 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 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 2 (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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Solid grade. 65/100 (B) reflects the structural fit of this formula against The Sniff System's eight scoring components. Protein quality did the heavy lifting (+19.5 points): Reasonable protein quality. beef delivers solid amino acid coverage. What we'd flag for vet discussion: fat quality (-8 points). No declared omega-3 source. Fish oil, salmon oil, and algae oil all absent. A-tier is 10 points up. Fat quality is where to find them.
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 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 quartile for DMB fat in Stella & Chewy's's lineup (36.8%)
- 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 8 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 $39.14/lb (22% 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.
- 2protein animalbeef liver
Organ meat. Among the most nutrient-dense ingredients available, rich in B vitamins, iron, and vitamin A.
Position 2. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 3protein animalbeef kidney
Organ meat. Dense in B vitamins, iron, and trace minerals. Among the most nutritious ingredients on any label.
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.
- 5beef tripe
Stomach lining. Strong-smelling but nutrient-dense, with natural digestive enzymes.
Position 5. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 6beef bone
Position 6: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 7pumpkin seed
Real seed. Source of magnesium, zinc, and traditionally used as a mild dewormer (the evidence is folkloric, not clinical).
- 8fruitcranberries
Often added with a urinary-tract-support marketing angle. Real cranberry compounds help in concentrate form, but kibble doses are small.
Position 8: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 9vegetablespinach
Leafy green. Some iron, vitamin K, and fiber. The dose in kibble is small but it's real food.
Position 9: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 10vegetablebroccoli
Real vegetable. Adds fiber and some antioxidants. Fine in the small amounts used in kibble.
Position 10: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 11beets
Whole beets, not to be confused with beet pulp. Real vegetable, fiber and antioxidants.
- 12vegetablecarrots
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, and a small amount of antioxidant value.
Position 12: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 13squash
Real vegetable. Fiber, vitamin A, gentle on the stomach. Similar nutrition role to sweet potato.
- 14fruitblueberries
Antioxidants, real. But the amount in any kibble is too small to do much. Mostly marketing.
Position 14: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 15fenugreek seed
Herb seed. Trace inclusion, mostly for flavor and label appeal.
- 16mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 17supplementdried kelp
Natural source of iodine and trace minerals. A common premium-brand inclusion.
- 18sodium phosphate
Mineral source and preservative. Standard inclusion at small doses.
- 19preservative naturalmixed tocopherols
Natural vitamin E used to keep fats from going rancid. The good kind of preservative. See why →
- 20supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 21dried pediococcus acidilactici fermentation product
- 22probioticdried 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.
- 23dried bifidobacterium longum fermentation product
- 24probioticdried bacillus coagulans fermentation product
Probiotic strain. More heat-stable than lactobacillus, which means more of it likely survives kibble processing.
- 25mineralzinc proteinate
Zinc bound to protein for better absorption. The premium form of the mineral, versus zinc oxide which sits cheaper on the label.
Showing first 25 of 41. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
21 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.