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Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Squeal for Zeal! #honestkitchen

Squeal for Zeal!





















I was excited to check the front of my door and see my new food has arrived! The Honest Kitchen sent Zeal to us, a natural dehydrated whole food for dogs.  

Here's my Ruckus Report on it:


PROS:
  • Grain-Free dog food:
    • I am a huge fan of the ingredients: Wild, line-caught haddock with sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and parsley
  • HUMAN GRADE: 
    • This is always a key. The fact that is it also safe and taste-tested by humans
  • Easy: 
    • Simple to make whether wet or dry--you can also sprinkle on top of kibbles if desire
  • Considerate: 
    • HK takes into consideration their customers' requests. They are in the process of removing rosemary from their food products

CONS/DESIGN:
  • Lose Munching Factor: 
    • Wet food is fun for all dogs, but you lose the ability to really grind your teeth a bit and chew
  • Price: 
    • Initially this is a big turn off factor at first glance, 10 pounds dog food for $100? It sounds outrageous! But if you sit down and think about it, every 1 cup makes 1 lb of dog food. When you do the math that way, it's actually quite the deal. And it takes up less storage space! 
    • Here is the feeding guideline from their website:
Dehydrated dog food feeding recommendations

  • Messy: 
    • The packaging is a bit too simple for me. All the dehydrated food is kept in one big ziplock bag, making it easy to spill, especially while scooping. I'm wondering if there could be a creative design to the packaging that can help prevent this.

Ingredients

All ingredients dehydrated: Haddock, whiting, sweet potatoes, eggs, organic coconut, organic alfalfa, apples, pumpkin, parsley, cabbage, bananas, salmon, cranberries, garlic, rosemary extract*, tricalcium phosphate, choline chloride, zinc amino acid chelate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, potassium iodide, potassium chloride, iron amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate.

Guaranteed Analysis

  • Protein, 35.50%
  • Fat, 8.50%
  • Fiber, 5.80%
  • Moisture, 8.90%
  • 437 calories per cup

1. ADD WATER!
2. STIR!
3. EAT!
CURRENT PRICES:

$105.83 for 10 pounds (makes 40 pounds)
$50.95 for 4 pounds (makes 16 pounds)
$6.09 for 4 ounce trial (makes 1 pound)

At this time, I wouldn't consider completely replacing all my dry meals, but I would use this to add to my meal as a topper. I can see this being a very good kit for senior dogs who have very sensitive teeth. Overall, I do SQUEAL FOR ZEAL just because it is so darn tasty. I leave my bowl spotless at the end of the day. 

Company's website: http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/


Woof,

Ruckus the Eskie

Disclaimer: We received no payment or compensation and were provided with the product(s) for an honest review.  Please read the disclosure here.


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22 comments:

  1. The Honest Kitchen does make some great dog foods. Shiner has tried a little bit of Zeal before. She really enjoyed it!

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    1. Glad to hear that she liked it too. I've been pretty impressed with THKs food and snacks so far.

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  2. Hey Ruckus! This sounds great! We will give it a try! Thanks!

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    1. Thanks Jeanne. I am curious on what you think about it. Please share!

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  3. we fed HK for a while and they make great foods. The only issue was Norbert did not like the texture. I am considering going back to them in the future for the pugs. I also added additional raw or cooked meat to mine when I fed it which did drive up the price a bit

    urban hounds

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    1. Hi Tubby Pug, did you use the dry or wet texture? I'm not a fan of the dry, but the wet goes down pretty well.

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  4. Sounds like a good food. My issue would be price with three large dogs to feed. :)

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    1. Hi 2browndawgs, 3 dogs would probably finish off that 10lber in no time!

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  5. Mmm! Sustainably caught haddock is a healthy addition to meal time, Ruckus! Great review.

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    1. I am a huge fan of fish so this was a big hit for me.

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  6. Mmm! Sustainably caught haddock is a healthy addition to meal time, Ruckus! Great review.

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  7. Read many GOOD reviews of Honest Kitchen. LOVE your bowl. Happy tasty tuesday and Golden Thanks for participating the hop. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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  8. Interesting concept! Good to know the company is receptive to customer feedback, that's a huge plus! Enjoy your new tasty food Ruckus!

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    1. Hi Duke, I agree..it is so important to know that someone out there is listening to what the customer is saying!

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  9. Interesting! I've never even considered dehydrated food before. Thanks for the honest review! :)

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    1. Yes, this was the first time I have heard of dehydrated food.

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  10. I've seen this food on the shelf and though it looks interesting the price is awfully high...Why are they removing rosemary? And I don't quite get the portion conversion...If Gizmo's normal meal is 1/2 C kibble how does that convert? Do I use a 1/2 cup of the dry and then add the water? And what is the mixed consistency like? Is it like oatmeal or more watery...sorry to bug you with so many questions

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    1. Hi Gizmo, those are all so very good questions. Let me ask THK to see if they can help answer them since I don't have the answers to them. I will send them an email!

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  11. It has a fishy smell to it...drives both me and my sapiens crazy. They are crazy because the smell will linger in the house. I go crazy because it just makes me salivate and drool like a maddog.

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  12. Thanks for providing recent updates regarding the concern, I look forward to read more.Indian SMM Panel

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