‘They Love It’ Dog Food Review

Does your dog have a raw food diet? Or are you thinking about switching to raw food, but are unsure of your choices? If your answer is yes, then this review article is for you.

Most of The Dog Express Team already feed their pooches with a raw food diet and so we know the benefits and are advocates of the beneficial outcomes for other dogs. However, there are a lot of raw food options on the market and still a lot of controversy on whether feeding your dog a raw food diet is the best option. So, The Dog Express Team have reviewed one of the UK’s leading providers of raw dog foods to help answer your questions.

What is a Raw Food Diet?

A raw dog food diet is exactly what it sounds like. Individually or a combination of raw meat, mince, organs (liver, kidneys) and/or bones, usually from sources such as chicken, lamb, beef and tripe. The raw food can be fed to a dog on its own or mixed with other ingredients such as rice and vegetables, to help ensure that the dog is getting all the necessary nutrients and vitamins needed to maintain a healthy life.

Natural raw food does not have anything added to it and is a more natural and healthier choice for your dog. When opting to change a dogs diet from tinned or wet food, over to a raw based diet, it is essential to consult a vet so that any existing issues with your dogs health or diet can be taken into consideration.

What are the Benefits & Risks

In past few years, feeding canines a raw diet has become increasingly popular and is said to have a vast array of benefits for the dog. Many scientists and canine nutritionists alike praise a raw food diet and suggest that just a few of the benefits include:-

• Healthy Skin
• Shinier Coat
• Higher Energy Level
• Cleaner Teeth

Providing a reputable provider is used, a raw food diet is a much healthier option for your dog when compared to the additives and preservatives used in many tinned and wet food products. However, as with any product, there are always other things to consider!

There are still some people who believe that a raw food diet is not as healthy for dogs, mainly due to the possibility of food contamination which can lead to bacterial diseases in the dog and their human owner (from handling the food). It is essential to choose a provider who is DEFRA approved and regulated, as well as being able to provide sound advice and customer testimonials.

Other risks can include the dog not receiving a balanced diet if they are missing essential nutrients and vitamins and choking hazards if the raw food contains bone fragments. All of these risks can be prevented by ensuring you use an approved and regulated supplier, use raw mince and/or organs only without bones and supplement the raw food with vegetables, offal and/or grains to ensure a high nutrient content.

They Love It

So, how do you know who to buy your raw food off?

This month we have been reviewing They Love It raw dog food, (you can see our full review and verdict below). They Love It are part of a parent company who operate a chicken processing plant and as such, have over 30 years of knowledge and experience in the poultry and butchery industries. They are based right here in the UK and are DEFRA approved (13/265/8006 ABP/PTF) and only use 100% human grade chicken in their raw foods.

They Love It pride themselves on offering only the highest quality products, but with great price incentives added in. Due to being in the industry for over 30 years, they have access to the highest quality suppliers and don’t waste time and resources on fancy packaging that will only end up in the bin, enabling them to provide their raw food at a fraction of the cost of many other manufacturers and suppliers. What’s more, all prices include free delivery!

They Love It offer a guarantee that only 100% chicken is used in their raw food and ensure that no bulking is added to their foods, such as dairy or other animal by products. Each and every item purchased through They Love It comes with an assurance that the food contains:-

• No artificial colouring or flavourings
• No rendered meat, fats or oils
• No meat or bone meals
• No processed grains
• No preservatives
• No salt or sugar
• No sugar beet
• No additives
• No cereal
• No wheat
• No fillers
• No GM

Types of They Love It Foods

They Love It offer a range of raw food products which includes chicken mince, mince with offal, chicken wings, lamb breast, chicken feet & necks, green tripe and offal. The food comes frozen and is cut into slabs of approx 400g-600g, for ease of storage, use and defrosting. They supply in large quantities such as 10kgs, 20kgs and 40kgs so as to keep the prices lower and the pre-cut slabs come in a freezer container which is delivered to your door by courier.

Where the chicken mince products contains offal, you are providing your dog with a high calibre food packed full of the necessary nutrients. The added offal it contains provides Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E , Vitamin K, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Choline, Betaine, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Zinc, Copper, Manganese and Selenium.

Review & Our Verdict

There are a lot of providers in the UK, some selling directly off the internet and some selling via pet shops and pet superstores. The Dog Express Team have been using a couple of providers for some years now and we have always been happy with the raw food and company ethics, however as with any options in today’s economy, price is always a factor.

We have found that a raw food diet can actually be cheaper than a tinned or wet food alternative, however as one of our testers has 2 large and hungry mouths to feed, she has personally commented that the £60 price tag which currently comes with a 20kgs spend on of raw food, is a little high!

This month, our team of waggy tailed testers have been trying out the raw food chicken mince from They Love It, to see if low cost and high quality really do mix.

The dogs doing the testing have already been on a raw food diet for several years as we wanted to ensure a fair test, with no adverse effects caused from switching the dogs diet suddenly. The first thing that all of our testers noticed was the incredible price of the order, 20kgs of pure chicken mice for £25.00 as oppose to the £60.00 they had previously been spending!

Our 2 testing Border Collies have now been enjoying the They Love It raw food chicken mince for over 10 days, morning and night and have definitely given the paws up for this product. Their coats are just as shiny and if possible for Collie’s, their energy levels are even higher than they were before. They wolf down the food without a second thought and our addition of some rice and carrots seems to provide them with even more reason to enjoy meal times.

The They Love It website is so easy to use and navigate and everything you need, from products and information to DEFRA approval number and contact information is right in front of you and easy to find. We have found that the quality of the food is just as good, if not better than the much higher priced products our testers were previously using and after giving They Love It a 10/10 Dog Express rating, we would happily recommend both the company and their raw products to any dog owner.

They Love It Details