Instinct Raw Boost Healthy Weight, Natural Dry Dog Food with Freeze Dried Pieces, Grain Free Recipe - Real Chicken, 20 lb. Bag

Our dogs really like Instinct! We are over buying unhealthy dogfood! It costs more but is worth it!

I have a German Shepherd who is essentially allergic to life. He had terrible, debilitating conditions when he was on other "premium" dog foods; we had him tested and the allergen panel came back to basically read "all of the above". Chicken is his most tolerated protein. Flaxseed is essentially kryptonite to him. Unfortunately virtually all dog foods contain flaxseed, as it is a cheap source of essential fatty oils. This particular type of dog food uses salmon oil to obtain the same nutrients. Much more expensive, but much better results for our little guy. There are also no potatoes or other cheap fillers. Organ meat is used to provide small trace essential nutrients rather than using a variety of plant material. Essentially this food is much closer to what a dog has actually evolved to eat than most other dry dog foods out there. On the flip side, I noticed several review mentioning insect infestations. Although I have not experienced this problem, I can see how it could easily happen given the ingredients (I mean, imagine the insects from leaving a whole dead rabbit out, and that's a perfect dog food!). Anyway, I dump the food out of the bag and into an airtight container when I receive it, so as long as the food doesn't pick up anything nasty in a warehouse I am hoping this is a problem I won't have to contend with.Overall this food is crazy expensive, but the difference has been worth it. Our dog used to have nearly bald patches, his skin was bright red, covered in welts, and obviously itchy like crazy. His ears were horrific, and needed near constant-medication. Now his problems are gone, and he has perfect fur. There are other foods he can tolerate, but the list is very short. If you have a dog with even mild conditions, it's worth switching foods just to see if it makes a difference.

I started feeding my lil chunky Chihuahua/min pin this food cause he's almost 11 now and he's was getting chunkier on his older food. This food has made him slim down in under a month and he LOVES it. He picks out the freeze dried peices first and then eats the kibble. All the ingredients in this dog food is ingredients a human could eat, another reason I love this food. But the ULTIMATE reason I gave 5 stars is cause a 4lb bag at PetSmart is $30, this 20lb bag is $85. You save almost half your money buying in bulk and through Amazon.

I think this is a good choice for dogs. The ingredients are great. I can't say if they love the taste or not but I can say it is the only kind of "weight management" my dog has ever actually ate. I have tried everything under the sun for weight and she just won't eat any of them until I bought this kind. She will it by itself but I do mix it with real raw food now. Just so that she feels full but gets the benefits of raw food in a small quantity as well. I was feeding only this to her for quite a while though and like I said it is the only "weight management" food she has ever actually ate.

My fat beagle loves it a little too much. More specifically, the freeze dried chicken bits. I free choice my dogs (lab and beagle) dry food in one of those gravity fed dispensers. Twice I came in to find the entire amount of food in the container scattered all over the floor (about half of a 20lb bag). After a little investigation, I discovered Barney the beagle going through it all to pick out and eat the chicken bits. Dang!

We love this product for our dog

Very frustrated that I will not be able to buy this food anymore. I try to take great care of my two nine year old terrier brothers, and this food seems to be something that they like, and has helped me manage a serious grain allergy for one of them, along with slight weight issues for both of them. However, I have found maggots in the food on several occasions now. I was first buying at a local petco, and found a couple of bags to be fairly plentiful with maggots. At first I thought it might be the plastic container that I transfer the food to upon bringing it home. But then when I went back to the petco, I noticed some maggot larvae on the outside of several bags. Then I thought it might have been that specific petco. I’m stupid, and shouldn’t have been looking for so many excuses for the company. I switched to Amazon and continued buying it, checking each bag like a hawk. I didn’t see anything for a handful of 20 pound bag orders, but this current batch is nastily overrun with maggots. I ran the contents through a strainer over my kitchen sink and was appalled to see the number of them in the food. They seem to be feasting on the “raw” component of the food, and as this freeze-dried raw piece is exactly the same color as the maggots, I imagine many people have glanced over them and were not able to see them. My girlfriend’s dogs come to visit quite frequently, and we keep a container of their food here for them, and although the container is the same as mine and exposed to the same surroundings as mine, her food (different brand) is fine, and mine is overrun with maggots. I’m not thinking this is an Amazon issue, I firmly believe the issue to be with the manufacturer. Take caution when feeding this to your pups, look it over very carefully, as the maggots can be quite difficult to see without enlisting a very keen eye. Myiasis is a serious thing that can be acquired from ingesting maggots, and it is not something you want to happen inside of your beloved furry family member. For $70 bucks a bag, bought twice a month, I expect a higher level of quality and peace of mind from the product. I hope the manufacturer takes heed of concerns like this (I’ve contacted them as well) and takes steps to alleviate as much of this contamination as is possible. An occasional blip issue is one thing, the level that I’ve experienced (and no doubt others have experienced without knowing) is completely unacceptable.