FirstMate Dog Food Review 2024

Operating out of its own manufacturing facilities in British Columbia, FirstMate produces a large range of dry and wet food for dogs, plus treats, too. There’s a wide choice of formulas for pets at different life stages and with different dietary requirements.

Is FirstMate a good dog food? The verdict from Wag! is yes, with some buts. Despite the otherwise impressive formulation, the dry dog food relies too heavily on meat or fish meals as the main source of protein, which we don’t rate as highly as real meat. By contrast, the wet dog food has real meat as the first-listed ingredient, which makes us more than happy to recommend it.

Rather confusingly, FirstMate also manufactures two other brands in the same factory — Kasiks and Skoki. For our FirstMate dog food reviews, we’ve decided to only focus on the FirstMate products.

FirstMate Dry Dog Food

Although FirstMate manufactures both dry and wet dog food, the company makes much more of the former. There are a huge number of these recipes and we really have to commend the sheer variety available. Not only are there grain-inclusive and grain-free recipes, but you’ll also find products catered towards small breeds, large breeds, puppies and different dietary requirements.

There are some positive things to point out with FirstMate dry dog food. They’ve been formulated with the assistance of a veterinarian and this expertise can be seen in the high protein levels, antioxidant-rich ingredients and absence of artificial colors, preservatives or flavors.

We also like the provenance of many of the ingredients — the duck used in the duck meal is cage-free, for example, and the lamb is free-range and pasture-fed.

One thing we’re not so keen on is the fact that each recipe has meat or fish meal as the first-listed ingredient, rather than real meat or fish. Defenders of meals would assert that they’re essentially a meat concentrate and much higher in protein than meats — this is reflected in FirstMate’s commendable nutritional stats.

However, Wag! prefers to see a named meat as the first-listed ingredient. Named meat meals — such as the ones found in FirstMate’s products — can contain tissues and organs not fit for human consumption (although no blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents, as per AAFCO definition).  Meals can also be lacking in the sort of vital amino acids with which real meat is naturally abundant.

Another thing that’s worth mentioning about FirstMate dry dog food is the use of the word ‘formula’ in the title. Dog food manufacturers are bound by FDA rules when it comes to naming dog food. If the named ingredients in a dog food’s title make up more than 25% but less than 70% of the food’s total weight (when water is excluded), the ingredients in the title must be followed by a qualifier such as ‘recipe’, ‘dinner’ or ‘formula’.

What does this mean in practice? Take the FirstMate Free Range Lamb Meal and Oats Formula as an example. On the surface, you could be forgiven for thinking that lamb meal and oats form the majority of the recipe, but they could form as little as 25% of the recipe’s weight when water is excluded. At the same time, this figure could be as high as 75%, which is much more desirable.

When parents see a qualifying term such as ‘formula’, they should take a closer look at the ingredient list to see if other nutritionally deficient ingredients have been used to bulk out the recipe. With the FirstMate lamb dog food in question — and the company’s other dry dog food — this thankfully doesn’t look to be the case.

FirstMate Dry Dog Food Flavors and Products

• New Zealand Beef Meal and Oats Formula
• Cage-Free Duck Meal and Oats Formula
• High Performance for Active Dogs and Puppies Formula
• Duck Meal and Pumpkin Formula
• Lamb Meal Formula Small Bites
• Pacific Fish Meal Original Formula Small Bites
• Lamb and Oats Formula
• Pacific Caught Fish and Oats Formula
• Cage-Free Chicken Meal and Oats Formula
• Limited Ingredient Chicken Meal with Blueberries Formula
• Limited Ingredient New Zealand Beef Meal Formula
• Limited Ingredient Chicken Meal with Blueberries Formula
• Limited Ingredient Australian Lamb Meal Formula
• Limited Ingredient Pacific Ocean Fish Meal Large Breed Formula
• Limited Ingredient Pacific Ocean Fish Meal Weight Control Formula
• Limited Ingredient Pacific Ocean Fish Meal Original Formula
• Limited Ingredient Pacific Ocean Fish Meal Endurance Puppy Formula

FirstMate Wet Dog Food

When it comes to wet dog food, there are only five flavors in the collection (with another four under the Kasiks name, too). 

As a result of this more limited selection, there’s a lot less diversity in the product range — yes, there are a pair of limited-ingredient formulas, but there’s nothing for small or large breeds, nor any weight control or FirstMate High Performance dog food recipes.

What it lacks in variety, however, it makes up for with the fact that real meat or fish is first up in the ingredient list for each. This is a top source of protein and amino acids

There’s a similar attention to detail when it comes to sourcing these leading ingredients, too — the Chicken and Rice Formula features poultry that’s cage-free, food-grade and containing no added hormones.

Similarly, the recipes contain none of the controversial thickening agents, such as guar gum or carrageenan, that other brands are guilty of using.

FirstMate Canned Dog Food Products and Flavors

• Cage-Free Chicken and Rice Formula
• Wild Pacific Salmon and Rice Formula
• Cage-Free Turkey and Rice Formula
• Limited Ingredient Wild Salmon Formula
• Limited Ingredient Cage-Free Turkey Formula
• Limited Ingredient Cage-Free Chicken Formula

FirstMate Treats

If you’re trying to train your dog new tricks, good news — FirstMate also produces a range of treats. Like the FirstMate dry food, these lean on meat or fish meal as the lead source of protein, but the other ingredients meet the same high standards.

FirstMate Treat Flavors

• Cage Free Chicken & Blueberries
  
• Wild Pacific Caught Fish & Blueberries
• Free Range Grass Fed Lamb & Blueberries

The products are all made in FirstMate’s own facilities

Based in British Columbia, FirstMate produces all of its pet food in its own cannery and kibble factory. This allows them to set high safety standards and gives them direct oversight over the manufacturing process. The fact that there has never been a recall process involving FirstMate dog food suggests the company takes these responsibilities very seriously.

The variety of FirstMate dry dog food is hugely impressive

It might be stating the obvious, but every dog is different. That’s why there’ll never be a one-size-fits-all dog food. FirstMate has a wide range of recipes formulated for different types of dogs, including limited-ingredient ones for pets suffering from intolerances, small breed blends for pocket-sized dogs, and a higher-protein mix for growing or active canines.

The dog food has been formulated using the knowledge of a vet

The FirstMate dog food team features a vet who offers their expertise in the formulation of all the company’s food. As a result, you’ll spot plenty of vitamins and minerals in the ingredient list, plus an absence of the sort of substances that don’t do a dog’s body good — there’s no carrageenan or guar gum in FirstMate wet dog food, for example.

The ingredients are all top quality

As well as upholding the highest standards when it comes to manufacturing dog food, FirstMate also makes a concerted effort to source top-quality ingredients. This includes cage-free chicken and free-range lamb, as well as antioxidant-rich fruit and vegetables, too. Whatever your opinions on using meat or fish meal — we think we’ve made our views clear — FirstMate always uses a named meat or fish meal, rather than anonymous meat or bone meals.

The dry dog food gets its protein from meat meals

Although meat or fish meal is very high in protein, Wag! recommends finding a dog food that has real meat or fish as the first listed ingredient instead. That’s because real meat or fish contains better levels of natural amino acids that dogs need to thrive. It’s easier for more suspect animal parts to find their way into meals as well.

The FirstMate wet dog food range is considerably smaller

While the Firstmate dry dog food collection is pretty vast, the same can’t be said for FirstMate wet dog food — in fact, there are only five flavors, including two limited-ingredient recipes. It’s harder to find a recipe that’s catered towards your dog’s needs, be that fewer calories or increased protein.

The brand isn’t budget-friendly

We’ve mentioned FirstMate’s preference for using well-sourced ingredients. However, this comes at a cost and many of the products will be out of reach for customers with one eye on their purse strings. At the time of writing, the cheapest bag of kibble was available on Chewy for $2.34 per pound, while FirstMate canned dog food starts at $3.91 each.

“I am almost through my first bag of this food for my German Shepherd/Husky/Lab mix. He likes it, doesn't seem to LOVE it, but he is picky with most kibbles. If I add a food topper (Stella and Chewy's broth or powder), he will gobble it right up. His skin/itching has improved, which is why it was initially recommended to me, and I feel good about giving him a kibble that has such high quality ingredients. I also like that it has healthy grains, as many foods are following the human "grain-free" trend, and my vet said that high-quality grains are actually a necessary part of a healthy diet for my dog. Will continue to purchase in the future.”

“Our 14 month large [Goldendoodle] has had a sensitive stomach and been a picky eater when transitioning off his large breed puppy food. He switched to this quickly with no stomach issues and cleans his dish out quickly. Compared to the brand we were feeding we have been able to cut the volume of food because of increased caloric density. We’re very pleased so far.”

“A friend recommended this brand to me because I had a hard time keeping weight on my show dog. The friend fed grain-free but after researching, I found the grain friendly line. My girl loves the food and has gradually been able to keep her weight up. I think it is because of the high calorie count [of] 494 kcal/cup. I also feed her more than the recommended amount but she is an Australian Cattle Dog and has high energy.”

Read more reviews at Chewy.

What is FirstMate all about? Well, as the name suggests, the brand has a nautical origin.

After working for several years in the commercial fishing sector, founder Michael Florian’s first venture was a company that supplied feed to salmon farms in the Pacific Northwest. When guard dogs on these farms were fed some of this high-protein food, their parents noticed a marked improvement in their health and appearance. They asked Florian to produce a similar food for dogs and he took up the challenge.

In 1989, FirstMate pet food was born. Initially, the company had its food made by other manufacturers but after a couple of bad experiences, Florian decided that FirstMate should have its own manufacturing facilities to ensure high standards when it comes to quality and safety — today, FirstMate pet food is still made in the company’s own kibble factory and cannery.

FirstMate has never issued a product recall.