Primal Dog Food Review 2024

Primal is a range of dog food that uses fresh, raw, human-grade ingredients. The proteins are antibiotic and steroid-free without added hormones, while all recipes feature organic fruit and vegetables. 

As well as a wide range of dog food, Primal also has a range of cat food. 

Read on to find out exactly what we think about Primal dog food including what we love about it and what we think you need to consider and be aware of before purchasing it. 

Primal dog foods include Primal raw dog food which is frozen, Primal freeze-dried dog food and gently-cooked dog food. The meat in all the recipes is ethically raised, the produce is organic and there are no synthetic vitamins, corn, wheat or soy. 

Frozen Raw

patties come in eight delicious flavors. The Pronto range includes an option specifically for puppies. 

Raw Frozen Nuggets and Raw Frozen Patties flavors:

• Beef
• Chicken 
• Duck
• Lamb 
• Pork 
• Rabbit 
• Turkey & Sardine 
• Venison 

Raw Frozen Pronto flavors:

• Beef 
• Chicken
• Duck 
• Lamb 
• Pork
• Turkey & Sardine 

Freeze-Dried Raw

In the freeze-dried range you’ll find the Primal nuggets for dogs — there are eight tasty flavors to choose from and these can be rehydrated with Bone Broth or Raw Goat Milk. The Raw Pronto comes in four flavors, plus one specifically formulated for puppies. We like that Primal offers both frozen raw and freeze-dried as the latter offers all the nutrition of raw but can be more convenient.

Freeze-Dried Nuggets flavors:

• Beef 
• Chicken
• Duck
• Lamb
• Pork
• Rabbit
• Turkey & Sardine
• Venison

Freeze-Dried Raw Pronto flavors:

• Beef 
• Chicken 
• Lamb 
• Pork

Gently Cooked 

This is the newest product in the Primal Balanced Bases range. What stands out the most to us is that this food is cooked using the ‘sous vide’ method — which means low and slow. This both enhances the flavors and retains more of the nutrients. There are four flavors to choose from, including one which is specifically for puppies. Alternatively, you can pick up a variety pack, to mix up your dog's meals or discover which one they like the most. 

• Beef and Carrot 
• Chicken and Salmon (for puppies) 
• Chicken and Squash 
• Fish and Kale 

Toppers and Hydrators 

There are a wide range of toppers and hydrators that can be added to the freeze-dried and frozen raw range or their existing diet. The Bone Broth and Raw Goat Milk lines are both hydrating, with health benefits from nutrients, vitamins and minerals.  The raw toppers are quick thaw and made from high-quality protein. 

There’s also fresh and freeze-dried raw toppers, the former features ingredients for digestion and joint health while the latter is made with high-quality meat and organic produce, adding nutrition to any diet. The meat is cage-free and grass-fed. 

Bone Broth Toppers

• Chicken
• Pork 
• Beef
• Turkey

Raw Goat Milk Toppers

• Original 
• Green Goodness 
• Pumpkin Spice 
• Cranberry Blast 
• Blueberry Pom Burst 

Fresh Toppers 

• Omega Mussels 
• Awesome Squash
• Power Greens  

Raw Toppers: Market Mix

• Beef 
• Chicken 
• Lamb 
• Pork 
• Sardine 
• Turkey 

Raw Toppers: Butcher’s Blend 

• Beef 
• Chicken 
• Lamb 
• Pork 
• Sardine 
• Turkey 

Freeze-Dried Raw Toppers: Cupboard Cuts 

• Beef
• Chicken
• Fish
• Pork
• Turkey 

Treats, Bones and Chews 

Primal also offers a selection of treats, bones and chews. Just like the rest of their food these are made from responsibly sourced meat and real food. There are also no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. The range includes freeze-dried treats with goat's milk, jerky treats with bone broth and dehydrated treats. There’s also a selection of bones and chews including moose, elk and stag antlers.

There’s a lot to like about Primal dog food. Here are a few of the top reasons we would pick it.

Real meat is the first ingredient 

We love that real meat is the first ingredient and not only that, no meat meal or by-products are used in their recipes. The meat must be humanely-raised. It’s fresh, antibiotic- and steroid-free with no added hormones. It comes from whole muscle meat, organ meat and meaty bones. There’s a huge selection of different meats and fish as well including beef, buffalo, chicken, duck, lamb, quail, salmon, sardine and venison. 

Natural ingredients

It’s not just the meat that’s carefully considered in these recipes. They only use real whole food ingredients and never synthetic supplements. The ingredients must be sustainably grown and organic produce. Essential vitamins and minerals come from organic fruit and vegetables such as apples, bananas, blueberries, carrots, celery, ginger, pomegranate, pumpkin and sweet potato. There are also no synthetic supplements, only food-based nutrients with health benefits including organic apple cider vinegar, organic chia seeds, organic coconut oil and anchovy oil.  

A wide range to choose from 

There’s a huge range of food to choose from and plenty of options for mixing and matching the food too. The freeze-dried raw range can be rehydrated with the Bone Broth, or Raw Goat Milk, for example. In each range you also have plenty of flavors to choose from so you are sure to find one your pup loves. 

Before deciding whether Primal is the right dog food for your pup there are a few things you need to be aware of and consider. 

Not everyone agrees with a raw food diet

Are you wondering how safe it is to feed dogs a raw food diet? You may have heard there are concerns about it. Both the FDA and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) actually discourage pet parents from feeding their pups raw food. This is because, due to the lack of cooking and processing, raw food is more likely to be contaminated with bacteria listeria and salmonella.

It has been recalled in the past 

Primal has been recalled twice in the past and the most recent time was because a sample tested positive for listeria.

On their website, Primal state that they use high-pressure processing to prepare all their products to eliminate all pathogens from the food. They also conduct a ‘test and hold’ procedure for all their products to ensure that they are free of harmful bacteria.

It’s not that budget-friendly

You pay for what you get, and high-quality food comes with a high price tag. Some pet parents say that this food is quite expensive. Most do say it’s worth the money for the human-grade ingredients though. You can always make savings on sites such as Chewy through the bundles and deals. 

“I was blown away by the freeze dried raw Pronto pork recipe. My dog is very picky and loved this food. She comes running to her food bowl now as soon as she hears the bag being opened. I love that it's crate-free pork, raised without antibiotics, steroids, or added hormones. I also love that it's a whole food nutrition with no synthetic supplements and no corn, wheat, soy, lentils, or legumes. It has all the nutrients that my dog needs. It can be used as a replacement, treat, or bowl topper. It's an amazing product!”

“My dog really enjoyed this product. I was skeptical at first, since you have to rehydrate it. But she loved it! I like that you can use whatever liquid you want. We used both water and chicken broth. Both ways were gobbled up right away. This would be good next time our pug gets her teeth cleaned. She inevitably has to have a few pulled (pug life). So she needs soft food for a bit. If we add enough liquid, it’ll be soft enough. I also love that all the fruits and vegetables are organic! All in all, this was a great find!!”

Check out more Primal dog food reviews on Chewy.

Primal was founded by Matt Koss in early 2000. His dog was showing early signs of renal failure and so he switched her to a raw food diet following the advice of a holistic veterinarian. He created his own food and the result was an increase in her appetite, energy and happiness. 

After seeing the change in his dog he wanted other pets to benefit from it too. Over the years his first recipe has been refined with the aim of supporting pets' health through nutrition.  

Primal has been recalled twice — once in 2017 and once in 2022.

Primal dog food recall 2022 

In 2022 Primal voluntarily recalled a single lot of Raw Frozen Patties for dogs — beef formula following routine sampling by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Only 6 lb bags with a best by date of 5/22/23 were affected. This was due to potential contamination with listeria monocytogenes bacteria, with a positive result in one sample. This single lot was distributed in April to Maryland, Georgia, Texas, and British Columbia. There were no reports of illness as a result of this product.

Primal dog food recall 2017