In-Depth Review of BJ's Raw Dog Food
We’ve been feeding a raw diet to our dogs for 5 years now, and we’ve tried many different premade raw brands over the years. One of our dogs, Kai, is on a full raw diet, while the others have some occasionally as a treat. Last year we were introduced to BJ’s Raw, and we quickly became big fans of the food! What we love best about BJ’s is the high quality food, the durable containers and the wide variety of products offered.
Save 15% and get free shipping with our codes: JAKOBA15 and JAKOBASHIP
Kai smiling in front of his bowl of BJ’s Raw
The Brand
BJ’s Raw is a pet food company that sells frozen dog and cat food products direct to consumer online and locally at their store in Lancaster, PA. They started the brand in 2016 with the goal of creating better pet nutrition focused on all natural, whole animal nutrition. This blog post is focused solely on their dog food products.
Kai, with a tub of BJ’s Raw dog food
The Food
BJ’s Raw bases their meals on the Prey Model Raw (PMR) diet, which is made up of meat, bones and organs and models the diet of wild ancestral canines. Many of their grinds follow the 80/10/10 ratio (80% muscle meat, 10% organs, 10% bones), but they also add their seasonal vegetable blend to a few of their grinds for added nutrients. Their focus is on “whole animal nutrition,'“ and all of their products are 100% all-natural with no synthetic vitamins and minerals. Most of their blends are “complete and balanced for all life stages” following AAFCO standards.
They offer a wide variety of grinds, so if your dog has protein allergies, you can easily find a blend that works for your dog! Some of the different proteins available are beef, pork, chicken, duck, goat, salmon, rabbit, turkey and venison. The single protein 80/10/10 grinds can easily be identified on the site with orange labels and labeled as “blends” as opposed to the “mixes,” which use multiple proteins. If your dog doesn’t have any protein allergies, I’d recommend rotating between the different meals to ensure they get a more diverse nutrient profile.
We’ve been through over a hundred pounds of foods over the past 6 months, and the quality has consistently been excellent. The outside of the food is typically browned with the red meats, but this is completely normal. This is just a sign of oxidation where the food was exposed to oxygen and not a sign of spoilage. The interior is always bright red and fresh!
They also offer a few of their grinds freeze-dried, which make feeding on the go a breeze. It’s very convenient to have the same formula available in both frozen and freeze-dried, especially for dogs with sensitive stomachs.
The containers from BJ’s Raw are like Tupperware
The Packaging
All of their raw grinds are available in 2lb tubs. I will admit it IS a lot of plastic, but I feel it adds to the value of the product. The tubs are essentially Tupperware - the lids snap on and off, and you could even save used tubs for your own food storage if you wanted. It’s easy to eyeball how much to feed (half is 1 pound, 1/4 is a half pound, etc), and you can just snap the lid back on to store until the next meal. Because of the thick, resealable packaging, you’re never going to have an issue with packages leaking like you may with other raw dog food brands. The food in the 2 lb container takes about 24 hrs to thaw in the fridge, or you can thaw faster outside the container at room temperature.
A few of their grinds are available in 10 lb and 38 lb tubs, which is a great option if you like to buy your food in bulk. With these larger tubs, you’ll want to thaw, weigh out into smaller portions and refreeze until you’re ready to feed.
How Much Do I Feed?
The typical recommendation for feeding an adult dog raw is 2-3% of body weight. I’d recommend starting at 2% and adjusting as needed. So, an 80 lb dog would get 1.6 lbs a day. If they’re very active or need to gain weight, you can feed a little more. Our Kai eats 2 lbs a day, so we feed half a tub in the morning and the rest at night. Easy peasy. BJ’s Raw has their own feeding calculator to make this calculation easy for you.
The Supplements
Our foster pup, Shiloh, with goats milk from BJ’s Raw
BJ’s offers a variety of whole food supplements, including Beef Bone Broth, Chicken Meat Stock, and Fish Meat Stock. These add a tasty addition to your dog’s raw meal and are an excellent natural source of collagen, glucosamine and MSM (great for joint health!). Their Whole Fish Meal Stock is also an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. They also sell their Veggie Blend, which includes a variety of vegetable superfoods packed with nutrients.
The very first products my dogs tried from BJ’s Raw was their goat milk products. They offer many variations, including Eggnog, Strawberry, Blueberry, Protein+, Colostrum and Kefir. My dogs have tried all of these and love them all! Their favorite is probably the Protein+ Raw Goat Milk, which is goats milk blended with eggs for a delicious, creamy treat. The Kefir and Colostrum are both packed with probiotics and considered superfoods by many. There’s not a lot of brands that ship frozen raw goats milk nationwide, so BJ’s is worth checking out if you have trouble finding it locally!
Meeka enjoying a dehydrated rabbit foot
The Treats/Chews
BJ’s also offers a variety of frozen and dehydrated raw dog treats. Our dog’s favorites are the tripe filled tracheas, duck and turkey necks, duck feet and dehydrated rabbit. I was honestly surprised they liked the dehydrated rabbit heads, feet and ears so much since it is a lot of fur (which is a great source of fiber btw)! Their dehydrated chicken hearts and beef liver also make excellent yummy training treats!
Price
Pricing is comparable to other premade raw foods, at $6-8 per lb for beef, pork and chicken based blends and $8-$20/lb for more premium proteins like duck, goat and venison. They offer many ways to save, including buying larger tubs (10 or 38 lbs depending on the grind) or setting up auto-ship to save 5%. The price of shipping is relatively cheap compared to other frozen raw brands, with free shipping on orders over $189.
BJ’s has a physical store in Lancaster, PA, where they sell many of their grinds at a significant discount, sometimes nearly 50% off retail price. You can also get products not available online and even coordinate getting certain grinds fresh (never frozen) in the 5 gallon size. If you live in the area, definitely go check it out!
Kai, posing with the intro pack from BJ’s Raw
Intro Offer
If you’re interested in trying the food for a significant discount, their introductory offer is a great place to start! You receive a 2 lb tub of their five most popular grinds (10 lbs total) and a pint of their raw goat milk. Receive 40% off + free shipping with codes INTROTORAW and FREESHIPINTROPACK. This brings the total price to less than $4.80/lb!
This amount of food is a great intro amount, but if you want to purchase more than 10 lbs or other products on the site, we have our own codes setup for 15% off and free shipping: JAKOBA15 and JAKOBASHIP. Click here to save 15%.
Summary
BJ’s Raw is a great option for those that want to feed their dog a complete and balanced raw diet without the use of synthetic vitamins and minerals. We love that they offer a wide variety of protein blends, including that they offer their most popular blends as freeze-dried. This makes feeding raw while traveling super easy and convenient. While the price is rather high, it is comparable to other premade raw brands. The reusable containers add value to the product, and you can buy in bulk or set up autoship to save even more!
Their introductory offer is a great bang for your buck to see how your dog likes their food. Whether you’re looking for a new raw dog food, supplements or chews, BJ’s Raw is definitely worth checking out for raw, whole food dog products!
Giveaway (through February 16th)
There’s three chances to win their Intro Pack through February 16th, 2025! On Instagram and Facebook, simply follow their page and tag a friend. OR just drop a comment on this blog post (make sure to include your email).