Dr. Marty Dog Food Reviews: Nature’s Blend Freeze-Dried Raw Ingredients, Feeding Guide, History & More

Freeze-dried raw dog food is becoming quite popular, as it offers top-quality meaty taste and exceptional nutrient value. Several brands are coming to market with freeze-dried meals and treats. One company that has been around for some time is Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend—founded by famous veterinarian Dr. Martin Goldstein, who has over 40 years of experience treating dogs and cats. He has been featured on major television shows like Oprah, Martha Stewart, Good Morning America, and more. Dr. Marty is a well-known name. Is Dr. Marty’s dog food worth it? We look at the details, history, and more behind the brand.

View Dr. Marty’s Pet Food Website

Dr. Marty Dog Food Reviews

Product Name: Dr. Marty Nature's Best

Product Description: Dr. Marty's makes raw, freeze-dried pet food, treats, and supplements using a macrobiotic focus.

Summary

Dr. Marty’s makes all-natural, raw, freeze-dried food for dogs and cats. Recipes are based on whole food, macrobiotic nutrition. Suitable for dogs of all breeds and ages. 

Overall Score

4.5

Pros

• All-natural
• No artificial elements
• Made in-house
• Limited ingredient formulas
• Safe raw nutrition
• Formulated for canines
• 90-day money-back guarantee
• Multiple recipes
• Supports whole body health
• Meaty taste
• Lower processing
• Freeze-dried raw meals

Cons

• Expensive
• Some dogs do not like texture
• Some complaints about customer service
• May not sustain larger dogs
• Not easy to find ingredient sourcing information 
• Some recipes are high in carbohydrates

Key Features

• Freeze-dried raw
• Small brand
• Veterinarian designed recipes
• Also makes cat food
• Manufactured in the USA
• Natural ingredients
• Supports dogs’ overall health

Is Dr. Marty’s Dog Food Legitimate?

Yes. Dr. Martin Goldstein is a legitimate veterinary doctor with over 45 years of experience with small animals. He is famous for treating and working with celebrity pets. Nature’s Blend is a well-established company with high reviews.

Brand History

Dr. Goldstein is a household name for many due to his appearances on television and close connections with many celebrities. However, his true passion is caring for small animals like cats and dogs. The doctor has over 45 years of experience and has long advocated for proper, healthy nutrition for dogs and cats. Motivated by his own health struggles, he developed the Nature’s Blend line of pet nutrition free of many of the heavy, artificial, and filler ingredients found in most commercial pet foods. Dr. Goldstein uses conventional, holistic, and nutritional therapies to create a formula that impacts and improves long-term health. He focuses on macrobiotic diets.

Macrobiotic diets avoid dietary toxins. They do not include processed foods, refined sugars, or hard-to-digest grains. These diets aim to provide optimal nutrition, improve digestion, and aid overall health. The Nature’s Blend formulas promote healthy coats, skin health, less itching, healthier digestion, firmer bowel movements, more energy, and overall well-being. Recipes are also formulated to tickle the taste buds of those fussy eaters.

Dr. Marty makes all recipes in-house using top-quality ingredients. Recipes are freeze-dried raw to mimic a canine’s natural, wild diet. They use real foods with no artificial preservatives, additives, or synthetic elements. There are no fillers or heavy grains, and recipes are rich in healthy protein.

The company has its own manufacturing facility and does not need to have anything made by a third party. The manufacturing facility is in Woodland Hills, California. The brand recently celebrated selling over 8 million units of dog food. According to information from the Better Business Bureau, the company was started in 2017 and has been BBB accredited since 2018.

Ingredients

Dr. Marty’s recipes use all-natural ingredients to retain top nutritional value. These contain natural meat proteins like turkey, beef, salmon, duck, egg, and organ meats. Recipes also use healthy fruits and vegetables, including sweet potato, apple, blueberry, cranberry, carrots, pumpkin seed, kelp, broccoli, spinach, and more. Mixed tocopherols act as a natural preservative. While the product is not non-GMO verified, no ingredients they use are known GMO crops.

Dr. Marty’s brand does not add any vitamins or minerals and uses no heat during freeze-drying. They take care to avoid filler ingredients like white potatoes and tapioca. Recipes lead with real meat ingredients as a natural source of protein and amino acids like taurine.

Have There Been Any Dr. Marty Dog Food Recalls?

The brand has never had any recalls. This is very good news and is a sign of high-quality safety and processing methods.

Dr. Marty‘s Nature’s Blend Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food Reviews

The brand makes the Nature’s Blend line along with treats and supplements. Nature’s Blend has formulas that cater to special needs like sensitive stomachs, small breeds, and healthy growth for puppies. Recipes can be fed as stand-alone meals or used as toppers. Recipes offer top nutrition to dogs of all ages and breeds.

All of Nature’s Blend formulas are grain-free. While the FDA has not found a significant link between grain-free dog food and cardio health, it is wise to talk with your vet before switching your dog’s diet. You might also consider mixing it with rice or using it as a food topper with grain-inclusive kibble if you’re concerned about a grain-free diet.

Treats & Supplements

The company offers two lines of treats for dogs (raw line and wellness-based formulas) and supplements.

Raw treats use a single ingredient of raw animal protein. Flavors include:

• Joey’s Favorite – Salmon
• Red’s Rewards – Pork liver
• Cod Cracklers – Cod
• Cod Crispies – Cod Skin
• Tilly’s Treasures -Beef liver

The Better Life Bites are wellness treats made for specific health areas. These include raw meat, organ meats, fresh fruit and vegetables, and added ingredients like New Zealand Green lipped mussels.

• Immune Health
• Heart Health
• Digestive Health
• Hip & Joint Health

Supplements come in various formats, including powder, super food, bone broth and chewable tablets.

Price

Dr. Marty’s has a slightly higher price than some lower-quality brands but is comparable to other fresh and freeze-dried delivery pet foods. Customers can purchase one bag or set up a subscription for 3 or 6 bag deliveries. The bags are all 16-oz. Customers can also buy a 6-oz. trial-size bag. Customers who opt for a 3-bag subscription receive a 5% savings, while those who opt for 6 bags save 8%. Customers who set up a profile on the site can also access other promotions and discounts. Prices vary by recipe. Below, we have broken down the pricing for the Sensitivity Select recipe.

• 1 bag – $34.95 to $59.95
• 3 bags – $101.85 to $170.85
• 6 bags – $199.20 to $323.20

The company offers a 90-day 100% money-back guarantee. If owners are unhappy within those 90 days, they will refund the total price.

The brand is available on the company website. While third-party retailers sometimes sell this product, the company requests that customers not purchase its products from any other site. This is because listings on third-party sites have no guarantee as an authentic product. Additionally, these products do not qualify for the 90-day guarantee. Purchasing directly from the site is safest to guarantee authenticity, safety, and top nutritional value.

Our Personal Experience With Dr. Marty’s

My dogs were able to try Dr. Marty’s Nature’s Blend food. All I can say is they love it. My older dog, Daisy, 11 years old, is somewhat picky and cannot get enough of this food. She is excited as soon as the bag comes out of the cabinet. I have been mixing this with her regular kibble, and she eats every bite. Lately, she has been rejecting her kibble, but since I have added Dr. Marty’s food nuggets, she has not refused any meals. She has more energy, and her bowel movements are healthier, which is excellent news. As she is getting older and starting to have joint issues and arthritis, her food is very important. She is eating less overall, so having a higher quality, natural food to feed her has made a big difference in her attitude and energy.

My smaller dog Falkor, a 3-year-old Poodle Beagle mix, also tried Dr. Marty’s. He loves to eat and scarfed the nuggets up very quickly, then looked at me for more. The smell was powerful, and I was concerned the dogs would not like it, but they both gave this food the empty dog bowl seal of approval.

Potential Benefits Of A Raw Diet

Dr. Marty’s recipes are all raw food-based. Freeze-drying them makes it a far more accessible diet and provides nutritional balance. Raw dog food often contains no artificial ingredients, additives, fillers, or preservatives. Raw diets can help with healthier and smaller bowel movements and aid in digestion and nutrient absorption. Freeze-dried food undergoes incredibly low processing, much less than even gently cooked meals. However, it is more processed than a fresh, raw diet.

The practice of feeding pets, especially dogs, uncooked food, like meats, has been under debate for many years. Extensive research has been done on the subject, and evidence supports a healthier intestinal microbiome and improved digestion and stool quality for some animals who consistently eat this diet. A raw diet is more suggestible by chiropractic, holistic, and natural treatment-based veterinarians.

If you choose to feed your dog a raw diet, whether freeze-dried or fresh, it is essential to ensure you store it properly and abide by all serving instructions and guidelines. While freeze-dried food does go through some processing, that process does not eliminate bacteria like salmonella or listeria. Additionally, not all dogs appreciate the texture of freeze-dried foods. Because of this, it is best to try a sample size of freeze-dried food before committing.

Feeding Guidelines

These recipes can be fed as is or rehydrated. When rehydrating, it needs to be soaked in water for 3 minutes and then fed to your dog. When feeding as a meal, these are the recommended guidelines (some formulas like small breed and puppy may be different):

Our Final Verdict

View Dr. Marty’s Pet Food Website

Dr. Marty’s is top-of-the-line, very high-quality freeze-dried dog food. Their product line is not extensive but does offer some variety and specific formulas. We appreciate the inclusion of a puppy recipe, as that is not always a formula that is included in boutique brands like this. All ingredients are high quality and natural. There is no use of hard-to-digest fillers like corn, soy, or wheat gluten.

Recipes offer nutritional balance, contain ultimate flavor, top nutritional density, and are amazingly easy to eat. They include ingredients like Green lipped mussels, which provide fatty acids, omega 3’s, and other elements that support joint and muscle health. Unique formulas like puppy food include added sources of calcium like goats’ milk, which also adds protein and aids digestibility. Recipes all use healthy sources of omega fatty acids, have nutritional balance, taste great, and offer top-quality protein sources. Some recipes do include added carbohydrates like pea flour and sweet potatoes.

We appreciate that foods are lightly processed and preserve the nutrients of the raw ingredients. We also appreciate the fact that the company manufactures products in-house and does not outsource to third-party manufacturers. Whole ingredients and natural preservatives make Dr. Marty’s a top pick.

Dr. Marty offers extensive customer service. Customers can call and e-mail. The team provides customer support seven days a week. The website also runs a blog, updated periodically with pet care and health articles.

The negative reviews of the brand are limited. While there are many searches questioning if it is a legitimate brand due to the celebrity status of Dr. Marty, most of that feedback is directed towards some recipes having a higher carbohydrate load and for ingredients sourcing needing to be more transparent. However, despite these few complaints, customers are exceedingly happy with the products.

While it is a more expensive option, Dr. Marty’s is a trusted, reliable, and high-quality freeze-dried dog nutrition option. It may be quite pricey to sustain a larger dog with these meals due to the high prices, so it may be better as a topper for some. However, either way, it adds a considerable boost of flavor and nutrients to any canine’s diet. If you can afford it, your pup will fare well on Dr. Marty’s brand, appreciate the taste, and see improvements in skin and coat health, digestive, mobility, and overall well-being. The company has had no recalls in its long history, an excellent testament to the quality of ingredients, sourcing, and manufacturing process.

Dr. Marty vs Other Companies

Interested in seeing how Dr. Marty stacks up against other popular pet food companies? We’ve written comparison articles for you to see how Dr. Marty and other leading dog food companies compare.

• Dr. Marty vs The Farmer’s Dog

Still Not Sure What To Put In Your Dog’s Bowl?

While Nature’s Best is a top-of-the-line option, it is not the right pick for every pup. If you are not sure Dr. Marty’s brand is right for you, there are plenty of other high-quality, delicious options to consider. Other companies like Spot & Tango offer high-quality, nutritious, and tasty freeze-dried options. If your pup prefers wet chow, there are human-grade options like The Farmer’s Dog, Ollie, Nom Nom, and more to consider.

Additionally, there are plenty of high-quality, well-balanced kibbles to pick from. If your pup has any special dietary needs, like a sensitive stomach, allergies, diabetes, or other medical conditions, you may want to consult with your veterinarian to ensure you are picking food with the right nutritional balance.

Our Methodology

We analyze hundreds of dog food brands and individual formulas to provide our recommendations for the best nutrition. Each of the following elements helps us determine the best dog food for any dietary need. Our in-depth research includes:

• Scrutinizing all ingredients included in every formula
• Having firsthand experience with our dogs for many of the foods we recommend
• Assessing the guaranteed analysis for every formula, including protein, fat, fiber, and caloric content
• Investigating the latest scientific studies on dogs’ nutritional needs and benefits of ingredients
• Researching the specific dietary needs for breed sizes and health conditions
• Reading hundreds of customer reviews
• Staying informed on every dog food recall
• Diving into every pet food brand’s history and reputation
• Keeping on top of pet food trends

Unlike many other review sites, we give unbiased reviews based on countless hours of research. Our goal is to provide our readers with the healthiest options for their pups.

Why Trust Canine Journal?

Danielle has had a special bond with dogs since she was a young child. She has over 30 years of pet care experience. She has worked as a professional researcher for many years and spends countless hours researching the latest science and data-backed research on pet care, health, nutrition, and training developments.

Danielle has tested and researched over 100 dog food brands and counting with the enthusiastic help of her two dogs, Daisy and Falkor. She works with a professional and experienced team to bring our readers the best, most accurate, and up-to-date information.