Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend Freeze Dried Food Review

Matilda and Cow were thrilled to try Dr. Marty™ Nature’s Blend dog food – and I’m pretty excited to introduce a premium food option that meets the high standards of our personal food rotation.

If you’re looking to upgrade your dog’s diet, you and your dog are going to love Nature’s Blend too.

Sometimes I hear about dogs who turn their nose up at “healthy food,” and their owners have to compromise and offer them a subpar brand just to get them to eat.

Freeze-dried foods like Nature’s Blend are an excellent solution to this – dogs are attracted to the flavors released when you add warm water.

You can even add freeze-dried food to your dog’s existing diet to get her excited about her meals.

If you’ve ever tried freeze-dried liver treats (most dogs go nuts for those!) this food has a very similar, meaty smell that’s mild to us, but wildly delicious to most dogs.

What Exactly IS Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend Freeze-Dried Food?

Nature’s Blend consists of freeze-dried pellets that you rehydrate with warm water before serving.

Just like astronaut food, it is lightweight and condensed, all of the moisture removed to make it easy to transport and store without freezing or refrigeration.

Is Freeze-Dried Food RAW?

Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend is described as “raw,” on the packaging and on their website.

As a raw feeder, this gave me pause at first. Is freeze-dried food really raw?

The more I learned about their freeze-drying process, the more I understood why you could call it raw.

Nature’s Blend starts with raw turkey, beef, salmon, duck, and other whole-food nutrient sources like sweet potatoes, eggs, carrots, cranberries and pumpkin seeds.

Ingredients: Turkey, Beef, Salmon, Duck, Flax, Beef Liver, Turkey Hearts, Turkey Liver, Sweet Potato, Eggs, Pea Flour, Carrots, Apples, Blueberries, Cranberries, Pumpkin Seeds, Spinach, Ginger, Salt, Mixed Tocopherols.

The food is then frozen, the pressure is dropped, and the ice is removed through sublimation – all of the moisture goes from solid to gas, skipping the liquid state. Through the entire process, the food never reaches 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the end, you get these condensed pellets that expand when you add water. In just 3-5 minutes, your dog’s meal is ready to eat.

It’s ALIVE!

High temperatures used to process most dogs foods kill off naturally occurring, digestion-aiding enzymes and nutrients.

That’s why raw feeders like me do not cook during food prep. Freeze drying is another way to keep those enzymes and nutrients intact.

Speaking of nutrients, you’ll notice from the ingredient panel that there are no artificial sources vitamins or minerals. Nature’s Blend is complete and balanced and meets AAFCO standards by only including foods that contribute to your dog’s daily nutritional needs. There are absolutely no ingredients added as fillers.

So, your dog is getting most of the benefits of a raw diet, without the freezing and thawing.

Once you add water, the food “comes back to life,” and it’s essentially raw. Some of the live bacteria and digestion-aiding enzymes from the meat do survive the freeze-drying process, and they are revived when you prepare the food.

This is why you need to treat freeze-dried food as raw when it’s rehydrated, and why it’s so similar to fresh foods in benefits, yet so much more convenient.

What Makes Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend Different From Other Freeze-Dried Foods

Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend contains no chicken or chicken fat. Chicken is one of the most common food intolerances affecting dogs like my Cow, so it’s great when we’re able to find a food with limited ingredients and absolutely no chicken.

It’s ideal to use multiple protein sources in your dog’s diet to make sure she’s getting a range of nutritional benefits. Nature’s Blend contains Turkey, beef, duck and salmon, so you don’t have to worry about rotating proteins.

I’m also happy that it comes in pellet form. Powdery, pulverized food mixes tend to turn into a soggy sludge that my dogs won’t touch.

Best of all, Dr. Marty sponsors Freedom Service Dogs Of America, an organization that rescues dogs from shelters and trains them to be service dogs for people of all ages, including children and veterans with disabilities. Talk about a second chance!

Who I Would Recommend This Food For

If you’re feeding a raw diet, but you sometimes run out of food or forget to thaw, you can keep Nature’s Blend in your cabinet for a long time – as long as it is stored properly and not exposed to moisture. Then, you can whip up a meal in five minutes.

If you’re feeding kibble, and do not have the freeze space or budget for raw or can’t feed an exclusively freeze-dried diet, replacing even one meal per week can make a difference in your dog’s longevity. You can also crush it and mix it into your dog’s kibble to help pique her appetite.

You can even use this food as treats. It can be fed dry, right out of the bag.

Nature’s Blend is appropriate for dogs of all ages, sizes and breeds. You should ask your veterinarian before making dietary changes if your dog has a chronic health condition.

Try Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend Freeze-Dried Food Today!

Dr. Marty stands behind their food with a 90-day, no-questions-asked money-back guarantee. Your dog is probably going to love this food and thrive on it – but if she doesn’t, there’s no risk in giving it a try.

Lindsay Pevny

Lindsay Pevny lives to help pet parents make the very best choices for their pets by providing actionable, science-based training and care tips and insightful pet product reviews.

She also uses her pet copywriting business to make sure the best pet products and services get found online through catchy copy and fun, informative blog posts. She also provides product description writing services for ecommerce companies.

As a dog mom to Matilda and Cow, she spends most of her days taking long walks and practicing new tricks, and most nights trying to make the best of a very modest portion of her bed.

You'll also find her baking bread and making homemade pizza, laughing, painting and shopping.