Hub · Stella & Chewy’s alternatives
Stella’s Chicken Dinner Patties carry the highest protein we have captured in the dog catalog, and on our rubric they land at about 6.7. The finding worth your time is bigger than one brand: not a single freeze-dried or air-dried recipe we score clears 7.1, and every one of them scores 2 or 4 on Value.
The label is not the problem. Protein runs about 48% as fed, the highest in our dog catalog, Nutrition Fit scores 8, and Sensitivity Risk comes in at 9. Nobody needs to be warned off this food.
The composite settles at about 6.7 on two numbers. Value lands at 4 of 10: at $29.99 the patties work out to roughly $17.10 per 1,000 kcal against a dog-food median of about $1.70. Ingredient Clarity sits at 5, partly a capture limitation on our side, since disclosure fields we have not verified earn nothing until we do. Duck Duck Goose scores marginally higher at 6.8, and costs about $28.77 per 1,000 kcal to feed.
On recalls, we don’t score rumors; anything we factor in is matched against FDA enforcement records, and the sourced position lives in our recall index.
Every freeze-dried and dehydrated dog recipe in the catalog, Stella’s included, ranked by composite score. This is the shelf you are actually shopping. Note the Value column: not one of them clears 4.
Independent. PetScored may earn a commission on purchases through tagged links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate revenue does not affect any score on this page. Affiliate disclosure ›
Sundays for Dogs
$22.62 / 1,000 kcal · 1156% above median
The ingredient panel is unusually clean and meat-forward for a shelf-stable food. The biggest tradeoff is a very high price relative to standard kibble.
ZIWI Peak
$15.18 / 1,000 kcal · 90% above median
An exceptionally meat-forward recipe with minimal plant matter and all-life-stages adequacy. The tradeoff is cost, which is several times higher than conventional dry foods.
Stella & Chewy's
$28.77 / 1,000 kcal · 260% above median
This is a very animal-forward freeze-dried formula with strong dry-matter protein and clear first-ingredient sourcing. The tradeoff is extreme cost per calorie and limited value against conventional complete diets.
Stella & Chewy's
$17.10 / 1,000 kcal · 42% above median
Freeze-dried raw-style patties with official manufacturer label fields, 4,420 kcal/kg, and 60 kcal/patty captured. Chewy agrees on kcal/kg but still lists 50 kcal/patty, so per-patty calories remain disclosed while value math uses kcal/kg; follow manufacturer handling and rehydration directions.
Primal
$17.22 / 1,000 kcal · 115% above median
Organ meats dominate the recipe and the ingredient panel is unusually transparent. The tradeoff is a steep cost and the handling complexity typical of freeze-dried raw foods.
ZIWI Peak
$15.18 / 1,000 kcal · 90% above median
A highly concentrated, organ-rich recipe with very little dilution from starches or fillers. The principal downside is the premium price per calorie.
Primal
$24.54 / 1,000 kcal · 207% above median
The formula is protein-rich and built around named chicken ingredients rather than meals or starches. The downside is freeze-dried pricing and a fat-heavy profile that will not fit every dog.
Badlands Ranch
$14.69 / 1,000 kcal · 84% above median
A whole-animal, high-fat air-dried recipe with very high calorie density. The tradeoff, in our view, is a steep cost per calorie and a beef-and-salmon profile that is not low-allergen.
Dr. Marty
$16.34 / 1,000 kcal · 104% above median
Exceptionally protein- and fat-dense on a dry-matter basis, with a named-meat lineup. The tradeoffs, in our view, are a trigger-heavy first ten ingredients and a high cost per calorie.
Filter: non-Stella dog recipes with at least 25% protein scoring 7.5 or higher. Rank: composite score, one recipe per brand.
Purina Pro Plan
$1.46 / 1,000 kcal · 46% above median
Source-backed adult maintenance dry food with salmon first, specific grains, and AAFCO feeding-test language. Main watch-outs are fish/beef-fat sensitivity flags, natural flavor, partial Brand Trust, and a recent brand-level Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets wet dog food mislabeling recall that remains disclosed.
Diamond Naturals
$0.90 / 1,000 kcal · 36% below median
Budget-tier grain-free with named salmon protein and a transparent fish-and-legume base. Strong value per calorie. Fish + legume stack matters for sensitivity-aware dogs.
Purina ONE
$1.15 / 1,000 kcal · 18% below median
A feeding-trial-backed mainstream formula with lamb as the first ingredient and solid nutritional credentials. The main compromise is a first-ten ingredient list that includes poultry by-product meal plus several common dietary triggers.
Instinct
$1.33 / 1,000 kcal
A straightforward grain-inclusive formula with chicken listed first and fewer controversial fillers than many mainstream foods. The tradeoff is the presence of fish and egg, which can matter for sensitive dogs.
Jinx
$1.26 / 1,000 kcal · 21% below median
A named-animal-first kibble with real calorie data and solid value for a premium dry food. The tradeoff, in our view, is a crowded protein/allergen profile with chicken, turkey, and fish all present.
Fromm
$1.57 / 1,000 kcal · 13% below median
Family-owned Wisconsin manufacturer with grain-inclusive recipe and named protein sources. Moderate dry-matter protein with strong ingredient clarity. Watch for fish and poultry sensitivity overlap.
Kirkland Signature
$0.61 / 1,000 kcal · 39% below median
An unusually strong ingredient panel for the price, with chicken and chicken meal leading the list. The main tradeoff is that availability is tied to Costco membership.
Acana
$2.03 / 1,000 kcal · 13% above median
Strong named animal lineup with high dry-matter protein and a clear ingredient panel. Common-trigger ingredient stack is significant - not for dogs avoiding poultry, egg, fish, or pulses.
Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon reaches 8.0 at about $1.46 per 1,000 kcal. Instinct Be Natural Real Chicken takes 7.8 at about $1.33, and Kirkland Signature Super Premium 7.7 at about $0.61. Against $17.10 per 1,000 kcal, those are not small gaps.
If the draw was specifically air-dried rather than freeze-dried, we scored that shelf on the ZIWI Peak hub. If you are leaving over grain-free questions, read why we don’t credit grain-free first, then browse the full scored set on the dog food hub or the ranked freeze-dried picks.
FAQ
It is a real food with a real label, and its protein is the highest we have captured in the dog catalog at about 48% as fed. On our rubric the Chicken Dinner Patties land at about 6.7. Nutrition Fit scores 8 and Sensitivity Risk 9. What holds it back is Value at 4 of 10, because at $29.99 the recipe works out to roughly $17.10 per 1,000 kcal against a dog-food median of about $1.70, and Ingredient Clarity at 5. In our view it is a good food carrying a price the rubric will not reward.
No, and this is the most useful thing on this page. Across every freeze-dried and dehydrated dog recipe we score, the highest composite is 7.1 (Sundays for Dogs Beef Recipe) and every single one lands at 2 or 4 on Value. The pattern is the shelf, not the brand. Freeze-dried raw is expensive to make and expensive to feed, and our rubric prices that in at 15% of the composite. We do not credit the format as a virtue and we do not penalize it as a vice; we just count what it costs to feed and what the label proves.
Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon reaches 8.0 at about $1.46 per 1,000 kcal, Instinct Be Natural Real Chicken 7.8 at about $1.33, and Kirkland Signature Super Premium 7.7 at about $0.61. All three are meat-forward recipes with at least 25% protein that clear 7.5, and all three cost a small fraction of $17.10 per 1,000 kcal. The second list below is drawn live from the catalog, one recipe per brand.
We score labels and public records, not feeding outcomes, so we do not model pathogen risk in the composite and we will not pretend otherwise. Raw and freeze-dried raw foods have been the subject of FDA recalls in the category historically; anything we factor into a score is matched against FDA enforcement records rather than asserted from memory, and the sourced position lives in our recall index.
The FDA investigation into a possible association between certain grain-free diets and dilated cardiomyopathy never confirmed that grain-free food causes it, and the inquiry was effectively wound down by 2022, so we treat the question as still open and score it neither way. We do not credit grain-free as a virtue either. Our longer take is in the editorial linked below.
