Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Darwin’s Pet Food. I am being compensated to share my experience with their food. Life With Mutts only shares products that we believe in and use ourselves. Darwin’s is not responsible for the content of this review. All thoughts and opinions are based on my true experience with the product.
Trying Darwin’s Natural Dog Food
Most of you have probably heard me talk about raw feeding. I have been a big advocate of raw diets for years and genuinely believe that it is THE best option for my pack. There are SO many amazing benefits to feeding your dogs a raw diet. That being said, I’ve really been having a hard time keeping up with it lately. Which is why I am beyond excited to try Darwin’s Natural Pet Food.
Before the latest two-legged addition to the family, I would spend time each week going to multiple grocery and specialty stores. I’d come home with a good assortment of different meats, organ, and bone and make my dog’s meals by hand. I loved knowing exactly what I was feeding my dogs and the results were amazing! Right in front of my eyes, their coats became shinier, their energy increased, any allergy issues they had faded away. They were more playful, acted half their age. But as much as I hate to admit it, I just don’t have the time to do all the footwork anymore.
Regardless of how much free time I may or may not have, I still want to make sure my dogs are getting the best possible nutrition I can give them. This is why I am SO excited to try Darwin’s. They’re getting the same quality of food (if not better) than I was giving them before, but without the added time commitment. Instead of driving to 4+ different places, I just go online. I pick a few varieties of Darwin’s nutritionally balanced, complete meals, and they ship right to my doorstep.
The Darwin’s Order Process
Setting up your recurring dog food order with Darwin’s is super easy! It just takes 3 simple steps.
Step 1. Enter your pet’s information
Step 2: Select Your Product
Step 3: Customize Your Meat Choices 
Once you select your dog’s perfect food, you will automatically be set up with a recurring shipment of meals for your pup. Shipping is always free for orders of 20 lbs or more and you can change the frequency of your deliveries at any time!
Initial Thoughts
Our first Darwin’s order arrived promptly and the dogs just seemed to “know” that it was for them. We were all so excited to get our first box opened! As I popped it open and started loading the pups’ new food into the fridge and freezer, they went into what I can only call a sniffing frenzy. I’m not sure what was moving faster, their noses or their tails!
Right off the bat, I was impressed with the way that Darwin’s packages their food. It comes in 2 lb packages, broken into 4 half-pound perforated portions. With 4 dogs of varying sizes, this made it SO much easier to portion out their meals. They even sent a fancy little storage container that fits two portions. It’s come in super handy for storing partial packages in the fridge for their next meal.
We decided to try a few varieties of Darwin’s Natural Selections line, their premium raw dog food. We ordered some of the Duck, Turkey, and Beef recipes to start. Spoiler alert: The dogs LOVE all of them!
I love them so far too, especially that their meals are perfectly balanced, with the right amount of meat, bone, and organ all measured out for me. Talk about raw feeding made easy! Darwin’s Natural Selection line is made up of about 72-75% free range meat as the main ingredient, which I LOVE. The rest is comprised of organic vegetables, vitamins & minerals, and oils for those all-important Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids.
After seeing me unpack all of this yummy raw goodness, the dogs could hardly wait for dinner time to roll around. I MAY have fed them a bit early that day. No, I’m totally not wrapped around their cute little paws at all. Why do you ask? 🙂
Transitioning to Darwin’s
New to raw feeding? No worries! In your first order, Darwin’s includes this handy little raw feeding guide. It tells you how to store, defrost, and handle your dog’s new raw meals. It also lays out a step-by-step plan to safely and smoothly transition your dogs to a raw diet.
The Taste Test!
Now the fun part! The taste test..
I could tell by the amount of spinning, panting, and bulging eyes that I was presented with as I prepared their bowls that Darwin’s was going to be a big hit. Their bowls barely hit the floor before they were licked completely clean! I cannot for sure tell you which of the flavors are even their favorite so far because meals are now over within 15 seconds.
Darwin’s definitely passed the initial taste test, to say the least. But that’s not all! Stay tuned, because over the next couple of months, we will be doing a thorough review of Darwin’s. I’m excited to see what kind of lasting effects the dogs’ new food has on their appearance, allergies, mobility and energy levels. I’ve seen substantial results with full-time raw feeding in the past and I’m expecting great things. The dogs are especially excited for all the eating involved… HAHA!
Thank you Darwin’s for helping me step my feeding game back up to where it should be. Stay tuned for our in-depth review in the coming months.
Thanks for reading,
Debbie & THE MUTTS
12 Comments
Great post! I’ve heard of Darwin’s but never tried it with my pack. I feed raw and am a crazy dog mom, so I actually like spending time prepping my boys’ meals. My older boy has a lot of different food allergies so finding a commercial food that works for him, even premade raw, has always been a bit of a challenge. I do like looking into brands like Darwin’s though. I like to have a ‘backup’ food to fall back on for days I don’t feel like, or can’t for some reason, spend the time prepping homemade meals.
I have been reading a lot about Darwin’s food everywhere but I cannot get it in San Francisco or not at the stores I frequent and do not like shopping online plus as I cook for her because of her allergies and age, I decided to stick with what she is used to and no have to worry.
I’ve heard of Darwin’s, but I didn’t realize the ordering process was so helpful with those pet profiles. Awesome!
I’m researching brands too -my quest is cost related so I’m thinking Darwin isn’t an option for me.
I’m going to look into this food for my niece’s dog. I’ve heard such good things about Darwin’s and I think it would be a good choice for him. As always, we love your photos!
It seems like Darwin’s is the perfect option for people who want to give their dog a raw diet with the convenience of kibble or a freshly cooked dog food subscription.
I am so glad they include a transitioning guide. A pet parents needs something like this so they don’t give up at the first step!
I can’t do raw with our cats as we have a lot at varying ages and transitioning that lot would be a mission, but I see the logic and the sense behind feeding a raw diet if possible.
Glad the Darwin food worked for you. I don’t have the time to prepare the raw for my girls either. However, I’ve tried a couple of different raw foods and the girls wouldn’t touch it. I may try it again one day.
First, that top group photo is phenomenal! Love it! This sure sounds like yummy food. I don’t feed raw, but if I did, this certainly would be the way I’d go. Thanks for sharing a great review!
We feed raw. I’m vegan so, there is absolutely no way I would be able to prepare the food myself. Our supplier prepacks all the patties into bags/boxes for the freezer. I still have to thaw them and cut them down to the appropriate size. I love how clean and organized your containers are! Also, the nutrient options are impressive.
We don’t get that here. But looks good. We have quite a selection of similar local brands.
Your dogs are so adorable! How did you get them all to stay still for the whole pic?
Seeing Darwin every, going to need to check it out!