Review on Grandma Lucy's Artisan Dog Food: Grain Free, Freeze-Dried - Artisan Pork, 10lb Bag by Bianca Campbell

With a dog with a food allergy, a spasm caused by rosemary extract, and a dog who gets fat no matter what he gets, we have to be careful who gets what. With all these special needs, our budget for quality dog food has increased! We needed an alternative to canned food. Turns out a change in label meant a change in formula, which resulted in my allergic dog chewing his legs into bloody bits, coughing and becoming lethargic! Switched her to canned foods with more meat and fewer carbs and all her symptoms stopped! Looking for answers, I went to DogfoodAdvisor(dot)com to find an FDA warning that legumes cause symptoms of "canine dilated cardiomyopathy" (DCM). "Grain-free" is a tricky term as manufacturers add pea flour, pea protein, chickpeas and lentils (all legumes) to keep costs down and still call the product "grain-free"! My four children get quality pieces that they just peck at while waiting for dinner. It's a bit pricey with three dogs, so I was happy to give Grandma Lucy a try. There's nothing unusual about it except for a couple of potatoes, but so far it hasn't been a problem for anyone. They all love it (one dog even saves it for later), all have normal (small and less smelly) poop, no chewing, no cramping, and we'll see if the fat dog stays lean. It smells like real home cooked food and my husband can handle the rehydration on the nights I'm away. The only issue, which is even a bit problematic, is the large chunks of dried meat that they put on top of the bag. Just to show what's inside, the meat is already shredded and incorporated into the dry product. I take these big chunks, chop them up and put them back in so they're fully spread out before adding hot water. Oh, another important thing is not to use more water than necessary. The product will become sticky if you give it too much water. To top it off, the 10-pound pack costs less per serving than cans, which cost $2.29 each. Grandma Lucy's cost is $1.27 per serving. A 10 pound bag makes 50 pounds of wet food. 1 cup (3 oz) of dry food rehydrates about 1 can of wet food. That's a nice saving of around 45%. It's a win-win situation!