Back in April, I trialled a new complete and balanced pre-made raw dog food- Rebel Raw.
Rebel Raw is a small business currently operating out of Atlanta, Georgia, founded by a husband and wife duo whose mission is to make it easy to feed your dog or cat real food that they thrive on. Pet parents can choose from their wide variety of single ingredient and mixed protein AAFCO balanced for all life stages Complete lines, that are suitable for adult dogs, adult cats, puppies, and kittens. Rebel Raw also stocks a few extras like goat milk, single protein unbalanced grinds, and select raw meaty bones, organs, and muscle meat (like heart).
In between meal preps, I figured this was the perfect time for my adult dogs to test another balanced raw pre-made food!
Throughout the week, both of my dogs were able to try Rebel Raw's Duck & Salmon Complete, Turkey Complete, Chicken Complete, and Beef Complete formulas for dogs (at the end of this post you can find more information on ingredient breakdowns, price etc...).
My eldest dog, Nolo, has notoriously been the picky eater next to his brother, so I was most nervous to see if he would enjoy this new raw pre-made. To my surprise, he inhaled his Rebel Raw Complete blends with zero hesitation! I was in awe.
I am also happy to report that both dogs had gorgeous poo on their Rebel Raw grinds. Their stool remained small and firm, and varied in colour based on which protein was fed. I was curious to see if they would have any issues with the sudden switch from my DIY meals to a random pre-made food they had never previously tried, but again, I was pleasantly surprised. They had zero issues with the sudden switch and varying fat content between each grind, so I was a very happy dog mom.
Upon first opening a pack of their Chicken Complete grind, I was so thrilled to be able to actually recognise the whole food ingredients listed on the packaging. That may sound odd, but this minor observation speaks to, not only the quality of the ingredients, but the beauty in knowing EXACTLY what goes into your pet's food (and their bodies).
All of the Complete grinds I purchased had also been sitting in my chest freezer for a month before my dogs initially tried them, and yet when I thawed each bag, the contents looked as fresh as the day they were packaged. Oxidation is not something that bothers me, but I felt it was worth noting that not a single one of my Rebel Raw pre-made grinds had turned grey or beige during the freezing, thawing, re-freezing, refrigerating when one of my dog's did not finish their entire meal, offering it again the next day, process (well that was a mouthful...).
When it came to figuring out how much of each grind to feed, I based the amount I fed on the kilocalorie information provided on each package. Rebel Raw lists this along with a guaranteed analysis, and general feeding recommendation (but I generally don't follow brand feeding guides since I prefer to meet my dog's usual daily caloric intake).
For example, in a 32oz bag of their Beef Complete grind, Rebel Raw states this blend is 55kcal per ounce. That would mean a 32oz bag would be roughly 1760kcal. Divide that 32oz bag in half, that would be 880kcal (16oz) for each dog.
Right now, Nolo weighs 30-33lbs and Bobo weighs 28-30lbs. They both consume around 1200kcal a day. When I meal prep for my dogs, I usually prep meals that range from 850kcal - 1000kcal because I use a balanced air dried raw dog food for training. This makes up the difference in calories. So when feeding pre-made foods, like the Rebel Raw Complete grinds, I did the same thing; the difference in calories was made up during their training sessions.
Aside from the helpful information listed on the packaging, Rebel Raw's website is fantastic because they are so incredibly transparent. When you select one of their Complete grinds, they list the individual ingredients, a link to the nutrient breakdown of each recipe (which is so helpful), and they even provide a breakdown of the muscle meat, raw meaty bone, organ, and vegetable ratios, with detail percentages also listed per grind. How amazing is it to have all of that information available without having to jump through hoops to obtain it!
I am beyond thrilled with the quality of Rebel Raw's balanced line of raw pre-made dog food, and my dogs did quite well on them! I was also happy with their pricing because premade raw can get very expensive, especially when your pets eat a lot. Since I have no plans of abandoning my DIY recipes and meal prepping, knowing that a company like Rebel Raw exists and has amazing balanced options puts my mind at ease. I would happily keep the Complete grinds from Rebel Raw in our "balanced premade rotation" for when I'm in a bind and have no time to meal prep, or to use when travelling, or for when I go out of town and do not want to leave a binder of instructions for meal time (premade for the win!).
One small note, Rebel Raw does include carrots in their grinds. Since Nolo tends to get yeasty paws when the seasons change, carrots are one of the many ingredients I tend to avoid until his paws are clear because I have found that they can exacerbate the issue. This is easily avoided when I prep my dogs' meals, but in a pre-made grind, one does not have total control.
Rebel Raw
BEEF COMPLETE Dog Food
$14.80/package (32oz / 907g)
58% Beef (including heart, liver, kidney)
25% Turkey (9% bone)
8% Salmon
8% Vegetables (spinach, carrots)
Less than 1%: sea salt, kelp, vitamin E, choline, ferrous sulfate, manganese, zinc polysaccharide complex, vitamin D3
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS (as fed)
Crude Protein (min.): 17%
Crude Fat (min.): 11%
Crude Fiber (max.): 1%
Moisture (max.): 68%
CALORIE CONTENT
55kcal per ounce
Rebel Raw
CHICKEN COMPLETE Dog Food
$10.50/package (32oz / 907g)
71% Chicken Meat
11% Chicken Bone
10% Organs (5% chicken heart, 5% chicken liver)
4% Spinach
3% Carrots
Less than 1%: sea salt, organic kelp, vitamin E, choline, ginger, zinc polysaccharide complex, ferrous sulfate, copper polysaccharide complex, vitamin D3
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS (as fed)
Crude Protein (min.): 16%
Crude Fat (min.): 6%
Crude Fiber (max.): 1%
Moisture (max.): 70%
CALORIE CONTENT
42kcal per ounce
Rebel Raw
TURKEY COMPLETE Dog Food
$13.00/package (32oz / 907g)
71% Turkey Meat
10% Turkey Bone
5% Turkey Liver
9% Spinach
4% Carrots
Less than 1%: vitamin E, organic kelp, sea salt, ginger, choline, zinc polysaccharide complex, ferrous sulfate, copper polysaccharide complex, vitamin D3, thiamine
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS (as fed)
Crude Protein (min.): 11%
Crude Fat (min.): 6%
Crude Fiber (max.): 3%
Moisture (max.): 80%
CALORIE CONTENT
46kcal per ounce
Rebel Raw
DUCK & SALMON COMPLETE Dog Food
$14.80/package (32oz / 907g)
65% Duck (15% bone, 5% liver)
25% Salmon
10% Vegetables (spinach, carrots)
Less than 1%: vitamin E, organic kelp, choline, zinc polysaccharide complex, sea salt
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS (as fed)
Crude Protein (min.): 12%
Crude Fat (min.): 9%
Crude Fiber (max.): 1%
Moisture (max.): 69%
CALORIE CONTENT
46kcal per ounce
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I hope me sharing my experience feeding Rebel Raw is helpful to some of you!
I am not currently affiliated with Rebel Raw.
I am not a Rebel Raw ambassador and I was not paid or offered anything in exchange to share my experience.
I am only sharing my opinions and how my dogs did on their balanced recipes because I get questions on social media asking which balanced pre-mades I would recommend. Since I typically feed DIY raw recipes I formulate and prep, it felt appropriate to share my experience.
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