Instinct Reviews

Instinct Pet Food is a company that offers raw pet food. Their raw recipes are minimally processed, protein-packed, and never cooked to keep more nutrients intact than cooked pet food. They provide a variety of ways to add raw to your pet’s routine, including frozen raw meals, freeze-dried raw meals, raw toppers, kibble boosted with raw, and more.

The brand believes that food and how it’s made — less processed, real, whole — has the power to change pets’ lives. They incorporate raw into everything they do, from their 100% raw frozen and freeze-dried recipes to freeze-dried raw toppers to kibble recipes boosted with raw nutrition.

Their team of experts have over 50 years of combined experience in pet food and nutrition. They also partnered with the University of Helsinki‘s DogRisk research program, which is studying the impact of raw pet food on dogs’ health.

Every Instinct recipe starts with the highest quality ingredients from vendors they deeply trust. Their safety procedures are the best in the industry: Instinct is SQF certified in both food safety and quality. Their raw food is cold-pressured to ensure it’s free of pathogens. This natural process uses high pressure (rather than high heat) to safely prepare raw food with more nutrients intact than cooked pet food. As a final safety step, all their food is tested by an external lab prior to leaving their facilities.

Pet parents who have switched to feeding raw have noticed positive changes in their pets’ digestion, overall energy, skin & coat health, help with food sensitivities, and increased mealtime excitement — even from the pickiest pets.

If you need more information, feel free to ask.

Pros of Instinct Pet Food:

• High-Quality Ingredients: Made with real meat and produce, no artificial preservatives or fillers.
• Raw Nutrition: Minimally processed, protein-packed, and nutrient-rich raw recipes that keep more nutrients intact than cooked pet food.
• Variety of Products: Offers a wide range of products including frozen raw meals, freeze-dried raw meals, raw toppers, and kibble boosted with raw.
• Safety Procedures: SQF certified in both food safety and quality, cold-pressured to ensure the food is free of pathogens.
• Positive Health Benefits: Customers have reported improvements in digestion, energy, skin and coat health, and food sensitivities.
• Customer Support: Provides tools to help transition pets from other brands and calculate daily calorie intake.

Cons of Instinct Pet Food:

• Expensive: Generally considered a premium product, which can be costly.
• Limited Ingredient Diet Concerns: Some recipes may not be suitable for all dogs, especially those with specific dietary needs or allergies.
• Recall History: Instinct has had recalls in the past, although there have been no recent incidents.
• Not Suitable for All Life Stages: Some recipes are not recommended for large dogs over 70 pounds.
• Potential for Unannounced Recipe Changes: Some customers have expressed concerns about unannounced changes in recipes, which can lead to unexpected health issues.