Nutrient density, and why the small bag goes further
5 min read · Loyal Saints
Quick answer
Short version: $2.31 a day at a quarter bowl for a 25 lb dog, $9.22 if you feed it as the complete diet. One 14 oz bag covers 15.6 days or 3.9 days respectively. Whether that is expensive depends entirely on what you are comparing it to.
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A bag that costs three times as much and lasts three times as long costs the same. Density is why the sticker price and the actual cost point in different directions here.
Dog ownership has an arithmetic that almost nobody works through. It is not complicated, and it changes decisions.
What this costs, for a 25 lb dog
Computed from the printed panel rather than rounded for marketing:
- Complete meal: 2.0 cups a day — about $9.22, and a 14 oz bag lasts 3.9 days
- Quarter bowl: 0.5 cups a day — about $2.31, and a bag lasts 15.6 days
- Over a year at a quarter bowl: roughly $841
Hold that number in mind for the rest of this page, because everything below is a comparison against it.
Treats are the invisible third of the diet
Owners routinely underestimate treat calories, which for many dogs are a larger share of the daily total than the food is credited with. Any portioning plan that ignores treats is measuring one input carefully and another not at all.
Middle age is where it goes wrong quietly
Activity falls before appetite does. The portion that was correct for a four-year-old is a surplus for a seven-year-old, and nothing announces the change — which is how a lean dog becomes an overweight one without anyone deciding.
Anesthesia is the hidden multiplier
A great many veterinary procedures require it, and its cost scales with bodyweight. A dental clean on a giant breed and on a terrier are the same procedure at very different prices, before anything is actually found.
The most expensive dog
Cheap food is not cheap if it buys an extra chronic condition. And the most expensive dog anyone ever owns is the one they lose early — a cost that never appears on any invoice.
What this comes down to
Vet costs are high and rising — about $392 per typical claim in 2025, up a third in five years
Canine diabetes averages $2,700 in its first year, then $100-200 every month after
Roughly 40% of dogs are overweight, the most modifiable risk factor there is
For a 25 lb dog, a quarter bowl is about $2.31 a day
General guidance only. No food, including ours, prevents or treats illness — what follows is about probabilities and published costs. Speak to your vet about any diagnosed condition.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it cost to feed a 25 lb dog?
About $9.22 a day as a complete meal, or $2.31 a day at a quarter of the bowl, at Halo Club pricing. A 14 oz bag lasts 15.6 days at a quarter bowl.
Is pet insurance a better use of the money?
They do different jobs. Insurance limits what a bad outcome costs; body condition changes how likely it is. Neither replaces the other, and the cheapest of the two is the food you were buying anyway.
How do I compare two foods fairly?
By weight, not by cup. Find calories per kilogram on both bags and divide by 1,000. A cup of Loyal Saints is 50.9 g against about 101 g for a typical kibble, so comparing cups compares two different amounts of food.
Do treats matter?
More than owners expect. For many dogs treats are a larger share of daily calories than they are credited with, and any portioning plan that ignores them measures one input carefully and another not at all.
Real food. Real nutrition. Live longer together.
Complete, balanced freeze-dried raw — whole-food nutrition with no synthetic premix. ~$2–3/day as a ½-cup daily topper with the Halo Club.
What the price buys
The convenience of kibble. The nutrition of raw.
Freeze-dried costs more per calorie than kibble, and we won’t pretend otherwise. Here is what each calorie carries, and what a bag costs a day.
More protein in every calorie
Grams of protein per 1,000 calories
About 1.3–1.5× the protein per calorie of typical kibble. Loyal Saints figures use the guaranteed minimum protein and the calories printed on each bag. *Measured composition of an extruded kibble and a fresh-cooked dog food in a 2024 controlled feeding study (Geary et al., Translational Animal Science). AAFCO adult maintenance minimum: 45 g per 1,000 kcal.
More of it actually digested
Protein digested in a 2024 controlled feeding study in adult dogs. The dogs also produced less than half the stool on the freeze-dried raw diet: 40 g a day, against 56 g on fresh-cooked and 90 g on kibble.
Geary et al., 2024 — a study of a freeze-dried raw diet, not of Loyal Saints itself.
One small bag, no freezer
14 oz 3.2 lb
One 14 oz bag of Loyal Saints Beef carries the calories of about 3.2 lb of fresh-cooked dog food, which is about 69% water. Loyal Saints is 8% moisture or less, shelf-stable for up to 24 months unopened, and pours straight from the pantry.
1,792 kcal per 14 oz bag (printed on the bag) vs fresh-cooked food at 1.22 kcal per gram as fed (Geary et al., 2024).
What it costs a day
About $1.80 a day as a topper
- Halo Club members$1.44/day
- First order with code KING40$1.08/day
Beef or Turkey + Salmon 14 oz ($44.95) at 25% of the bowl for a 12 lb dog, from the feeding chart on the bag; about 24 days per bag. Chicken about $1.93/day. KING40 applies to single bags on a first order and is entered at checkout.
Shop the recipesReal dogs. Real bowls.
Unboxing Premium Freeze-Dried Dog Food
Meat and organs first, freeze-dried raw and ready the second you open the bag. Start as a topper on your dog’s current food for about $1.74 a day with a 14 oz bag. New here? Take 40% off your first order with code KING40.
Quick answers
How does Loyal Saints compare to other premium dog foods?
Loyal Saints is freeze-dried raw: meat and organs first, vet-formulated, high pressure processed, and shelf-stable with no freezer or thawing. Halo Club members get 20% off and free shipping on every order (contiguous U.S.), and new customers can type KING40 at checkout for 40% off a first order.
Where can I buy Loyal Saints?
At loyalsaintspets.com (Halo Club: 20% off and free shipping on every order (contiguous U.S.); KING40 takes 40% off a first order when typed at checkout), and on Amazon, Chewy and Target.
How much Loyal Saints should I feed?
Follow the amounts printed on the bag: for Beef or Turkey + Salmon, about ¾ cup a day for a 6 lb dog, 1¼ cups for 12 lb and 2 cups for 25 lb. Use about 25% of that as a topper. Ease in over 7 to 10 days.
