Why does freeze-dried dog food look like a bigger serving than kibble?

Because a cup measures space, not food. Freeze-drying removes moisture from real ingredients, leaving pieces that are porous and light, while kibble is extruded into dense pieces that pack tightly. A cup of Loyal Saints weighs about 51 grams. A standard 8oz cup of Purina Pro Plan Adult Weight Management holds approximately 101 grams, as printed on the bag. Same cup, roughly twice the weight — which is why comparing cups per day between the two is misleading. Compare by weight and calories instead.

Is freeze-dried dog food more nutrient-dense than kibble?

Per gram, yes. Loyal Saints provides 4500 kcal per kilogram, or 4.5 calories per gram. Purina Pro Plan Adult Weight Management states 3,516 kcal per kilogram, or 3.52 calories per gram. That is about 28% more energy in the same weight of food. Put 101 grams of each on a scale and Loyal Saints delivers roughly 455 calories against 355. Note that per cup kibble carries more calories, because a cup of it weighs twice as much — which is exactly why weight is the fair comparison and volume is not.

How much protein does Loyal Saints have compared to kibble?

On a dry matter basis, which removes the moisture difference and is how nutritionists compare foods, Loyal Saints is 42.4% protein — 39% crude protein at 8% moisture. Purina Pro Plan Adult Weight Management is 30.7% on the same basis, from 27% crude protein at 12% moisture. That is about 38% more protein once the water is taken out of both.

Why does freeze-dried dog food cost more than kibble?

You are not paying for the size of the bag. Kibble is engineered to be produced efficiently at scale: ingredients are ground, cooked and extruded into dense pieces. Freeze-drying is slow and specialised, removing moisture without the heat that conventional cooking applies. You are paying for the ingredients, the process, and a complete and balanced formulation that meets AAFCO standards. Loyal Saints was not created to make the cheapest bowl.

Can I feed freeze-dried food as a topper instead of a full meal?

Yes. Feeding 100% freeze-dried is not realistic for every household, particularly with a large dog, and it does not have to be. Used as a topper over her existing food — around 20% of the bowl — Loyal Saints adds human-grade ingredients at a fraction of the cost of a full switch. Better does not have to be all or nothing.

Is freeze-dried raw dog food safe from Salmonella?

Drying alone does not make raw food safe. Removing moisture lowers water activity, which stops bacteria multiplying, but it is not a validated kill step and does not reliably destroy what may already be present. Loyal Saints relies on process controls instead: high pressure processing, which is a validated kill step applied without heat; test and hold, meaning no batch ships before its results clear; and third-party laboratory pathogen testing, so verification happens outside the company.

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Feeding Guide

Start by mixing Loyal Saints with your dog’s current food, gradually increasing the ratio over 7–10 days. As a complete meal, feed the amount printed on your bag:

Daily Serving Guidelines

All Life Stages, including for growth of large size dogs (70 lb. or more as an adult)

Beef formula — transcribed from the printed bag panel
6 lbs	12 lbs	18 lbs	25 lbs	50 lbs
¾ cup	1¼ cup	1⅔ cup	2 cups	3½ cups

For dogs over 50 lbs, add ½ cup for every additional 10 lbs.

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein (min): 39%
Crude Fat (min): 29%
Crude Fiber (max): 7%
Moisture (max): 8%

Calorie Content

Kcal / kg: 4,500
Kcal / oz: 128
Kcal / cup: 230

Add ¼ – ½ cup warm water per serving to rehydrate. Adjust to body condition — you should be able to feel, but not see, your dog’s ribs.

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AAFCO Complete All life stages

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Human-Grade Made in the USA No Soy No Corn No Wheat No GMO No Artificial Additives No Preservatives AAFCO Complete

Where our reviews live

Don’t take our word for it. Take theirs.

We sell on Chewy too, and those reviews belong to the people who wrote them — so we won’t reprint them here as if they were ours. Here is what all three formulas is rated there, and a link to read every word of it.

Rated on Chewy 4.7/ 5 79 ratings Read them on Chewy →

As shown on Chewy’s listing, September 2026. We don’t control those reviews, edit them, or choose which ones you see — including the ones that aren’t five stars.

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Beef, Chicken, or Turkey + Salmon. Each formula is AAFCO complete with 25+ human-grade ingredients.

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Loyal Saints figures from our own feeding data (a 14oz bag is 7.8 cups; Beef is 128 kcal/oz). Purina figures as printed on the back of an 18 lb bag of Pro Plan Adult Weight Management Chicken & Rice: a standard 8 oz measuring cup holds approximately 101 g, and the stated calorie content is 3,516 kcal/kg — 355 kcal per cup.

Apples to apples

A scoop is not a fair test. So here is every other one.

Four ways to compare the same two foods. We lose the first — and that is exactly the point.

01 By the cup

230calories · Loyal Saints

355calories · kibble

What that actually means A cup is a container, not an amount. Theirs is packed tight, ours is airy — so their cup weighs twice as much before you have compared a single thing. They win this one, and it tells you nothing useful.

02 By weight

455calories · Loyal Saints

355calories · kibble

What that actually means Put 101 g of each on a kitchen scale — same weight of food, no cups involved. Ours carries 28% more energy.

03 By calories

79gLoyal Saints

101gkibble

What that actually means To put the same 355 calories in her bowl, you pour 22% less food of ours. Less filler doing the same job.

04 By protein

42.4%protein · Loyal Saints

30.7%protein · kibble

What that actually means Every food holds some water, and water is not protein. Take the water out of both first — the way a vet would — and ours has 38% more protein. That is 39% at 8% moisture against 27% at 12%.

Measure by volume and you are measuring air. Measure by weight, by calories, or by protein — the three that actually reach her — and it stops being close.

Loyal Saints figures from our Beef formula: 39% crude protein, 8% moisture, 4500 kcal/kg. Kibble figures from the back of an 18 lb bag of Purina Pro Plan Adult Weight Management Chicken & Rice: 27% crude protein, 12% moisture, 3,516 kcal/kg, and a standard 8 oz cup holding approximately 101 g. Weight management formulas carry deliberately reduced fat, so this comparison is drawn on protein and energy rather than fat.

Fill one cup with popcorn and another with almonds. Both are honestly "one cup." Pick them up and you feel the difference instantly. Freeze-dried food and kibble compare the same way.

Put simply

We took the water out. Water is heavy.

All dog food is really two things: food, and water.
Kibble gets pressed into hard little pellets. They are small and heavy, so a lot of them fit in a cup.
We take the water out instead. What is left is light and puffy — so it fills the cup up faster.
You are scooping more space. She is eating the same amount of actual food.

A bigger scoop is not a bigger meal. It is just less water.

Light by nature

Freeze-drying removes moisture from real ingredients, leaving pieces that are porous and remarkably light. The volume stays. The weight does not.

Dense by design

Less water in the bag means more of what actually feeds her per ounce. A cup of Loyal Saints carries roughly 200–230 calories of real food, depending on the recipe.

Judge it by weight

Cups measure space. Calories and grams measure nourishment. Our feeding guide is built on the second one, which is why it is worth following over the scoop.

You are not comparing cup to cup. You are comparing two fundamentally different kinds of food.

See exactly what she needs

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High pressure processing

Sealed food is placed under intense cold water pressure — a validated kill step that eliminates harmful bacteria without cooking the ingredients or stripping the nutrition heat would.

In plain terms Pressure does the job heat normally does, so the food stays raw but the bacteria do not survive it.

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Test and hold

Every batch is held back and tested before it is cleared. Nothing leaves for a warehouse, a shelf or your door until those results come back clean.

In plain terms No batch ships while its test is still pending. If results are not clear, it does not go out.

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Third-party testing

Pathogen testing is run by an independent laboratory rather than in-house, so the result is not simply us checking our own work.

In plain terms Someone outside the company verifies it, which is the only version of a safety claim worth anything.

Why we spell this out

Plenty of raw brands imply that because the food is dry, it must be safe. That is not how it works, and we would rather tell you what we actually do than let you assume.