# DNA Dog Food



## nupe (Apr 26, 2011)

Hey guys was in a pet store in Manhattan today...and saw this DNA dog food on the shelf...anyone used it or heard of it...

http://dnapetfoods.com/about-us


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## SaharaNight Boxers (Jun 28, 2011)

I've heard of it. I really like it. It's like 60% meat, 15% eggs and then the rest of the ingredients. I'm still kind of confused if its dehydrated or not, but either way it's cooked at lower temps so I'm happy with it.


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## Gally (Jan 28, 2012)

Their website says it is dried not cooked.

"DNA starts out as a raw food and is made in a cannery. It is mixed and made into large sausages and refrigerated to until it sets up. Then it is diced and sent to a low temperature drying room (instead of being sent off to be cooked inside of a can). This drying process leaves about 2/3 of the amino acids and enzymes intact of raw food. The resulting dried dices of DNA pour and feed just like a kibble, or may be rehydrated back into its original meaty form. Every 3 lbs of DNA may be compared nutritionally to about 9 pounds of raw food, or 12 – 13.2 oz. cans."


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

Looks like a good food to me. Just had a read of the website. 180oF equates to approx 80oC so that is a really low temp and something I would definitely go for as an alternative to raw or if I was travelling with my dog or wanted to try something different. I also like the fact that you rehydrate before feeding.
Great to see New Zealand lamb and venison in there too.......I wondered where all our sheep were going??


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

Is this a newish food? I saw it at a pet store last week for the first time. I'd try the venison and salmon. The website sure has alot of info, which I like.


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## domika (Jul 15, 2012)

Too bad they don't sell it anywhere near me, this food looks nice.


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## nupe (Apr 26, 2011)

,,,,well here goes the bad news guys...its priced like some ziwi peak...lady today told me its $32..for a 3 pound bag...mind you new york prices are high ..but WOW!!!


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

nupe said:


> ,,,,well here goes the bad news guys...its priced like some ziwi peak...lady today told me its $32..for a 3 pound bag...mind you new york prices are high ..but WOW!!!


Truly insane.


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## nupe (Apr 26, 2011)

Yep i asked her 3 times thought she mis spoke...but nope she said...""32 dollars for a 3 pound bag""...she said thats why they dont even carry the bigger bags...lol


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## lindseycampbell358 (Jun 17, 2012)

Well, it does say that once it's rehydrated, 3 lbs ends up being the same amount as a case of 13 oz. cans. So when you look at it that way, it's not AS bad! lol I like the whole idea of the food, and the fact that the website has lots of info. I would definitely try it if I could get my hands on some.


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## RedneckCowgirl (Oct 28, 2011)

I saw it the other day at the local pet food store. It looks to be a good food, but yes its pretty spendy! It also comes in these weird vacuum sealed bricks :tongue:


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

Well, at those prices, I'll wait for some humongous sale with a hopeful coupon!


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## nupe (Apr 26, 2011)

lindseycampbell358 said:


> Well, it does say that once it's rehydrated, 3 lbs ends up being the same amount as a case of 13 oz. cans. So when you look at it that way, it's not AS bad! lol I like the whole idea of the food, and the fact that the website has lots of info. I would definitely try it if I could get my hands on some.


If you guys pitch in some $$'s I would check it out for the forum..lol


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

:usa::usa::usa::usa::usa:


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## dogfoodguy (Aug 28, 2012)

*Is DNA Expensive to feed?*

Hi Y'all,

My name is Ken Wilks and I founded DNA Pet Food, Inc. This is my first post on dog food chat, and just wanted to answer a couple of questions. First off, is DNA expensive? It depends on your outlook. An analogy would be "is your knife sharp?". To your child, probably yes, but to your surgeon, it is probably not sharp enough. DNA is about two times more expensive than a good holistic kibble. But, it is dried raw food, and is about half as expensive to feed as raw frozen pet foods, and about 25% of the cost of raw freeze dried. Most kibble is 2/3 flour from grain or potato, DNA is 2/3 meat with no grain or potato. I believe you could look at DNA and say you are getting what you pay for. 

Also, does DNA have soy?. No soy at all. I fact no soy, no grain, no potato, no gluten, no Chinese vitamins, and no high temperatures were used to air-dry the food. 180 degree fahrenheit is all we use to dry the raw ingredients. Raw food goodness in a dry food that is pathogen free and may be easily rehydrated. 

Feel free to visit the DNA website to see the answers to more FAQs at RAW PET FOOD GOODNESS IN AN AIR-DRIED KIBBLE | D.N.A. Pet Food, Inc. and thank you for reading this!


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

dogfoodguy said:


> Hi Y'all,
> 
> My name is Ken Wilks and I founded DNA Pet Food, Inc. This is my first post on dog food chat, and just wanted to answer a couple of questions. First off, is DNA expensive? It depends on your outlook. An analogy would be "is your knife sharp?". To your child, probably yes, but to your surgeon, it is probably not sharp enough. DNA is about two times more expensive than a good holistic kibble. But, it is dried raw food, and is about half as expensive to feed as raw frozen pet foods, and about 25% of the cost of raw freeze dried. Most kibble is 2/3 flour from grain or potato, DNA is 2/3 meat with no grain or potato. I believe you could look at DNA and say you are getting what you pay for.
> 
> ...


Nice of you to visit our forum, Ken.


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## Elisabeth (Jul 18, 2011)

again with the "natural flavors"! broth is known to have msg! i wish it was just water sufficient for processing. 

from the q & a page: 

Q: What is the “natural flavor” in the ingredient panel? 
A: When we mix the meat, fruits, vegetables and egg together, we have to add some liquid to ensure good mixing. Our original consumer focus groups were confused by our first ingredient panel that said “water sufficient for processing”. We chose to add species specific broth (i.e. chicken broth to the chicken formula) instead of water for mixing. This allows us to call the liquid “natural flavor” and eliminated the confusion as to whether DNA is wet or dry inside the bag.


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## dogfoodguy (Aug 28, 2012)

*No MSG*

Hi Elisabeth,

I agonized over the compromise we made on saying Natural Flavor (broth) instead of Water Sufficient for Processing in the ingredient panel. We actually did three focus groups and all were confused by "water sufficient for processing" on the bag, and had trouble moving on to understand other things about DNA. In subsequent focus groups where we changed the label to "Natural Flavor", they concentrated on the features and benefits of DNA. DNA markets itself as a "dried wet food" - so we had to disguise the water we use for mixing in some way so that consumers did not think there was wet food in the bag. What we do is thaw the meat out before processing, capture the melt water, and add it back along with any species specific MSG free broth that we need for mixing. Each formula has species specific broth - (i.e. Chicken broth with Chicken) No MSG is in the food whatsoever - even indirectly inside of other ingredients. DNA is preserved with mixed tocopherals, and like beef jerky, we put a non-toxic oxygen removing pack in each bag. Being 2/3 meat, we don't need any help with palatability enhancers like MSG, and the oxygen remover packet is much more expense than adding MSG for it's preservative properties. As long as I own the company, there will never be ingredients like MSG in the food. - Ken Wilks


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## Elisabeth (Jul 18, 2011)

dogfoodguy said:


> Hi Elisabeth,
> 
> I agonized over the compromise we made on saying Natural Flavor (broth) instead of Water Sufficient for Processing in the ingredient panel. We actually did three focus groups and all were confused by "water sufficient for processing" on the bag, and had trouble moving on to understand other things about DNA. In subsequent focus groups where we changed the label to "Natural Flavor", they concentrated on the features and benefits of DNA. DNA markets itself as a "dried wet food" - so we had to disguise the water we use for mixing in some way so that consumers did not think there was wet food in the bag. What we do is thaw the meat out before processing, capture the melt water, and add it back *along with any species specific MSG free broth *that we need for mixing. Each formula has species specific broth - (i.e. Chicken broth with Chicken) No MSG is in the food whatsoever - even indirectly inside of other ingredients. DNA is preserved with mixed tocopherals, and like beef jerky, we put a non-toxic oxygen removing pack in each bag. Being 2/3 meat, we don't need any help with palatability enhancers like MSG, and the oxygen remover packet is much more expense than adding MSG for it's preservative properties. As long as I own the company, there will never be ingredients like MSG in the food. - Ken Wilks


thanks ken. i understand t he melt water part which is great and i have no problem with that, i just don't get the "along with any species specific MSG free broth" part. where does the broth come from? i know that even broth in the health food store that clames to be msg free does have it in there, they just use a different word for it like "natural flavor, yeast extract, carrageenan, maltodextrin, gum, citric acid......


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## dogfoodguy (Aug 28, 2012)

HI Elisabeth,

The co-packer I use is Performance Pet Products (PPP). PPP is a comparatively small subsidiary of the Rosen Group - the 5th largest producer of meat products for human consumption in North America. The Rosen Group supplies most of the meat ingredients for DNA - including the broth. Being vertically integrated gives Rosen an advantage most other pet food companies do not have; when I specify "MSG free broth" in the DNA formula, they can deliver it to me from their own internal resources at a price that is much less than if we had to source it on the open market. I really enjoy the best of both worlds having DNA foods made at PPP. It is run like a small family owned business, with my friend (and neighbor) Doak Porter as President, but it also has the ingredient sourcing and other resources of a 5 billion dollar company behind it. 

I am familiar with what can be hidden by ingredient definitions - particularly in extruded pet food. DNA is a dried raw food that contains 2/3 meat - so many of the ingredient "tricks" used by manufacturers making foods that are 2/3 grain or potato don't apply to DNA. Many of the compromises made by extruded pet food companies arise from trying to make a shelf stable grain or potato based food taste better for dogs. Being 2/3 meat with no grain or potato, DNA does not need any help in the palatability department, and we spend a lot of money removing the oxygen from each bag to avoid using artificial preservatives. I think it is important to look at who owns a company to see if they are inclined to try to do these tricks. I have my picture on every bag of DNA dog food and give you my guarantee it is MSG - free and the best food dry that we can possibly make for your dog. Frankly, that is why it is about 2.5 times more expensive than a typical "natural" extruded food....I appreciate the questions so that I may to tell you more about DNA!

Best Regards,

Ken Wilks


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