Dr. Marty Nature's Blend

Dr Marty Nature's Blend Review: Legit or Hype?

Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend is a new dog food whose only ingredients are a variety of freeze-dried meat, poultry and fish as well as fruits and vegetables.

What makes the food unique is that it uses natural, “raw” ingredients and does not contain any filler grains that you’d find with cheaper dog food. The freeze-dried element is a rare trait, too, as most food is cooked in factories first or is wet food out of a can.

Dr. Marty is a brand named after veterinarian Dr. Martin Goldstein. According to the company’s website, Goldstein is lauded as “one of the world’s leading veterinarians” for more than 40 years. Goldstein is a graduate of Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and authored a book titled, “The Nature of Animal Healing: The Definitive Holistic Medicine Guide to Caring for Your Dog and Cat”.

In a time when organic, non-GMO food is a big deal for human consumers, a dog food that contains freeze-dried whole foods is certainly an appealing option for dog owners. In this review, we’ll analyze Nature’s Blend, talk about what its ingredients do, what it costs, and how it compares to other similar dog foods.

At the end of our review, we’ll include an opinion-based section that covers our thoughts about the general strengths and weaknesses of this product.

Nature’s Blend Feeding Plan

The food’s website has a very specific daily feeding schedule depending on the weight of your dog:

• 5 lbs: ½ cup
• 10 lbs.: ¾ cup
• 20 lbs.: 1 ¼ cup
• 25 lbs.: 1 ½ cup
• 30 lbs.: 1 ¾ cups
• 40 lbs.: 2 cups
• 50 lbs.: 2 ½ cups
• 60 lbs.: 2 ¾ cups
• 70 lbs.: 3 ¼ cups
• 80 lbs.: 3 ½ cups
• 90 lbs.: 3 ¾ cups

Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend Ingredients: What They Are and Their Benefits

The defining characteristics of this dog food are its ingredients. As the food’s website says, “Nature’s Blend … is a nutrition-packed formula designed to give your dog a healthier, happier life. We blend a variety of (ingredients) for the balanced, complete nutrition your dog needs.”

Here’s the list of the ingredients contained in the dog food:

• Turkey
• Beef
• Salmon
• Duck
• Flax
• Beef liver
• Turkey hearts
• Turkey liver
• Sweet potato
• Eggs
• Pea flour
• Carrots
• Apples
• Blueberries
• Cranberries
• Pumpkin seeds
• Spinach
• Ginger
• Salt
• Mixed tocopherols

As you can see, this is a hefty list of natural ingredients devoid of the common fillers you see like cornmeal.

Now, ingredients play a big role in your dog’s nutrition, but so do the food’s balance of proteins, moisture and other ingredients. There needs to be a certain balance in order to provide your dog with a beneficial meal.

Here’s a breakdown of these factors:

• Crude protein: 39%
• Crude fat: 23%
• Crude fiber: 2.5%
• Moisture: 5%
• Omega-3 fatty acids: 5%

We turned to PetMD’s page on balanced dog foods to get an idea of where these percentages fall in terms of the recommended allowances.

PetMD says that protein amounts should be between 18% and 25% and that the fat content of dog food should be between 10% and 15%.

And, according to pet food company IAMS, the fiber content of your dog food should be between 1.4% and 3.5%.

Also, dog website This Dog’s Life notes that moisture content should be between 6% and 10%.

Based on these numbers, we think that Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend is on the high side for protein and fat, right on the mark for fiber and a little below the normal range for moisture, which is understandable because the food is freeze dried.

The high fat is a bit of a concern because it can have negative effects on your dog’s health only if you aren’t giving your dog daily exercise.

“The problem comes in when animals are allowed to eat excessive amounts of calories (including table scraps and treats) without proportionate exercise,” the site notes.

Now, on the positive side, proteins contain amino acids that are the building blocks for your dog’s muscles and, since they only produce half what they need on their own, they need to get a good amount from their food.

Fats, PetMD points out, “provide energy, as well as taste or flavor, to foods, and encourage the absorption of certain vitamins.”

Their article goes on to say that fat can help dogs “maintain healthy skin and a shiny, healthy, coat.”

As a quick side note, This Dog’s Life notes that mixed tocopherols are a vitamin E supplement and are far healthier than the alternative, a preservative called “BHA”.

Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend Cost and Return Policy

With so many natural ingredients packed into a bag of Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend, it can, no doubt, be considered a premium dog food. As such, it demands premium prices compared to other dog food that we’ll talk about after we discuss pricing and returns.

Dr. Marty bags contain 16 ounces of food and, at the time of publishing, were available via the following pricing tiers:

• 1 bag: $29.95
• 3 bags: $83.95
• 6 bags: $161.70

According to a 2012 article from the Washinton Post, one pound of dog food has about four cups of food in it, which means one bag can last a 20 lb. dog for three days. Basically, the bigger the dog you have, the fewer the days your food will last, with 90-pound dogs consuming nearly an entire bag in one day.

With this in mind, we think that Nature’s Blend pricing is considerably high, as a 20-pound dog will need about 9.5 bags of food to make it through a 30-day month or around $275 a month for 10 bags.

Open Farm is another company who provides free-dried raw dog food. Their 13.5 oz. bags are $29.99, which ends up being more expensive than Nature’s Blend because each Open Farm bag contains 2.5 fewer ounces of dog food.

As for non-freeze-dried food, Blue Wilderness, a well-known healthy dog food, costs $31.99 for an 11 lb. bag from Petco. While Blue Wilderness can’t match the meats-and-vegetables-only mix of Dr. Marty Nature’s blend, it does avoid grains and features a long list of fruits and vegetables along with deboned chicken as its first ingredient as opposed to fillers.

Now that we’ve given you a comparison of this food’s pricing, we want to do a quick overview of its return policy. You have 90 days to return your food if you don’t feel it’s a good fit. The product’s website goes as far as to say they’ll refund 100% of your purchase price “if you don't’ see noticeable improvements in your dog’s health and happiness.”

The food ships to you for free but you’ll have to pay return shipping.

The Final Word: Our Overall Thoughts About Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend

This pet food is a very interesting option if, for no other reason than the fact that you’re getting straight-up meats and vegetables along with a vitamin E supplement.

If you’re a dog owner who has a desire to give your dog raw food, then Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend is a good match for you. The second part of this, though, is whether or not you have the financial means to pay for the food. The cost of Nature’s Blend may be prohibitive, as monthly supplies of the food would be:

• $275 for a 20-lb. dog
• $407 for a 30-lb. dog
• $407 for a 40-lb. dog
• $515 for a 50-lb dog

The bigger the dog, the more expensive the endeavor when it comes to this food. However, if you’re willing to pay for Nature’s Blend, then your desire to provide your dog with raw, healthy food will most likely be fulfilled.

Keep in mind, though, that the fat content in this food is above the recommended amount, which means you’ll need to be diligent with providing your dog consistent exercise every day to ensure he or she doesn’t gain weight.

Also, keep in mind that you need to transition your dog slowly from his or her current food to this food if you choose to buy it. Dogs’ digestive system can be sensitive and a sudden change from one food to a new one may cause some digestive issues.