SOJOS Complete Grain Free Freeze-Dried Turkey Raw Natural Dry Dog Food Mix, 8-Pound Bag

I've been feeding my nine year-old golden retriever Sojos for the past eight weeks (nine weeks if you include the transition period). He's had so many positive changes that I wanted to write a review. In the interest of fair disclosure, I have also added the following supplements to Teddy's food (starting at the same time I started Sojos): apple cider vinegar, salmon oil, a probiotic, and Dr. Pritcairn's "Healthy Powder" (nutritional yeast, lecithin granules, kelp powder, bone meal and vitamin C). Given that the biggest change was the food, I'm giving most of the credit to Sojos, although I do believe the supplements are helping. Here are the changes I've noticed:1. Minimal evidence of allergies. Teddy has been highly allergic to pollens since he was tested at 18 months old. I now believe he's also been allergic to some grains. He has been on extremely expensive allergy pills and shots for years, which I've been able to discontinue with no trouble. He has also been highly susceptible to nasty hot spots in the last few years (three occurrences in the last 8 months alone) and regularly had eye and ear infections. He would also lick and chew his paws like crazy every day, to the point of tearing his paw pads. I haven't seen him lick his paws for two weeks, the fur between the paw pads are no longer stained with saliva, and his ears are a nice flesh color (instead of their usual bright pink color). I am so happy to see him comfortable, for once!2. Awesome weight loss. In July he was 87 lbs (typical weight for him), but today (October 1st) he weighed 73 lbs (!!!!) when I took him to the groomer. His highest weight was over 90 lbs.3. Increased energy and mobility. He has started acting more like a puppy again--zipping around the backyard like he's chasing some imaginary animal. :- He was diagnosed with arthritis in one of his front elbows last December and has been on strong pain meds (he couldn't tolerate the NSAIDs). I've dropped his pain meds to half the original dose and he's hopping up into our SUV with ease.4. Fewer eye "goobers" and cleaner teeth.5. Improved digestion and elimination. No more rumbling stomach or stinky bombs. Virtually no pee burn-stains on the lawn. His poops are half the size, firm instead of runny, and have 80% less smell. What's not to like about that?! LOLI love the convenience of the Sojos Complete and plan to try the beef flavor soon. I've been very reluctant to try any variation of a raw diet for Teddy because I'm a vegetarian, so I *really* appreciate not having to prepare raw meat! Although I initially purchased Sojos from Amazon, I have found it $18 cheaper per bag elsewhere. It's not cheap to feed a large dog, but I am saving so much money in reduced vet visits and other medications (not to mention a happy, healthy dog), that the extra cost is well worth it! Teddy eats his food with gusto, instead of begrudgingly. I love my "new" happy, healthy dog!UPDATE 3/14/12: Teddy (who just turned 10) is now down to a healthy 61 lbs and is still doing very well. He did have another small hot spot on his tail two months ago, but otherwise his allergies are still well under control, he has tons of energy, and we're thrilled with the weight loss. I've used the beef flavor on occasion to mix things up, but Teddy's preference seems to be for the turkey. I do hope Sojos will continue to come out with new varieties of the complete mixes.

We've tried several commercial raw diets over the past year, and this has been the most successful product that we've tried. Our dogs love it, AND it's easy.We originally tried a raw diet to aid in weight loss for our two overweight dogs, plus to help ease allergies in one of our dogs. We needed a grain free, chicken free product. We tried Primal - frozen ground meat chubs of food, and our dogs didn't like it at all. Plus, it was high calorie, and in order to maintain their already overweight figures, they could eat a much smaller portion than what they were used to. This left them sad and hungry! We tried Honest Kitchen and liked it, but the dogs still seemed hungry. We then tried Sojos, and got the best results of all. (Success story at the end of the review)Our first Sojos food was the grain free mix (green bag) without meat. We bought hormone free meat at our local store and sliced it in to cubes, and added the raw beef to the food. Our dogs loved it more than anything they had ever eaten! Recently we changed over to the Sojos with added beef, and have quit buying local fresh meat. Our dogs are just as satisfied, and it's much easier and cost effective for us. Depending on which formula you choose, the food needs to hydrate between 15 minutes and one hour. We make a couple of days worth at a time and keep it in the refrigerator. You can also freeze individual portions in zip bags, and put them in warm water to thaw at feeding time.Our only complaint is that our dogs need to eat about double the portion size to maintain weight. They lost weight RAPIDLY on this food. That concerned us, so we had blood work drawn on the dogs and it was all great. We started adding more food until their weight loss slowed down. They now eat more than double the daily food recommendation, and a friend of ours also has had similar results. However, they love the food and are healthier than ever, so we don't mind. We would love to get the 8 pound bags by Subscription or Prime. Right now we buy 2 pound bags from Amazon, which don't last for a complete subscription cycle.Our chihuahuas were 13 and 14 pounds each. They are now 7 and 8 pounds. That's almost a 50% reduction in weight in one of our dogs! In the past when we tried weight loss diets, our dogs behavior changed. They showed anxiety, restlessness, and had increased 'accidents'. On Sojos, they weren't even on a diet and lost weight effortlessly. They seemed totally satisfied and lost weight quickly. Our female, which went from 13 to 7 pounds, did not want to go on walks for years. She showed signs of arthritis, and only played for short jaunts. Every day we would invite her on the walk, but she watched from the window as we walked our male dog. On the rare occasion that we got her to go, she'd quit walking after a short while and we would have to carry her. Finally, this summer, she happily took us up on our offer and kept up for the entire walk, and has walked almost every day since then. She plays for much longer periods, chases squirrels and birds with much more speed, and shows no signs of painful joints. Our male dog acts like a puppy again. They both seem incredibly healthy and satisfied and I thank Sojos for their product!

My dog is 12yrs old and has been on a complete raw diet her whole life. She is amazing and she gets lots of exercise. She even goes on hour long mt bike rides with me. Most of the time we are hiking in snow or hiking in forests in the summer time, up in the mountains where we live. I decided to see if I could save some money and time by trying this food. She really likes it but I still give her a little ground beef with it. I have noticed her poops are bigger which are normally so small you can't find them on the raw diet.When I first started, I followed the instructions on the back. For her weight she should get 2-3 cups of dehydrated food. It seemed too much so I gave her just 2 cups. She couldn't finish it for multiple meals. I kept backing off on the amount and now I give her 3/4 cup of food with a little ground beef and a scoop of yogurt. I think the food swells inside her stomach and I even let it sit for about 5 mins each time. I know it says to let it sit longer or even make it ahead and refrigerate it but I haven't done that. So far this process is working. Im still watching what this food does this summer when her activity level is sky high. I want to see if she goes lame or how fast she recovers from any injury.The basic raw diet that she has been on keeps her from having any aches and pains, no arthritis and tons of energy. The only injury she has ever had is when she cuts her paw on all the granite she runs on, so I just tape it and she is ready to go again