Treat Tuesday: Bravo Bonus Bites Freeze Dried Salmon

The freeze dried salmon treats from Bravo have been hiding at the bottom of my treat bin since SuperZoo. We've tried several different freeze dried liver treats, but this was my first encounter with freeze dried salmon. It stinks. A lot. Like, wow. These things are just USA-sourced Atlantic salmon, and nothing else. They come in nice little non-crumbly cubes.

Good For: Dogs with allergies. High-value training treats. Being highly visible when tossed on the ground.

Not Good For: Situations where you don't want to smell like salmon, because O.M.G. Seriously.

Bottom Line: Unlike freeze dried liver treats, the stank from these doesn't cling to your hands. It comes off with just soap and water, you don't need lava soap and an scrub brush.

Food Friday: Bravo Homestyle Complete Freeze Dried Dinners

I brought home all three flavors of Bravo's Homestyle Complete Dinners from SuperZoo. These are freeze dried raw meals that are complete and balanced. Add warm water and let them sit for a few minutes, and you have a highly appetizing dog food. It's all the benefits of raw without the mess, and it doesn't need to take up your entire freezer, either.

The Company

I've written extensively about the Bravo company, and I love the way they continue to expand their product lines without compromising their core values. While they've always made grain-free frozen raw dog food, they've been able to expand into canned food because they don't demonize cooked food. Raw food is great because it's great, not because cooking is evil. The company does come out strongly against grain in dog food, but unlike some companies, they don't also sell grain-inclusive dog food.

The Food

At first glance, Homestyle Complete dinners look like cubes of freeze dried meat with a few green beans and cranberries mixed in. On closer inspection, some of those cubes are actually made from sweet potato and chickpeas. The smell is rather pleasant, this stuff doesn't smell like nasty frozen raw food. 

Actually feeding this stuff is mildly annoying, because it takes 15 minutes to rehydrate. You're supposed to add equal amounts feed and warm water, and then the food is supposed to soak up all the water. I always ended up with a little unabsorbed broth left over, and the dogs loved that part.

The big vegetables are interesting. I expected them to come out looking pretty much like they went in, but they must be cooked or something beforehand because the dogs digested them just fine.

The Verdict

I was very surprised that Ru ate the green beans. He loved this food, probably because it was rehydrated with warm water. Cold food makes him even colder than he already is. Godzilla and Zip loved the Homestyle Complete as well. It doesn't come in huge bags for feeding larger dogs, but it works well as a kibble topper after it's been soaked.

It's Caturday! And We're Eating at Bravo's Feline Cafe!

Ok, it's not really a cafe, but Bravo as a new line of canned cat foods called the Feline Cafe. Bravo started out as a frozen raw food company, and I tried to talk the Hellions into eating their food eight years ago without success. Since then, Bravo's cat selections have grown.

Yes, I write about Bravo a lot. They sent me home from SuperZoo with a huge bag of goodies, so I feel obligated to share our experiences. They make good stuff.

The Feline Cafe encompasses two different types of food. There are three 95% meat or poultry selections, and three single-protein fricasse selections. We were given one of each recipe.

James and Solstice inhaled every single variety of Feline Cafe canned food without pause for breath. Admittedly, they do love food, so I'm not sure how a finicky cat would react. I need to ask my local independent pet supply store to carry this stuff.

Treat Tuesday: Bravo Bonus Bites Bison Liver

I got these Bonus Bites Bison Liver treats from the incredibly generous Bravo representatives at SuperZoo. These are just freeze dried bison liver, nothing else. They are made in the USA, from American bison and not water buffalo. They are way less stinky than the other freeze-dried liver treats I've encountered, which makes them slightly lower value for the dogs, but also slightly less horrific to deal with.

Good For: High value training treats, and many of the treats in the bag are already just the right size. Picky dogs. Dogs with allergies to anything but bison or beef. A compromise between the awesomeness of liver treats and the desire to go all Lady Macbeth on my hands after touching liver treats.

Not Good For: Low value training treats. Being boring.

How Much We Like Them: Sisci Godzilla likes them, Zip likes them, my client dogs like them, even Ru likes them. I just can't believe how non-awful they smell.

Treat Tuesday: Bravo Bonus Bites Duck Feet

Bravo sent me home from SuperZoo with a bag of Dry Roasted Duck Feet. Weird? Definitely. Tasty? Well, the dogs sure think so. These are made in the USA from domestically-sourced ducks. They're more like chews than biscuits, even though they're part of the Bonus Bites treat line.

Good For: Handing to the dogs as I run out the door. Taking several minutes to devour. Small dogs that like to gnaw. Picky little chihuahuas. Dogs with beef allergies. Slightly macabre party decor.

Not Good For: The squeamish. Dogs with poultry allergies.

How Much We Like Them: Enough to make them tap dance across the counter before feeding them to the dogs.

Food Friday: Bravo Chicken Fricassee Canned Dog Food

This Chicken Fricassee canned dog food is from Bravo's brand new Canine Cafe product line. These are grain-free, gluten-free, and come in three flavors each of fricassee and 95% meat. There's even one that would have been safe for Brisbane's many food allergies.

* The Bravo representatives at SuperZoo were kind enough to load me up with a whole bunch of foods and treats to try, so in the interest of disclosure I wanted to mention that I didn't actually pay for this food. But I would have if I had spotted it in a store first, because Bravo totally rocks.

The Company

I am a longtime Bravo customer, their limited ingredient premade frozen diets were easily the most convenient and affordable raw dog food on the market ten years ago. I used to stuff Brisbane's daily portion into Kongs and various other toys for him to unpack while I was at work. When I started identifying his many food allergies and couldn't manage portion control with a poultry-free homemade prey model raw diet, Bravo was basically the only choice. Other options were prohibitively expensive, and often included poultry.

That was back in 2006, four years after Bravo began making their frozen raw food blends. They were one of the first companies to offer a premade raw diet, and they've only gotten better since then. Today their product lines include frozen, freeze-dried, and canned diets, as well as freeze-dried treats, frozen bones, and a variety of dry-roasted chews.

It's worth noting that Bravo has had recalls, but has also changed their food safety procedures in response to those recalls. They are also extremely, almost overly, cautious with their voluntary recalls. One package of one food tested positive for salmonella? They recalled not only that entire batch, but also every single product made in the facility on that day. Their products undergo routine third-party testing for pathogens, and their recall history makes it extremely clear that unlike some companies, they prioritize safety over their reputation.

The Food

I was surprised when I opened the can. I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly, but I was immediately impressed. I want to comment on the way this food smells, but my nose is completely stuffed up right now so I have no idea how anything smells. It could be amazing, it could be dreadful. 

This is a shredded-style canned food with chunks of meat and vegetables. It scoops very nicely out of the can, and comes in small-breed friendly little chunks. 

The Verdict

As soon as I opened this can, I was mobbed by cats. I explained to The Hellions that this was dog food, but they ignored me as per usual. Ru really liked the Bravo canned fricassee, probably because he doesn't have to wrestle with chunks of food the size of his head. He's not always crazy about canned food, but he was immediately interested in this so I may end up feeding it on a regular basis. Sisci ate it immediately and without hesitation, but she's also significantly less discerning when it comes to food. 

Has the new Bravo canned food hit independent pet stores near you yet?