Food Friday: Naked Turkey + Pea Formula Kibble

Naked's Turkey + Pea kibble is a grain-free, single-protein dry dog food that is very allergy-friendly. We received this kibble in our first Naked Dog Box (this is an affiliate link), a subscription box that arrives every two weeks. Ours came free as part of a promotion, but we may keep subscribing because this is such a great concept. If you'd like to try it out, you can use the coupon code thedoggeek10 and get $10 off your first box!

The Company

Ok, you know how some grocery stores have bulk bins, where you can bag up your own beans, rice, or whatever in any amount, for super cheap? The Naked Dog has taken this eco-friendly and wallet-friendly concept and applied it to pets. You can can kibble and treats in bulk, and if you visit one of their brick and mortar locations, you can even bring your own bag to fill! 

I often comment on dog food companies and how they use package design to influence their customers. If the bags aren't covered in pictures of wolves and claims about "ancestral diets", they're splashed with images of fresh vegetables and cuts of steak and chicken that look fresh from the meat counter at the supermarket, yet bear no resemblance to the actual ingredients in the food. Naked skips all that and just puts the food in a plain bag, so you don't have to pay for their graphic designer, artist, or photographer. Heck, you don't even have to pay for a bag if you bring your own!

The Naked Dog, also known as Protein for Pets, was founded by the same mastermind behind Dogswell. It's a company and philosophy I trust. I don't think they have their own manufacturing facility, but I really hope their stuff is co packed by Tuffy's Pet Foods. They're hard to beat for high-tech kibble production.

The Food

Naked refers to their food as "stripped down", and I can see why. This turkey and pea kibble only has turkey and peas in it. They didn't feel the need to cram some fish or egg into every recipe, or load up on five kinds of carbohydrates. Admittedly, they did some ingredient splitting with four different pea-based entries on the list, but turkey and then turkey meal come first. This is a low-glycemic food that is extremely allergy-friendly, and it would be a good place to start when figuring out potential food allergens for your dog.

The Verdict

Zip loves this food, which is nice because she's not always super excited about dinner. I mean, it's just food, right? You can't herd it or fetch it. It's too early to tell what effect the food will have on her skin and coat, but she's been doing pretty well as long as we keep the fleas under control. Long-term I think I'd prefer to have her on something with a higher fat and protein content, but I think this food is an excellent and affordable choice for most pet dogs that aren't herding sheep all day.

The Naked Dog Box!

We got our first Naked Dog Box yesterday! It's a subscription box that arrives every two weeks. What's inside? Two weeks' worth of top-quality grain-free dog food, a scoop for measuring out just the right amount, and a surprise treat or toy! Ours also came with an adorable DIY paper bowtie because bowties make everything better.

Disclosure time! I got this box for free as part of an affiliate program. The links from this page are also affiliate links.

First time using The Naked Dog Box? Get $10 off your order with code 10BUCKS now!

"Naked" is the name of the house brand food made by The Naked Dog, an online pet store. Their products have a limited ingredient list with single proteins, making them allergy friendly. My favorite thing about the bag of Naked kibble that arrived at my door is that it's in a plain brown bag. No money was spent on pretty pictures, or a bag designed to appeal to consumers. It's practically naked.

Portion control is a big deal for keeping your dog at a healthy weight, so our box came with a 1.5 cup stainless steel scoop. How cool is that? The recommendation is that zip get 3 cups of this food per day. That sounds like quite a lot, as she usually eats two cups of most kibbles.

Each box includes a free goody, this time it's a bag of Tricky Trainers treats from Cloud Star. Since this company's pet food values line up with my own, I know I'll be getting treats that I feel safe giving to my dogs. I've had subscription boxes in the past, and the reason we stopped getting Pet Gift Box was because they sent dollar store treats and toys that didn't feel completely trustworthy.

The more I find out about this company, the more I like them. They strive to have the lowest carbon footprint, and their food is made here in California. It looks like they have physical stores in my area too! We're definitely going to have to visit one soon!

Product Review: Weyland-Utani, Building Better Dogs

Sponsored by Weyland-Utani Corp, this collar from Quantum Mechanix is basically one huge in-joke for fans of the Alien films. The collar is made from a light, fast-drying material and is very comfortable. It bears the slogan "Building Better Dogs", a fun take on the fictional company's "Building Better Worlds" slogan. This arrived in our very first Loot Pets crate from Loot Crate, and
may be an exclusive item just for subscribers.

Photo by Erin Koski 

 I love subtle fandom humor. Not everyone needs to get it, and most won't even notice. Once in a while though, someone will happen upon it and really see it for what it is, and it will make their day.

I have a Miskatonic University parking pass sticker on my dashboard, down at the bottom where most of the local colleges require their parking passes to be places. It's subtle, and most people see it as just another parking sticker. However, someone with enough familiarity with the works of H.P. Lovecraft will recognize it as the fictional university mentioned in many of his stories. Hopefully they will get the same sort of gleeful "I GET that!" feeling I do when I see a Black Mesa bumper sticker.

So clearly the Weyland-Utani Corp collar is right up my alley. It bears the brand of a fictional megacorporation with tendrils touching every industry, so of course Wey-Ute would make dog collars. They make everything else, right?

Pros: Light, comfortable, and the dark color doesn't show off the dirt. Adjustable enough to fit everyone but Ru. Is a level of geeky rarely attainable via pet attire.

Cons: The light and comfy material probably won't look this awesome after a lot of heavy duty wear.

Bottom Line: It's so geeky, and so subtle that only other geeks will get it!

What's the geekiest pet item you own?