How to thaw and store raw dog food

Raw food is easy to live with once you have a routine. Here’s how to handle an order from the moment it arrives.

When your order arrives

Your order arrives chilled, so the first job is to get it into the freezer as soon as you can, keeping out whatever you plan to use in the next couple of days.

Our mixes and minces, like Beef Mince and Active Dog Mix, are cut into blocks before they’re packed, so you can take out what you need without thawing a whole carton. The blocks are cut by hand, so they vary a little in size. Most come in at a few hundred grams.

Freezer space

We settled on standard carton sizes so they stack neatly in a freezer. As a guide:

• Mixes and minces: 10 kg in a carton about 30 × 20 × 15 cm
• Bones: 10 kg in a carton about 35 × 25 × 15 cm
• Rolls: ten 1.8 kg rolls in an 18 kg carton

If you feed a big dog or more than one, a small chest freezer in the garage makes bulk buying much easier. And if you’re on a subscription and the freezer is still well stocked when the next order is due, email us. We’re happy to put it on hold until you’re ready.

Thawing

1. Take out two to three days’ worth of food.
2. Put it in a covered container in the fridge, ideally the night before you need it.
3. Feed from the fridge, and take out the next lot when you’re down to the last day.

The fridge keeps the food cold the whole time it thaws. On the bench, the outside of a block sits warm while the middle is still frozen, which gives bacteria time to grow.

Don’t microwave or cook raw dog food to thaw it. Some products, like our Chicken Mince, have bone minced through them, and cooked bone goes brittle.

Storing thawed food

An airtight container stops it staining or flavouring the rest of the fridge. Keep it on the bottom shelf, away from food for people, and use it within two to three days. Wash the container between batches. Rotating between two makes that easy, because one is always clean.

Serving

Most dogs eat straight from the fridge. If yours prefers it a little warmer, let the portion sit for a few minutes first. Pick up anything left in the bowl after the meal rather than leaving it out.

Wash the bowl after each meal, and wash your hands and any surfaces the raw food touched, as you would with any raw meat.

Common questions

Can I keep it in the carton in the freezer?

Yes. The food comes in a liner inside the carton, and both go straight in the freezer. Take blocks out as you need them, and use the oldest cartons first.

What if I forget to thaw it?

Move a portion into the fridge straight away and feed later, once it has softened. Smaller pieces thaw faster. Avoid the bench and the microwave.

How much should I take out at a time?

That depends on how much your dog eats. Our guide to how much raw food to feed has daily amounts by weight, and the calculator works it out for your dog.