Having been the main tester of the biscuits for this review, The Pack vegan dry dog food got a serious paws up from Coco, our canine companion. She loved the smell – even before the bag had been opened – and although she can be quite picky about dog biscuits, she needed no persuasion to get tucked into these. She finished the bowl every time and didn’t badger us for more food afterwards, so obviously felt quite full which is great because when she does want more, those big brown eyes get you in their tractor beam and she can be difficult to refuse…we’ve learnt not to make eye contact with her after she’s eaten! Read this review to find out exactly what makes these dog biscuits so different.
Editor’s rating: 4.7/5
Pros
- Slow, oven-baked
- Nutritionally complete
- B-Corp brand
Cons
- Price
- Pack size
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Who are The Pack?
Originally founded by 2 committed and enthusiastic vegans determined to make a difference, this B-Corp company is helping to innovate in the pet food world with a range of nutritionally complete wet food flavours, and more recently, this dry food product. They are both still directors of the company and are heavily involved in its strategic and day to day operations.
The positives
This nutritionally complete, innovative oven-baked product is made by a B-Corp brand, so there are quite a lot of positives when it comes to The Pack vegan dry dog food. We will look at some of those in more detail here.
Slow, oven-baked
The Pack’s dog biscuits are different from most others because they have been baked at lower temperatures for much longer, thus retaining flavour, and perhaps more importantly, nutrients. You can tell the difference even just by looking at these biscuits. They look and smell much more appetising than your standard kibble.
Most other dry dog biscuits – whether meat or plant-based – are cooked quickly at very high temperatures, then extruded (formed by pushing the cooked product through openings and then cutting them to the required size and drying), a technique often associated with ultra-processed foods. And because of the methods used, the product at that point has become pretty tasteless and unpalatable, and so is subsequently sprayed with a ‘palatant’ to make it more…you guessed, it, palatable.
Nutritionally complete
It may sound obvious, but being nutritionally complete is incredibly important. It means that if you feed this to your canine companion, you won’t need to supplement their diet with anything else because quite simply, it contains all the nutrients they need. It is something to look out for with vegan and plant-based dog food, because surprisingly, not all brands are nutritionally complete, perhaps because some are designed more for the meat-free Monday option rather than a permanent diet choice. If you’d like to find out about other nutritionally complete options, read Vegan Mum’s guide to the best vegan dog foods in the UK.
So, The Pack vegan dry dog food is nutritionally complete, complies with all FEDIAF guidance regarding nutrition (that’ll be the European Pet Food Industry body), is vet approved and, according to Coco and her mates, is just downright delicious.
B-Corp brand
Businesses have to work hard to get B-Corp status, and The Pack’s success in achieving this certification shows their commitment to sustainability. This is evident in their manufacturing processes, but also in their packaging. Their dry dog food comes in fully recyclable paper packaging and all delivery packaging is completely plastic free too. Combine this with the fact that a plant-based diet is more sustainable anyway, and I believe you have probably one of the most environmentally friendly dog food products out there.
The negatives
Look at most of my reviews and one of the negatives will be price! Everything is always so expensive…the only other negative I really found with The Pack though was that the dry dog food comes only in a 5kg bag. Let’s look at both of those now.
Price
This is a high quality product that seems to have been well-formulated, apparently uses human-grade ingredients (although the finished product isn’t recommended for human consumption), and is produced thoughtfully, so I guess that is why you pay a premium price. And The Pack vegan dry dog food is probably on a par with many others on price, so it’s fair to say that feeding your dog is generally going to cost you a bit whatever you buy. Still, it would be great if it was cheaper…
Pack size
This product is currently available only in 5kg bags, so that’s a fairly hefty sized pack that you’ve got to store, particularly if your dog is on the smaller side and doesn’t eat much! The good thing is that they do offer small sample packs, so if your dog is new to the product, you can at least try one of those first to see if your dog likes it before investing in a larger bag.
Conclusion of this review of The Pack vegan dry dog food
We were very excited to receive some trial bags of The Pack’s vegan dry dog food when it first came out. It is an innovative product because of its more thoughtful manufacturing process, being slow-baked and not extruded, and you can definitely tell the difference when you look, feel and smell the product.
Coco really liked trying it, but I also gave packs to several vegan friends to give to their dogs because Coco, having had pancreatitis in the past, has to eat mainly very low fat foods. That’s not to say that The Pack’s vegan dry dog food is high in fat – it is at a regular level that is fine for the vast majority of dogs – it’s just too high for some of those pooches who have had pancreatitis unfortunately. However, the feedback from her canine chums was also unanimously positive and proved to be very popular indeed.
Apart from the look, feel, and smell of the product (and the taste given the clean bowls observed in various kitchens!), the biscuits are a great size, making them suitable for dogs of all sizes – Coco has a small mouth and they were perfect for her, but some of her bigger pals also wolfed them down very happily.
Yes, it’s a little pricey, and it’s a pretty big bag for a little dog, but I do think you are getting a quality product, and at least you can buy a small sample bag to try it out if you don’t want to commit to 5 kilo’s worth!
The other things I like about The Pack are firstly, that the owners are vegan and clearly passionate about what they do, and secondly, they are not rushing hundreds of different products out. They originally introduced a tinned wet food range, and it took some time before they brought out the dry food, so you’d hope that in the interim, they were putting a lot of thought into what they wanted to bring out next. I like to think so anyway, and am very confident in the quality of this product and consequently, would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to feed their dog a healthy, plant-based diet.
Use exclusive discount code VEGANMUM for 30% off your first order
Alternatives to The Pack
There are a number of nutritionally complete alternatives to The Pack vegan dry dog food. See some options below:
- Omni vegan dry dog food – and you can use discount code veganmum50 for exclusive money off offers
- Hownd Plant Powered Superfood from Amazon
Alternatively, why not take a look at Vegan Mum’s guide to the Best Vegan Dog Foods in the UK
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