Bones & Co is a small, family owned company based in Austin, Texas. They produce 2 lines of dog food using a ketogenic recipe. They follow a 1:1 ratio of fat:protein. It’s formulated for everyday feeding and all life stages. They also offer raw meaty bones, a greens supplement, bone broth and raw goat milk. Bones & Co sells its products through independent pet stores.
The company makes its foods in small batches and hand packs them in Austin.
For our Bones & Co dog food review, we’ll look at the food ingredient quality and safety of each line of food. Our dog food reviews are based on these criteria.
IS BONES & CO A GOOD DOG FOOD?
Bones & Co produces 2 lines of dog food that are low risk dog foods by our criteria.
Bones & Co is a company that produces ketogenic dog foods. They have fat content equal or higher to protein levels. It should be noted that not all dogs can consume a high fat diet. Also, a high fat diet can change gut bacteria. It can also add toxins, since they are stored in fat. Most fats, like pork and poultry fats, are also high in omega-6 fatty acids. These acids can cause mild, body-wide inflammation.
Bones & Co Frozen Patties has a score of 9.7/10. The Freeze Dried line has a score of 9.3/10. Frozen Patties has high fat levels. This affects the ingredient quality score. Several recipes have more fat than protein. The freeze-dried foods score slightly lower. This is because they use fish oil, which is an unnamed animal protein. They also have 1 recipe with higher carbohydrates.
Both of these lines are minimally processed. They have no added vitamins and minerals. This speaks well of the quality of the ingredients used.
All plant based ingredients are organic. They have low pesticide residue and are non-GMO. Meat is sourced from grass finished, cage free and responsibly raised animals. They’re from small farms. They use integrative and sustainable agriculture practices. Bones & Co doesn’t offer certifications. They find the cost of organic or GAP certification is high. It can be too high for the small farms they use.
Bones & Co crafts its food in 250 lb micro-batches that are hand packed. Its dog foods are made in Austin. They use a USDA-inspected, human-grade kitchen. They use human grade meat.
Until earlier in 2023, human grade wasn’t a recognized term by AAFCO. AAFCO is the regulatory body that establishes guidelines for the pet food industry. AAFCO has new guidelines for facilities processing human-grade pet food products. Companies using the “human grade” label must have documentation. They must show that every ingredient and process is human grade. There is a break-in period of several years.
It’s notable that raw meat isn’t human edible. It can’t be classified as human grade.
Bones & Co. doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their recipes. This is true of most companies. It’s a concern because AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation.
Let’s look at each line in a little more detail.
Bones & Co Frozen Patties
Score: 9.7/10
Ingredient List For Barkin’ Beef Patties Recipe: Beef, beef heart, ground beef bone, beef liver, beef kidney, organic spinach, organic broccoli, organic squash, organic pumpkin seed, organic flax seed, organic coconut oil, organic dried kelp, krill oil, organic alfalfa, cod liver oil, organic parsley, vitamin E supplement.
Bones & Co Frozen Patties dog food is a low risk dog food by our criteria. It has 5 recipes that average 57% protein and 2% carbohydrate. These recipes have scored 10/10 for ingredient safety.
Bones & Co Frozen Patties are a minimally processed raw food. It maintains nutrients. Its frozen, raw food doesn’t use high-pressure pasteurization (HPP).
Bones & Co doesn’t use added vitamins or minerals. They also avoid chemicals, preservatives, and GMOs. All plant based ingredients are organic. That makes the risk of pesticide residue low. The lack of added vitamins and minerals reflects better ingredients. They don’t need added nutrients. Vitamin E is added as a preservative.
The company offers a higher fat dog food as a ketogenic formulation. It states they offer a 1:1 (fat:protein) recipe. It’s formulated for everyday feeding and all life stages. Three of the recipes have a fat content higher than the protein level. That loses points. Fat is a valuable macronutrient. But it’s relatively devoid of vitamins and minerals. High fat diets can lead to unwanted changes in the gut flora.
These recipes contain coconut oil. It doesn’t cost points, but should be noted. It can cause undesirable changes in the gut lining.
All products in this line contain added herring oil. It’s advisable to thaw the food in a refrigerated, sealed container. This minimizes oxidation of the fish oil. It’s also unclear whether the oil is from farmed or wild-caught herring. Wild caught is more nutritious. It also has a better fatty acid balance to provide healthy omega-3s.
Frozen Patties Benefits
- High protein
- No added vitamins & minerals
- No added amino acids
- Lightly processed
Frozen Patties Concerns
- Unnamed animal protein
- Higher carbohydrates in 1 recipe
- Contains coconut oil
- Doesn’t specify farmed or wild caught fish
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Bones & Co Freeze Dried
Score: 9.3/10
Ingredient List For Kickin’ Chicken Recipe: Chicken, chicken heart, chicken liver, chicken gizzard, ground chicken bone, organic spinach, organic broccoli, organic squash, organic pumpkin seed, organic flaxseeds, organic coconut oil, organic dried kelp, fish oil, organic ground alfalfa hay, cod liver oil, organic parsley, vitamin E supplement.
Bones & Co Freeze Dried is a low risk dog food by our criteria. It has 3 recipes that average 35% protein and 13% carbohydrate. There is 1 recipe that has higher carbohydrates than we expect to see in a freeze dried dog food. Carbs are from whole food ingredients. They don’t use grains, starches or legumes.
Bones & Co Freeze Dried is minimally processed. It’s freeze dried so it maintains nutrients. The freeze-dried food uses high-pressure pasteurization (HPP).
Bones & Co doesn’t use added vitamins or minerals. They also don’t use chemicals, preservatives, or GMO ingredients. All plant based ingredients are organic. That makes the risk of pesticide residue low. The lack of added vitamins and minerals shows the use of high quality ingredients. They don’t need added nutrients. Vitamin E is added as a preservative.
The following do not affect the score but are worth noting. These recipes contain coconut oil. It can cause undesirable changes in the gut lining. It’s not known if the fish products used are from wild caught sources or farmed. Wild caught is more nutritious. It has a better fatty acid balance to provide healthy omega-3s.
Freeze Dried Benefits
- High protein
- No added vitamins & minerals
- No added amino acids
- Lightly processed
Freeze Dried Concerns
- Unnamed animal protein
- Higher carbohydrates in 1 recipe
- Contains coconut oil
- Doesn’t specify farmed or wild caught fish
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
BONES & CO DOG FOOD RECALLS
To date, Bones & Co has not had any recalls or voluntary withdrawals.
Evaluation Criteria
These dog foods were evaluated and scored based on two criteria:
Are the Ingredients High Quality?
Here are some common low quality ingredients or markers we look for:
- Is there excessive carbohydrate content, which can cause gut imbalances?
- Does the food contain unnamed proteins, which are low quality?
- Does the food use cellulose (wood pulp) as a source of fiber instead of real food?
- Are there excessive vitamins and minerals added in place of real food nutrition?
- Are there excessive added amino acids or plant proteins instead of expensive meat protein?
- Does the food contain inflammatory processed seed oils?
How Safe Are the Ingredients?
Many ingredients come from unhealthy, inflammatory sources or are full of pesticides so we look for:
- How processed is the food?
- Does the food contain known genetically modified foods?
- Does the food contain ingredients known to be high in pesticides?
- Does the food contain natural flavor, which are often MSG or animal digest?
- Does the food contain rice, which is high in arsenic?
We evaluate each food by these criteria. We assign a score using the average of ingredient quality and safety. This is NOT a paid list and there are no affiliate links. Dogs Naturally partnered with DogFoodReviews.com to develop unbiased, objective criteria for dog owners. This will help them choose the best dog food on the market. You can view the full Evaluation Criteria at DogFoodReviews.com.
