Dr. Marty Dog Food Review 2026: Ingredients, Cost, and Recalls
Dr. Marty dog food is premium freeze-dried raw with genuinely strong ingredients, a five-star independent rating, and a price that runs several times higher than kibble. It earns its place in some households and wastes money in others.
You have seen the television-style ads: Dr. Marty Goldstein, a veterinarian with more than 50 years of practice, promising his raw food will fix what ails your dog. The same product draws angry threads on r/DogFood, where owners call it overpriced and one popular post literally titles itself “a scam.” Both sides describe the same bags of food. This review works out what the label actually delivers, what feeding it really costs, and which dogs justify the expense.
Covered below: the recipe and nutrient breakdown, a monthly cost ledger, the recall record, real owner reports from both camps, a comparison with Farmer’s Dog and ordinary kibble, buying channels, and a clear yes-or-no on who should buy it.
What Is Dr. Marty Dog Food?
It is a line of freeze-dried raw dog food with nine recipes, sold mostly through the brand’s own website and rehydrated with water before serving. The flagship Nature’s Blend Essential Wellness formula leads with turkey, beef, salmon, and duck, plus organ meat and vegetables.
Dr. Marty Goldstein is the brand’s founder and face. Dog Food Advisor, the independent review site, describes him as one of America’s best-known veterinarians, with appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and Good Morning America across a career spanning more than 50 years. The food sits at the premium end of the raw market, alongside Stella & Chewy’s and Primal, not in the grocery aisle next to Purina.
The line covers different needs: small-breed, sensitivity, healthy-growth, active-vitality, and premium-origin formulas all sit under the Nature’s Blend name. Every recipe is freeze-dried raw, meaning it stores at room temperature until you add water.
Ingredients: Seven Meats, Then Vegetables
The first seven ingredients in Nature’s Blend Essential Wellness are turkey, beef, salmon, duck, beef liver, turkey liver, and turkey heart. Everything after that is flaxseed, sweet potato, egg, fruit, vegetables, and kelp, preserved with mixed tocopherols, which is vitamin E rather than BHA or ethoxyquin.
Dog Food Advisor’s analysis of the recipe flags two items worth knowing. Pea protein sits below the meat block and can inflate the protein number on the label; flaxseed carries roughly 19 percent protein of its own. So the headline protein figure is not all meat, though the food is still clearly meat-forward. The label lists no added vitamins or minerals and relies on the “complete and balanced” statement instead.
The nutrient profile is typical of a quality raw food. On a dry-matter basis, Dog Food Advisor measures 45.1 percent protein, 37 percent fat, and about 6.4 percent carbohydrates, with the full line averaging 45.5 percent protein and 36.7 percent fat. That is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, and the site notes the fat-to-protein ratio is the reason some recipes in the range earn 4.5 stars instead of 5.
How Much Does Dr. Marty Dog Food Cost?
Enough to feel on any grocery bill. Dr. Marty’s sells the flagship bag at $59.95 on its own site, with a member price of $30.95, and the small-breed 80-ounce bag runs $119.99 at retailers like Petco.
The monthly number depends on dog size and feeding amount, which the brand does not publish in a simple chart. Owner reports fill the gap: on r/DogFood, one buyer counted about 6.5 cups per package and another estimated $50 a day for two dogs. Those are single-user reports, not official math, but they line up with the per-bag prices above. A 50-pound dog on a raw diet goes through freeze-dried food fast once water is added.
The cheaper route exists. The member price nearly halves the flagship bag, and Petco’s Autoship takes 35 percent off the first order. Feeding this food without a subscription is paying full retail for no reason.
Against kibble the gap is plain. A month of quality dry food for a mid-size dog typically lands between $40 and $70; a freeze-dried raw diet for a larger dog runs several times that. That gap is the single most common complaint in owner reviews, and it is the real reason the brand draws “scam” threads despite good ingredients.
Real Owner Reviews and the “Scam” Debate
Reports split cleanly between dogs that thrive and owners who flinch at the register. Petco listings for the flagship recipe average 4.5 stars across more than 23,000 reviews, and Dog Food Advisor’s reader reviews repeat the same themes: picky eaters finally eating, shinier coats, steadier energy.
“I made the mistake of getting suckered into a large purchase from this self-proclaimed world leading “veterinary dietician,” thanks to a paid ad from Cesar Milan (yeah… I know—I should’ve thought once, then twice)… The value is a complete joke. Each package costs $40, yet contains only 6.5 cups of…”
– r/DogFood (43 upvotes)
Read that thread carefully and the complaints reduce to three things: price, marketing, and the absence of WSAVA compliance. None of those makes the food fraudulent. The ingredients are real, the label is honest, and independent analysis rates the recipes highly. What the thread exposes is that a $40 bag of freeze-dried food is a hard sell next to a $25 bag of Science Diet, and that celebrity-adjacent nutrition claims deserve skepticism. The brand also has no recall history: Dog Food Advisor’s recall list for Dr. Marty shows no entries.
“I rotate between Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend and canned lamb. Hope this helps!”
– r/DrMartyPets (17 upvotes)
The counterweight is real too. Dogs that refuse every other food often eat this one. Several Dog Food Advisor reviewers describe dogs with beef or chicken sensitivities doing well on the sensitivity formulas, and owners of senior dogs report steady weight and normal bloodwork. A minority mention increased thirst and urination, which a high-protein diet can cause; if you see that, talk to your vet.
Dr. Marty vs. Farmer’s Dog vs. Kibble
The comparison buyers actually ask about. Dr. Marty’s is freeze-dried raw you rehydrate; Farmer’s Dog is freshly cooked food shipped frozen on a subscription; kibble is the budget baseline.
| Factor | Dr. Marty’s | Farmer’s Dog | Premium kibble |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | Freeze-dried raw | Freshly cooked, frozen | Dry extruded |
| Ordering | Per bag, subscription optional | Subscription only | Anywhere |
| Storage | Shelf-stable | Fridge/freezer needed | Shelf-stable |
| Typical cost | $40-$120 per bag | $2-$4 per day | $1-$2 per day |
| Vet stance | Not WSAVA-compliant | Not WSAVA-compliant | WSAVA brands exist |
Choose Dr. Marty’s for raw feeding without freezer logistics. Choose Farmer’s Dog for cooked food with portion control. Choose kibble from a WSAVA-compliant brand like Purina, Hill’s, or Royal Canin when budget or veterinary guidance wins. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s nutrition guidelines recommend foods from brands that employ qualified nutritionists and meet strict quality standards, and that is where vets keep steering owners.
Where to Buy and the Walmart Question
The official channels are drmartypets.com, Petco, and Amazon. The brand’s own site carries the full line plus the member discount, which is the cheapest official route. Petco offers in-store pickup and Autoship discounts. Amazon listings come from third-party sellers like sbarkles, so check the seller and per-bag price before clicking.
Walmart is not an official channel, and that is the answer to one of the most-asked questions about Dr Marty dog food. Search Walmart’s site and you will not find it among the regular pet food brands; the food is sold direct-to-consumer and through the retailers named above. Any Walmart marketplace listing would come from an outside seller at third-party pricing.
Who Should Feed Dr. Marty’s
Buy Dr Marty dog food for the picky eater, the dog with a proven sensitivity to conventional formulas, or the household where the monthly cost is simply not a stressor. Those owners report the best results, and the price stops being the deciding factor.
Skip it when the cost would make you resent the bowl every morning, when a puppy’s diet has not been cleared by your vet, or when anyone in the house has a compromised immune system. Raw diets carry a small pathogen risk, and the WSAVA gap means a veterinarian may refuse to endorse it. When both camps are right, the decision rule is simple: feed what your dog eats willingly, your vet approves, and you can afford every month.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dr Marty dog food really good for your dog?
Yes on ingredient quality: Dog Food Advisor rates the line five stars with no recall history, and owners report strong results with picky and sensitive dogs. The caveats are the price and the raw-food risk, so run it past your vet if your dog is young, old, or immune-compromised.
Can you buy Dr. Marty’s dog food at Walmart?
No, not as a regular Walmart brand. Dr. Marty’s sells through drmartypets.com, Petco, and Amazon; a Walmart marketplace listing, if one appears, comes from a third-party seller at higher risk and price.
Which is better, Dr. Marty’s or Farmer’s Dog?
They fit different dogs. Dr. Marty’s is freeze-dried raw bought per bag, best for raw-fed dogs and shelf-stable storage; Farmer’s Dog is freshly cooked food on a subscription, best for portion-controlled cooked feeding. Both cost far more than kibble.
What is the number one healthiest dog food?
There is no single healthiest dog food. Veterinary groups like WSAVA recommend choosing a brand that employs qualified nutritionists and meets strict quality standards, which points to names like Purina, Hill’s Science Diet, Royal Canin, and Iams. A food your dog eats willingly and your vet approves beats a trendier label every time.
Here is the final judgment: if your dog is thriving on a food your vet accepts and you can afford, switching to Dr. Marty’s is paying extra for a marketing story. If your dog refuses everything else, or has a sensitivity no conventional formula fixes, the price buys something real. Decide on those two conditions, not on the ads.
