How to Defrost and Store Raw Dog Food Safely

If you’re concerned about how to defrost raw dog food or whether you’re storing it safely, don’t fret. There are a few ways to make the whole process much easier.

Getting your first meal ready

Contrary to some raw dog food myths, feeding and defrosting raw dog food is almost effortless.

The best way (and safest) method for defrosting our raw dog food meals is in the fridge.

This way, the thawing process happens in the most natural way possible, limiting the possibility of spoilage; even though it may take a little longer than other methods.

Also, this way requires little to no effort on your part; simply put it in the fridge and serve it when ready.

If you don’t need a full tub

If your dog doesn’t need a full tub in every meal, that’s ok! Simply pop the lid back on, and put the unused portion back in the fridge right away to be used for their next meal.

You can safely store our raw dog food in the fridge, and it will stay fresh for up to four days (from frozen).

This also means that you can easily defrost multiple meals simultaneously if it suits you, only adding to the convenience factor!

It’s best to defrost raw dog food overnight in the fridge, so being prepared is ideal. However, if you forget, or find the food is still partially frozen come feeding time, not to worry.

You can pop the sealed tub in lukewarm water, as this will safely defrost the food more quickly, or if you have one, pop the raw food onto a defrosting plate.

We advise against defrosting in the microwave; this changes the nutrient quality of the food, making it less beneficial to your dog.

We don’t recommend refreezing raw dog food (especially once it’s reached room temperature) as it compromises the safety of the proteins.

However, room temperature raw dog food can be safely stored in the fridge for up to three days, and is still fine for your dog; provided the meat still smells fresh and isn’t showing signs of spoilage.

ProDog Raw products will arrive frozen when delivered. If they have partially defrosted it is safe to freeze them straight away. If the product has reached room temperature, then it can be stored at the bottom of the fridge for approximately 3 days. The meat should smell fresh and appetising.

We understand your concerns however to reassure you, provided the food is still cold to the touch the food is safe to place in the freezer on arrival.

Because the food is so fresh, it leaves our blast-freezer at -18 and is packaged in a way to maintain a safe temperature for up to 72 hrs. Admittedly this timescale may vary depending on the weather and outside temperature, so if the food arrives soft then please do a test with the back of your hand to assess whether it is still cold before freezing.

Touching the food by hand provides a much better idea of temperature than observation alone. It is safe to touch the food by hand provided you wash your hands thoroughly afterwards..

If, however, the food is soft through the middle and at room temperature to touch then this would be a reason to be cautious. You can salvage some by putting the tubs you can use within 3 days into the fridge; the rest should be disposed of.

Should this be the case with your food, then please send through a short video, to [email protected], demonstrating the softness of all the tubs affected  We suggest using a fork to demonstrate the food is entirely defrosted throughout.

Please note this is required to meet our internal service improvement policy and safeguarding protocol and we are not authorised to offer any refunds or order replacements without it.

Also, we ask you to advise us whether your parcel contained ice, wool insulation and were you home to take receipt of the parcel? Once we have all of this information, we will be able to advise you of the options.

How to store raw dog food in the freezer

The average British freezer might not be that big, but you can still stock up on our frozen raw meals.

Our individual containers are either 500g or 1kg, easily stackable, and conveniently shaped to fit in your freezer easily.

With the general rule of thumb for freezer storage being 1 cubic foot per each 18kg of raw meat, this doesn’t account for conveniently shaped packaging; meaning you’ll likely be able to squeeze more in if needed.

To help you determine the storage space needed here are the dimensions of our tubs

500g = L 18cm x W 11cm x D 5cm
1kg = L 18cm x W 11cm x D 10cm

The smallest order we can deliver is 6kg, consisting of 12 x 500g tubs or 6 x1kg tubs. We also offer a range of raw food bundles, the smallest of which is 10kg.

As a rough guide, a 10kg bundle will take up approximately two standard size freezer drawers, but don’t forget, you can store food for up to 4 days in the fridge as well.

Additionally, if you prefer to store your dog’s meals separately from your own food, a dedicated meat freezer might be helpful.

They come in various sizes and can easily be placed in a utility room, garage, or outdoor shed if it has electricity. This retailer is a helpful place to start.

How to store defrosted raw dog food in the fridge

Once defrosted, our raw dog food can safely remain in your fridge for up to 4 days. Our sealed tubs have secure lids, minimising the chance of spills or leakage.

It’s ideal to provide a space that’s only for raw dog food storage, just as you would with any raw meat.

The bottom shelf of your fridge is perfect for this: raw dog food won’t come into contact with any vulnerable foods like fruits or vegetables, and will remain out of the reach of little hands that might be reaching for snacks.

The process of defrosting and storing raw dog food is as easy as with any other raw meat product: simply adhere to a few standard food safety guidelines, and you’ll be fine.

Defrosting in the fridge, storing defrosted raw meals on the bottom shelf, and paying attention to dates are all easy enough to do once you get the hang of them.

To make things even simpler, most of our raw dog food ranges come in handy 500g or 1kg sizes, and in brightly coloured yellow containers to avoid any confusion between products.

Simply stack them in your freezer until it’s time to defrost and serve, and watch your dog enjoy it.

Our Economy Core range of raw dog food comes minimally packaged as a handy chub. We recommend storing our chubs in reusable containers whilst defrosting to prevent leakage whilst the food is thawing.

Our economy range of raw dog food is carefully formulated for dog owners on a budget to provide hearty ratios of key ingredients, with additional nutritional enrichment from ProDog’s Boost vitamin supplement.