Dr. Harvey’s Dog Food

Brief Overview

Dr. Harvey’s Healthy Formulations has been in business since the early 1980s. It was founded by Dr. Harvey Cohen and it is still a family-run business. They make health food and safe, all-natural care products for companion animals, including dogs, cats, birds, and horses. Their products include all natural foods, chemical free grooming essentials, nutritious treats and chews, and essential vitamins and supplements.

According to the company, Dr. Harvey’s was a pioneer and the first companion animal food producer in the ultra natural and all natural pet food category. The company follows the principles of fresh, organic, holistic, natural and top quality nutrition which they say means no added chemicals, no preservatives, and no synthetic additives or coloring agents. Dr. Harvey’s dog foods use human grade ingredients and no chemical additives. They are made in the USA.

Dr. Harvey’s makes three dog food pre-mixes and a freeze-dried raw complete diet for dogs. The company also makes four kinds of natural treats and nine supplements for dogs. They also make grooming products for dogs. According to the company, their sales doubled in 2013 and they have seen tremendous growth since that time, largely due to social media.

Disclosure: Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which will direct you to our partner sites. If you purchase the pet foods we recommend through those links, we may earn a small commission – at no extra cost to you.

Who Manufactures Dr. Harvey’s?

Dr. Harvey’s moved into a new facility and headquarters in July 2013 in Keansburg, New Jersey. This facility is larger and more modern than their previous production facility. According to the company the new location offers ample space for growth as well as additional office space, a photographic and video production studio and a much larger shipping a receiving area. Per Dr. Harvey’s, they have experienced rapid growth in the last 10 years and have grown from 10 employees to 20 full-time employees. In addition to working with distributors in the U.S. and Canada, Dr. Harvey’s also sells their products in Japan,  Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea. Dr. Harvey’s is available in all 50 states in the U.S. According to a 2013 interview with Petfoodindustry.com, Dr. Harvey makes all of their own foods, so we assume this would also include their freeze-dried raw foods.

Dr. Harvey’s Recalls 2017

We do not find any recalls for Dr. Harvey’s dog foods online or in the FDA database.

Dr. Harvey’s Dog Food Coupons 2017

Check Chewy.com and other online pet food sites for discounts on Dr. Harvey’s foods. You can visit the Dr. Harvey’s Facebook page to stay advised of upcoming specials and new products.

Dr. Harvey’s Dog Food Overview

Dr. Harvey’s makes all natural foods for dogs, cats, birds, and horses. Their foods have no added chemicals, no preservatives, and no synthetic additives or coloring agents. According to the company, all of their foods use 100 percent human grade ingredients.

In 2013 the company launched the Oracle freeze-dried raw food line for dogs and cats. Oracle contains no preservatives, dyes, coloring agents or synthetic ingredients. Oracle features USDA-inspected antibiotic free, freeze-dried meat and vegetables. Oracle is the first food made by Dr. Harvey where the buyer can just add water and feed it to their pet. Other foods made by Dr. Harvey have been pre-mixes. Pre-mixes are helpful for people who feed a homemade diet or who want to supplement a raw diet. They are also helpful for owners who have dogs with health problems that require specific amounts of protein, fat, or other ingredients that have to be added separately to their meals. Pre-mixed ingredients, such as those made by Dr. Harvey, can save pet lovers a lot of time and work in the kitchen.

Pre-mixes

If you are unfamiliar with pre-mixes, they are not a complete and balanced meal for dogs. They cannot be fed to your dog alone. AAFCO only approves such pet food products (IF it approves them) for supplemental feeding and not as complete and balanced meals for dogs or cats. That’s because pre-mixes do not contain all of the nutrients that an animal requires – such as protein, for example. If you use a pre-mix, it’s very important to follow the instructions and add the additional ingredients such as meat, oil, and so on. Even then, some experts express doubts about the nutritional safety of using pre-mixes.

Mary Straus (Whole Dog Journal) at Dogaware.com has this to say about Dr. Harvey’s pre-mixes:

Dr. Harvey’s Canine Health is a mix of dehydrated and freeze-dried grains, vegetables, herbs, and supplements. The company also offers Veg-to-Bowl, a similar mix that is grain-free. Both are designed to be mixed with meat, oil, and water.
The ingredient lists for both products changed in 2012 to include supplements, indicating that neither of these products was complete prior to that time, even though they were marketed as such. It’s still questionable whether or not these mixes provide a complete diet, since no analysis or AAFCO statement is provided.
Note that Dr. Harvey is apparently a chiropractor, not a veterinarian or someone with training in canine nutrition.

You can read lots of claims and suggestions for how to use Dr. Harvey’s pre-mixes on the web site and you can download feeding guidelines – which also encourage you to buy other Dr. Harvey’s products. But we still don’t find any AAFCO approval statements for these pre-mixes to be fed on a supplemental basis.

In case you are thinking that it’s impossible to meet these standards, the Honest Kitchen has complete dog food mixes that you can mix with your own ingredients. They are AAFCO-approved. There are others that meet these standards, as well.

Dr. Harvey makes the following pre-mixes:

Canine Health Miracle Dog Food

• Holistic Blend of 6 Organic Grains and 9 Dehydrated Vegetables
• Makes Healthy Homemade Meals So Easy
• Just Add Meat and Oil for a complete meal. Ready in Minutes.
• Allows for total Control of Quality and Quantity of Protein
• Holistic All-Natural Formula with No Dyes, Chemicals or Preservatives

Ingredients

Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Barley, Organic Triticale, Organic Spelt, Organic Brown Rice, Organic Kamut, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Potatoes, Zucchini, Peas, Green Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Parsley, Dried Yeast, Lecithin, Alfalfa, Dried Kelp, Ground Flaxseed, Calcium Citrate, Dried Ground Fenugreek, Dried Ground Fennel, Dried Ground Ginger, Dried Ground Peppermint, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Acetate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid

No guaranteed analysis or nutrient profile

Veg-To-Bowl Grain-Free Dog Food Premix

• Made in the USA-Grain-free formula
• Makes Home Made food Prep easy
• Holistic Formula with No Synthetic Ingredients
• No Chemicals, preservatives or dyes
• Allows complete control of quantity and quality of protein

Ingredients

Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Potatoes, Broccoli, Peas, Green Beans, Zucchini, Beets, Parsley, Lecithin, Alfalfa, Dried Kelp, Ground Flaxseed, Calcium Citrate, Dried Ground Fenugreek, Dried Ground Fennel, Dried Ground Ginger, Dried Ground Peppermint, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Acetate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid

No guaranteed analysis or nutrient profile

Veg-To-Bowl Fine Ground Dehydrated Vegetable Pre-Mix for Dogs

• Made in the USA-Grain-free formula
• Makes Home Made food Prep easy-Great for picky eaters
• Holistic Formula with No Synthetic Ingredients
• No Chemicals, preservatives or dyes
• Allows complete control of quantity and quality of protein

Ingredients

Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Potatoes, Broccoli, Peas, Green Beans, Zucchini, Beets, Parsley, Dried Yeast, Lecithin, Alfalfa, Dried Kelp, Ground Flaxseed, Calcium Citrate, Dried Ground Fenugreek, Dried Ground Fennel, Dried Ground Ginger, Dried Ground Peppermint, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Acetate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid

No guaranteed analysis or nutrient profile

We have no doubt that these are good quality, human grade ingredients or that Dr. Harvey’s claims about not using dyes, preservatives, or chemicals are true. However, we do think it’s important to see the nutritional information for pet foods. Maybe some people don’t think AAFCO-approval is important, but we think most dog lovers feel better when companies meet this minimum standard, even with pre-mixes for supplemental feedings.

Obviously the nutrition that your dog gets will vary, depending on what kind of protein and other things you add to a pre-mix. But it is important to know the nutritional information for the ingredients in the pre-mix before you add your own ingredients. We really hope that Dr. Harvey’s will add this information to their web site, whether they have AAFCO approval or not.

Complete Diet

Dr. Harvey’s has one product line that provides a complete diet for dogs and that’s Oracle Freeze-Dried Complete Diet for Dogs. Oracle comes in both grain free and with grain options. You can choose from chicken, grain free chicken, tripe and grain free tripe, beef and grain free beef. These foods are AAFCO-approved for all life stages. As with the pre-mixes, you just add water to feed them to your dog.

These freeze-dried raw diets are minimally processed. They contain no salt, sugar, or by-products. They use no preservatives or chemical additives. They feature freeze-dried raw USDA meats.

Oracle Grain-Free Chicken Formula for Dogs

Min. Crude Protein: 41.0%

Min. Crude Fat: 12.0%

Max. Crude Fiber: 5.0%

Max. Moisture: 7.0%

First five ingredients: Freeze-Dried Chicken, Whole Egg, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Calcium Citrate

Oracle Chicken Formula for Dogs

Min. Crude Protein: 32.0%

Min. Crude Fat: 10.0%

Max. Crude Fiber: 10.0%

Max. Moisture: 8.0%

First five ingredients: Freeze-Dried Chicken, Whole Egg, Rolled Oats, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots

Oracle Grain-Free Beef Formula for Dogs

Min. Crude Protein: 42.0%

Min. Crude Fat: 13.0%

Max. Crude Fiber: 5.0%

Max. Moisture: 7.0%

First five ingredients: Freeze-Dried Beef, Whole Egg, Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots

Oracle Beef Formula for Dogs

Min. Crude Protein: 31.0%

Min. Crude Fat: 10.0%

Max. Crude Fiber: 10.0%

Max. Moisture: 8.0%

First five ingredients: Freeze-Dried Beef, Whole Egg, Rolled Oats, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots

Oracle Grain-Free Tripe Formula for Dogs

Min. Crude Protein: 26.0%

Min. Crude Fat: 19.0%

Max. Crude Fiber: 5.0%

Max. Moisture: 10.0%

First five ingredients: Tripe, Whole Egg, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Flax Seed Meal

Oracle Tripe Formula for Dogs

Min. Crude Protein: 22.0%

Min. Crude Fat: 14.0%

Max. Crude Fiber: 4.0%

Max. Moisture: 10.0%

First five ingredients: Tripe, Whole Egg, Rolled Oats, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots

Unfortunately, we don’t have calorie figures for these foods. Overall, the foods look very good. The foods do have chelated/proteinated minerals and added vitamins so, if you wanted to be extremely picky, you could question whether they have added chemicals or not, but that would be exceptionally picky. Otherwise, dog lovers would just need to check the labels carefully to make sure the foods don’t contain any ingredients that their dogs might be allergic or sensitive to. The foods do contain a lot of herbs and vegetables, including sweet potatoes. Some of the foods contain whole eggs and eggs are one of the most frequent causes of dog food allergies.

Dr. Harvey’s Oracle Grain-Free Tripe Formula for Dogs Review

Dr. Harvey’s Oracle Grain Free Tripe Formula for Dogs is a freeze-dried raw complete diet. It is AAFCO-approved for all life stages. Like other Dr. Harvey’s foods, it uses human grade ingredients, no preservatives, dyes, or synthetic ingredients. And it has no salt, sugar, wheat, or soy. The grain free tripe formula is sold in bags that are 3-ounces, 3 pounds, and 6 pounds.

The first five ingredients in this food are Tripe, Whole Egg, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, and Flax Seed Meal. If you’re not familiar with tripe, it is made from the stomach of farm animals, usually cows but sometimes pigs, sheep or goats. Tripe has been a popular food for dogs for centuries if you check old books on what to feed dogs. Most dogs love tripe. Raw tripe has a reputation for smelling bad and it’s true. If you buy the real thing – green tripe – it does smell bad. The white, bleached tripe you usually find in grocery stores has already had the nutrients washed away so it won’t smell bad but it’s not really what you want for your dog either. Freeze-dried raw tripe should keep the benefits of raw tripe without the really awful odor. Your dog should enjoy the taste. From a nutritional point of view (and assuming this is tripe from a cow), tripe is about 61 percent protein and 39 percent fat. It’s a good source of Zinc, and a very good source of Vitamin B12 and Selenium.

Whole eggs are a great animal source of protein. They are considered to have the best bioavailability of any source of protein meaning that your dog can digest more of the protein in an egg than from any other source. Eggs are 35 percent protein, 2 percent carbs, and 63 percent fat. They are a good source of Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Selenium. Not to worry about biotin in whole eggs for your dog – the avidin in whole eggs balances it out. Again, chicken eggs are one of the most frequently cited triggers for food allergies in dogs so if your dog can’t eat eggs, you may need to look at another food.

The third ingredient in this food is sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are 6 percent protein, 1 percent fat, and 93 percent carbohydrates. They are an excellent source of dietary fiber, Vitamin B6 and Potassium, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Manganese. They are also a source of beta-carotene. Most dogs can eat sweet potatoes without difficulty. Although they look similar to potatoes, they are not really related to them. For that matter, yams and sweet potatoes are also different from each other.

The fourth ingredient in this food is carrots. Like sweet potatoes, carrots are high in beta-carotene which is converted to Vitamin A after it is digested. Carrots are 6 percent protein, 5 percent fat, and 89 percent carbohydrates. They are a good source of Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate and Manganese, and a very good source of dietary fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Potassium. Many dogs enjoy carrots as treats.

The fifth ingredient in this food is flax seed meal. Flax seed is often used as a plant source of omega-3 fatty acid in dog food. It is also high in omega-6 fatty acids. It has 12 percent protein, 22 percent carbohydrates, and 66 percent fat. Flax seed meal is a good source of Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of dietary fiber, Thiamin and Manganese.

Other ingredients of interest in this food include Dried Yeast – this could be one of several kinds of yeast that is sometimes used in dog food; Lecithin – dietary fat that is often added to dog foods to help skin and coat, among other things; Rosemary Extract – a natural preservative; Mixed Tocopherols – forms of vitamin E – preservatives.

Dr. Harvey’s Oracle Grain-Free Tripe Formula for Dogs looks like a very good dog food and the ingredients look very good. However, we think it is going too far to say that there are no preservatives in the food when rosemary and mixed tocopherols are clearly preservatives. The food also contains added vitamins and chelated minerals. That’s fine. Many excellent dog foods contain these ingredients. But you cannot claim that your food is only whole food when you add these other ingredients.

We do not have calorie information for Dr. Harvey’s Oracle Grain-Free Tripe Formula for Dogs.

Nutrition Statement
AAFCO complete and balanced for all life stages.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS

Min. Crude Protein: 26.0%

Min. Crude Fat: 19.0%

Max. Crude Fiber: 5.0%

Max. Moisture: 10.0%

The dry matter basis (DMB) figures for this food are: protein 28.9 percent; fat 21.1 percent; fiber 5.6 percent; carbohydrates 36.7 percent.

This food has above average protein and high fat compared to most super premium dog foods. The fiber content is also slightly above average for most kibbles; and the carb percentage is moderate compared to many grain free dog foods.

We think that Dr. Harvey’s Oracle Grain-Free Tripe Formula for Dogs looks like a good food for dogs that can eat a dog food that has good protein and a higher fat percentage. A dog that needs to gain weight might benefit from eating this food. Since the fat percentage is on the high side, you might wish to consider one of the other Oracle foods which have a lower fat content. Or, you might use this food in a rotation and only feed it occasionally. Dogs do love tripe and we think that most dogs would enjoy this food but it should probably be fed in moderation.

How would you rate Dr. Harvey’s?

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Where can you buy Dr. Harvey’s dog food?

You can buy Dr. Harvey’s dog foods on Chewy.com and other online pet food sites. You can also check the Dr. Harvey’s web site to see where to buy their foods online and from retail stores (bottom left of the page).

Final Thoughts

We think that Dr. Harvey’s complete food line – Oracle – looks good. The ingredients look very good and most dogs will probably love these freeze-dried raw foods. These are very expensive foods so if you are interested in feeding any of them, it’s a good idea to get some small samples first (3-ounce bags are $3.50) to see if you like making the food and which foods your dog likes best. We don’t like the pre-mixes nearly as much as the complete food line. So, Oracle – recommended. Pre-mixes – we have a hard time recommending pre-mixes that don’t have AAFCO approval. We really wish that Dr. Harvey’s would provide nutritional information about the pre-mixes. It’s hard to just pour something in a bowl for your dog, toss in some meat and water, and not ask questions about what you are feeding your dog. The whole purpose of choosing better foods for your dog involves knowing more about what you are feeding him so he can be healthier. For that reason we give Dr. Harvey’s as an overall brand 4-stars and the Oracle line of foods 5-stars.

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