A Pup Above vs. The Farmer's Dog: How the Fresh Dog Food Compares

Short answer: Both brands sell gently cooked, human-grade dog food, but they're built around different decisions. A Pup Above sells a fixed menu of seven recipes, in two sizes, that you buy as a one-time purchase or subscription, and it's also sold in pet specialty retail stores. The Farmer's Dog sells a personalized meal plan, quoted after a questionnaire about your dog, delivered only by direct-to-consumer subscription in two serving styles: refrigerated Frozen Fresh and shelf-stable Instant Fresh.¹ Below is what's verifiably different, sourced from each brand's own site.

At a glance

	A Pup Above	The Farmer's Dog
Cooking method	Sous-vide cooked, human-grade, in a USDA-certified facility2	Gently cooked at low temperatures in human food facilities; Frozen Fresh is then quickly frozen, Instant Fresh is dried with a proprietary low-heat process3
Format	Fresh, frozen	Fresh, frozen (Frozen Fresh) or shelf-stable, dried (Instant Fresh)3
Recipe lineup	7 fixed recipes: Chicka Chicka Bow Wow (chicken), Texas Beef Stew (beef), Porky's Luau (pork), Turkey Pawella (turkey), Turducken (turkey, duck, chicken), Fish Gone Wild (fish), and a dedicated Puppy Recipe4	Multiple recipes built from beef, chicken, turkey and pork, in grain-free and grain-inclusive versions; exact names aren't published, assigned per plan5
How you order	Pick a recipe and size yourself: 3 lb x 2 bags or 7 lb x 2 bags	Complete a questionnaire (breed, age, weight, activity level); recipes and portions are recommended for you6
Pricing structure	Fixed box price by recipe and size, $75.98-$87.98 for the 3 lb x 2 size; one-time purchase or a subscription plan at a discount7	Personalized quote; plans "start at about $2/day," delivery every 1 week to 2 months, free shipping8
Where to buy	apupabove.com, plus pet specialty retail stores via the site's store locator	Direct-to-consumer subscription only; no retail distribution mentioned on the brand's site9
Shipping	Ships to the 48 contiguous states, packed with dry ice to stay frozen in transit10	Ships to the 48 contiguous states11
If the dog won't eat it	Tail Wags Guarantee: money back on a first-time order of a qualifying recipe, capped at the 3lb best-sellers pack value12	Additional recipes to try, or a refund if you donate the unused food to a shelter13

How is each food cooked?

A Pup Above cooks every recipe sous-vide rather than extruding it the way kibble is made, in a USDA-certified human food facility, and adds real bone broth to each formula.² The Farmer's Dog states that its recipes are "gently cooked at low temperatures according to human-grade standards" in human food facilities as well.³ The two brands describe the same broad category, fresh, gently cooked food, but only A Pup Above's public copy names sous-vide specifically as the process; The Farmer's Dog doesn't publish an equivalent process name for Frozen Fresh beyond "gently cooked." Its Instant Fresh line uses a separate, proprietary drying step to make that version shelf-stable, which is a real processing difference between the two serving styles it sells, not a claim about which is better.³

What recipes and formats does each offer?

A Pup Above's frozen fresh lineup is seven named recipes, each available in a 3 lb or 7 lb size (sold as two bags per box): Chicka Chicka Bow Wow, Texas Beef Stew, Porky's Luau, Turkey Pawella, Turducken, Fish Gone Wild, and a dedicated Puppy Recipe.⁴ You choose the recipe and size directly on the product page.

The Farmer's Dog doesn't sell recipes à la carte. It builds a plan from beef, chicken, turkey and pork proteins, with grain-free and grain-inclusive options, and offers two serving styles: Frozen Fresh (refrigerated or frozen, thaws in about 12 hours) and Instant Fresh (shelf-stable, mixed with water before serving).⁵¹⁴ Individual recipe names for a given plan aren't published outside the signup flow, since assignment depends on the dog's profile.

How is each one priced, and how do you buy it?

A Pup Above's pricing is transparent and fixed before checkout: the 3 lb x 2 size runs $75.98-$87.98 depending on recipe, and the 7 lb x 2 size scales from there. You can buy once or set up a subscription, which applies a discount at checkout.⁷ There's no questionnaire required to see a price.

The Farmer's Dog doesn't publish flat prices. It quotes a plan after you answer questions about your dog's breed, age, weight and activity level, and says plans "start at about $2/day," with delivery cycles between one week and two months of food and free shipping included.⁸ That structure makes an apples-to-apples per-day comparison hard to state precisely without running the same dog's numbers through both, since A Pup Above's box price is public and fixed while The Farmer's Dog's per-day figure depends on the individual plan.

Where does each one ship, and can you buy it in stores?

Both brands ship to the 48 contiguous states.¹⁰¹¹ The difference is retail: A Pup Above is also sold through pet specialty retail stores, findable through the store locator on apupabove.com, in addition to direct ordering online. The Farmer's Dog's own site describes delivery exclusively through its subscription service, with no retail locations mentioned.

What happens if my dog doesn't like it?

A Pup Above backs a first-time order with its Tail Wags Guarantee: a money-back guarantee on a qualifying recipe, capped at the value of the 3lb best-sellers pack.¹² The Farmer's Dog's policy, per its own FAQ, is to send additional recipes to try, or to issue a refund if you donate the unused food to a shelter.¹³ Both are real satisfaction policies; they just work differently, and it's worth reading each brand's current terms before you order, since policies can change.

Which one should I choose?

If you want to see the exact recipe and exact price before you buy, and you'd rather not fill out a plan questionnaire, A Pup Above's fixed menu is the more direct path, and it's the only one of the two sold in physical retail stores as well as online. If you want a plan built around your dog's specific profile with portioning done for you, and you're comfortable with a subscription-only relationship, The Farmer's Dog's model is built for that. Either way, both are gently cooked, human-grade options, not a fresh-versus-kibble decision.

FAQ

Is A Pup Above cheaper than The Farmer's Dog? It depends on your dog's size and which recipe you choose. A Pup Above's box prices are fixed and published ($75.98-$87.98 for a 3 lb x 2 box), while The Farmer's Dog quotes a personalized daily price starting around $2/day.⁷⁸ Comparing the two for your specific dog means running your dog's weight and activity level through The Farmer's Dog's questionnaire and comparing that quote to A Pup Above's published box prices for the size you'd need.

Does A Pup Above require a subscription like The Farmer's Dog? No. A Pup Above can be bought as a one-time purchase or as a subscription with a discount, your choice.⁷ The Farmer's Dog is subscription-only.⁸

Can I buy A Pup Above or The Farmer's Dog in a pet store? A Pup Above is sold online and through pet specialty retail stores; check the store locator on apupabove.com for locations near you. The Farmer's Dog's own site describes direct-to-consumer subscription delivery only, with no retail locations listed.

Are both foods human-grade? Both brands describe their food as human-grade, made in human food facilities. A Pup Above's recipes are sous-vide cooked in a USDA-certified facility;² The Farmer's Dog states its meals are gently cooked at low temperatures according to human-grade standards.³

Does The Farmer's Dog offer a shelf-stable option? Yes. Alongside its refrigerated Frozen Fresh line, The Farmer's Dog sells Instant Fresh, a shelf-stable version dried using a proprietary low-heat process that doesn't require refrigeration.³

What if my dog won't eat the food I ordered? A Pup Above offers the Tail Wags Guarantee on a first-time order of a qualifying recipe, capped at the 3lb best-sellers pack value.¹² The Farmer's Dog offers additional recipes to try or a refund if you donate the unused food to a shelter.¹³

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Sources

1. The Farmer's Dog, Frequently Asked Questions, thefarmersdog.com/faq, retrieved 2026-09-17. ↩
2. A Pup Above product page schema and FAQ, apupabove.com/products/fresh-dog-food, retrieved 2026-09-17. ↩
3. The Farmer's Dog, Frequently Asked Questions ("What does fresh mean to The Farmer's Dog?"), thefarmersdog.com/faq, retrieved 2026-09-17. ↩
4. A Pup Above product page structured data, apupabove.com/products/fresh-dog-food, retrieved 2026-09-17. ↩
5. The Farmer's Dog, Frequently Asked Questions ("What types of recipes do you offer?" and "Do you have novel proteins?"), thefarmersdog.com/faq, retrieved 2026-09-17. ↩
6. The Farmer's Dog, Frequently Asked Questions (plan customization by breed, age, activity level, ideal weight), thefarmersdog.com/faq, retrieved 2026-09-17. ↩
7. A Pup Above product page pricing and subscription options, apupabove.com/products/fresh-dog-food, retrieved 2026-09-17. ↩
8. The Farmer's Dog, Frequently Asked Questions ("How much does it cost?"), thefarmersdog.com/faq, retrieved 2026-09-17. ↩
9. The Farmer's Dog, Frequently Asked Questions and thefarmersdog.com/our-food, retrieved 2026-09-17; no retail distribution is described on the brand's own site. ↩
10. A Pup Above product FAQ ("Where do you ship, and how does the food arrive?"), apupabove.com/products/fresh-dog-food, retrieved 2026-09-17. ↩
11. The Farmer's Dog, Frequently Asked Questions ("Do you ship nationwide?"), thefarmersdog.com/faq, retrieved 2026-09-17. ↩
12. A Pup Above product FAQ ("What if my dog won't eat it?"), apupabove.com/products/fresh-dog-food, retrieved 2026-09-17. ↩
13. The Farmer's Dog, Frequently Asked Questions ("What if my dog doesn't like the food?"), thefarmersdog.com/faq, retrieved 2026-09-17. ↩
14. The Farmer's Dog, Frequently Asked Questions (packaging, thaw time, and "Do I need to cook the food?"), thefarmersdog.com/faq, retrieved 2026-09-17. ↩