How to Store, Thaw and Serve Fresh Dog Food

The safest way to thaw A Pup Above fresh dog food is in the refrigerator: move a sealed patty from the freezer to the fridge and give it roughly 24 hours to fully thaw. If you're in a hurry, submerge the sealed patty in cold water and change the water every 30 minutes instead.¹ Either way, never thaw on the counter or in hot water, and once a patty is opened, plan to feed it within 5 to 7 days.²

Defrosting and freezer space are the most-mentioned logistics objections in A Pup Above's own customer feedback, showing up in 41 of 1,212 approved reviews, and delivery or thaw issues are a recurring theme among the small number of 3-star-and-under reviews.³ None of that is unique to A Pup Above; it's simply what comes with feeding a frozen, real-food product. This guide covers exactly how to thaw it, how long it keeps, what freezer space to actually plan for, and what to do the moment a box lands on your porch.

How Do You Thaw Fresh Dog Food?

Two methods work well. Which one to use depends on how much time you have.

Refrigerator thawing (recommended). Move a sealed 1-pound patty from the freezer to the fridge and let it thaw there, usually within 24 hours. This is the method the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends for frozen meat generally, because the food stays at a safe temperature, below 40°F, the entire time it thaws.¹ It also fits naturally into a feeding routine: pull tomorrow's patty out tonight.

Cold water thawing (faster). If you forgot to plan ahead, submerge the sealed, vacuum-packed patty in a bowl of cold tap water. Change the water every 30 minutes to keep it cold, since sitting water warms toward room temperature and slows the whole point of the method.¹ A 1-pound patty typically softens enough to serve within an hour or two this way.

What to avoid. Don't thaw on the counter, and don't use hot water or a microwave. Bacteria that can be present in any raw or perishable food multiply fastest between 40°F and 140°F, doubling in as little as 20 minutes at room temperature, which is exactly the range a counter or a microwave pushes food through unevenly.⁴ Because A Pup Above's recipes are already gently cooked and ready to serve, there's no cooking step afterward to offset an uneven microwave thaw the way there would be with raw meat, so the fridge or cold water are the two methods worth using.

What Should You Do the Moment Your Delivery Arrives?

Check that it arrived cold, move it into the freezer that same day, and don't feed it if it arrived warm; partial thawing in transit is fine as long as the food is still below 40°F.⁴ For the full explanation of how the food is packaged and kept cold in transit, see how fresh dog food delivery works.

How Long Does Thawed Fresh Dog Food Last in the Fridge?

It depends on whether the patty has been opened.

Storage state	Where it's kept	How long it's good for
Frozen, sealed	Freezer	Until the "best by" date on the bag
Thawed, still vacuum-sealed	Fridge	Up to 14 days2
Thawed and opened	Fridge	5 to 7 days2
Thawed, left out	Countertop	Discard after 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F)4

Each bag holds individually sealed, 1-pound patties, so there's no need to thaw more than one at a time.² That's also what makes the 14-day unopened window useful: if a week's worth of patties finishes thawing at once, they hold safely in the fridge, still sealed, until you actually open and serve them one by one.

How Much Freezer Space Does Fresh Dog Food Actually Take?

Less than a full switch might suggest, and it scales with the dog. A Pup Above ships seven recipes in 3-pound and 7-pound bags, each made up of those same 1-pound patties, so a bag lies flat rather than taking up an awkward, bulky footprint.⁶ How much freezer space a household needs comes down to order size, which comes down to the dog's weight and how often you reorder. A 20-pound dog on a typical plan orders roughly three 7-pound bags every four weeks; an 80-pound dog on a faster cadence might have four 7-pound bags on hand every two weeks.² For exact portions by weight, see how much your dog should eat; that page's chart is the one to plan an order size around.

A few habits make the space go further:

• Keep a few days in the fridge, the rest in the freezer. You don't need the whole order thawed or even accessible at once. Pull out what you'll use in the next few days and leave the rest frozen flat.
• Stack, don't pile. Flat patties stack like tiles far more efficiently than a bag left in its shipping shape.
• Reorder on a cadence that matches your freezer, not just your dog. A subscription's frequency (every 2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks) can be adjusted from your account, so a smaller, more frequent order is a straightforward fix for a small freezer.⁵

Can You Refreeze Fresh Dog Food After Thawing?

It's best to feed it once thawed rather than plan on refreezing. If a patty does need to go back in the freezer, most commonly because more thawed at once than got used, do it quickly, while the food is still cold, not after it's sat out or warmed toward room temperature.² Refreezing something that's been sitting at room temperature isn't safe regardless of the food, since that's exactly the window where bacteria multiply fastest.⁴ Treat A Pup Above's fresh recipes the way you'd treat any real, perishable food you'd eat yourself: once it's warmed up, it doesn't go back in the freezer.

How Do You Serve It Once Thawed?

Straight from the fridge, or warmed slightly if your dog prefers it. No cooking is required; A Pup Above's recipes are gently cooked sous-vide before they ever ship, so defrosting is the only step between the freezer and the bowl.⁵ If a dog prefers warm food, a splash of hot water stirred in raises the temperature without needing a stove or microwave. For exact serving amounts by weight and how often to feed, use the feeding chart; if you're switching from a different food for the first time, the transition guide has the day-by-day schedule for introducing it without upsetting your dog's stomach. Browse the full fresh food collection to compare recipes and bag sizes before you order.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if my box arrives partially thawed?

That's normal and safe to feed, as long as the food is still below 40°F, like something just out of the fridge rather than warm.⁴ Move it to the freezer as soon as you can, and don't feed it if it arrives fully warm with no cold remaining; contact A Pup Above instead. See how fresh dog food delivery works for the packaging and dry-ice details.

Can I microwave fresh dog food to thaw it faster?

It isn't recommended. A microwave thaws unevenly, warming the outside of a patty well past 40°F before the center is even thawed, which is the exact temperature range where bacteria multiply fastest.⁴ The refrigerator or a bowl of cold water, changed every 30 minutes, are both faster and safer choices.¹

How long can thawed dog food sit out at room temperature?

No more than 2 hours, and no more than 1 hour if the room is above 90°F, the same rule that applies to any perishable food left at room temperature.⁴ After that window, it should be discarded rather than fed or refrigerated.

Do I need a chest freezer to feed fresh food?

No. The individually sealed, 1-pound patties are designed to fit into a standard freezer's existing space, especially if you keep only a few days' worth thawed in the fridge at a time and leave the rest flat in the freezer.² A chest freezer helps a multi-dog household with a large order, but it isn't a requirement to start.

Can I keep a patty in the fridge instead of the freezer if I know I'll use it soon?

Yes, within the storage windows above: up to 14 days for a patty that's thawed but still sealed, or 5 to 7 days once it's opened.² That makes the fridge a fine short-term home for whatever you'll serve in the next one to two weeks; the freezer is for anything beyond that.

What if I forgot to move my delivery to the freezer the day it arrived?

Check the food's temperature before feeding it. If it's still frozen or cold to the touch, below 40°F, it's fine; move it to the freezer now. If it's warmed past that point and no longer cold, treat it the same as any perishable food left out too long and don't feed it.⁴

Sources

1. "Freezing and Food Safety," U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/freezing-and-food-safety ↩
2. A Pup Above product and FAQ pages, live as of 2026-09-17: patty size (1 pound, individually vacuum-sealed), fridge life once opened (5-7 days) and unopened (14 days), and refreezing guidance, at https://apupabove.com/products/fresh-dog-food and https://apupabove.com/pages/faqs ↩
3. A Pup Above verified customer review data via Okendo, pulled 2026-08-13: 41 of 1,212 approved reviews reference defrosting or freezer space. Among the 29 approved reviews rated 3 stars or below, delivery/thaw incidents are one of the recurring themes, alongside the dog refusing or getting bored (6 of the 29), one recipe's smell, and price; no exact count is broken out for delivery/thaw specifically. ↩
4. "'Danger Zone' (40°F - 140°F)," U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/danger-zone-40f-140f ↩
5. A Pup Above FAQ page, "Packaging and Delivery" section, live as of 2026-09-17: https://apupabove.com/pages/faqs ↩
6. A Pup Above Fresh Dog Food product page, live as of 2026-09-17: seven recipes (Chicka Chicka Bow Wow, Porky's Luau, Texas Beef Stew, Turkey Pawella, Turducken Recipe, Fish Gone Wild, Puppy Recipe), each in 3lb and 7lb bags: https://apupabove.com/products/fresh-dog-food ↩