Day one
2.47×
consumption ratio, DASH to Farmer’s Dog
- 423.8g DASH vs 171.7g Farmer’s Dog, per dog on average
- First choice split evenly: 10 of 20 dogs went to each bowl first
- Already statistically significant (p = 0.0001)
Independent palatability study
17 of 20 dogs preferred DASH Beef
Head to head against The Farmer’s Dog Beef. Two bowls, two days, twenty dogs choosing for themselves, in a study run by an independent third-party facility.
17
Preferred DASH
of 20 dogs tested
0
Preferred Farmer’s Dog
of 20 dogs tested
3
No preference
of 20 dogs tested
Preference was scored on the study’s own rule: a dog counted as preferring a diet only if it ate that diet at a 2:1 ratio or better over the other. The three dogs who did not clear that bar for either bowl were scored as no preference.
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Why we ran it
Every fresh brand tells you how the food is made. The question you actually have is whether your dog will eat it.
Human grade. Gently cooked. Vet formulated. Real ingredients you can see. Every fresh dog food says a version of it, including us.
None of it answers the question you are asking on the first night, standing in the kitchen with a full bowl and a dog who has already walked away twice this month. Will he eat this one?
We could not answer that with our own marketing. So we paid an independent, USDA-registered testing facility to settle it the only way that counts: put our beef next to The Farmer’s Dog Beef, put both bowls down at the same time, and count what the dogs did.
What the dogs actually ate
82.4% of everything eaten was DASH
Twenty dogs ate 20,018 grams of food across the two days. 16,500 grams of it was DASH Beef. 3,518 grams was The Farmer’s Dog Beef.
82.4%
17.6%
- DASH Beef consumed
- The Farmer’s Dog Beef consumed
4.69×
as much DASH Beef was eaten as The Farmer’s Dog Beef across the two days of the study.
- DASH Beef eaten
- 16,500g
- Farmer’s Dog eaten
- 3,518g
- Statistically significant
- p < 0.001
The difference in consumption was statistically significant under both tests the facility ran: a Wilcoxon Signed Rank test (p = 0.0001) and a two-way analysis of variance (F = 160.828, p < 0.0001).
Source: Study #DDFPALC00126, conducted September 10–11, 2026 by an independent third-party facility and sponsored by DASH Dog Food. Figures reflect total gram-for-gram consumption among the 20 Beagles in this two-day study of DASH Beef and The Farmer’s Dog Beef only. Not a claim about all dogs, all DASH products or all The Farmer’s Dog products.
Day by day
On day one they split on which bowl to try first. By day two, all twenty went to DASH first.
DASH was ahead on consumption from the very first session. What changed between day one and day two was which bowl the dogs walked to first.
Day two
95.5×
consumption ratio, DASH to Farmer’s Dog
- 401.3g DASH vs just 4.2g Farmer’s Dog, per dog on average
- First choice: all 20 of 20 dogs went to the DASH bowl
- Statistically significant (p < 0.0001)
First to the bowl
Day one
10 of 20 chose DASH first
Day two
20 of 20 chose DASH first
Ten dogs walked to The Farmer’s Dog bowl first on day one. Not one of them did it again on day two.
Two different measures, so the numbers will not match. The 17 of 20 at the top of this page is preference, scored on how much each dog ate across both days against the study’s 2:1 rule. The 10 and the 20 here are first choice: simply the bowl a dog walked to first that day. A dog can go to one bowl first and still eat more out of the other.
One thing worth flagging ourselves: on day two both diets were offered in equal 400-gram portions, down from roughly 454 grams on day one, because the facility had a limited supply of The Farmer’s Dog product available for testing. This changes the portion size offered, not the direction of the result.
Source: Study #DDFPALC00126, Daily Consumption Summary and Daily First Choice Counts, September 10–11, 2026. Figures reflect this two-day study of DASH Beef and The Farmer’s Dog Beef only; not a claim about all dogs, all DASH products or all The Farmer’s Dog products.
How the study worked
A simple, transparent test
No tricks. Two bowls, two days, and twenty dogs choosing for themselves. Here is exactly how it was run, so you can decide for yourself what it is worth.
- 20 male and female Beagles took part in the study
- Conducted over two days, September 10–11, 2026
- DASH Beef tested head to head against The Farmer’s Dog Beef
- Two bowls offered once daily, one of each diet
- Bowl placement reversed each day to rule out side bias
- Both bowls presented for 30 minutes per session
- Consumption and first choice recorded for every dog
- Conducted by an independent third-party facility, USDA registered
About the study
- Study name
- Canine Preference Results, DASH Slow Cooked Beef vs. The Farmer’s Dog
- Study number
- DDFPALC00126
- Dates of performance
- September 10–11, 2026
- Conducted by
- Independent third-party testing facility, USDA registered
- Sponsored by
- DASH Dog Food
- Products tested
- DASH Beef vs. The Farmer’s Dog Beef only
- Sample size
- 20 dogs, two-day feeding trial
We paid for this study. We are also publishing the method, the sample size, the scoring rule and the full numbers, including the three dogs who had no preference, so you can weigh it accordingly.
Why we think it went that way
We can’t prove why. We can show you what’s in the bowl.
This study measured what the dogs ate. It did not measure why, and we are not going to pretend it did. What we can tell you is what we do, and what we are willing to put in writing.
- Sous-vide cooked at 165°F to lock in nutrients. We cook it slow, and we publish the number.
- 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef, with beef heart and beef liver in the recipe. No antibiotics ever, no added hormones.
- Complete and balanced. Vet-formulated and tested to meet AAFCO standards, so a bowl your dog wants to eat is also a bowl that feeds him properly.
The honest part
Your dog is not a Beagle in a study
Twenty dogs in a controlled room over two days is a real result, and it is still twenty dogs in a controlled room over two days.
It tells you something useful. It does not tell you what your dog will do on Tuesday night in your kitchen. Nobody can tell you that.
So we made it cost nothing to find out. Order the first box, put the bowl down, and watch. If your dog does not love it, we refund the first order and you send nothing back. Not the packs, not the box, nothing.
The Better Bowl Guarantee
A 100% money-back guarantee on your first box. If your dog does not love it, contact us for a full refund. No return necessary.
Run the test yourself
See what your dog does with the bowl
Your first box
8 lbs
of fresh food, portioned to your dog
- Sous-vide cooked at 165°F
- Portioned to your dog’s size, age and activity
- Transition guide included
- Pause, adjust or cancel anytime
- Money back if your dog will not eat it, with nothing to send back
Two-minute quiz. Free shipping on your first box.
The questions we would ask
Fair challenges to this study
You paid for the study. Why should I believe it?
You should weigh it knowing that, which is why we say it up front instead of in a footnote. What we can offer is transparency: the facility was independent and USDA registered, the study has a number (DDFPALC00126) and dates, the scoring rule is published, the sample size is small and stated, the three dogs with no preference are counted in the headline, and the full report goes to anyone who emails support@dashdogfood.com and asks for it. Read it and disagree with us if you want to.
Twenty dogs is a small study.
It is, and two days is a short one. This was a palatability test, not a nutrition trial, and it is not designed to prove anything about health outcomes. It answers a narrow question: offered both bowls at once, which one do dogs go to and finish. On that question the difference was statistically significant on both tests the facility ran.
Why Beagles? My dog is not a Beagle.
The study used a panel of 20 Beagles at the testing facility, which keeps the dogs as alike as possible so the food is what changes. It also means the honest read of this result is a comparison between two foods, not a prediction about your specific dog. That is exactly why the first box is refundable.
Does this mean my dog will prefer DASH?
No, and we are not going to claim it. Individual dogs vary, this study covered one DASH recipe and one competitor recipe, and your kitchen is not a test facility. What it means is that when twenty dogs were given a straight choice between these two beef recipes, the result was one sided. The only way to know about your dog is to put the bowl down, which is what the money-back guarantee on the first box is for.
What about nutrition, not just taste?
This study measured palatability only. It says nothing about nutrition, health outcomes or veterinary endorsement, and it is not a claim about any of them. Separately, every DASH recipe is vet-formulated and tested to meet AAFCO standards for complete and balanced nutrition, and the full ingredients and guaranteed analysis are on our product page.
Can I see the actual report?
Yes. Email support@dashdogfood.com and ask for Study #DDFPALC00126 and we will send the complete report, including the daily consumption summary and the first-choice counts that the numbers on this page come from.
Build my dog’s box
Money back on your first box if your dog will not eat it
Study disclosure: Study #DDFPALC00126, “Canine Preference Results, DASH Slow Cooked Beef vs. The Farmer’s Dog,” was conducted September 10–11, 2026 by an independent, USDA-registered third-party testing facility and was sponsored by DASH Dog Food. It compared DASH Beef and The Farmer’s Dog Beef only, in a controlled palatability setting with 20 Beagles over two days. Preference was determined using the study’s 2:1 consumption-ratio criterion (Intake Ratio ≥ 0.6667). Results reflect preference and consumption specific to this study and these two products. They are not a claim about nutrition, health outcomes, veterinary endorsement, all DASH products, all The Farmer’s Dog products, or all dogs. Individual dogs’ preferences may vary. The complete study report is available on request. The Farmer’s Dog is a trademark of its respective owner and is referenced here for comparison only.