What's in Marleybones Dog Food?
At a glance
- Every Marleybones meal is 60% named meat or fish, listed first on the label
- Three vegetables per recipe provide most of the carbohydrate and fibre; in Chic Chicken and Sassy Salmon, one of the three is whole peas at 4%
- Seven superfoods appear in every meal, including quinoa, chia seeds and chicory root
- The recipes are grain-free: no wheat, maize, rice, barley, oats or buckwheat
- No artificial preservatives, colours or flavourings, and no fillers or meat derivatives
There are around twelve ingredients in a Marleybones meal, and you would recognise all of them. That is deliberate: each one is there to do a specific job.
What is actually in a Marleybones meal?
The structure is the same across all four recipes: 60% named meat or fish, three vegetables, seven superfoods, and the vitamins and minerals that make the food nutritionally complete.
What changes between recipes is the protein, one vegetable and the herb. Boss Beef and Lush Lamb use sweet potato; Chic Chicken and Sassy Salmon use peas.
There is no catch-all category at the bottom of the label. Nothing is in the food that is not on the list, and every composition is published in full with percentages on each product page.
How much meat is in Marleybones food?
Sixty per cent, in every recipe, and it is the first ingredient in all four.
Ingredients on any pet food label are listed by weight, heaviest first, so position matters. At 60%, the meat is not a headline ingredient sitting above a cheaper base. It is the majority of the food.
Every recipe is single-protein: chicken, beef, lamb or fish. In Sassy Salmon, the 60% is salmon at 42% and white fish at 18%.
Labels are legally allowed to say "meat and animal derivatives", which can cover several species and change between production runs. If your dog reacts to something, a named protein is the only way to identify what. Understanding how ingredient names work on a label makes this much easier to judge for yourself.
What vegetables are in Marleybones?
Three in every recipe: carrots and broccoli across the whole range, then sweet potato in Boss Beef and Lush Lamb, or peas in Chic Chicken and Sassy Salmon.
Carrots are the largest at 6.5%, listed straight after the meat or fish on every label. Broccoli sits lower, at 1.3%.
The vegetables provide most of the carbohydrate and carry fibre. They go in whole rather than as a processed starch, and because they cook inside the sealed carton they soften into the meal, so you will see fewer distinct vegetable pieces than in some other foods.
Why are there peas in Marleybones?
Peas are one of three vegetables in two Marleybones recipes. Chic Chicken and Sassy Salmon contain whole peas at 4%, listed after 60% chicken or fish and 6.5% carrots. Boss Beef and Lush Lamb use sweet potato instead.
Peas are legumes, which is why some owners ask whether they belong in dog food at all. They have long been part of dog food. The US Food and Drug Administration, which looked into certain grain-free diets from 2018, says legumes "have been used in pet foods for many years, with no evidence to indicate they are inherently dangerous". Its concern was grain-free diets that use peas and lentils in greater proportion than most grain-containing recipes. In Marleybones, peas go in whole, cooked as a vegetable, at 4% of a recipe built on 60% meat or fish first.
Pea protein is a different ingredient: a concentrate milled from yellow split peas with the starch and fibre removed, used to lift the protein figure on a label without adding meat. No Marleybones recipe contains it.
What are the seven superfoods in Marleybones?
Quinoa, chia seeds, linseeds, hemp seeds, chicory root, yucca, and a herb that changes by recipe.
Quinoa is the largest at 3%. It is a seed rather than a true grain, which is what keeps the recipes grain-free, and it is a complete protein: it contains all the essential amino acids on its own. Ours is grown in Essex.
Chia seeds and linseeds are plant sources of omega-3, and both add fibre.
Hemp seeds provide protein and fatty acids in a reasonably balanced ratio.
Chicory root is a prebiotic, rich in inulin. Rather than adding bacteria to the gut, it feeds the bacteria already there.
Yucca is included to help reduce stool odour.
The herb is sage in Chic Chicken, rosemary in Boss Beef and Lush Lamb, and parsley in Sassy Salmon.
What does Marleybones not use?
No artificial colours, flavourings or preservatives. No wheat, maize, rice, barley, oats or buckwheat. No soya, no meat derivatives, no fillers, and no added sugar or salt.
Grain-free does not mean low-carbohydrate: dogs digest carbohydrate perfectly well. It means the carbohydrate comes from vegetables and quinoa rather than cereals. That is a formulation choice rather than a health claim.
Checking any other food against the terms worth watching for on an ingredients panel takes a minute once you know them.
Does Marleybones use buckwheat?
No. Buckwheat is not used as an ingredient in any Marleybones recipe, in the meals or the treats.
Quinoa is the only seed of that type in our food, at 3% across all four meals.
How is Marleybones kept fresh without preservatives?
Meals are sealed raw and slow-cooked in-pack, making them shelf-stable without any preservatives and ready to serve straight from the carton. They are gently cooked at an average temperature of 89°C.
Nothing can get in once the carton is sealed, so nothing needs to be added to stop the food spoiling. It is the same principle used for premium baby food.
Most fresh dog food is frozen because freezing is the preservation method, and the different fresh food formats each carry their own trade-offs. Marleybones meals are Pantry Fresh® and shelf-stable, stored in a cupboard until opened, with no freezing or thawing at any point.
Why does Marleybones look different from other dog food?
Marleybones looks different because of how the recipes are formulated and cooked, and a different look is not a sign of lower-quality ingredients.
The difference looks bigger if your dog has been eating canned food, because fresh food and conventional wet food are made in different ways, from the ingredients to the cooking.
Every meal is 60% freshly prepared meat or fish, with vegetables, seeds and superfoods at levels chosen for nutritional purpose rather than colour. We don't add extra carrot or cabbage just to make the bowl look more colourful. Carrot is the largest vegetable at 6.5%, and chia, linseed and hemp go in at under 1% each, so the meal looks less colourful than foods heavy in visible vegetables.
The texture comes from the cooking method. The ingredients are sealed raw and slow-cooked in-pack, rather than cooked and then assembled as some other fresh foods are. That gives a softer, more blended texture with fewer visible vegetable pieces, and the meat and vegetables cook in their own juices.
Where do Marleybones ingredients come from?
The food is made in the UK using British ingredients. The fresh meat comes from British farms, and the quinoa is grown in Essex.
A short supply chain means traceability. Fewer intermediaries means we can answer questions about where an ingredient came from, instead of passing the question further down the line.
Are Marleybones meals complete and balanced?
Yes. All four meals are complete foods formulated to FEDIAF guidelines, which means they can be fed as a sole diet with nothing added.
They are complete for all life stages, so the same recipes suit a puppy, an adult and a senior dog. Portion sizes change as your dog grows, but the food itself does not need to.
Every dog is different — build your personalised Marleybones feeding and health plan tailored to your dog's age, size, and health requirements.
Complete and complementary are legally distinct, so check which one is on the label of any food you buy: a complementary food cannot be fed alone without creating deficiencies over time.
What is in Marleybones treats?
The treats follow the same principle as the meals: 60% British meat, then vegetables, fruit and a herb.
Chicken with hawthorn berries, sage and carrot. Lamb with hemp seeds, apple and thyme. Beef with spinach, blackcurrant and rosemary. They are gently air-dried rather than steam-cooked, grain-free, and contain no artificial preservatives, colours or flavourings.
Full compositions are on each product page, as they are for our oils and supplements.
How does Marleybones compare with other dog food brands?
Marleybones gives your dog fresh, gently cooked food with none of the freezer faff. Butternut Box and Different Dog are both fresh frozen, so they need freezer space and time to defrost before serving, while Marleybones goes straight from cupboard to bowl. Years also skips the freezer; Marleybones comes in fully recyclable cartons. Pure Pet Food is dehydrated and mixed with water at mealtimes, while Marleybones is ready to serve as it is. Tails.com is a personalised kibble subscription; a Marleybones plan is portioned to your dog too, built on real ingredients you would recognise.
“Such a relief to see her enjoying her food”
FAQs
What's included with a Marleybones subscription?
A Marleybones subscription includes free 24/7 online vet support, free monthly delivery on orders over £50, a plan portioned to your dog, and savings of up to 25% compared with one-off orders. Subscribers also benefit from cashback on every order and receive ongoing loyalty rewards.
The vet support is included at no extra cost and available at any hour, so you can ask a qualified vet about feeding, portions or anything else about your dog. Plans are built around your dog's size, age and activity, and you can add treats, oils and supplements alongside the meals. You can edit, skip or cancel your plan whenever you need to.
Is quinoa safe for dogs?
Yes. Quinoa is a seed rather than a grain, and it is a complete protein, meaning it contains all the essential amino acids. It also provides fibre, magnesium and iron. It appears at 3% in every Marleybones meal, and ours is grown in Essex.
What does chicory root do in dog food?
Chicory root is a prebiotic. It is rich in inulin, a fibre that feeds the beneficial bacteria already present in a dog's gut rather than introducing new ones. It is one of the better-researched prebiotics in canine nutrition and appears in all four Marleybones recipes.
Is Marleybones grain-free?
Yes. The recipes contain no wheat, maize, rice, barley, oats or buckwheat. The carbohydrate comes from vegetables and quinoa, which is a seed rather than a cereal grain.
Does Marleybones contain buckwheat?
No. Buckwheat is not an ingredient in any Marleybones meal or treat.
Which Marleybones recipes don't contain peas?
Boss Beef and Lush Lamb. Both use sweet potato as the third vegetable in place of peas, alongside carrots and broccoli. Chic Chicken and Sassy Salmon contain whole peas at 4%.
Is Marleybones suitable for puppies and senior dogs?
Yes. All four meals are formulated as complete foods for all life stages, so the same recipes suit a puppy, an adult and a senior dog. Puppies have higher requirements for protein, calcium and phosphorus, which a food complete for adult maintenance only would not meet. What changes with age is the portion size rather than the food.
Are the recipes the same in supermarkets as on subscription?
Yes. There are four recipes in total and they are identical wherever you buy them.
Why does Marleybones publish percentages for so many ingredients?
Pet food labelling law only requires a percentage where an ingredient is highlighted in the product name or marketing. We publish them for nearly every ingredient because a percentage is what makes a label checkable rather than simply descriptive.
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