Petaluma vs. Gather Endless Valley: Comparing Two Plant-Based Dog Foods

By Caroline Buck, Co-founder of Petaluma

Gather Endless Valley and Petaluma both make complete plant-based food for adult dogs, made without chicken, beef, dairy, or egg. The biggest differences between them are how the food is cooked and where its omega-3s come from.

This guide puts Gather's one vegan recipe next to Petaluma's three, using each brand's published numbers. If you are comparing more brands, our ranked guide to plant-based dog food covers the wider field.

What Gather Endless Valley is

Gather is a line of foods from the pet food company Petcurean, and Endless Valley is its vegan recipe for adult dogs. It is a dry kibble formulated to meet AAFCO's adult maintenance profile. Its first ingredients are organic peas, organic barley, organic oats, lentils, and quinoa, according to Gather's product page.

The recipe is soy-free and includes grains. Its guaranteed analysis lists at least 22% protein and 11% fat, with 385 kcal per cup. Omega-3s come from organic flaxseed. A 16 lb bag costs $93.99 at Chewy.

What Petaluma makes

Petaluma makes three complete and balanced recipes, all formulated by veterinary nutritionists and made without animal ingredients.

• Adult Baked Food: our oven-baked Roasted Peanut Butter & Sweet Potato Flavor, built on chickpeas, potato protein, and brewer's yeast. It is soy-free.
• Senior Baked Food: our Baked Pumpkin & Peanut Butter Flavor, made for older dogs with 460 mg of DHA per cup in lab testing. It is also soy-free.
• Whole Food Mixer: our dehydrated Whole Food Mixer, made from whole foods like pumpkin, spinach, oats, and soy protein. You mix it with warm water to serve.

Each recipe has a full lab analysis and a digestibility report from the University of Bologna's veterinary school, linked on our nutrition page. Protein digestibility ranged from 92.6% to 94.7%.

The key differences

How the food is cooked

Gather's product page does not describe its cooking method. Most dry kibble is extruded, which means the dough is cooked under heat and pressure, then pushed through a shaped die. Kibble is then dried at temperatures that can exceed 250°F, according to a Petfood Industry overview of extrusion.

Petaluma's Adult and Senior foods are baked instead. The food rolls through a long convection oven for more than 10 minutes at about 200 to 300°F until the center reaches 165°F. The Whole Food Mixer is a blend of dehydrated whole foods, so you see the pumpkin, carrots, and peas in the bowl.

Where the omega-3s come from

Gather gets its omega-3s from flaxseed, which supplies a plant omega-3 called ALA. Dogs can turn some ALA into DHA, the omega-3 that supports the brain and eyes, but a review in JAVMA found that conversion is limited.

All three Petaluma recipes add marine microalgae, the same algae fish get their DHA from. That puts DHA directly in the bowl, from 95 mg per cup in the Mixer to 460 mg per cup in the Senior recipe. Our article on omega-3 and omega-6 balance explains why both matter.

How much testing each brand publishes

The WSAVA guide to choosing a pet food suggests asking a brand who formulates its food and whether it analyzes the finished product. Gather's product page lists a guaranteed analysis, which gives minimums and maximums. Petaluma publishes the measured nutrients for each recipe, along with its digestibility results.

Protein sources

Gather leans on peas and lentils, while Petaluma's baked recipes combine chickpeas, potato protein, peas, and brewer's yeast. Mixing protein sources helps cover every essential amino acid, as our guide to amino acids in plant-based dog food explains. Gather and Petaluma's baked recipes are all soy-free, and the Whole Food Mixer is the one Petaluma recipe with soy.

Gather Endless Valley vs. Petaluma, side by side

Gather's figures are from Gather's product page. Guaranteed analysis figures are as fed, as printed on each label. Petaluma's DHA and calorie figures come from the lab analyses on our nutrition page. Prices were checked in November 2026 at full retail and change often.

Which one fits your dog

• If your dog does best on kibble: Gather and Petaluma's Adult Baked Food are both soy-free, crunchy foods for adult dogs. Petaluma's adds algae-based DHA and published lab results.
• If you have an older dog: Petaluma's Senior Baked Food is made for that life stage, with 460 mg of DHA per cup. Gather's vegan recipe is formulated for adult maintenance.
• If your dog prefers a softer meal: the Whole Food Mixer is served with warm water and works as a full meal or a topper.

If your dog eats a meat-based food now

Many dogs switching to Gather or Petaluma are coming from a chicken or beef recipe. Dogs need specific nutrients rather than specific ingredients, and a complete plant-based food supplies those nutrients from plants. Our article on whether dogs need meat walks through the research.

Switch gradually over about a week, mixing a little of the new food into the old. Our transition guide has a schedule. Samples of the Adult, Senior, and Mixer recipes let you see what your dog likes first.

Frequently asked questions

Is Gather Endless Valley a good dog food?

Gather Endless Valley is a complete plant-based kibble formulated to meet AAFCO's adult maintenance profile. It uses certified organic peas and is soy-free, according to Gather's product page. Its omega-3s come from flaxseed, and the ingredient list does not include an algae source of DHA.

Is Gather Endless Valley grain-free?

No. The recipe includes organic oats, organic barley, and quinoa, and Gather labels it as a recipe with grains. Petaluma's recipes also include oats and barley.

What is the main difference between Gather Endless Valley and Petaluma?

Gather is a dry kibble with one vegan recipe for adult dogs. Petaluma makes two oven-baked recipes and a dehydrated whole-food recipe, all with algae-based DHA. Petaluma also publishes lab analyses and digestibility reports for each recipe on its nutrition page.

Do dogs need DHA in their food?

AAFCO does not set a DHA requirement for adult maintenance. Dogs can make some DHA from the plant omega-3 in flaxseed, but a review in JAVMA found the conversion is limited. A food with a direct source of DHA, such as marine microalgae, avoids relying on that conversion.

Which costs more, Gather Endless Valley or Petaluma?

Per calorie, Petaluma's baked recipes cost a little less than Gather at full retail. Gather works out to about $0.37 per 100 kcal for a 16 lb bag at Chewy, and Petaluma's baked recipes are about $0.33 to $0.34. The Whole Food Mixer costs more as a premium dehydrated food.

How do I switch my dog from Gather to Petaluma?

Mix a little Petaluma into your dog's current food and increase it over about a week. Our transition guide has a schedule to follow.

References

1. Petcurean. Gather Endless Valley Vegan Recipe with Organic Peas for adult dogs. Accessed November 2026. gatherpetfood.com.
2. Chewy. Gather Endless Valley Vegan Dry Dog Food, 16 lb. Accessed November 2026. chewy.com.
3. Bauer JE. The essential nature of dietary omega-3 fatty acids in dogs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 2016;249(11):1267-1272. PubMed.
4. Aldrich G. How processing affects pet food products, Part 2: Extrusion and drying. Petfood Industry. 2020. petfoodindustry.com.
5. World Small Animal Veterinary Association. Selecting a pet food for your pet. Global Nutrition Toolkit. 2021. wsava.org.
6. Petaluma. Nutritional analyses and University of Bologna digestibility reports for Adult Baked Food, Senior Baked Food, and Whole Food Mixer. 2022 to 2026. feedpetaluma.com.