A Pup Above Dog Food Reviews

A Pup Above produces 2 lines of dog food. A lightly cooked dog food is their fresh food option, and their gently dried dog food is a kibble alternative, with recipes cooked “sous vide” to preserve nutrients.. 

With a score of 8/10, the cooked food line is considered a low risk food. The dried foods have a lower score of 6/10 due to higher carbohydrate content and use of some ingredients known for high herbicide residues, and are considered moderate risk according to our criteria. 

A Pup Above is quite committed to offering human grade dog food, which until earlier in 2023, wasn’t a recognized term by AAFCO. AAFCO is the regulatory body that establishes guidelines for the pet food industry. 

A Pup Above states its foods are made in a USDA inspected human food facility. But under the new AAFCO guidelines, all facilities involved with processing human grade pet food products must be registered as both an FDA (not USDA) food facility and an FDA feed facility, as the FDA regulates pet food production and labeling. Additionally, companies using the “human grade” label must have documentation showing that every ingredient within the entire product is human grade. 

A Pup Above already provides a detailed nutritional profile of each of its 8 recipes. Customers can also download safety test results, but this information isn’t accessible unless you have the product in hand to obtain the code on the label. 

Both lines of A Pup Above have the benefit of moderate processing with lower heat involved and thus less nutrient loss. However, there are more than 5 vitamins and 5 minerals added to the dry line, and more than 5 minerals in the cooked line. Often companies add vitamins and minerals to meet AAFCO minimum standards but it is preferable to see these nutrients from whole food sources that include the full spectrum of cofactors, which makes them safe and bioavailable. While a couple of added minerals are acceptable, five or more causes a loss of points as it suggests lower nutritional value of the ingredients. The company states their added vitamins and minerals are less than 2% by weight, but our criteria are based on the number of these added nutrients, not the weight.

There is a high level of carbohydrates as calculated in the Dry recipes. A Pup Above Dry Cubies is described as being gently dried at a temperature under 190 degrees to offer dry food convenience. These aren’t extruded kibbles so starch isn’t necessary for processing, so it’s concerning to see this high level of carbohydrates. 

The Fresh foods are lower in carbs, but still higher than expected in a moderately processed food. Rice, sweet potatoes and potatoes raise the carbohydrate level. In addition, rice is a concern due to the potential for arsenic contamination, and its link to chronic health issues.

A Pup Above states it uses non-GMO produce in all of its recipes in both lines of food. They also state these ingredients are pesticide-free. Usually suppliers provide organic certification which confirms their produce and crops are non-GMO and pesticide/herbicide-free but that information isn’t found on the website.

The Dry recipes use barley, oats, lentils and peas that appear to be conventionally raised so they are known for high pesticide/herbicide residues. Some are also listed within the first 5 ingredients, resulting in a loss of ingredient safety points. Unless organic, crops can carry a high pesticide/herbicide residue when spray-dried with Roundup before harvest. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases. 

The Dry recipes include glam ingredients, which are desirable ingredients but they’re listed after salt, which means they’re present in minimal amounts that don’t provide any nutritional benefit. In this case, the website states they include superfoods like turmeric, thyme and parsley for joint, immune and digestive support but because they are found after salt, it’s questionable whether they provide much nutritional value. 

Although A Pup Above provides the percentages of omega-6 and omega-3 fats on the nutritional breakdown, they don’t provide the omega-6:3 ratio. This isn’t unusual for most dog foods, but the ratio is always a concern because AAFCO allows a highly inflammatory ratio of 30:1.