A Pup Above Dry DOG FOOD Review

With a score of 6/10, A Pup Above’s Dry Cubies is considered a moderate risk dog food. There are 4 recipes that average 24% protein and 36% carbohydrate, as calculated on a dry matter basis. 

These recipes have a high level of carbohydrates obtained from barley, oats, lentils and peas found near the top of the ingredient list. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates. Excessive carbohydrate is an indicator of food quality as it can be used to reduce manufacturing cost. Foods that are rich in carbohydrates can increase insulin levels, increase the risk of obesity and cause unwanted changes to the gut microbiome. A dog food high in carbohydrates is usually lower in protein as we see here.

These recipes lose ingredient quality points because they contain more than 5 vitamins and more than 5 minerals. This can indicate excessive processing or lower quality or incomplete ingredients. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper can also result from added vitamin premixes, so it’s preferable that most or all vitamins and minerals come from real foods. 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.

It’s worth noting that the line contains sodium selenite as a source of selenium. Dogs need selenium, and it’s usually added in very small amounts. However some research suggests that sodium selenite may be associated with potential toxicity, so selenium yeast is the preferred form of this mineral.

A Pup Above Dry is not an extruded, ultra-processed kibble but is described as being gently dried at a temperature under 190 degrees. This is a moderately processed food so it loses an ingredient safety point for being cooked.

It’s good to see that A Pup Above uses non-GMO produce that is also pesticide-free (and presumably herbicide-free). However, other crops like barley, oats, lentils and peas aren’t specified as non-GMO or organic, so appear to be conventionally farmed. They’re crops known for high herbicide/pesticide residues and are found in the top 5 ingredients, which affects the ingredient safety score of each recipe. Unless organic, crops can carry a high pesticide/herbicide residue when spray-dried with Roundup. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases. 

The following concerns don’t cost points but should be noted. 

The recipes include glam ingredients, which are desirable ingredients, but they’re listed after salt, which means they’re included 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. 

The foods also contain salmon oil, but they don’t say whether it’s from wild caught or farmed fish. Wild-caught fish is more nutritious and contains a better fatty acid balance.  

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, but the ratio is always a concern because AAFCO allows a highly inflammatory ratio of 30:1.