Addiction Wild Islands DOG FOOD Review

With an average score of 4.3/10, Addiction Wild Islands dog food is considered a moderate risk dog food. There are 4 recipes that average 40% protein and 25% carbohydrate as calculated. 

The Wild Islands line has the highest level of protein and lowest level of carbs of all Addiction dog foods, and it has higher protein levels than many other dried dog foods on the market. Unfortunately, it has several ingredient quality and ingredient safety concerns that bring down the score.

These are grain-free dog foods but that doesn’t mean low carbohydrates. These recipes have peas and tapioca, which are starches that contribute to higher carbohydrates. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they’re often used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.  

An interesting concern is the addition of Manuka honey which lowers the quality score in these recipes as it’s a sugar. Admittedly, Manuka honey has benefits as an antibacterial and antimicrobial supplement but it’s not something that needs to be included in a dog’s food every day. Its fructose content can stress the liver, especially if diabetes is a concern.

These recipes have an impressive list of whole food ingredients, and yet this line has excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. When vitamins come from whole food sources, they include the full spectrum of cofactors, which makes them safe and bioavailable. While a couple of added vitamins are acceptable, five or more implies the food is of poor nutritional value. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes. 

It’s also 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. 

The line also loses ingredient quality points for plant protein, which is a low cost substitute for quality animal protein. Animal sources of protein are preferred because they contain a wider array of amino acids and are more digestible.  

These recipes contain ocean fish meal and fish meal which are unnamed animal proteins. This is a sign of low quality and can be made from any type of fish. Unnamed animal ingredients are often a less expensive, low quality ingredient that can be made from rendered waste of many proteins.

On the ingredient safety side, this is an air-dried dog food so it’s moderately processed, using heat that causes some loss of nutrients. This is reflected in the addition of excessive vitamins and minerals, suggesting the whole food ingredients don’t supply these nutrients. 

Addiction ingredients are GMO-free, but that doesn’t mean they are pesticide-free. These recipes use ingredients known for high pesticide or herbicide residues, like peas. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers pose a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils. Foods with the largest reported amount of residue are penalized, including crops that are known to be spray-dried with glyphosate. Addiction would improve the ingredient safety rating by using organic ingredients, which offer reduced pesticide/herbicide exposure as well as being non-GMO.

The use of natural flavor also costs points. Natural flavors are often animal digest or MSG, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.

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

There is ingredient splitting in these recipes. That’s the practice of splitting ingredients into subcategories to make them appear lower on the list. This can also move more desirable protein ingredients higher.  

These recipes don’t specify whether the fish oil is from farmed or wild caught fish. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild caught fish and does not contain the same healthy fatty acid balance. 

Finally, the label doesn’t provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio, which is a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.