Big Dog Natural Whole Grain DOG FOOD Review

With an average score of 6, Big Dog Natural Whole Grain dog food is a moderate risk dog food by our criteria. There are 6 recipes that average 23% protein, which is much lower than expected for an air dried dog food. Even more concerning is average carbohydrates of 48% as calculated. This more than twice the level of protein.

These recipes include sweet potatoes and barley. They contribute to the high carbohydrate content. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates. Excessive carbohydrate is an indicator of food quality. It can reduce manufacturing cost. Foods that are rich in carbohydrates can increase insulin levels. They increase the risk of obesity and cause unwanted changes to the gut microbiome.   

These recipes also have higher levels of fat. Ideally, there should be twice as much protein as fat. Fat is relatively devoid of vitamins and minerals. High fat diets can lead to unwanted changes in the gut flora. Recipes include sunflower oil, which is a processed, inflammatory seed oil. 

One of the benefits of these foods is that there are no vitamins or minerals. Processing air dried dog food involves some heat, which can cause a loss of some nutrients. There are no added vitamins and minerals. This means the whole food ingredients are a better quality. They meet nutritional standards without added synthetics.  

Also on the safety side, it’s noteworthy that the company doesn’t use GMO ingredients. However, the recipes contain several ingredients known for high pesticide or herbicide residues. These include barley, sweet potatoes, kale, apples, tomato and spinach. Crops are often spray-dried with glyphosate. This is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria. Glyphosate has links to cancer and other diseases. It would be good to see the company use organic ingredients. That would remove the herbicide/pesticide risk. 

It’s worth pointing out that Big Dog Natural uses wild-caught salmon. This is more nutritious than farmed fish and has a better balance of omega fatty acids.

It’s also worth noting that Big Dog Natural doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their foods. While this is true of most foods, it’s unfortunate since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory limit of 30:1.