Earth Animal Dog Food Reviews

Is Earth Animal A Good Dog Food?

Earth Animal is a moderate risk dog food by our criteria. This is air dried dog food. There are 5 recipes that average 25% protein. Average carbohydrates are 31%. This is higher carbohydrates than we expect to see in air dried dog food. 

The company doesn’t use corn, wheat, soy or legumes. They use oats, quinoa, carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkin. However, these are high carbohydrate ingredients.

Earth Animal has a unique approach to dog food. They are researching alternative and plant proteins. This reduces reliance on animal agriculture. They’ve partnered with a plant-based ingredients company. The aim is to make dog products and treats with these ingredients. 

It should be noted, dogfoodreviews.com follows the same criteria for all dog foods. This includes specialized foods. This includes vegan and ketogenic diets. They may be higher in carbohydrates, plant proteins or fats. They’re scored the same regardless of the intention. We explain the company’s intention or commitment but that doesn’t change the score. 

It’s unclear whether Earth Animal is intentionally using less animal protein in these recipes. They have lower protein levels than other air dried dog foods. This may be due to their focus on alternative sources. Ingredients are listed by highest weight first. Fresh protein includes water weight so it weighs more. Grains are dry weight. They may be using higher amounts of grains, like quinoa. It’s a good choice. It’s higher in protein and fiber than most grains. Quinoa has 9 of the 10 essential amino acids dogs need. Quinoa is most often an organic crop. It is non-GMO and has low pesticide risk.

However, an overall concern is the added vitamins and minerals. These are recipes with many factors that contribute to high levels of naturally occurring nutrients. This is a moderately processed air dried dog food. This means there’s a minimal loss of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Recipes use dried ingredients that concentrate nutrients. And they have sprouted grains with higher nutritional value. They use organic fruits and vegetables. 

The foods contain coconut glycerin. This is considered a sugar by our criteria and loses points. It’s used for several reasons. It’s added to help oil and water-based ingredients mix. Or it can sweeten or moisten the final product. Sugar is a low quality ingredient that dogs don’t need. It can cause unwanted gut changes, obesity and insulin spikes.  

Recipes have sprouted grains including oats, flaxseed and quinoa. This improves digestibility and nutritional value. There is no reference to organic crop ingredients. We must assume oats are conventionally grown. That means they are usually spray dried with glyphosate. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers pose a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils. They lose ingredient safety points for this.

From The Seed is a vegan recipe without animal protein. It has potato and lentil protein which are plant proteins. It’s good to see there are no added amino acids. That means they come from the ingredients. However, it has the same list of added vitamins and minerals. 

Some ingredients may be glam ingredients. They are often expensive or desirable ingredients. They’re added to appeal to consumers. They’re listed after salt and are in small amounts. They don’t offer any nutritional value. In this case, they’re in a dried form, without moisture. That means higher amounts might be present. This can increase the nutritional value.  

Earth Animal describes its meat proteins as grass-fed and pastured. They also state poultry is certified through Global Animal Partnerships (GAP). GAP places importance on animal welfare. However, they don’t specify the level. Step 1 has basic requirements. Producers need to meet about 100 different standards for Step 1. Step 5 is when animals and poultry are pastured. Their food quality is monitored. They are humanely cared for all year, among other things. Earth Animal also signed the Better Chicken Commitment. This ensures humane treatment of chickens.

It’s good to see that their fish is wild-caught. It is more nutritious and has a healthy fatty acid balance. Earth Animal doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their recipes. This is true of most companies. It’s a concern because AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation.