Iron Will Canine Complete Raw Dog FOOD Review

With a score of 7.2/10, Iron Will Raw is considered a moderate risk dog food. It has 5 recipes that average 53% protein and 3% carbohydrate as calculated on a dry matter basis. 

This line has exceptionally low carbohydrates, as expected in a raw dog food. 

With respect to ingredient quality, 2 recipes include added minerals. Five or more added minerals indicate a lower quality food that’s lacking naturally occurring minerals from whole food sources. The recipes also have a few added vitamins but not enough to call into question the quality of the ingredients or cost points.

Points are also lost due to recipes containing sunflower oil, which is an inflammatory seed oil, and unnamed animal protein in the form of fish oil. Seed oils, such as safflower, sunflower or flaxseed oil are rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which can cause systemic and gut inflammation. Studies show that ultra processed foods are linked to a higher rate of all-cause mortality in humans. Using an unspecified fish oil is also a less expensive and lower quality source of protein or fat. You want to see beef, salmon or chicken, not animal, fish or poultry. 

On the ingredient safety side, these are raw foods so there is light processing and no points lost. 

The score is reduced as these recipes use ingredients known for high pesticide/herbicide residues,  including kale and spinach. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers pose a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils. Foods with the largest reported amount of residue will be penalized, including crops that are known to be spray-dried with glyphosate. Recipes also include summer squash which is a GMO ingredient. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.  

This doesn’t cost points, but Iron Will doesn’t specify whether all its fish products are farmed or wild caught. Wild caught fish is more nutritious and has a healthier fatty acid balance. Fish farming also threatens wild fish species. 

It’s good to see that Iron Will Raw has provided the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. This is important to know since diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation and disease. In this case, these 5 recipes have a ratio of 6:1 or less, which is good to see, especially since AAFCO allows for a highly inflammatory ratio of 30:1.