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Ketogenic Pet Foods™ markets their food as a solution to the high starch kibbles, in response to dogs’ need for a carnivorous diet. The company cites a lot of research and science to support their concept of ketogenic diets for dogs. So they offer kibbles and freeze dried meats to meet that need. There’s no information about the company, their ingredients, or the manufacturing processes of these foods on the website. However, we did learn that the company is owned by Wysong and manufactured in Wysong’s facilities.
Because these are unusual dog food formulas, it’s worth noting that the labels do carry the statement that the foods are formulated according to AAFCO nutritional levels for maintenance.
Yhe website states “Due to the high grade ingredients, hands-on manufacturing processes, and unique formulations, Ketogenic Pet Foods™ are necessarily costly.” They suggest that your dog may eat less of their foods than other commercial pet foods, because protein and fat are the primary source of calories, and not carbohydrates.
IS KETOGENIC PET FOODS™ A GOOD DOG FOOD?
Ketogenic’s foods are a moderate risk dog food. It’s not useful to average the proteins and carbs because they vary enormously in each line. For example, the kibbles range from almost zero carbs to 21%, with proteins from 40^ to 60%. There’s also a wide range of carbohydrates in the freeze dried meat line.
However, the freeze dried meat recipes all have higher fat than protein content. While this isn’t surprising for a ketogenic food, it’s a concern because toxins are stored in fat, as well as the potential for high fat to cause imbalances in gut bacteria.
The company provides no information about the quality or sourcing of individual ingredients. Excessive vitamins and minerals added to the food suggest lower quality ingredients that don’t supply needed nutrients without being fortified. The foods, especially the kibbles, also contain some lower quality ingredients that are highlighted in the individual reviews.
The average score of Ketogenic Pet Foods™ dog foods and each sub-brand are listed below. Click on either line below to view the individual foods and scores.
With an average score of 5.5, Ketogenic kibble dog food is a moderate risk dog food. Two of the foods contain negligible carbohydrates, while Keto-Foundation™ is a more traditional, higher starch product that loses a point for its 21% carbohydrate.
Like all kibbles, all 3 recipes lose points for being ultra processed.
Ingredient quality concerns include excessive added vitamins and minerals, as well as some foods known to have high pesticide or herbicide residues, plus a genetically modified ingredient.
The two Keto-Kibble recipes contain meat protein isolate. While this ingredient increases the protein level, it raises quality concerns because it’s a nonspecified animal protein. Also, meat protein isolates are usually made from meat processing leftovers like carcasses, blood, skin, viscera, hooves and feathers.
Ingredient safety concerns include brown rice in one food, which carries a risk of arsenic contamination.
All 3 recipes contain natural flavor, which is usually animal digest or MSG These are low quality ingredients with limited safety studies (and the same is true of another flavoring ingredient, yeast extract, which is a name often used for MSG.
With an average score of 6.7, Ketogenic Freeze Dried dog food is a moderate risk dog food.
This line loses points for moderate processing. The line is described as “freeze dried meat products blended with nutritious oils and micronutrients,” so it appears that only the meats are freeze dried, and not the other ingredients. It’s also unclear whether the meats were raw or cooked before freeze-drying. Cooking, especially at high heat, can cause nutrient depletion.
While the line is generally low in carbohydrates, with an average of 10% overall, the Beef recipe loses a point for 16.5% carbs, which is surprisingly high for a keto diet. The protein averages 38%, with fat higher at 40%, especially Chicken and Salmon with 46% fat. Even though you’d expect higher fat for a ketogenic diet, this is a concern because a high fat diet can cause unwanted shifts in gut bacteria,. HIgh fat can also add unwanted toxins, since toxins are stored in fat.
The addition of excessive added vitamins and minerals suggests poor quality ingredients that don’t supply the necessary nutrients without being fortified. All 3 recipes contain natural flavor, which is usually animal digest or MSG. These are low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.
The company doesn’t mention whether the salmon is farmed or wild-caught, so it appears it may be farmed. Wild-caught salmon is preferable as it’s more nutritious, with a better fatty acid balance.
Ketogenic Pet Foods has not has any recalls. However, the foods are made in Wysong’s facilities and in 2009 Wysong recalled several batches of their Maintenance, Senior and Synorgon Canine Diets because of high moisture levels and the potential for mold.
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