Ketogenic Kibble Dog Food

With an average score of 5.5, Ketogenic kibble dog food is a moderate risk dog food. The line includes 3 “kibbles” – Keto-Kibble™, Keto-Kibble™ Fat Booost, and Keto-Foundation™.  Although the word kibble is in 2 of the 3 names, these 2 recipes are not traditional kibbles because, like other ketogenic diets, they contain very low levels of carbs, with high protein (57-60%). Keto-Foundation™ is a higher starch product and loses a point for its 21% carbohydrate. Like all kibbles, all 3 recipes lose points for being ultra processed, which is assumed because the company doesn’t offer any description of its manufacturing process.

All Ketogenic dog foods carry the statement that the product is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food and Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for Maintenance. But you have to look very hard to find it on the package and website, because it’s in tiny print. 

The ingredient quality score is lower due to excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually means poor quality ingredients that don’t supply the necessary nutrients without being fortified. Ideally vitamins should  come from whole food sources, so that they include the full spectrum of cofactors, which makes them safe and bioavailable.

The two Keto-Kibble recipes contain meat protein isolate, which raises two concerns. First, it’s a nonspecified animal protein, which are lower cost protein sources. The animal protein should be named (eg beef, lamb, etc), not just “meat.” Secondly,  meat protein isolates are usually made from poor quality meat processing leftovers like carcasses, blood, skin, viscera, hooves and feathers. 

The two Keto-Kibble recipes lose safety points because the the top 5 ingredients include foods known to have higher pesticide or herbicide residues (in this case beet pulp or fiber). Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers post a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils. 

The Keto-Foundation recipe contains brown rice, which is penalized due to the 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. 

All foods in this line contain coconut oil, which has been shown to cause undesirable changes in the gut lining, harming gut health. There’s also added fish oil (another unspecified animal ingredient source), without mentioning whether it’s from farmed or wild caught fish. Farmed fish is less nutritious and has a less favorable fatty acid balance.

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. 

Ketogenic doesn’t disclose the omega-6:omega-3 ratio, which is unfortunate since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory limit of 30:1.