Rayne Nutrition Dry Diet Dog Food Review

Rayne Nutrition offers 12 health-specific Dry Diet dog food recipes. These recipes have average protein content of 26% and very high carbohydrates with an average of 53% as calculated.

The company website states Rayne has developed a line of novel protein products to help dogs with adverse reactions (“gastrointestinal or dermatological” ) to food. They include kangaroo, alligator, rabbit, plant-based and dried black soldier fly larvae. These are specialized diets that pet owners can order online, as long as they provide their veterinary information to confirm that they’re suitable for their dog’s needs. However, the quality and safety of ingredients in these recipes could be improved to provide better quality and less processed ingredients that would be safer for dogs with existing health issues. 

Overall, these recipes have high carbohydrate levels including one at 58%, the Crocodilia alligator recipe intended for elimination diets. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates but they’re added to dog foods for energy, texture and taste. Starch is also required for extrusion in dry foods. Excessive carbohydrate is an indicator of food quality as it can be used to reduce manufacturing cost. Foods that are high in carbohydrates can raise insulin and cause obesity. Some studies also show that dogs fed a high carbohydrate content have changes to their gut bacteria. 

It is often repeated on the website that the company uses whole food ingredients, fresh meat and fruits and vegetables. 

These recipes have been developed with an eye to phosphorus and fat levels, sodium content and other essential considerations needed to feed at-risk dogs. However, fruits and green leafy vegetables, along with their phytonutrients and antioxidants, are noticeably absent. The dry recipes have 5 to 7 whole food ingredients listed as grains, legumes, rice and starches and animal protein within the first 10 or 11 items. Also within that list are several different pea or potato ingredients.

There’s an extensive list of 25 or more added vitamins, minerals and in some cases, amino acids. It’s preferred that vitamins and minerals come from whole food sources that include the full spectrum of cofactors, which makes them safe and bioavailable for health-compromised dogs. While a couple of added vitamins and minerals are acceptable, five or more implies the food is of poor nutritional value. Multiple added amino acids are typically only found in lower quality foods that rely on less complete plant sources of protein. 

It’s also worth noting that this 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.

These recipes lose additional ingredient quality points for including plant protein and seed oil. Plant proteins are a low cost substitute for quality animal protein. Animal sources of protein are preferred because they’re more digestible and contain a wider array of amino acids. Seed oils like canola and sunflower are highly processed and inflammatory as they’re rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which can cause systemic and gut inflammation. Two recipes contain fish meal and fish oil, which are unnamed animal proteins. The protein should be named, not just “fish.”  However, it’s good to see algal oil used as a source of omega 3 fatty acids.

On the ingredient safety side, these recipes lose points for being ultra processed, like all kibble. Rayne suggests that meat meals contribute to high processing and nutrient loss, and yet several of these dry recipes include ingredients like pork meal, turkey meal, chicken meal and fish meal. The Rayne Nutrition website goes into detail about the drawbacks of ultra high processing but it doesn’t specifically describe how its dry foods are made. As these dry foods are kibble, it’s assumed they are extruded which involves several stages of heating that can destroy nutrients. These recipes are obviously high in carbohydrates and starch, which is required for extrusion in dry foods. 

Various forms of potatoes are a common ingredient in most of these recipes which is a concern. In addition to being high in carbohydrates, potatoes are a common GMO crop. 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, carry increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off. 

Both peas and potatoes are crops known for high pesticide or herbicide residues. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers pose a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils. Foods with the largest reported amount of residue are penalized, including crops that are known to be spray-dried with glyphosate. If peas and potatoes were organically sourced, it would minimize both the GMO risk and the herbicide/pesticide content in these foods for dogs with health issues.

Rayne does not use undisclosed animal proteins in its palatants, but natural flavor is used in several recipes. Rayne lists the ingredients of its natural flavor as yeast, sodium chloride, vegetable oil (not from corn or soy), dextrose, potassium sorbate and mixed tocopherols (preservatives). It should be noted that dextrose is a sugar. Rice is another concern as it can have high arsenic contamination, which is linked to chronic health issues.

The company does not use hydrolyzed protein, and uses non-animal derived omega fatty acid sources such as algal meal, which is good to see. Dry diets go through an additional test for mycotoxins, plus testing to ensure proper Vitamin D levels. Dermatology products undergo third-party ELISA testing to detect trace-level contaminants such as beef, pork, chicken, fish, milk, and soy. This is a sensible step to take, given that many pet foods have been found to contain proteins that aren’t on the ingredient label. 

The following concerns don’t cause a loss of points, but should be noted.

Ingredient splitting occurs frequently in these dry food recipes. This is a technique of splitting ingredients into sub-categories (such as potatoes and potato protein, or peas and pea protein) to move certain ingredients higher or lower on the ingredient list. This is often used to disguise the amount of lower quality ingredients in the food, such as corn, potatoes or peas, and moves desirable ingredients, like animal proteins, higher.

These foods don’t specify whether the fish used in fish meal or fish oil is farmed or wild caught. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild caught fish and doesn’t contain the same healthy fatty acid balance.

Several recipes contain coconut oil, which has been shown to cause undesirable changes in the gut lining. 

Rayne doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their foods. While this is true of most foods, AAFCO allows a very inflammatory limit of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation and disease.