Sundays Review

Sundays For Dogs is a small, boutique brand, owned and operated by a veterinarian and her husband. The food was launched publicly in 2020 after a 2 year private beta phase. The recipes were created by owner Dr Tory Waxman and formulated by board-certified veterinary nutritionists. They are also reviewed by an animal nutrition PhD and a human food scientist. The food is manufactured at a USDA-monitored human-grade jerky kitchen in Ohio (where Sundays is headquartered). 

Is SUNDAYS FOR DOGS A GOOD DOG FOOD?

Sundays has two recipes, Beef and Chicken. It’s considered a moderate risk dog food, with an average score of 7.5 for the brand. The food is moderately processed. The recipes are air dried at temperatures around 142F, which is high enough to kill parasites and thus can also cause some losses in active enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. 

When it comes to ingredient quality, Sundays loses a point for its 21-23% carbohydrate content. The foods contain some grains (quinoa in the Beef recipe, millet and oats in the Chicken). 

Ingredient quality is also penalized for the inclusion of sunflower seed oil, a highly processed seed oil that’s high in omega-6 fatty acids that can lead to systemic and gut inflammation. There’s also a non-specified animal  ingredient in the form of fish oil in the Chicken recipe. , and 

One benefit of Sundays is that the nutrition in the food comes from whole food ingredients, without the need for added vitamins and minerals (except for selenium yeast in the Beef recipe – but selenium yeast is the preferred form of added selenium compared to sodium selenite).

When it comes to ingredient safety, the ingredients aren’t described as organic, so the recipes lose safety points for ingredients like kale, spinach, tomatoes, apples, strawberries, millet and oats, which are all known to be higher in pesticide or herbicide residues.The Chicken recipe is further penalized for having two high pesticide ingredients in the top 5 ingredients. These chemical residues post a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils, especially when crops (like oats) are spray-dried with glyphosate. 

It’s worth noting the food does contain a long list of “glam” ingredients. These are healthy sounding ingredients that appear below the salt in the ingredient list, meaning they’re present in a very small amount that’s unlikely to provide much nutritional value to your dog.

It’s not mentioned whether the fish oil is from farmed or wild-caught fish. Wild caught fish are more nutritious and have a better fatty acid balance. The Beef recipe does contain wild salmon oil, however. 

Lastly, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids isn’t disclosed. This is a concern because AAFCO allows a very inflammatory level of 30:1 

The scores of Sundays For Dogs foods are  listed below. Click on either food to view the individual food score.