TASTE OF THE WILD Ancient grains

With an average score of 3.6, Taste Of The Wild’s Ancient Grains line is considered a high risk dry dog food. This line loses food quality points for its somewhat high carbohydrate content, with an average of 34%. The Ancient Mountain Canine Recipe With Roasted Lamb is especially high at 40%. Excessive carbohydrate is in indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.

The Ancient Stream food quality score is lower because of an unnamed fish protein ingredient (ocean fish meal). Animal protein is a desirablle ingredient but it should be named (eg. beef, chicken, salmon). Meals are especially low quality as they’re often made from rendered waste. It’s also likely this ingredient is from farmed, not wild-caught fish. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild-caught fish and has a less favorable fatty acid content.

The Ancient Grains line loses ingredient quality points for added canola oil in some recipes. Seed oils are typically high in omega-6 fats, which can cause systemic and gut inflammation. Seed oils are also highly processed. 

This line also loses significant ingredient quality points for added amino acids plus vitamin and mineral premix. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources and their inclusion on a label is usually due to poor quality or overly processed raw ingredients. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.

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.  

The food safety score is lower because, like all kibbles, Taste Of The Wild Ancient Grains is ultra-processed. The individual ingredients in dry dog foods are heated several times during processing, which can cause a significant loss of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species. 

Rounding out the food safety scores, the Ancient Grains line loses points for added natural flavor. This ingredient is often animal digest or MSG, which are both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.

The label does not provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio (simply calling it “balanced”), which is a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.

The Ancient Mountain Canine Recipe With Roasted Bison & Roasted Venison package describes these meats as pasture-raised. But those ingredients are 9th and 10th on the ingredient list. The first (largest) ingredient in the recipe is water buffalo. Water buffalo is an ingredient that suggests to consumers the food contains American buffalo (aka bison), but water buffalo comes from Asia and is a much cheaper source of meat.

The inclusion of “glam”  ingredients like blueberries and raspberries is also a concern. These ingredients are added to make consumers think the food has healthy produce rich in antioxidants. But they’re listed below the salt, which means they’re present in tiny amounts and won’t benefit your dog. 

It’s worth noting that the Taste of The Wild Ancient Grains line does add and guarantee a decent amount of probiotics in the food.