Dog Chow Tender & Crunchy with Real Lamb Dry Dog Food

The average dog food we reviewed has 39 total ingredients, with 1 controversial ingredient. This product has 11 total controversial ingredients and a surprising 5 of them are found in the first five ingredients. This is a concern because the first 5 ingredients make up most of the food.

Top 5 Ingredients

Dog food ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. So when looking at dog food label, take a close look at the first 5 ingredients. They make up about 80% of the total weight.

• Whole Grain Corn
  Corn (also known as maize) is a cereal grain that provides carbs, protein, fat, vitamin B and other nutrients. Corn in dog food is an inexpensive (and often feed-grade quality) ingredient that we do not consider a high-quality dog food ingredient. However, whole grain corn is a higher-quality ingredient as it often contains more protein and nutrients.

• Whole Grain Wheat
  Whole grain means that all three edible parts of the kernel (bran, germ, and endosperm) are kept before milling, which means more protein and nutrients are in the final product. Wheat is a grass and cereal grain often used in dog food. It provides protein, dietary fiber, manganese, phosphorus, niacin, B vitamins and minerals. Some dogs may develop wheat allergies, though they are a lot less common than allergies to beef, dairy and soy. The jury is still out on whether wheat is a high-quality dog food ingredient so please consult your vet if you suspect your dog may be allergic or has food sensitivities. Grain-alternatives like potatoes, peas and legumes may be linked to canine heart disease (it's too early to say this conclusively), so keep that in mind when buying foods without wheat and other grains.

• Meat And Bone Meal
  Meat and bone meals are created by cooking meat, tissue, bones and slaughterhouse waste products using high heat. In the process, most of the water is removed, resulting in a protein-rich powder. Pure meat meals contain about four times the protein meats do, so generally, they're a good source of nutrients. However, meals that also contain bones can be difficult to digest and have the potential to include rancid, dead, dying, disabled or diseased meat sources. This ingredient also doesn't identify the species it comes from making it questionable and intransparent. For these reasons, we do not consider this a high-quality ingredient.
  
  
• Corn Gluten Meal
  Corn gluten meal is a waste product from corn manufacturing that is used as an inexpensive protein source in dog food. While it provides protein, corn gluten meal is less nutritious than meat (its ability to provide amino acids to your dog's body is lower). Therefore, we do not consider it a high-quality dog food ingredient.
  
  
• Soybean Meal
  Soybean meal is ground and dried soybeans. While soy provides protein, its nutritional quality (the bioavailability of amino acids) is lower than that of meats. For this reason, we do not consider soybean meal a high-quality dog food ingredient.

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‍Controversial Ingredients

1. Whole Grain Corn
2. Whole grain corn is a low-cost dog food ingredient that provides energy (calories), but some dogs can be sensitive to it. Corn is not generally considered a controversial ingredient, but is controversial if it is used in the top five ingredients (which make up about 80% of the food's weight) where a named meat or lean protein would be more nutritious.

1. Whole Grain Wheat
2. Whole Grain Wheat is not simply good or bad as a dog food ingredient. It's a lower cost ingredient that does provide calories, but some dogs can be sensitive to it. Wheat is not generally considered a controversial ingredient, but is controversial when it is used in the top five ingredients (which make up about 80% of the food's weight) where a named meat or lean protein would be more nutritious.

1. Meat And Bone Meal
2. Meat and bone meals are created by cooking meat, tissue, bones and slaughterhouse waste products using high heat. In the process, most of the water is removed, resulting in a protein-rich powder. Pure meat meals contain about four times the protein meats do, so generally, they're a good source of nutrients. However, meals that also contain bones can be difficult to digest and have the potential to include rancid, dead, dying, disabled or diseased meat sources. This ingredient also doesn't identify the species it comes from making it questionable and intransparent. For these reasons, we do not consider this a high-quality ingredient.

1. Corn Gluten Meal
2. Corn gluten meal is a low cost protein ingredient that is used to add protein and bind food together. This protein is far less complete in nutrient content than meat based proteins, but because of its low cost it is often used to bump up the protein percentage. It is controversial if it is used in the top five ingredients (which make up about 80% of the food's weight) where a named meat or lean protein would be more nutritious.

1. Soybean Meal
2. Soybean meal is ground and dried soybeans. Soy is not generally considered a controversial ingredient, but is controversial when it is used in the top five ingredients (which make up about 80% of the food's weight) where a named meat or lean protein would be more nutritious.

1. Egg And Chicken Flavor
2. Artificial flavors are added to increase the chance your dog will want to eat the food. The generic term artificial flavor is used to represent a large number of possible additives, some which could be harmul. These flavors may include but not list controversial ingredients such as propylene glycol, BHA and more.

1. Sugar
2. Added sugar enhances flavor to make it more likely your dog will eat. The health concerns of added sugar are as real for dogs as they are for humans, notably obesity and diabetes.

1. Poultry And Pork Digest
2. Dried animal digest is produced by chemically breaking down animal tissue into a liquid that can be used as an added flavoring, making it more likely your dog will eat the food. This is a controversial ingredient because it's a heavily processed animal ingredient that may contain lower-quality ingredients.

1. Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin K)
2. A synthetic version of Vitamin K (known as Menadione) which is added due to the lack or loss of Vitamin K in the food processing. Menadione supplements are banned by the FDA because of their potential toxicity in human use and can be found as 10+ different names on a label. While low amounts have been found to be safe, the consistent repetitive nature of a dogs diet results in the long-term exposure that should be considered.

1. Red 40
2. Allura Red AC (also called FD&C Red 40, C. I. 16035 and E129) is a synthetic dye used to change the color of food. it has been shown to significantly reduced reproductive success, parental and offspring weight, brain weight, and survival. What's most concerning is that this ingredient is completely unnecessary, dogs simply don't care about the color of their food.

1. Yellow 5
2. Tartrazine (also called C.I. 19140, FD&C Yellow 5, Acid Yellow 23, Food Yellow 4 and E102) and is a synthetic lemon yellow dye used to change the color of food, cosmetics and medications. In humans with Tartrazine hypersensitivity potential reactions include headaches, asthma attacks, itching or hives, insomnia, and hyperactivity. What's most concerning is that this ingredient is completely unnecessary, dogs simply don't care about the color of their food.

1. Blue 2
2. Blue 2 is a synthetic dye used to change the color of food. This ingredient is completely unnecessary, dogs simply don't care about the color of their food.

‍Country of Origin

Dog Chow Tender & Crunchy is made in the USA.

Meat & Fat Quality

The meat quality of this product is questionable. It includes Meat And Bone Meal, plus Poultry And Pork Digest. Both of these include unnamed meat sources that make it tough to understand the quality of the ingredients. The included fat Beef Fat is different, because it clearly names the animal it comes from.

Artificial Preservatives

This product contains no controversial preservatives, that’s fantastic.

Artificial Colors

While it scores high on preservatives, Dog Chow Tender & Crunchy scores low for artificial colors. The food includes three of them, called Blue 2, Red 40 and Yellow 5.

Artificial Flavors

Another ingredient of concern is “Egg And Chicken Flavor,” which is an artificial flavor that’s both unnecessary to add and potentially unhealthy.