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Disclosure: Watchdog Labs is free to use. When you buy through links on this site, we may earn a commission.
Please be aware that Hill’s is voluntarily recalling some canned dog food due to potentially elevated levels of Vitamin D. More information here.
Redbarn Naturals Chicken Stew is a mid-priced dog food with exceptional quality. This product has no controversial ingredients including zero, artificial preservatives, colors or flavors. It has well-balanced amounts of protein, fat and carbs with excellent meat and fat quality. The company was transparent when answering our questions and Redbarn has a below-average number of recalls. Watchdog Labs highly recommends this product.
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Learn what makes a great dog food and get expert advice on how to choose the best food for your dog.
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This dog food review was created by experts who love dogs. Find out more about our team and mission.
About Watchdog Labs
This food has well-balanced amounts of protein, fat, and carbs. Diets that are high in protein and fat, with moderate to low carbs, are ideal for most dogs.
To evaluate dog foods, we first calculate out the moisture. This is called the “dry matter basis” and shows you only the solid ingredients in the food. These estimated “dry matter” numbers are different from the food label, but a better way to understand the real nutritional value of the food. We also calculate the carbs. Find out more
Min. Protein 52.78%
Min. Fat 27.78%
Min. Carbs 8.33%
Max. Fiber 5.56%
Max. Ash 11.11%
Max. Moisture 0%
Min. Protein: 9.5%
Min Fat: 5.0%
Min Carbs: N/A
Max Fiber: 1.0%
Max Ash: N/A
Max. Moisture: 82%
346 Calories per Can
This product has a slightly above average amount of calories per can for wet food. It’s important to understand how many calories you are feeding to prevent under or overfeeding. Based on your dog's current weight and activity level you may want to feed more or less than the recommended amount.
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Grain-Free Dog Foods
This is a grain-free dog food. The FDA is investigating a potential connection between grain-free diets and canine heart disease. There is not enough evidence yet to affect our ratings but we've created an article for you explaining the topic.
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Chicken, Chicken Broth, Vegetable Broth, Chicken Liver, Dried Egg Product, Natural Flavors, Agar-Agar, Beef Pizzle, Peas, Calcium Carbonate, Dandelion Greens, Parsley, Salt, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid.
The average dog food we reviewed had 39 total ingredients, with 1 controversial ingredient. This product has 0 total controversial ingredients - that’s great!
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.
Controversial Ingredients
Redbarn Naturals Chicken Stew doesn’t have any controversial ingredients. That’s important and not necessarily very common for dog foods.
Country of Origin
This product is made in the United States - that’s a good thing because the U.S. has strict quality and ingredient regulations in place.
Meat & Fat Quality
Redbarn Naturals Chicken Stew uses meat sources that are clearly showing the species they’re coming from (including Chicken, Chicken Liver, Dried Egg Product, and Beef Pizzle). All of these ingredient choices are great. Redbarn Naturals Chicken Stew doesn’t have added oils like Salmon Oil or Vegetable Oil, so the fat in this product comes mainly from meat and other ingredients. Because those are clearly identified, the fat quality is equally high.
Artificial Preservatives
This dog food contains no controversial preservatives, fantastic. It’s good to know that not all artificial preservatives are bad. That’s because they serve an important purpose, which is to prevent food from spoiling. However, we consider 11 artificial preservatives as controversial because of their potential link to cancer and other serious health conditions.
Artificial Colors
Redbarn Naturals Chicken Stew also doesn’t include any artificial colors,
Artificial Flavors
This dog food doesn’t have artificial flavors, either. Redbarn Naturals Chicken Stew checks off all three artificial ingredients goals, nothing in this product is an issue in this regard.
Redbarn has a pretty good track record with a below average number of recalls.
We love dog food brands that are committed to transparent business practices. If you make quality dog food you should be willing to openly talk about how it’s sourced and produced. That’s why we reached out to pet food companies, asking questions about all their brands and products. Each company had three weeks to reply to our messages.
How Easy Was it to Reach the Company?
Redbarn was one of the few companies that responded quickly, it only took 2 days for a complete response. A follow-up email was sent to clarify a few of the answers, and a couple of details could not be shared. Overall the transparency in answering was good.
Does Redbarn have a veterinary nutritionist on staff? If so, who are they?
We do not have a doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) as a nutritionist on staff.
Who formulates your recipes, and what are their credentials?
Our products are formulated by our R&D director, who has an MBA, a BSC. Degree in food science, and is a certified food scientist (CFS) with over 40 years of experience in the pet food industry.
Also due to the facts that we follow the laws of privacy and confidentiality to all of our employees, we will not give out any employee names. I am sure you can understand this. You are welcome to contact our HR manager and she will have the proper documentation you will need to sign to ask for this permission.
A simple google search showed the LinkedIn profile for their R&D Director.
Do you test your products using AAFCO feeding trials? Why, or why not?
We do not use food trials, but instead, elect to use nutrient content by laboratory analysis of our foods to verify they meet AAFCO nutritional adequacy. Feeding trials only use a limited number of dogs, usually not the full range of breeds, sizes, or age. We feel the laboratory analysis gives a better overall perspective of the nutrients provided by the food.
What country are your products manufactured?
All of the food products formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles are manufactured in the U.S. Many of our treat/chew products originate in South America or Canada.
We found this answer to be somewhat incomplete, but the details required for a complete answer would likely be tedious. However, they did share the names of the 3 countries they manufacture the product in.
Can your manufacturing facilities be visited?
Our manufacturing facility is visited and audited by several of our larger customers/distributors (such as PetSmart and Petco), as well as visits/audits from FDA/FSIS and USDA.
Due to the level of cleanliness that our plant upholds, we cannot allow public touring. Have you taken a moment to see that our website is loaded with great video content to see what happens inside Redbarn. www.redbarninc.com
What quality measures do you use to assure consistency and quality?
We use organoleptic measures, as well as physical, chemical and microbiological testing to ensure quality measures are met.
While “organoleptic measures” sounds high tech, it is actually the use of taste, sight and smell. Basically using primary senses to detect issues with the food.
Does Redbarn own its manufacturing facility? If it is another company, what company is it?
Redbarn owns both the manufacturing facility located in Great Bend, Kansas, as well as the treat/chew manufacturing site in Paraguay, South America.
In a previous answer, they mention some products coming from Canada, so it would be assumed they do not own that facility.
Do any parts of your product come from China?
The only products containing major components from China are 4 our filled rawhide treats: the formed rawhide for the Twin-Filled Rawhide Bone, Bagel, Roofle, and Filled Rolled Rawhide.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1242073/
https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/proposition-65-list
https://petfood.aafco.org/Nutritional-Labeling
https://petfood.aafco.org/Labeling-Labeling-Requirements
https://petfood.aafco.org/Calorie-Content
https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/ucm047120.htm
http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/banr/miscellaneous/dog_nutrition_final_fix.pdf
http://www.acvn.org/nutrition-resources/
https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/Products/AnimalFoodFeeds/PetFood/ucm2006475.htm
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Linda P Case, MS; Daniel P Carey, DVM; and Diane A Hirakawa, PhD, Canine and Feline Nutrition A Resource for Companion Animal Professionals, Mosby-Year Book, Inc.
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