Addiction Dog Food (Dehydrated)

by Mike Sagman
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Rating: ★★★☆☆

Addiction raw dehydrated dog food earns the Advisor’s mid-tier rating of 3 stars.

The Addiction Dog Food product line includes 8 raw dehydrated recipes… three claimed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for adult maintenance and four for all life stages.

Products marked with an asterisk (*) are grain-free.

  • Addiction Outback Kangaroo Feast*
  • Addiction Fig’licious Venison Feast*
  • Addiction Perfect Summer Brushtail*
  • Addiction Herbed Lamb and Potatoes*
  • Addiction New Zealand Forest Delicacies
  • Addiction Country Chicken and Apricot*
  • Addiction Steakhouse Beef and Zucchini*
  • Addiction Homestyle Venison and Cranberry

Addiction Fig’licious Venison Feast was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.

Addiction Fig'licious Venison Feast

Raw Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 22% | Fat = 11% | Carbs = 59%

Ingredients: New zealand venison, potatoes, papayas, canola oil, figs, carrots, spinach, tapioca starch, garlic, choline chloride, taurine, minerals (dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, zinc sulphate, ferrous sulphate, copper sulphate, manganese sulphate, sodium selenate, potassium iodate), vitamins (vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, d-pantothenic acid, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B12 supplemet, thiamine hydrochloride, vitamin D supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid), amino acids (tryptophan, threonine, methionine), vegetable oil, natural tocopherols, lecithin, rosemary extract

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 5.7%

Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients

The first item listed here is venison. Venison is considered “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered (deer)” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.1

Even though it is a quality item, raw venison contains about 80% water. After dehydration, most of that moisture is lost… reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight.

In this dry state, this item would probably occupy a lower position on the list.

The second ingredient includes potato. Assuming they’re whole, potatoes are a good source of digestible carbohydrates and other healthy nutrients.

Four of the next five items list a series of nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables…

  • Papayas
  • Figs
  • Carrots
  • Spinach

We note also the inclusion of canola oil. Most applaud canola for its favorable omega-3 content… while a vocal minority condemn it as an unhealthy fat.

Current thinking (ours included) finds the negative stories about canola oil more the stuff of urban legend than actual science.2

The eighth ingredient lists tapioca. Tapioca is an all-natural extract made from the root of the cassava plant. It is starchy carbohydrate that is not only grain-free but also gluten-free.

Tapioca is mostly used as a binder to hold all the other ingredients together during processing.

There are no known allergies to tapioca. And that makes it ideal for use in a hypoallergenic diet.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.

With two notable exceptions…

First, garlic can be a controversial item. Although the majority of experts favor the ingredient for its numerous health benefits, garlic (in rare cases) has been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs.3

Most of the literature we surveyed offered no conclusive evidence against the use of garlic… especially in small amounts (as it is here).

Lastly, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.

Addiction Raw Dehydrated Dog Food
The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, Addiction raw dehydrated dog food appears to be an above-average dry product.

What’s more, the gentle, low-temperature process used to create these products allows the ingredients to retain more of their natural goodness.

But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 22%, a fat level of 11% and estimated carbohydrates of about 59%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 23% and a mean fat level of 14%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 55% for the overall product line.

Below-average protein. Below-average fat. And above-average carbohydrates when compared to a typical raw dog food.

With no sign of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a dry food containing only a modest amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Addiction raw dehydrated dog food is a plant-based dry product using only a modest amount of novel meats as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand 3 stars.

Recommended.

Those looking for a wet food from the same company may wish to visit our review of Addiction canned dog food.

A Final Word

This review is designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in specific health benefits for your pet.

For a better understanding of how we analyzed this product, please be sure to read our article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews”

Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.

Have an opinion about this dog food… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.

Notes and Updates

03/30/2010 Original review
10/30/2010 Review updated
06/14/2011 Review updated (added Outback Kangaroo Feast)

  1. Adapted from the official definition of meat published by the Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
  2. Mikkelson, B and DP, Oil of Ole, Urban Legends Reference Pages (2005) ↩
  3. Yamato et al, Heinz Body hemolytic anemia with eccentrocytosis from ingestion of Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum) and garlic (Allium sativum) in a dog, Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 41:68-73 (2005) ↩
Dog Food Advisor IconThe Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.


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  • Marshafly8

    We feed this to four of our Italian Spinone (we have 9) that have allergy and digestive problems.  Have given the two Venison varieties, Chicken & Steakhouse Beef.  This is very easily digested and has made a marked improvement in allergy related problems.  It’s expensive but the cost of treating allergy related health problems are far more costly.  I’d recommend trying it & our dogs love it. 

  • Dawn Leder

    A LOT! :0o ! I USE IT..BUT..ONLY…AS A SUPPLEMENT WITH THE RAW AND FEW OTHER THINGS I TRY HERE AND THERE…BUT I LIKE THE BRUSHTAIL..WELL..I MEAN THE GIRLS…LOVE THE BRUSHTAIL..VENISON ALWAYS SOUNDS GOOD BUT..THEY BOTH ARE HIGHLY ALLERGIC TO IT!’I BUY THE SAMPLE PACKETS IF I BOUGHT THE BOX IT WOULD GO BAD BEFORE I USED IT ALL UP…WITH THE SAMPLES I CAN TRY THE OTHER FLAVORS TOO AND NOT BREAKING THE BANK :o ) YES I …ALSO..HATE..IT HAS SOOOOO MUCH POTATO! :O/

  • Jonathan

    It is unfortunate that there is sooo much more potato in this food than meat. How much are people here paying for this stuff?

  • Jonathan

    Chitra, so long as you shih tzu hasn’t had any intestinal reaction, I’d say the change is more than fine! I believe in product rotation, so changing up the protein every so often is probably a good idea.

  • chitra

    Addiction New Zealand Forest Delicacies was given to my 1 yr old shis tzu for the last 6 mths .she enjoyed her meal until there was some problems withfinding the food so we changed to
    Addiction Perfect Summer Brushtail*for the last week. she is also eating it without any complains. is the swtich fine for her

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  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Meagan… Thanks to your comment, I’ve now added Outback Kangaroo Feast to the Addiction dehydrated raw product line. After checking the recipe and the Guaranteed Analysis, this one fits right in with its siblings. So, no changes to the ratings are necessary at this time. Thanks for the tip.

  • Meagan

    Mike-Addiction has a new raw dehydrated formula called Outback Kangaroo Feast.
    http://www.addictionfoods.com/usa/prod_dog_outbackkangaroofeast.php

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Kyrie… Check out the lists of “Raw Dog Food” reviews. Many dehydrated are considered “dehydrated” or “freeze-dried” raw. Hope this helps.

  • Kyrie S.

    We ordered Country Chicken and Apricot for our danes to try and while the nutrient list left a few things to be desires (ash content like 12% or something like that?!) it really smelled like fruity granola and the dogs (a 3 month old dane and a 6.5 month old dane) took out 4.5 cups of the stuff in less than 3 minutes. Much faster than the Grandma’s artisan stuff. I did question the canola oil and I didn’t even see the garlic. And with 2 great danes going through growing stages I really worry about what to feed them. You see all these sites warning you about what not to feed your dane and i researched quite a bit myself. I love to spoil my dogs and cats and if I’m going to pay big money to give them the best then I want it to be the best. Do you have any dehydrated dog foods with a 5 star rating?

  • DAWN LEDER

    HI MIKE
    I DON’T KNOW IF YOUR AWARE…BUT ADDITION REVAMPED EVERYTHING…ADDED NEW THINGS. JUST A HEADS UP
    HAVE A GREAT DAY!

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  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Dave… Since the pet food industry (AAFCO) does not have an official definition for venison (and other novel species), we have adapted the standard definition for “meat” issued by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (2008). Of course, venison is the meat of a deer. So, thanks to your comment, I’ve now taken the word “cattle” out of the modified AAFCO definition for meat and replaced it with the word “deer”. It’s enclosed in parentheses to permit readers to know this description has been editorialized. Hope this helps make this description more meaningful. Thanks for the tip.

  • “Dave”

    You say that ‘Venison is considered “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.’

    Venison is deer, not cattle…