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Applaws Grain Free Dog Food Review (Canned)

Product May Have Been Discontinued
Unable to Locate Complete Label Info
On Company Website1

Rating:

Applaws Grain Free canned dog food receives the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.

The Applaws Grain Free product line includes the 6 canned dog foods listed below.

Each recipe includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage: Growth, Maintenance, All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

  • Applaws Chicken Breast in Broth [S]
  • Applaws Chicken Breast and Vegetables [S]
  • Applaws Chicken Breast with Pork and Vegetables [S]
  • Applaws Chicken Breast with Tuna and Vegetables [S]
  • Applaws Chicken Breast with Salmon and Vegetables [S]
  • Applaws Chicken Breast with Beef Liver and Vegetables [S]

Applaws Chicken Breast with Pork and Vegetables was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Applaws Chicken Breast with Pork and Vegetables

Canned Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 62% | Fat = 8% | Carbs = 23%

Ingredients: Chicken breast, chicken broth, ham, pumpkin, carrot, green pea

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 7.7%

Red denotes controversial item

Estimated Nutrient Content
MethodProteinFatCarbs
Guaranteed Analysis8%1%NA
Dry Matter Basis62%8%23%
Calorie Weighted Basis60%18%22%
Protein = 60% | Fat = 18% | Carbs = 22%

The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.2

Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The second ingredient is chicken broth. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. Yet because they add both flavor and moisture to a dog food, they are a common addition component in many canned products.

The third ingredient is ham, pork that’s been salted, smoked, and cured.

Pork itself can be described as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered pork” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.3. It’s naturally rich in all ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The next ingredient is pumpkin. Pumpkin is a nutritious addition high in complex carbohydrates, beta-carotene and dietary fiber.

The fifth ingredient lists carrots. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

The next ingredient includes peas. Peas are a quality source of carbohydrates. And like all legumes, they’re rich in natural fiber.

However, peas contain about 25% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

We find no added vitamins or minerals on the ingredients list.

Applaws Grain Free Canned Dog Food Review

Based on its ingredients alone, Applaws Grain Free Dog Food looks like an above-average canned product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 62%, a fat level of 8% and estimated carbohydrates of about 23%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 76% and a mean fat level of 4%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 13% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 5%.

Above-average protein. Below-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical canned dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the peas, this looks like the profile of a wet product containing a generous amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Applaws Grain Free is a canned dog food using an abundance of named meat as its main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.

Enthusiastically recommended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only.

Applaws Dog Food
Recall History

The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to this Applaws product line. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.

A Final Word

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Notes and Updates

  1. “Last Update” field at the end of this review reflects the last time we attempted to visit this product’s website. The current review itself was last updated 6/4/2020
  2. Association of American Feed Control Officials
  3. Adapted by the Dog Food Advisor from the official definition of meat by the Association of American Feed Control Officials
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