Rating: 
Before Grain canned dog food earns the Advisor’s highest rating of five stars.
The Before Grain product line includes six canned dog foods… all meeting AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages.
- Before Grain 96% Salmon
- Before Grain 96% Chicken
- Before Grain 96% Turkey
- Before Grain 96% Beef
- Before Grain 96% Tripe
- Before Grain 96% Buffalo
Before Grain 96% Chicken was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Before Grain 96% Chicken
Canned Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Chicken, chicken broth, dried egg, yeast extract, calcium carbonate, sodium phosphate, potassium chloride, salt, guar, choline chloride, taurine, carageenan, mixed tocopherols, vitamin E supplement, zinc amino acid complex, iron amino acid complex, manganese amino acid complex, vitamin B12 supplement, copper amino acid complex, d-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A acetate, niacin, lecithin, vitamin D3 supplement, riboflavin supplement, folic acid, ethylenediamine dihydriodide, colbalt glucoheptanate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, sodium selenite
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 6.4%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient in this food lists chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.1
Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
The second ingredient lists chicken broth. Broths are nutritionally empty. But because they add moisture to a dog food they are a common finding in many canned products.
The third ingredient is dried egg product… a dehydrated form of shell-free eggs. Quality can vary significantly. Lower grade egg product can even come from commercial hatcheries… from eggs that have failed to hatch.
In any case, eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.
The yeast extract mentioned here is probably used as a flavor and immune system enhancer. Although you may have heard otherwise, the glutamic acid found in yeast extract is a food additive generally recognized as safe by the USFDA.2
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 one notable exception…
This dog food also contains chelated minerals… minerals that have been chemically attached to amino acids. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are generally found in better dog foods.
Before Grain Canned Dog Food
The Bottom Line
This may not just be a good dog food. But an important one, too. Before Grain is a certified3 low glycemic product making it an ideal candidate for feeding a diabetic dog.
What’s more, judging by its ingredients alone, Before Grain surely looks like an excellent canned dog food.
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.
You’d expect any product that boldly reports “96% Chicken” right there in its name to show very high protein (and fat) readings on our dashboard.
Yet surprisingly this Before Grain product does not. Just look at these numbers…
The dashboard reports a dry matter protein reading of 41%, a fat level of 27% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 24%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 42% and a mean fat level of 25%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 25% for the overall product line.
Near-average protein. Near-average fat. And near-average carbohydrates… when compared to a typical canned dog food.
This makes no sense. This dog food is 96% meat. The protein and fat numbers should be higher… and our carbohydrate estimate should be lower (much lower)… maybe even as low as 10%.
So, what’s going on here?
Although we can’t be sure why, we believe Before Grain’s reported Guaranteed Analysis numbers may possibly be in error. After all, how could we arrive at a carbohydrate estimate of 25%?
What ingredient here could possibly contribute all those carbs?
Relying on these numbers alone, we’d have no choice but to award this dog food just four stars.
However, we’ve elected to overlook the reported nutrient content here and go with the company’s promise that this dog food contains 96% meat.
Bottom line?
Before Grain canned dog food is a meat-based product utilizing an abundance of high quality animal ingredients as its primary source of protein… thus earning the brand five stars.
Enthusiastically recommended.
Those looking for a quality kibble from the same company may wish to visit our review of Before Grain dry 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 a specific health benefit 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
02/09/2010 Original review
09/16/2010 Review updated
- Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
- L-Glutamic Acid, FDA Select Committee on GRAS Substances ↩
- Glycemic Research Institute ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.