Bravo Balance Dog Food (Raw)

by Mike Sagman
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Rating: ★★★★★

Bravo Balance Raw Dog Food receives the Advisor’s highest rating of five stars.

The Bravo Balance product line includes three raw frozen dog foods… each meeting AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages.

  • Bravo Balance Premium Beef Formula
  • Bravo Balance Premium Turkey Formula
  • Bravo Balance Premium Chicken Formula

Bravo Balance Premium Chicken Raw Dog Food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.

Bravo Balance Premium Chicken

Raw Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 62% | Fat = 25% | Carbs = 6%

Ingredients: Chicken, chicken frames, chicken organs (liver, gizzards, hearts), green beans, broccoli, acorn squash, salt, potassium chloride, vitamin E, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganous oxide, potassium iodide, vitamin D

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 1.4%

Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients

The first item in this dog 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 includes chicken frames… the remaining bony carcass of a slaughtered chicken after most of the flesh has been removed.

The third ingredient describes chicken organs… specifically the liver, gizzards and heart.

The next three items include nutrient-rich vegetables…

  • Green beans
  • Broccoli
  • Acorn squash

Also, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated… which can make them more difficult to absorb. However, we are reassured to find a detailed list of all naturally included nutrients (for each recipe) on the company’s website.2

Bravo Balance Raw Frozen Dog Food
The Bottom Line

With human-grade, antibiotic-free poultry and hormone-free, grass fed red meat, Bravo Balance Raw Dog Food might just be one of the best products of its type we’ve yet reviewed.

But ingredient quality alone cannot tell the full story. It’s still vital to estimate the amount of real meat present before determining a final rating.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 62%, a fat level of 25% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 6%.

Since Bravo reports just 2% ash (and because our software uses 8% as its default), true carbohydrate content is probably closer to 12%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 57% and a mean fat level of 23%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 13% for the overall product line.

High protein. Below-average fat. And near-average carbs when compared to a typical raw dog food.

Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a raw food containing an abundance of meat.

Those looking to mimic a dog’s natural ancestral diet will find the Bravo Balance raw product line an excellent candidate.

And because of each product’s ultra-simple, single protein design, these dog foods make ideal selections for dogs with allergies.

Bottom line?

Bravo Balance is a meat-based raw dog food using an abundant amount of raw beef or poultry as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand five stars.

Enthusiastically recommended.

For more suggestions, be sure to visit the Advisor’s Recommended Raw Dog Foods summary page.

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 brand… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.

Notes and Updates

06/12/2010 Original review
01/12/2011 Review updated

  1. Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
  2. Bravo Website, 6/12/2010 ↩
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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  • monkey

    Amvolgi – Yeah, no dogs like the taste of Bravo. People just buy it for their dogs to look at.

  • Amvolgi

    My dog refuses to eat Bravo. I don’t know what it is about the smell but he just turns his nose to it. Don’t waste your money like i did and try a better raw dog food brand. JJ Fuds seemed to work nice until i switched to this crap

  • Gordon

    I no longer supplement fish oil to my dogs raw meals any more. They get a whole raw fresh ocean fish once a week. Mmmm, it’s slimy mackerel for next week. I now only supplement cod liver fish oil to non fish meals, for about 3 to 4 times a week.

  • Shane

    Thanks guys. Luckily there’s a pet supply shop only two minutes away from me that carry the bravo balance line. I also bought the fish oil and my dog happens to like it a lot.

  • Shawna

    “excellent quote quality” It’s gonna be one of THOSE weeks…. UGHHHH

    —excellent coat quality….. ;)

  • Shawna

    Shane ~~ I agree with the others that the shedding is likely a detox and will pass. Honest Kitchen and Sojo’s both use top notch foods in their products but both (esp Sojo’s) is quite deficient in protein. Protein as well as Linolenic Acid, an omega 6 fatty acid, are necessary for excellent quote quality.

    Make sure however that you are feeding Bravo “Balance” and not one of the other foods (like the buffalo, elk, duck, venison, lamb, salmon etc). None of those just listed are balanced — several are just meat only. NOT a good option. It must be the balanced line or you will end up with more issues then you resolve — down the line that is.

    The chubs are not supposed to be thawed and then re-frozen.. BUT, you can thaw the food out enough to easily cut it with a sharp or serated edged knife and avoid the squirtying hassels.. As long as their are still “ice crystals” it is safe to re-freeze — this comes right off Bravo’s website.. :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/Toxed2loss Toxed2loss

    Shane, the shedding stage will pass. I noticed the same thing when I’d get my son’s dog. The new food will initiate a “cleanse”. Just like Gordon said, on a lower quality food they will shed a lot more, all the time, as there body is constantly trying to get rid of inferior quality components. You’ll see more shedding and have more dandruff, oil and ear drainage, etc. in some dogs, when they get higher quality food, the added nutrients and protein “power” a more energetic ‘cleanse.’ With my son’s dog, a GSDxhusky, it lasted about 2 weeks, then he looked gorgeous!! :-)

  • Gordon

    Shane – No need to chop raw meats into pieces, if you just purchase RMB’s as they are, and carcasses, and offal etc.

    Re the fur shedding. I know that my dogs shed less fur than ever when on a quality and varying raw meaty diet as Mother Nature intended. Prior to my dogs being on such a diet, they were on a diet of processed pet foods and they were shedding more fur and had lack luster coats. With an exception……Such as some processed foods that are at least of higher quality such as Artermis and Eathborn range of kibbles that did show some great results for my dogs. But not like an appropriate raw diet, which does them the greatest all round health and appearance benefits.

    So my point is that feeding an appropriate raw diet includes using fresh and not stale meats, nor contaminated same with hormones and chemicals like many sources unfortunately can bear on such. These are even worse for feeding your dog, than what carrion (stale dead animal parts lying around or stale left overs) in the wild, is.

    Vigilance and care should be taken when choosing and buying fresh meaty and drug free sources. Then such should be stored frozen, then fridge thawed over 12 hours or so. If feeding Bravo, or similar BARF type meals, then expiry dates should be checked and the freshest possible, purchased. Freezer storage is paramount when not being fed and care should be taken that such commercial BARF are not allowed to thaw after purchase when arriving home before placing same in your freezer.

    The above are just some points in respect of taking care in how quality of raw is also crucial to be the case.

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