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
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
- Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
- Bravo Website, 6/12/2010 ↩
