Rating: 
Dave’s Delicate Dinner dog food gets the Advisor’s second-highest rating of four stars.
The Dave’s Delicate Dinner product line includes just one canned dog food… designed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for growth and maintenance.
Dave's Delicate Dinner
Canned Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Chicken, water sufficient for processing, rice, zinc sulfate, iron sulfate, vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), copper sulfate, selenium yeast, manganese sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, calcium pantothenate, vitamin A supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, biotin, vitamin D2 supplement and ethylenediamine dihydriodide (source of iodine)
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 6.8%
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 is water… which (of course) adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.
The third item lists rice. Is this whole grain rice, brown rice or white rice? Since the word “rice” doesn’t tell us much, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.
And 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.
Dave’s Delicate Dinner… the Bottom Line
According to the company, this dog food is designed for any dog “that needs a simple diet that’s easy to digest”.2
Well, if simple’s what you’re after, it doesn’t get much simpler than Dave’s Delicate Dinner.
Just three main ingredients… chicken, rice and (of course) water. The rest are supplements.
But recipe simplicity 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 41%, a fat level of 18% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 33%.
Subtracting the fiber (6.8%) yields an effective carb content of about 26%.
Near-average protein. Below-average fat. And above-average carbs when compared to a typical canned dog food.
Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this is the profile of a wet food containing a moderate amount of meat.
A great hypoallergenic dog food.
However, we would have preferred to seen the inclusion of chelated minerals in this recipe.
Bottom line?
Dave’s Delicate Dinner is a meat-based canned dog food using a moderate amount of chicken as its main source of animal protein… thus earning the brand four stars.
Highly recommended.
Those looking for a another wet product with more protein may wish to visit our review of Dave’s 95% Premium 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 brand… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
05/21/2010 Original review
12/21/2010 Review updated
- Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
- Dave’s Pet Food Website, 5/21/2010 ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.