Mighty Dog (Canned)

Rating:

Mighty Dog dog food receives the Advisor’s second-lowest rating of two stars.

The Mighty Dog product line lists eighteen canned dog foods… offered under six sub-brands. All but the Senior Dinner (for adults only) meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for growth and maintenance.

• Mighty Dog Senior Dinner (1 flavor)
• Mighty Dog I Rule Roasters (3 flavors)
• Mighty Dog Go-Getter Grillers (3 flavors)
• Mighty Dog Boss Dog Dinners (5 flavors)
• Mighty Dog My Way Meaty Dinners (3 flavors)
• Mighty Dog Now You’re Barkin’ Cuts (3 flavors)

Mighty Dog Go-Getter Grillers Tenderloin Tips Flavor dog food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.

The first ingredient in this dog food is water… which (of course) adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.

The second ingredient is beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.¹

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

The third ingredient is liver. Normally, a named liver ingredient can be a nutritious component. However, the source species of this liver is anonymous… generic. It could come from almost any animal.

For this reason, this item cannot be considered a quality ingredient.

The fourth item is wheat gluten. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once wheat has had most of its starchy carbohydrate (the good stuff) washed out of it.

Compared to meat, glutens are inferior grain-based proteins lower in many of the essential amino acids dogs need for life.

This less nutritious ingredient can significantly boost the total protein content reported in this dog food.

The fifth ingredient is meat by-products… slaughterhouse waste. This is what’s left of slaughtered animals after all the prime cuts have been removed.

In a nutshell, meat by-products are the unsavory leftovers of processing considered by many “unfit for human consumption”.

With the exception of hair, horns, teeth and hooves, this stuff can include heads, ovaries or developing fetuses.¹

What’s worse, this particular item is anonymous. It doesn’t even specify the source animal. So, this meat can even come from almost anywhere… even diseased or dying livestock.

Although meat by-products can be high in protein, we do not consider a generic ingredient like this a quality item.

The sixth ingredient lists soy flour… a high-protein by-product of soybean processing.

Compared to meat, soy protein has a notably lower biological value. Yet it is still capable of raising the protein content of this food.

The seventh ingredient is 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. But this particular item is located rather far down the ingredient list. So, it is unlikely to provide much to the overall content of this food.

The eighth item lists cornstarch… a starchy powder extracted from endosperm found at the heart of a kernel of corn. Cornstarch is most likely used here to thicken the broth.

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 two notable exceptions…

First, we’re always disappointed to find artificial coloring in any dog food.

Coloring is used to make the product more appealing to you… not your dog. After all, do you really think your dog cares what color his food is?

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.

Mighty Dog Dog Food
The Bottom Line

With its dashboard lit up with so many Red Flag items, Mighty Dog appears to be a below-average 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.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 46%, a fat level of 14% and estimated carbohydrates of about 33%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 43% and a mean fat level of 19%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 30% for the overall product line.

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

In addition, when you consider the plant-based protein-boosting effect of the wheat-gluten and soy flour, this looks like the profile of a wet food containing a below-average amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Mighty Dog is a meat-based canned dog food deriving much of its nutrient content from plant-based protein enhancers and meat by-products… thus earning the brand two stars.

Not recommended.

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

Notes and Updates

04/11/2010 Original review
11/11/2010 Review updated

The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.

Where to Buy Dog Food at a Store Near You
or
Shop at an Online Retailer - Free Shipping