Mulligan Stew Dog Food (Canned)

by Mike Sagman
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Rating: ★★★★☆

Mulligan Stew canned dog food gets the Advisor’s second-highest rating of four stars.

The Mulligan Stew product line lists six canned dog foods. Since we could not locate AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for these products on the Mulligan Stew website, we’re unable to report life stage recommendations.

  • Mulligan Beef Stew
  • Mulligan Duck Stew
  • Mulligan Turkey Stew
  • Mulligan Salmon Stew
  • Mulligan Chicken Stew
  • Mulligan Jackson Hole Stew

Mulligan Chicken Stew Dog Food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.

Mulligan Chicken Stew

Canned Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 39% | Fat = 27% | Carbs = 26%

Ingredients: Chicken, water sufficient for processing, cabbage, chicken liver, brown rice, horseradish, l-methionine, l-cysteine, beta-carotene, selenium yeast

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 6.8%

Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients

The first ingredient included in this dog food 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.

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

The third item is cabbage. Like broccoli and cauliflower, cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable rich in protective anti-oxidants and fiber.

The fourth item lists chicken liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal. So long as it’s not over-weighted in a dog food, chicken liver is a beneficial component.

The fifth ingredient is brown rice… a complex carbohydrate that (once cooked) is fairly easy to digest.

Horseradish is another nutrient-rich cruciferous vegetable.

Although we find no mention of added vitamins or minerals on the ingredients list, we are reassured to see a detailed list of naturally included nutrients (for each recipe) on the company’s website.2

Mulligan Stew Canned Dog Food
The Bottom Line

When you browse the company’s website, it’s hard to ignore the exceptional quality of the ingredients used to make this Mulligan Stew 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 39%, a fat level of 27% and estimated carbohydrates of about 26%.

These percentages were computed from an unusual set of numbers referred to by the company as “Typical Guaranteed Analysis”… and apparently some kind of average for the full product line.2

Yet the manufacturer graciously publishes an actual independent laboratory analysis for each of its six canned formulas.

We were puzzled to find these dry matter protein statistics to be even lower (30.6%) than the “typical” figures (38.6%) reported by the company for the group.4

In fairness to the brand, we chose to feature the higher “typical” percentages in determining our final rating.

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

With no sign of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a wet food containing a moderate amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Mulligan Stew canned dog food is a meat-based wet product using a moderate amount of named meats as its main source of animal protein… thus earning the brand four stars.

Highly recommended.

Those looking for a nice kibble from the same company may wish to visit our review of Mulligan Stew 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 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

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

  1. Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
  2. Mulligan Stew website, 4/3/2010 ↩
  3. Mulligan Stew website, 4/3/2010 ↩
  4. Dry matter basis computed by Dog Food Advisor ↩
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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  • Jan_Mom2Cavs

    I still love Mulligan Stew for my dogs and so do they. It digests well.  I plan on trying some of the dry in the future for them, too.  

  • JANDBCAIRO

    How are your dogs doing on the Mulligan Stew?

  • JANDBCAIRO

    How are your dogs doing on the Mulligan Stew?

  • JANDBCAIRO

    Are you still feeding the Mulligan Stew and if so how do you like it?

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Janice… Oops. Don’t know how I overlooked the brown rice. It’s fixed now. Thanks for the tip.

  • Janice D. McCollam

    Hi Mike, I just wanted to say that I have fed Mulligan’s Stew can food to my 4 dogs and they love it. I must say the smell is a little off-putting…smells just like cooked cabbage to me!
    But the dogs don’t seem to mind. I find they digest it very well, too. By the way, I did notice in your review, you mention it as being grainfree, but it isn’t. It does contain brown rice. Thanks for all your hard work. I recommend your site often!

  • Sharon

    I just left a comment on the Mulligan Stew Dry Formula since my dog Jazz eats mainly the kibble and is doing Great on it & loves it! However I do give jazz half a can of the wet food mixed in with his kibble for his dinner and he really Loves that! It’s true that it dosen’t have the greatest smell but to Jazz the smell is Wonderful! ( I think the smell may be because of the cabbage in it ) Regardless I think it’s an exceptional food. I do mix up that half a can of wet food at dinner with all the Mulligan flavors along with several of the Merrick can flavors.

  • Dj

    So far so good.. my dog loved Mulligans mixed with her regular dry food. I would definitely recommend it. Jennifer, have you ever smelled wet dog food before? It’s not supposed to smell appealing to humans! :)

  • http://mullins_jd@yahoo.com Jeff

    My 2 year old Maltese will eat the turkey just fine. It tool her a couple of days to get used to it. She has not been on the food long enough to see a difference. I have found on this web site better bands at the same cost so I may switch her, after she has finished what I have already.

  • Jennifer

    I have a 17 month old female black Lab and a 6 month old male fawn Doberman. The black Lab will eat just about anything and the Doberman is a little more discriminating. I bought different flavors of the canned versions to try them out and neither of my dogs liked it. Neither of them even came close to finishing their food that night. For me, the smell was atrocious and the consistency so thick that it made it very difficult to mix with their dry food. Quality is one thing but if your pets won’t eat it it’s money down the drain.