Advanced Pet Diets Lite (Dry)
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Unrated
Advanced Pet Diets Lite dog food gets the Advisor’s mid-tier rating of three stars stars.
The Advanced Pet Diets Dog Food brand is marketed by Breeder’s Choice Pet Foods and includes just one lite kibble.
Although the product appears to be designed for weight loss, we found no AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for this dog food on the Advanced Pet Diets website.
Advanced Pet Diets Select Choice Lite Formula
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Protein
Fat
CarbsCarbohydrates
Brown rice, ground rice, chicken meal, rice bran, pearl barley, lamb meal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), salmon meal, natural flavor, flax seed, canola oil, Yucca schidigera, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation product, dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, choline chloride, zinc oxide, zinc amino acid chelate, iron sulfate, vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3, manganous oxide, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, copper sulfate, manganese amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate, riboflavin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, folic acid, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, d-biotin, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, cobalt carbonate
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 7%
Red denotes any controversial items
Ingredient Analysis
The first item in this dog food is brown rice. Brown rice is a quality ingredient… a complex carbohydrate that (once cooked) is fairly easy to digest.
The second ingredient mentions simply ground 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.
Not until we reach the third ingredient do we notice the product’s first meat item… chicken meal. Chicken meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.
The fourth ingredient is rice bran… a healthy by-product of rice milling. Though not as nutritionally complete as whole grain rice, brans are still unusually rich in fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals.
With three of the first four items are all rice items, rice is obviously the predominant ingredient in this dog food.
The fifth ingredient lists barley. Barley is a starchy carbohydrate supplying fiber and other healthy nutrients. Unlike grains with a higher glycemic index (like rice), barley can help maintain stable blood sugar levels in dogs. This is another grain ingredient.
The sixth item includes lamb meal. Like chicken meal, lamb meal is considered another high-protein meat concentrate.
The seventh ingredient is chicken fat. Chicken fat is obtained from rendering chicken… a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.
Chicken fat is high in linoleic acid… an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life. Though it doesn’t sound very appetizing, chicken fat is a quality ingredient.
The eighth ingredient is salmon meal… yet one more protein-rich meat concentrate.
We are pleased to note that, unlike many fish meals, this particular item2 appears to be ethoxyquin-free.
After the natural flavor, we find flaxseed… one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.
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 three notable exceptions…
First, this product contains canola oil. Most applaud canola for its favorable omega-3 content… while a vocal minority condemn it as an unhealthy fat.
Current thinking (ours included) finds the negative stories about canola oil more the stuff of urban legend than actual science.3
Next, the manufacturer appears to have applied friendly bacteria to the surface of the kibble after cooking. These special probiotics are used to enhance a dog’s digestive and immune functions.
And lastly, this food contains chelated minerals… minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.
Nutrient Analysis
Judging by its ingredients alone, Advanced Pet Diets appears to be an above-average.
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.
And with four of its first five ingredients all cereal grains, we have little confidence in finding much meat in this kibble.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 19%, a fat level of 9% and estimated carbohydrates of about 64%.
Low protein. Low fat. And high carbohydrates… when compared to a typical dry dog food.
This Advanced Pet Diets Lite dog food isn’t just “lite” on calories… it’s apparently light on meat, too.
Bottom line?
Advanced Pet Diets is a rice-based dry dog food using a limited amount of chicken meal as its main source of animal protein… thus earning the brand three stars.
Recommended.
Those looking for a higher rated kibble from the same company may wish to visit our review of Advanced Pet Diets dog food.
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