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Cocolicious Dog Food Review (Canned)

Rating:

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Data on Company Website1

Cocolicious Dog Food receives the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.

The Cocolicious product line includes 14 canned dog foods.

Each recipe below includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage: Growth, Maintenance, All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Important: Because many websites do not reliably specify which Growth or All Life Stages recipes are safe for large breed puppies, we do not include that data in this report. Be sure to check actual packaging for that information.

Use links below to compare price and package sizes at an online retailer.

  • Cocolicious Organic Beef [U]
  • Cocolicious Organic Turkey [U]
  • Cocolicious Organic Chicken [U]
  • Cocolicious Wholesome Pork [U]
  • Cocolicious Wholesome Duck [U]
  • Cocolicious Wholesome Lamb [U]
  • Cocolicious Wild Caught Salmon [U]
  • Cocolicious Wholesome Venison [U]
  • Cocolicious Tender Pork and Lamb [U]
  • Cocolicious Organic Beef and Turkey [U]
  • Cocolicious Organic Chicken and Beef [U]
  • Cocolicious Organic Turkey and Chicken [U]
  • Cocolicious Wild Caught Salmon and Pork [U]
  • Cocolicious Wholesome Lamb and Wild Caught Salmon [U]

Cocolicious Tender Pork and Lamb was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Cocolicious Tender Pork and Lamb

Canned Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 41% | Fat = 32% | Carbs = 19%

Ingredients: Pork, lamb, pork broth, organic coconut oil, organic brussels sprouts, organic kale, organic garbanzo beans, organic lentils, organic strawberries, organic bananas, organic chia seeds, organic liver, organic guar gum, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, niacinamide, l-ascorbyl-2- polyphosphate, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A acetate, folic acid, riboflavin, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement), minerals (calcium carbonate, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, zinc proteinate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, copper proteinate, manganese sulfate, selenium yeast, manganese proteinate)

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 6.8%

Red denotes controversial item

Estimated Nutrient Content
MethodProteinFatCarbs
Guaranteed Analysis9%7%NA
Dry Matter Basis41%32%19%
Calorie Weighted Basis30%56%14%
Protein = 30% | Fat = 56% | Carbs = 14%

The first ingredient in this dog food is pork. Pork can be defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered pork” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.2

The second ingredient is lamb, another quality raw item.

Both pork and lamb are naturally rich in all ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The third ingredient is pork broth. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. Yet because they add both flavor and moisture to a dog food, they are a common addition component in many canned products.

The fourth ingredient is organic coconut oil, a natural oil rich in medium-chain fatty acids.

Medium-chain triglycerides have been shown to improve cognitive function in older dogs.3

Because of its proven safety4 as well as its potential to help in the treatment of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) and chronic skin disorders, MCT can be considered a positive addition to this recipe.

The fifth ingredient includes organic brussels sprouts. The Brussels sprout is a healthy green vegetable and a member of the cabbage family. It’s notably rich in vitamin C, dietary fiber and other nutrients.

Like other cruciferous vegetables, Brussels sprouts are believed to provide anti-cancer benefits.

The sixth ingredient is organic kale. Kale is a type of cabbage in which the central leaves do not form a head. This dark green vegetable is especially rich in beta-carotene, vitamins C, vitamin K and calcium.

And like broccoli, kale contains sulforaphane, a natural chemical believed to possess potent anti-cancer properties.

The seventh ingredient lists organic garbanzo beans, also known as chickpeas. Like peas, bean and lentils, the chickpea is a nutritious member of the fiber-rich legume (pulse) family of vegetables.

Garbanzos contain about 22% protein, something which must be considered when evaluating the total protein reported in this food.

The eighth ingredient includes organic lentils. Lentils are a quality source of carbohydrates. Plus (like all legumes) they’re rich in natural fiber.

However, lentils contain about 25% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

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 four notable exceptions

First, we find organic chia seeds, edible seeds nutritionally similar to flax or sesame. Provided they’re first ground into a meal, chia seeds are rich in both omega-3 fatty acids as well as dietary fiber.

However, chia seeds contain about 17% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

Next, we note the inclusion of organic liver. Normally, liver can be considered a quality component. However, in this case, the source of the liver is not identified. For this reason, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.

In addition, 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.

And lastly, this recipe also includes selenium yeast. Unlike the more common inorganic form of selenium (sodium selenite), this natural yeast supplement is considered a safer anti-cancer alternative.

Cocolicious Dog Food Review

Since this recipe contains a number of organic ingredients, we feel compelled to grant this line a more favorable status as we consider its final rating.

That’s because organic ingredients must comply with notably more stringent government standards — standards which significantly restrict the use of any synthetic pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, hormones or antibiotics.

With that in mind…

Judging by its ingredients alone, Cocolicious Dog Food looks like an above-average wet product.

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 41%, a fat level of 32% and estimated carbohydrates of about 19%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 41% and a mean fat level of 32%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 19% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 78%.

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

When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the garbanzo beans, lentils and chia seeds, this looks like the profile of a wet product containing a notable amount of meat.

However, with 56% of the total calories in our example coming from fat versus just 30% from protein, some recipes may not be suitable for every animal.

Bottom line?

Cocolicious is a meat-based canned dog food using a notable amount of named meats as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.

Highly recommended.

Please note certain recipes are sometimes given a higher or lower rating based upon our estimate of their total meat content and (when appropriate) their fat-to-protein ratios.

Party Animal Dog Food
Recall History

The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to this product line. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls sorted by date. Or view the same list sorted alphabetically by brand.

To learn why our ratings have nothing to do with a product’s recall history, please visit our Dog Food Recalls FAQ page.

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A Final Word

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Notes and Updates

  1. “Last Update” field at the end of this review reflects the last time we attempted to visit this product’s website. The current review itself was last updated 5/29/2017
  2. Adapted by the Dog Food Advisor from the official definition of meat by the Association of American Feed Control Officials
  3. Pan Y et al, Dietary supplementation with medium-chain TAG has long-lasting cognition-enhancing effects in aged dogs, British Journal of Nutrition, Volume 103, Issue 12, June 2010, pp 1746-1754
  4. Matulka RA et al, Lack of toxicity by medium chain triglycerides (MCT) in canines during a 90-day feeding study,Food Chem Toxicol, Jan 2009, 47(1) 35-9.
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