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PetGuard Dog Food Review (Canned)

By Mike Sagman

Updated: April 3, 2024

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Highly Recommended

Rating:

PetGuard canned dog food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4 stars.

The PetGuard product line includes 13 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.

• PetGuard Gumbo with Gravy [U]
• PetGuard Turkey and Sweet Potato Stew [U]
• PetGuard Chicken and Herbed Brown Rice [U]
• PetGuard Vegetarian Feast Dinner (2 stars) [U]
• PetGuard Chicken Stew in Gravy (3.5 stars) [U]
• PetGuard Organic Vegan Formula (not rated) [U]
• PetGuard Turkey and Barley Dinner (4.5 stars) [U]
• PetGuard Lamb and Brown Rice Dinner (3.5 stars) [U]
• PetGuard Organic Chicken and Vegetables [U]
• PetGuard Chicken, Liver and Vegetables Dinner (3.5 stars) [U]
• PetGuard Puppy Chicken and Vegetables Dinner (3.5 stars) [U]
• PetGuard Beef, Vegetables and Wheat Germ Dinner (4 stars) [U]
• PetGuard Liver, Vegetables and Wheat Germ Dinner (4.5 stars) [U]

Recipe and Label Analysis

PetGuard Turkey and Sweet Potato Stew was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is turkey. Turkey is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of turkey”.¹

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

The second ingredient is turkey 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 third ingredient is sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are a gluten-free source of complex carbohydrates in a dog food. They are naturally rich in dietary fiber and beta carotene.

The fourth ingredient includes carrots. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

The fifth ingredient is guar gum, a gelling or thickening agent found in many wet pet foods. Refined from dehusked guar beans, guar gum can add a notable amount of dietary fiber to any product.

The sixth ingredient includes cranberries, a nutrient-rich fruit that’s also high in fiber.

The seventh ingredient is 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.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

The eighth ingredient includes sunflower oil. Sunflower oil is nutritionally similar to safflower oil. Since these oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids and contain no omega-3’s, they’re considered less nutritious than canola or flaxseed oils.

Sunflower oil is notable for its resistance to heat damage during cooking.

There are several different types of sunflower oil, some better than others. Without knowing more, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this ingredient.

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 note the inclusion of inulin, a starch-like compound made up of repeating units of carbohydrates and typically sourced from chicory root.

Not only is inulin a natural source of soluble dietary fiber, it’s also a prebiotic used to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in a dog’s digestive tract.

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.

PetGuard Canned Dog Food Review

Judging by its ingredients alone, PetGuard canned 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 36%, a fat level of 23% and estimated carbohydrates of about 33%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 38% and a mean fat level of 28%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 27% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 74%.

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

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the flaxseed in this recipe, and the peas and wheat germ meal contained in other recipes, this looks like the profile of a wet product containing a moderate amount of meat.

Regarding the vegetarian products…

Please understand we do recognize the need for some dog owners to provide (for whatever reason) a completely meat-free diet.

However, we also respect a dog’s natural carnivorous bias. For this reason, the highest rating awarded any vegetarian dog food found on this website can never exceed 2.5 stars.

Bottom line?

PetGuard is a meat-based canned dog food using a moderate amount of named meats as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars.

Highly recommended (except for the vegetarian recipes).

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.

Those looking for a comparable kibble from the same company may want to check out our review of PetGuard Dry Dog Food.

PetGuard 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.

Get free dog food recall alerts sent to you by email. Subscribe to The Advisor’s recall notification list.

Notes and Updates