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While many low-quality commercial dog food formulas are loaded with inexpensive fillers made from corn, soy, and wheat, this Evolve Maintenance Dog Food is completely free from these ingredients. This commercial dog food is formulated for adult dogs, designed to provide balanced nutrition without artificial flavors, preservatives, or dyes. This dry food formula is oven-baked, made with fresh chicken as the #1 ingredient with several other high-quality ingredients like chicken meal, brown rice, and chicken fat topping the ingredients list. If your dog is sensitive to common allergens like corn, soy, and wheat, or if you are simply looking for a high-quality commercial food for your pet, this Evolve Maintenance Dog Food formula may be a good option to consider. In addition to being free from filler ingredients, this dog food is packed with whole grains, fresh vegetables, and other beneficial ingredients like flaxseed, egg, and probiotics. For a high-quality source of nutrition for your pet, this Evolve Maintenance Dog Food is a good option. Before you go out and buy this pet food, however, you should consider the ingredients it is made with and their impact on its overall nutritional value.
Ingredients List
Chicken, chicken meal, ground brown rice, rice flour, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), dried beet pulp, rice bran, oatmeal, natural flavors, flaxseed, dried egg product, fish meal, brewer’s dried yeast, salt, canola oil, potassium chloride, dried cheese product, dried skim milk, yucca schidigera, dried kelp, peas, carrots, celery, beets, parsley, spinach, lactobacillus casei, bifidobacterium thermophilum, enterococcus faecium, vitamins: choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, niacin, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, source of vitamin B1), pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, minerals: zinc polysaccharide complex, iron polysaccharide complex, manganese polysaccharide complex, copper polysaccharide complex, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite.
Explanation of Top 5 Ingredients
The top 5 ingredients included in Evolve Maintenance Dog Food are: chicken, chicken meal, ground brown rice, rice flour, and chicken fat. Below you will find a brief explanation of each of these ingredients:
Chicken – Listing a high-quality source of animal protein like chicken first on the ingredients list for this Evolve Maintenance Dog Food earns this dog food major points. It is highly preferable to many low-quality commercial formulas which list an inexpensive corn- or wheat-based filler first. One thing to be wary of with this ingredient is that fresh meat like chicken contains up to 80% water. This means that when the dog food is cooked and most of that moisture is removed, the meat content that remains will be much lower than the original weight of the ingredient.
Chicken Meal – Because the meat content of the fresh chicken used in this dog food formula may be much lower than the original after cooking, it is highly beneficial to see a second high-quality protein source listed next on the ingredients list. Do not be tempted to think that this ingredient is low quality because it contains the word “meal” – chicken meal is simply fresh chicken that has already been cooked down to a moisture content around 10%. This means that it contains up to 300% more protein than fresh chicken by volume. The fact that this ingredient comes second in order of volume for this Evolve Maintenance Dog Food formula speaks to the high protein and meat content of the formula.
Ground Brown Rice – Brown rice is a complex carbohydrate that is typically easy for dogs to digest as long as it has been cooked. This ingredient provides some nutritional value for your dog in the form of dietary fiber and calories for energy but, aside from that, it can only be considered of moderate nutritional value for your pet.
Rice Flour – Rice flour can be made from either white or brown rice and this formula does not specific which type of flour it comes from. This ingredient is simply ground rice and it is used as a gluten-free alternative to wheat flour for binding the ingredients of this dog food formula together. Like brown rice, rice flour provides some nutritional value for your dog in the form of dietary fiber and calories for energy but, aside from that, it can only be considered of moderate nutritional value for your pet.
Chicken Fat – Though this ingredient may not sound appetizing to you, it is a highly beneficial addition to this Evolve Maintenance Dog Food formula. Chicken fat is high in linoleic acid, a type of omega-6 fatty acid, which is an important part of a healthy diet for dogs. This ingredient is particularly beneficial when compared with sources of omega-3 fatty acids like flaxseed and canola oil (listed further down on the ingredients list).
Other Notable Ingredients
Aside from the top five ingredients, there are several other notable ingredients found in Evolve Maintenance Dog Food. Some of these ingredients include: dried beet pulp, rice bran, oatmeal, flaxseed, dried egg product, fish meal, brewer’s dried yeast, canola oil, and dried fermentation products. Though most of the ingredients included in this formula are beneficial, there are two ingredients which some might consider to be questionable – dried beet pulp and brewer’s dried yeast. Dried beet pulp is the byproduct of sugar beet processing and, though it is high in dietary fiber, it provides very little nutritional value for your dog otherwise. Brewer’s yeast is a byproduct of the process through which beer is produced and it contains some valuable vitamins and minerals. There is some concern, however, that yeast may trigger allergies in some dogs.
Rice bran and oatmeal are two gluten-free carbohydrates which also provide your dog with dietary fiber. Rice bran is a byproduct of the process through which whole-grain rice is milled – the bran contains protein, fat, and starch as well as some vitamins and minerals. Oatmeal is another whole-grain carbohydrate consisting of coarsely ground oats. This ingredient is a good source of dietary fiber and B-vitamins. Flaxseed, the tenth ingredient on the list, is typically ground into a meal which makes it a good source of dietary fiber for your dog. Flaxseed is also one of the richest plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids. One thing to be wary of with this ingredient is that it contains about 19% protein. Dog food manufacturers sometimes use high-protein grains and seeds like flaxseed in their formulas to increase the protein content without actually adding more meat.
Another important ingredient to consider in this Evolve Maintenance Dog Food formula is fish meal. Like chicken meal, fish meal is simply fresh fish that has been cooked down to a moisture content around 10% – this makes it a highly concentrated source of protein and a valuable addition to this dog food formula. Canola oil is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, though some consider it to be a questionable ingredient because it is processed from a GMO raw material called rapeseed. The final ingredient worthy of discussion is dried fermentation products like lactobacillus casei and bifidobacterium thermophilum. These ingredients are added to provide your dog with valuable enzymes which help to support healthy digestion.
Conclusion
Overall, this Evolve Maintenance Dog Food is an above-average commercial dry food formula. The fact that it lists two high-quality sources of animal protein at the top of the ingredients list is highly beneficial – it is also important to note that other protein sources including egg and fish meal are present within the top twelve ingredients. Where this formula loses points is in the fact that it contains two rice-based ingredients in the top 5 and there are several ingredients like dried beet pulp, brewer’s dried yeast, and canola oil which some consider questionable. For the most part, however, this formula provides more protein and higher nutritional value than the typical commercial dry food formula.
Paw Rating
This Evolve Maintenance Dog Food formula receives a paw rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Where this formula gains points is in the fact that two high-quality sources of animal protein are listed at the top of the ingredients list. Other beneficial ingredients like chicken fat, flaxseed, fish meal, and dried fermentation products also earn this formula some bonus points. Where this formula loses points is in the inclusion of several potentially questionable ingredients and in the fact that there are so many starchy carbohydrates listed in the ingredients list. Overall, however, this formula provides dogs with good nutritional value.
