Reviews: A Few Cans

Earlier this month, I gave you a preview of canned foods I was going to try out. I decided to lump them together into one post, so here we go.

Tripett
Dog Food Advisor rating: ★★★★★

I purchased one can of the Original Formula Green Beef Tripe. This food is only meant to be feed supplementally since it lacks some of the essentials. For those who don't know, tripe is part of the stomach of a foregut fermenting herbivore (aka ruminant) such as a cow and green tripe is minimally processed and includes some of the stomach contents in the mix. This has a lot going for it. Unlike just giving your dog greens, since the stomach contents have been partially digested there is a lot more nutrients available to your dog. This is partly thanks to the special microbes these animals have in their stomachs that help break down otherwise indigestible material, such as cellulose. Also, the inclusion of other things like digestive enzymes can also be beneficial.

I bought a small can because this was just a trial.

Ingredients: Beef Tripe, Water, Garlic, Vegetable Gum

Nutrition Facts:
Crude Protein: minimum of 11.0%
Crude Fat: minimum of 7.0%
Crude Fiber: maximum of 0.5%
Moisture: maximum of 79.8%

What was inside

When I first opened the can I was surprised it was as packed in as it was. It had that unpleasant look that so many canned foods tends to have, including a jelly layer right on top. The jelly, of course, comes from the inclusion of vegetable gum to the mix. It smelled immediately like cow: that warm, herbivore smell that comes when you aren't smelling cow poop. After I got the stuff out of the can, I was a bit more pleased with its appearance. Once broken apart, it starts to look like the organ meat that it is.

Ebon really loved this stuff! There was a slight downside of making his breath smell like cow for several hours, but overall I was pretty pleased. I don't know if I'll be feeding this again. If I do decide to feed tripe in any frequency, I think I would prefer it fresher than you can even get out of a can. The fresher, the more natural enzymes will be present, and those enzymes are part of the reason people feed tripe in the first place.

Nature's Variety Instinct
Dog Food Advisor rating: ★★★★★

After how pleased I was with the Nature's Variety kibble, I thought I would try out the accompanying canned food. For this trial, I went with the Rabbit Formula, which was picked randomly from what the store had. This food is AAFCO approved for all life stages.

Again, small can for the trial.

Ingredients: Rabbit, Pork Liver, Water, Ground Flaxseeds, Tricalcium Phosphate, Montmorillonite Clay, Peas, Carrots, Calcium Carbonate, Lecithin, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Dried Kelp, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide), Artichokes, Cranberries, Pumpkin, Tomato, Blueberries, Broccoli, Cabbage, Kale, Parsley.

Nutrition Facts:
Crude Protein: minimum of 10.0%
Crude Fat: minimum of 7.5%
Crude Fiber: maximum of 3.0%
Moisture: maximum of 75.0%

What was inside

This can was another surprise as it's the brothy-est canned food I have ever seen! It had a pleasant, meaty smell, which is always nice. Many of the ingredients were discernible, which I much prefer to the nameless mush you so often see in canned foods. This was another big hit with Ebon and also sent the cats into a tizzy. The ever-sneaky Ash stole some broth. Ebon, as always, is amazingly okay with other creatures taking food from right under his nose. As with the kibble, I was quite pleased with this can. It's definitely going on my list of canned foods for occasional treats.


Weruva Human Style
Dog Food Advisor rating: ★★★★★

This was the first time I had seen the brand, and I find it interesting that they have an entire line of foods that are labeled "Human Style." I chose the Peking Ducken randomly from the choices the store had. The food is AAFCO approved for adult maintenance.

The cans are cute

Ingredients: Chicken (Boneless, Skinless, White Breast), Water Sufficient For Processing, Duck, Carrot, Potato Starch, Sunflower Seed Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Xanthan Gum, Spinach, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Nicotinic Acid (Vitamin B3), Ferrous Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Manganese Sulfate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

Nutrition Facts:
Crude Protein: minimum of 10.0%
Crude Fat: minimum of 1.4%
Crude Fiber: maximum of 0.5%
Moisture: maximum of 85.0%

What was inside

This was another food I thought looked beautiful, with basically every ingredient visible. Though you can't really see them, there were actually quite a number of duck chunks that ended up underneath the shredded chicken. It smelled a lot like chicken soup and, like the last can, made the cats crazy with the smell. Ebon loved it, which seems to be a theme with these foods. Ash tried to steal some, but I shooed him away. I might need to start doing some reviews with them just so they won't be so jealous! Anyway, this is another brand going on my list of occasional canned treats.

Ebon's been really loving these reviews, so here' a shot of his happy dance:

Just so happy!