Rachael Ray Dog Food Review: The Truth about This Pet Food

As pet owners, we always want the best for our furry friends. Learn about Rachael Ray Dog Food—a top-rated brand in the pet food industry.

Introduction

Generally speaking, the vast majority of dog foods have a blend of proteins, healthy fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and preservatives. Each ingredient is incorporated to play a particular role. Dog food brands are required to meet certain regulations that are set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AFFCO).

To verify that these foods are healthy for dogs, they must either be subjected through a special feeding trial or constitute a recipe, which meets nutritional requirements. If there is one brand of products that has been tested thoroughly and found fit for your mutt’s consumption, it’s the Rachael Ray Dog Food. This brand is praised for the fact it incorporates a high level of proteins, which are essential for your dog’s health and development. Let’s delve into Rachael Ray Dog Food Reviews.

At a Glance: Our Choices for the Rachael Ray Dog Food

• Rachael Ray Nutrish Natural Chicken & Veggies Recipe Dog Food
• Rachael Ray Nutrish Dish Natural Beef & Brown Rice Recipe Dog Food
• Rachael Ray Nutrish Zero Grain Dog Food
• Rachael Ray Nutrish Just 6 Dry Dog Food
• Rachael Ray Rustic Duck Stew Natural Wet Dog Food

*Note: The links in the table above, as well as several links in the remainder of the article below, will take you to over to Chewy.com where you can find out more information about the products, such as current prices and customer reviews.

Our Rachael Ray Nutrish dog food rating is 4.6 out of 5 stars.

Brand Review

After building a career as one of the most successful TV chefs, Rachael Ray decided to venture into the pet food industry. Her brand, which she dubbed Nutrish, has been in existence for about nine years, since its debut in July of 2008.

Rachael Ray claims that her dog foods consist of only natural ingredients such as real chicken and meat and wholesome vegetables and fruits. The brand alleges that their main goal is to ensure that dogs get the best of everything in life. Apart from dog foods, Rachael Ray also makes dog food treats that include meats and soup bones. Based on Rachael Ray dog food reviews, the quality of the brand’s formulas ranges from average to high, with some recipes being highly recommended. Customers also like the fact that the brand makes their products readily available in pet stores and online. You can purchase from renowned retail sites including Chewy.com and Amazon.

Ingredient Analysis

Although the actual brand name is Rachael Ray, the dog foods are manufactured by a firm called Ainsworth Pet Nutrition. The fact that Rachael Ray outsources her production should not alarm you. Ainsworth has been in the pet food industry for over eighty years; hence, you need not start getting diaper rush over it.

Now you may be wondering, Is Rachael Ray dog food good? In my opinion, this brand is perfect for any dog breed because it consists of only fresh meats and whole vegetables. Their products are also void of fillers and artificial preservatives. Rachael Ray has even provided her consumers with an ingredient glossary on her site. Most of these ingredients are obtained from the U.S. The top five ingredients included in Rachael Ray Dog Foods are:

• Chicken – the brand’s claim is that they use U.S. farm-raised chicken as the first ingredient, which is a plus. But, you should keep in mind that fresh chicken contains about 80% water. It means that once the dog food is cooked, this protein content decreases.
• Chicken meal – it’s listed as the second ingredient in the majority of Rachael Ray dog foods. Many pet owners have the false notion that the word ‘meal’ is a substitute for the by-product. In the true sense, this only means that chicken meat has been rendered to a moisture content of 10%. As such, it has a higher protein content than fresh chicken.
• Ground rice – put simply, ground rice is just rice flour. It may consist of either brown or white rice. Unfortunately, Rachael Ray does not specify the type of rice listed as the ingredient. Although ground rice is void of gluten, it provides minimal nutritional value to your pooch. It only offers calories to boost his energy levels and some dietary fiber.
• Soybean meal – it’s a by-product obtained from soybean oil production. Soybean is also gluten and grain-free. The perk of this ingredient is that it’s rich in proteins. However, the amount of protein is not as high as in animal-based proteins. Rachael Ray used soybean meal to enhance the protein content in their dog foods.
• Whole grain corn – this is one of the controversial ingredients that Rachael Ray dog foods consist of. Controversial because apart from triggering allergic reactions, corn provides little nutritional value. Even if it’s described as whole grain, it’s not a healthy whole grain for your mutt.

Pros

Is Nutrish a good dog food? Well, based on Rachael Ray Dog Food Reviews, the majority of customers are pleased with the quality of this brand. It explains why Rachael Ray dog foods are ranked highly on retail sites such as Amazon. Some other reasons why you should consider Rachael Ray dog foods include:

• The Use of U.S. Farm-raised Chicken

One of the reasons that have attributed to the brand’s quick rise to fame is that their chickens are raised locally. We also like that chicken is the number one ingredient in their recipes. It provides utmost proteins to dogs. More importantly, chicken meal, which has about 300% more protein content, is used as the second ingredient.

• Great history

When purchasing dog foods, one of the aspects that pet owners look for is familiarity with the brand. Incorporating Rachael Ray’s face in the packaging has really helped to sell their foods. For the most part, Rachael has spent her life in the culinary field. As such, you have guaranteed that she brings a lot of experience and skill to the dog food recipes she creates.

Cons

This would not be a genuine Rachael Ray Nutrish dog food review without the brand’s demerits. Like with many dog food brands, Nutrish is not perfect. The inclusion of rice, soybean meal, and whole grain corn makes many question the quality of their products. Apart from soybean meal, which serves as a protein boost, the other two are more or less fillers since they have very few nutrients.

Product Line

In our Nutrish dog food review, we’d like to note the brand’s four main product lines namely: Dish Dog Food, Nutrish Dog Food, Zero Grain Dog Food and Just 6 Dog Food. Rachael Ray also produces several wet foods for dogs. We will look at their best foods in each product line.

Recall History

Ainsworth has, on multiple occasions, stated that they are committed to making only safe and quality dog foods and there hasn’t been a dog food recall. It explains why none of the Rachael Ray Dog Foods has been recalled. The one and only instance where the brand got a recall was in 2015. But, it’s the company’s line of cat food that was recalled.

Conclusion

Overall, Rachael Ray is a decent brand of dog food. It has four main product lines: Nutrish, Zero Grain, Just 6, and Nutrish Dish. Based on reviews for Rachael Ray dog food, customers seem to like their products. The only thing to be cautious about entails the ingredients incorporated in some of their dog foods. Ideally, if your dog is prone to allergies, stick to the Zero Grain product line. Otherwise, their foods have balanced levels of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats.