Which Redbarn Recipes Get Our Best Ratings?

Redbarn Naturals Dog Food Rolls receives the Advisor’s second-lowest tier rating of 2 stars.

The Redbarn Naturals product line includes the 5 rolled dog foods listed below.

Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile when available… Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Red Barn Naturals Beef Recipe was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

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Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.¹

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

The second ingredient is beef liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The third ingredient is beef lung, a protein-rich organ meat that’s also low in fat.

The next ingredient is wheat flour, a highly-refined product of wheat milling. Like corn, wheat is an inexpensive and controversial cereal grain of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

For this reason, we do not consider wheat a preferred component in any dog food.

The fifth ingredient is sucrose, a common sweetener better known as table sugar. Sugar is always an unwelcome addition to any dog food. Because of its high glycemic index, it can unfavorably impact the blood glucose level of most animals soon after it’s eaten.

The sixth ingredient is pea protein, what remains of a pea after removing the starchy part of the vegetable.

Even though it contains over 80% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

The next ingredient is dicalcium phosphate, likely used here as a dietary calcium supplement.

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 Redbarn product.

With 5 notable exceptions…

First, we find egg product, an unspecified (wet or dry?) form of shell-free eggs. Quality can vary significantly. Lower grade egg product can even come from commercial hatcheries — from eggs that have failed to hatch.

In any case, eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

Next, flaxseed is 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.

In addition, this food includes iron oxide, which is a synthetic color additive used in industry to impart a reddish color to food — and paint. In its natural form, this chemical compound is more commonly known as “iron rust”.

We’re always disappointed to find any artificial coloring in a pet food. That’s because coloring is used to make the product more appealing to humans — not your dog. After all, do you really think your dog cares what color his food is?

Next, this recipe contains sodium selenite, a controversial form of the mineral selenium. Sodium selenite appears to be nutritionally inferior to the more natural source of selenium found in selenium yeast.

And lastly, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually associated with higher quality dog foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Redbarn Naturals Dog Food Rolls looks like an average rolled product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 26%, a fat level of 11% and estimated carbohydrates of about 55%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 26% and a mean fat level of 11%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 56% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 43%.

Which means this Redbarn product line contains…

Below-average protein. Below-average fat. And above-average carbs when compared to a typical rolled dog food.

When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the pea protein and flaxseed, this looks like the profile of a rolled product containing a moderate amount of meat.

Our Rating of Redbarn Dog Food

Redbarn Naturals Rolls lists both grain-inclusive and grain-free semi-moist dog foods using a moderate amount of named meats as their dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 2 stars.

Not recommended.

Redbarn Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Redbarn through December.

• Redbarn Expands Recall to Include Multiple Brands of Dog Chews (3/8/2018)
• Redbarn Bully Stick Dog Chews Recall (2/10/2018)

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

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