Evanger’s EVX Restricted Diet Dog Food Review (Canned) 

Evanger’s EVX Restricted Diet product range is made up of five  recipes which each receive the Dog Food Advisor’s rating, 5 stars.

These are limited-ingredient recipes that support specific health issues, including weight management, food sensitivities, senior support, skin and coat health, and digestive support.

The table below shows each recipe in this range including our rating and the AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Evanger’s EVX Restricted Diet: Allergies and Food Sensitivities for Dogs was selected to represent the other products in the line for a detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Ingredients Analysis

The first ingredient is duck. Duck is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of duck”.¹

Duck is naturally rich in the 10 essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The second ingredient is venison. Venison is considered “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered” venison and associated with skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.²

Venison is naturally rich in all 10 essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The third ingredient is water, which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most wet dog foods.

The fourth ingredient is liver. Normally, liver can be considered a quality component. However, in this case, the source of the liver is not identified. For this reason, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.

The fifth ingredient is yeast extract. Yeast extract is the common name for a broad group of products made by removing the cell wall from the yeast organism.

A significant number of these ingredients are added as specialized nutritional supplements while others are used as flavor enhancers. 

NVGEN and Tynagen are the next ingredients. These are postbiotic ingredients, designed to support the gut microbiome. 

Postbiotics provide similar health benefits to Probiotics.  They are not live bacteria, but usually compounds which would be created by probiotics in the gut. These compounds act to support the gut bacteria and gut environment, aiding the health of the gut and it’s microbiome. Delivering functional benefits such as digestive support, gut health, immune support, and aiding brain and cognitive health. 

Tynagen is a postbiotic ingredient which has demonstrated to support immune function, create conditions unfavourable for pathogenic (or bad) gut bacteria (such as Salmonella), and help to enhance digestive efficiency. 

Below we have listed some of the component ingredients of NVGEN and Tynagen.

The sixth ingredient is hydrolyzed yeast. Hydrolyzed yeast is defined by AAFCO as a concentrated, non extracted, partially soluble yeast digest. Enzymatic hydrolysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells creates hydrolyzed yeast. Hydrolyzed yeast contains approximately 35% protein and can be used a palatant to enhance the flavour of dog food.

The seventh ingredient is brewers dried yeast, which can be a controversial item. Although it’s a by-product of the beer making process, this ingredient is rich in minerals and other healthy nutrients. 

Fans believe yeast repels fleas and supports the immune system.

Critics argue yeast ingredients can be linked to allergies. This may be true, but (like all allergies) only if your particular dog is allergic to the yeast itself.

In any case, unless your dog is specifically allergic to it, yeast can still be considered a nutritious additive delivering beneficial nutrients such as mannans and beta-glucans to support health.

The eighth ingredient is yucca schidigera is a natural extract made from a flowering desert plant and used in pet foods to control fecal and urinary odor.

The ninth ingredient is miscanthus grass, also known as elephant grass. Miscanthus is a non-GMO source of crude fiber.

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 the product.

This recipe has three notable exceptions.

First we note the inclusion of dried fermentation products in this recipe. Fermentation products are typically added as probiotics to aid with digestion.

This recipe also contains selenium yeast. Unlike the more common inorganic form of selenium (sodium selenite), this natural yeast supplement is considered a safer anti-cancer alternative.

Last, taurine, an important amino acid associated with the healthy function of heart muscle. Although taurine is not typically considered essential in canines, some dogs have been shown to be deficient in this critical nutrient.

We view the presence of Taurine in this recipe as a positive addition

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Evanger’s EVX Restricted Diet: Allergies and Food Sensitivities for Dogs looks like an above-average freeze-dried product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 40.4%, a fat level of 26.9% and an estimated carbohydrate level of 21.2%.

As a group, the brand features a protein content of 41.9% and a mean fat level of 27.7%. Together these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 18.8% for the overall product line, alongside a fat to protein ratio of 66%.

This means this Evanger’s product line contains above-average protein, below-average carbohydrate, and above-average fat, when compared to typical freeze-dried dog food.

Evangers Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Evangers through April 2025.

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

Our Rating of Evanger's EVX Restricted Diet Dog Food

Evanger’s EVX Restricted Diet is a limited-ingredient diet formulated by nutritionists and experts using high-quality proteins. It certainly deserves the 5 stars it has earned in our review.

Highly Recommended

About

Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Company was founded in 1935 by Fred Evanger.

All these years later, Evanger’s pet food line is manufactured on the original site, following the same tradition of uncompromising quality. Evanger’s remains a family-owned and operated company and in 2003, Evanger’s was the first pet food company to create a food that was packed by hand instead of machine by putting whole pieces of fresh meat and vegetables into the cans.

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