Humankind Dog Food (Dehydrated)
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Humankind Dog Food receives the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.
The Humankind product line includes 3 dehydrated dog foods.
Each recipe below includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage: Growth, Maintenance, All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.
Important: Because many websites do not reliably specify which Growth or All Life Stages recipes are safe for large breed puppies, we do not include that data in this report. Be sure to check actual packaging for that information.
- Humankind Active Dogs [A]
- Humankind Less Active Dogs [A]
- Humankind Highly Active Dogs [A]
Humankind Active Dogs was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.
Humankind Active Dogs
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Protein
Fat
CarbsCarbohydrates
Dehydrated chicken, sweet potato, organic potato, chicken broth, chicken breast, carrots, organic flaxseed, apples, dicalcium phosphate, whole eggs, broccoli, spinach, natural chicken flavor, salt, cranberries, cod liver oil, blueberries, dried chicory root, organic dried kelp, rosemary extract, zinc amino acid chelate, vitamin E supplement, iron amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate, thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), manganese amino acid chelate, vitamin B12 supplement
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 7%
Red denotes any controversial items
Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
---|---|---|---|
Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
Guaranteed Analysis | 35% | 17% | NA |
Dry Matter Basis | 39% | 19% | 35% |
Calorie Weighted Basis | 32% | 38% | 29% |
The first ingredient in this dog food is dehydrated chicken. Dehydrated chicken is considered a meat concentrate and contains more than four times as much protein as fresh chicken.
Plus (unlike chicken meal) dehydrated chicken is never exposed to high temperatures during processing, so it preserves more of the meat’s natural nutrients.
The second ingredient is sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are a gluten-free source of complex carbohydrates in a dog food. They are naturally rich in dietary fiber and beta carotene.
The third ingredient is potato. Potatoes can be considered a gluten-free source of digestible carbohydrates. Yet with the exception of perhaps their caloric content, potatoes are of only modest nutritional value to a dog.
The fourth ingredient is chicken broth. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. Yet because they add both flavor and moisture to a dog food, they are a common addition component in many canned products.
The fifth ingredient is chicken. Although it is a quality item, raw chicken contains about 80% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost, reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight.
After processing, this item would probably account for a smaller part of the total content of the finished product.
The sixth ingredient includes carrots. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.
The seventh ingredient is flaxseed, 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.
The eighth ingredient lists apples, a nutrient-rich fruit that’s also high in fiber.
The ninth 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 product.
With four notable exceptions…
First, this food includes whole eggs. Eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.
Next, we find cod liver oil, a fish oil known to be rich in both EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids as well as vitamins A and D.
In addition, chicory root is rich in inulin, a starch-like compound made up of repeating units of carbohydrates and found in certain roots and tubers.
Not only is inulin a natural source of soluble dietary fiber, it’s also a prebiotic used to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in a dog’s digestive tract.
And lastly, this food contains chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.
Humankind Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Humankind looks like an above-average dry product.
But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 39%, a fat level of 19% and estimated carbohydrates of about 35%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 39% and a mean fat level of 18%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 35% for the overall product line.
And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 48%.
Above-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical dry dog food.
Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the flaxseed, this looks like the profile of a dry product containing a significant amount of meat.
Bottom line?
Humankind is a meat-based dehydrated dog food using a significant amount of named meat as its main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.
Enthusiastically recommended.
Please note certain recipes are sometimes given a higher or lower rating based upon our estimate of their total meat content and (when appropriate) their fat-to-protein ratios.
Humankind Dog Food
Recall History
The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to this product line. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.
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Notes and Updates
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