NRG The Raw One Dog Food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4 stars.

The NRG The Raw One 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.

Click the links below to compare prices at an online retailer.

• NRG The Raw One Dehydrated Range Fed Beef [A]
• NRG The Raw One Dehydrated Wild Caught Salmon [A]
• NRG The Raw One Dehydrated Free Range Chicken [A]

NRG The Raw One Dehydrated Free Range Chicken formula was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken. Although it is a quality item, raw chicken contains up to 73% water. After dehydrating, 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 second ingredient includes squash. Squash is a nutritious addition high in complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.

The third ingredient lists carrots. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

The fourth ingredient is pumpkin. Pumpkin is a nutritious addition high in complex carbohydrates, beta-carotene and dietary fiber.

The fifth ingredient includes whole eggs. Eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

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

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 six notable exceptions…

First, wheat germ is a nutritious by-product of the wheat milling process and also rich in dietary fiber, B-vitamins and minerals.

However, since it contains at least 25% plant-based protein and depending upon the amount, this ingredient can boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

Next, garlic can be a controversial item. Although many favor the ingredient for its claimed health benefits, garlic has been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs.¹

So, one must weigh the potential benefits of feeding garlic against its proven tendency to cause subclinical damage to the red blood cells of the animal.

In addition, 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.

Next, coconut oil is a natural oil rich in medium-chain fatty acids.

Medium-chain triglycerides have been shown to improve cognitive function in older dogs.²

Because of its proven safety³ as well as its potential to help in the treatment of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) and chronic skin disorders, MCT can be considered a positive addition to this recipe.

We also note the use of, goat milk yogurt. Yogurt is a nutritious dairy product made from the fermentation of cow’s milk (or in this case, goat milk). It is naturally rich in protein, calcium and vitamins yet contains less than half the lactose found in whole milk.

And lastly, we find no added vitamins or minerals on the ingredients list. However, since the nutritional adequacy statement included on the label states the product is “complete and balanced”, we would assume these essential nutrients are provided by the food ingredients in the recipe.

NRG The Raw One Dehydrated Dog Food Review

Judging by its ingredients alone, NRG The Raw One dog food 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 28%, a fat level of 19% and estimated carbohydrates of about 45%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 28% and a mean fat level of 19%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 45% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 69%.

Near-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical dry dog food.

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

Bottom line?

NRG The Raw One is a dehydrated dog food using a moderate amount of raw named meats as its main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars.

Highly recommended.

For even more raw diet suggestions, be sure to visit the Advisor’s Recommended Raw Dog Foods summary page.

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.

NRG 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.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls sorted by date. Or view the same list sorted alphabetically by brand.

To learn why our ratings have nothing to do with a product’s recall history, please visit our Dog Food Recalls FAQ page.

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Notes and Updates