Sportmix Original Dog Food Review (Dry)

Sportmix Original product range is made up of three recipes which each receive the Dog Food Advisor’s rating, 2 stars.

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

Sportmix Bite Size 21/8 was selected to represent both products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Ingredients Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is corn. Corn is an inexpensive and controversial cereal grain. And aside from its energy content, this grain is of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

The second ingredient is meat meal, “the rendered product from mammal tissues, exclusive of blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices”.¹

Since in this case the source animal is not known, this item could come from almost anywhere: spoiled supermarket meat, roadkill, dead, diseased or dying livestock – even euthanized pets.

On the brighter side, however, meat meals are meat concentrates and contain nearly 300% more protein than fresh meat.

Although this item does contain all the amino acids a dog needs, we do not consider meat meal a quality component.

The third ingredient is wheat. Wheat is another cereal grain and subject to the same issues as corn (previously discussed).

The fourth ingredient is chicken fat. This item is obtained from rendering chicken, a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.

Chicken fat is high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing, chicken fat is actually a quality ingredient.

The next ingredient is soybean meal, a by-product of soybean oil production more commonly found in farm animal feeds.

Although soybean meal contains 48% 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 actual meat content of this dog food.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

With three notable exceptions…

First, we find no mention of probiotics, friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing to help with digestion.

Next 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, Sportmix Bite Size 21/8 looks like a below-average dry product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 23%, a fat level of 9% and estimated carbohydrates of about 59%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 24% and a mean fat level of 10%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 58% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 39%.

Below-average protein. Below-average fat. And above-average carbs when compared to other dry dog foods.

Sportmix Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Sportmix through November 2024.

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

Our Rating of Sportmix Original Dog Food

Sportmix Original is a grain-inclusive dry dog food using a moderate amount of unnamed meat meal as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 2 stars.

Not Recommended

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