Valiant Pet Nutrition Raw Freeze-Dried Dog Food receives the Advisor’s second-lowest tier rating of 2.5 stars.

The Valiant Pet Nutrition Raw Freeze-Dried product line includes one dry dog food, a recipe claimed to meet AAFCO nutrient guidelines for adult maintenance.

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 heart. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing to us humans, heart tissue is pure muscle — all meat. It’s naturally rich in quality protein, minerals and complex B vitamins, too.

The third ingredient is broccoli. Broccoli is a healthy green vegetable and a member of the kale family. It’s notably rich in vitamin C and fiber and numerous other nutrients.

Like other cruciferous vegetables, broccoli is believed to provide anti-cancer benefits.

The fourth ingredient includes green beans, a healthy vegetable notable for its vitamin, mineral and natural fiber content.

The fifth ingredient is coconut oil, 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.

The sixth ingredient includes chia seed, an edible seed nutritionally similar to flax or sesame. Provided they’re first ground into a meal, chia seeds are rich in both omega-3 fatty acids as well as dietary fiber.

However, chia seeds contain about 17% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

The seventh ingredient is red cabbage. Like broccoli and cauliflower, cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable rich in protective antioxidants and fiber.

The eighth ingredient lists sunflower seeds, a good source of plant-based fatty acids that and are also rich in vitamins. minerals and dietary fiber.

The ninth ingredient is beef 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 one notable exception…

With the exception of zinc, 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.

Valiant Pet Nutrition Raw Freeze-Dried Dog Food Review

Judging by its ingredients alone, Valiant Pet Nutrition Raw Freeze-Dried dog food looks like an above-average product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 38%, a fat level of 43% and estimated carbohydrates of about 11%.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 114%.

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 chia seeds, this looks like the profile of a dog food containing a significant amount of meat.

However, with 68% of the total calories in our example coming from fat versus just 25% from protein, some recipes may not be suitable for every animal. In addition, this same finding also prevents us from awarding the brand a higher rating.

Bottom line?

Valiant Pet Nutrition Raw Freeze-Dried is a grain-free dry dog food using a significant amount of beef as its main source of animal protein. But because of its unusually high fat-to-protein ratio, this product earns only 2.5 stars.

Not recommended.

Valiant Pet Nutrition 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.

Notes and Updates