Unrated

Wysong Anergen Canine Diet canned dog food earns the Advisor’s mid-tier rating of 3 stars.

The Wysong Anergen Canine product line includes one canned dog food, a product claimed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for adult maintenance.

The first ingredient in this dog food is lamb. Lamb is considered “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered” lamb and associated with skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.¹

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

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

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

The fourth ingredient is brown rice, a complex carbohydrate that (once cooked) can be fairly easy to digest. However, aside from its natural energy content, rice is of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

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

The sixth ingredient is dicalcium phosphate, likely used here as a dietary calcium supplement.

The seventh ingredient is bone meal. Although it’s considered a quality source of calcium, magnesium and essential trace minerals, even human-grade bone meal supplements can contain higher levels of mercury, lead and other metals.²

The eighth ingredient is yeast culture. Although yeast culture is high in B-vitamins and protein, it can also be used as a probiotic to aid in digestion.

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 three notable exceptions…

First, 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, garlic can be a controversial item. Although most experts favor the ingredient for its numerous health benefits, garlic (in rare cases) has been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs.³

However, the limited professional literature we surveyed provided no definitive warnings regarding the use of garlic — especially when used in small amounts (as it likely is here).

And lastly, this food also 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.

Wysong Anergen Canine Diet
The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, Wysong Anergen Canine Diet looks like an above average canned dog food.

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 12% and estimated carbohydrates of about 52%.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 43%.

Below-average protein. Below-average fat. And above-average carbs when compared to a typical wet dog food.

When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the flaxseed, this still looks like the profile of a wet product containing a modest amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Wysong Anergen Canine Diet is a rice-based canned dog food using a modest amount of lamb and lamb liver as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 3 stars.

Recommended.

Those looking for a wet dog food with a higher meat content may wish to read our review of Wysong Gourmet Canned Dog Food.

Notes and Updates