RawMix50 with Cage-Free Chicken Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Dog Food, 4-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Animals Like Us RawMix50 with Cage-Free Chicken Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Dog Food is a freeze-dried food built around chicken heart, chicken liver, and chicken.
This food offers good protein quality, with chicken heart providing solid amino acid coverage. It also includes quality fat sources like named poultry fat and fish oil, which is a good source of EPA and DHA. The inclusion of organ meats like chicken heart and liver adds diverse, high-bioavailability protein.
The biggest watch item is the lack of an AAFCO statement, meaning its nutritional completeness is unverified. It also contains menadione, a synthetic vitamin K3, which is banned in human supplements due to toxicity concerns.
Good fit for dogs whose owners prioritize organ meats and a freeze-dried format. Less ideal if you want verified completeness or avoid synthetic vitamin K.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Strong fit for adult Labrador Retrievers and similar active sporting breeds navigating weight management. At 274 kcal/cup this formula runs on the lean side, with crude fiber at 5% (above the catalog median, supports satiety). The landmark 14-year Purina Lifespan Study on 48 Labrador Retrievers demonstrated that dogs fed 25% fewer calories lived a median of 1.8 years longer and delayed the onset of chronic diseases. The 2014 AAHA Weight Management Guidelines define overweight as a Body Condition Score (BCS) of 6-7 on a 9-point scale. A score of 8 or 9 indicates obesity, representing 20-30% and >30% above ideal body weight, respectively (Brooks et al., 2014) .
Looking at this for adult Labrador Retrievers or Labrador Retrievers with weight management ? We are building dedicated pages for these combinations.
Auto-matched from this product's measurements (ingredients, life stage, calorie density) to a breed archetype. Not a substitute for vet input on your specific dog.
Research informing this analysis
MethodologyThe Sniff System grades this product against 3 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
- Brooks et al., 2014diagnostic · protocol · satiety· cited in 5 claims
- APOP, 2023prevalence
- Raffan et al., 2016genetics
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Sniff scored this formula 48/100, landing in C-tier (acceptable-with-notes). The biggest contributor was protein quality (+19.5 points): Reasonable protein quality. chicken heart delivers solid amino acid coverage. A hard cap of 59 also applied because the AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement isn't disclosed on the retailer page (so our methodology can't verify the formula meets adult, growth, or all-life-stages standards). Even without the cap, the base component scores sit below the next band. The structural fix would need to address AAFCO compliance as well.
Reasonable protein quality. chicken heart delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein.
No AAFCO statement. Nutritional completeness unverified.
Contains menadione. Banned for human OTC use but tolerated at AAFCO-permitted levels in pet food. The only AAFCO-permitted vitamin K source..
- Lowest crude fiber in Animals Like Us's lineup (5.6% DMB)
- Lowest fat quality in Animals Like Us's lineup (12/16)
- Lowest carb quality in Animals Like Us's lineup (8/16)
Computed against the rest of our catalog. Percentiles refresh on each catalog update.
Similar dog foods worth considering
Three lenses on products with formulation profiles similar to this one.
Nature's Diet Raw Mix Kibble Chicken Liver Inclusions Freeze-Dried Dog Food, 5-lb bag
Scores 15 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
A Better Treat Allergy Friendly Duck Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food, 12-lb bag
$5.83/lb vs your seed's $17.50/lb (67% less) at a comparable score.
A Better Treat Allergy Friendly Lamb Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food, 12-lb bag
Lamb instead of chicken, 5 points higher, different brand.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Controversial ingredients · 1
- menadioneSynthetic vitamin K3. Banned in human supplements due to toxicity concerns at high doses. Permitted in pet food but premium brands use natural vitamin K alternatives.
Every flagged ingredient has a published basis (confirmed harm / regulatory action / precautionary). See methodology →
Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.
- 1protein animalchicken heart
Organ meat. Dense in taurine, B vitamins, and CoQ10. One of the best ingredients dogs can eat.
Position 1. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 2protein animalchicken liver
Organ meat. Dense in protein, iron, vitamin A, and the B vitamins. Among the most nutrient-rich ingredients a dog can eat.
Position 2. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 3chicken gizzards
Position 3: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 4protein animalchicken
Real meat. Primary protein source, with the amino acid profile dogs actually evolved to eat.
Position 4: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 5protein animalpoultry meal
Unnamed poultry. Could be any combination of birds. Named meals like 'chicken meal' are far more transparent.
Position 5: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 6faba beans
- 7tapioca starch
Refined cassava starch, used as a binder. Easy to digest, low on nutrition.
- 8poultry fat
Position 8: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 9protein plantpea protein
Concentrated plant protein. Inflates the protein number on the label without matching the amino acid quality of meat.
Position 9. Moderate inclusion. Contributes carbohydrate and some plant protein.
- 10fatfish oil
Concentrated omega-3s. The reason 'EPA' and 'DHA' get to show up on the bag.
Position 10. Moderate marine-oil inclusion. Supplements EPA/DHA without being the primary fat.
- 11monocalcium phosphate
Source of calcium and phosphorus. Standard mineral inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 12legumepeas
Cheap protein bulk. Fine in small amounts, but when peas stack with lentils and chickpeas in the top ingredients, it's the pattern the FDA flagged in its heart-disease investigation. See why →
Position 12. Trace inclusion. Below the level associated with the FDA's DCM-pattern concerns.
- 13beef hydrolysate
Position 13: trace protein. Likely there for amino-acid diversity or label appeal more than nutritional weight.
- 14dried plain beet pulp
Beet fiber, with the sugar removed. Long unfairly maligned. It's a real soluble fiber that supports stool quality. See why →
Position 14: trace fiber inclusion.
- 15mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 16green mussel
Mussel from New Zealand. Natural source of glucosamine and omega-3s. Common in joint-support formulas.
- 17supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 18preservative naturalcitric acid
Natural antioxidant preservative. Helps keep fats from going rancid.
- 19mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 20fiberdried chicory root
Natural prebiotic. Feeds beneficial gut bacteria. The same compound (inulin) used in human gut-health products.
- 21vinegar
Mild acid used for flavor or pH adjustment. Safe at typical inclusion.
- 22supplementdl-methionine
Essential amino acid. Often added when plant proteins dominate, since methionine is naturally lower in pulses than meat.
- 23mineralcalcium carbonate
Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.
- 24supplementtaurine
Amino acid critical for heart health. Especially important in grain-free or pulse-heavy formulas where natural taurine precursors run thin.
- 25yeast extract
Yeast broken down to a paste. Strong palatant plus a real source of B vitamins.
Showing first 25 of 47. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
21 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.