RawMix50 with Grass-Fed Beef Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Dog Food, 4-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Animals Like Us RawMix50 with Grass-Fed Beef is a freeze-dried food featuring a blend of beef organ meats.
This food offers good protein quality, with beef lung contributing to solid amino acid coverage. It also includes quality fat sources, like named fat with marine oil, which provides beneficial EPA and DHA. The inclusion of various beef organ meats adds diverse, highly bioavailable protein to the recipe.
The biggest watch item is the lack of an AAFCO statement, meaning its nutritional completeness is unverified. This food also contains menadione, a synthetic vitamin K3 that's banned in human supplements due to toxicity concerns.
Good fit for dogs on a freeze-dried, raw-inspired diet with diverse organ meats. Less ideal if you prioritize AAFCO verification or avoid synthetic vitamin K3.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Strong fit for active large sporting breeds, including the Labrador Retriever, navigating weight management. Working in its favor: crude fiber (5%) helps satiety. At 272 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. According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention's 2023 survey, 59% of dogs in the United States were classified as overweight or obese by their veterinary healthcare professional, representing an estimated 55 million dogs (APOP, 2023) .
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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Middle-of-pack grade. 46/100 (C) reflects the structural fit of this formula against The Sniff System's eight scoring components. Protein quality did the heavy lifting (+16.5 points): Reasonable protein quality. beef lung delivers solid amino acid coverage. What capped it: the score can't exceed 59 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). Removing the cap alone wouldn't change the band. AAFCO compliance is the deeper issue.
Reasonable protein quality. beef lung 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 protein quality in Animals Like Us's lineup (16.7/27)
- Lowest fat quality in Animals Like Us's lineup (12/16)
Computed against the rest of our catalog. Percentiles refresh on each catalog update.
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Three lenses on products with formulation profiles similar to this one.
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Scores 24 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
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Salmon instead of beef, 13 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.
- 1beef lung
Organ meat. Lean, protein-dense, real-food inclusion. More common in raw and freeze-dried diets.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2beef tripe
Stomach lining. Strong-smelling but nutrient-dense, with natural digestive enzymes.
Position 2. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 3protein animalbeef heart
Position 3. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 4protein animalbeef liver
Organ meat. Among the most nutrient-dense ingredients available, rich in B vitamins, iron, and vitamin A.
Position 4. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 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
- 7protein animalbeef
Real meat. Dense in protein and iron. Some dogs are sensitive to it, but for most it's an excellent base.
Position 7: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 8beef spleen
Position 8. Functional organ inclusion. Adds amino acids and micronutrients even at smaller weight.
- 9tapioca starch
Refined cassava starch, used as a binder. Easy to digest, low on nutrition.
- 10protein plantpea protein
Concentrated plant protein. Inflates the protein number on the label without matching the amino acid quality of meat.
Position 10. Moderate inclusion. Contributes carbohydrate and some plant protein.
- 11legumepeas
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 11. Trace inclusion. Below the level associated with the FDA's DCM-pattern concerns.
- 12canola meal
- 13poultry fat
Position 13: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 14fatfish oil
Concentrated omega-3s. The reason 'EPA' and 'DHA' get to show up on the bag.
Position 14. Trace marine oil. Contributes some omega-3 but well below the level that drives EPA/DHA totals.
- 15beef hydrolysate
Position 15: trace protein. Likely there for amino-acid diversity or label appeal more than nutritional weight.
- 16dried plain beet pulp
Beet fiber, with the sugar removed. Long unfairly maligned. It's a real soluble fiber that supports stool quality. See why →
- 17monocalcium phosphate
Source of calcium and phosphorus. Standard mineral inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 18mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 19green mussel
Mussel from New Zealand. Natural source of glucosamine and omega-3s. Common in joint-support formulas.
- 20mineralcalcium carbonate
Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.
- 21supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 22preservative naturalcitric acid
Natural antioxidant preservative. Helps keep fats from going rancid.
- 23mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 24fiberdried chicory root
Natural prebiotic. Feeds beneficial gut bacteria. The same compound (inulin) used in human gut-health products.
- 25vinegar
Mild acid used for flavor or pH adjustment. Safe at typical inclusion.
Showing first 25 of 50. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
19 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.