Natural Grain-Free Salmon & Vegetables Formula All Life Stages Dry Dog Food, 24-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
AvoDerm Natural Grain-Free Salmon & Vegetables Formula is a dry dog food for all life stages, featuring salmon and herring as its main protein sources.
This formula uses salmon and herring meal as its primary protein sources, which offer good amino acid coverage and diverse, highly bioavailable protein. It's formulated to meet the nutritional needs for all life stages.
There's significant legume stacking, with peas, pea flour, and garbanzo beans high on the ingredient list. This is a pattern the FDA has investigated, though it's mitigated here by taurine supplementation or natural taurine precursors.
Good fit for dogs of all life stages. Less ideal if you're concerned about high legume content in your dog's diet.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Strong fit for medium-sized herding breeds, including the Australian Shepherd, navigating skin allergies. Working in its favor: calorie density (400 kcal/cup) matches a high-energy working breed. The protein deck is limited to salmon and herring meal. Aussies are working-line dogs that thrive on high-protein performance formulas. Coat quality also benefits from EPA+DHA. Zinc is essential for skin immunity and healing; the NRC (2006) established a recommended allowance of 20 mg of zinc per 1000 kcal ME for adult dogs at maintenance (NRC, 2006) .
Looking at this for adult Australian Shepherds or Australian Shepherds with skin allergies ? 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.
Solid grade. 64/100 (B) reflects the structural fit of this formula against The Sniff System's eight scoring components. Protein quality did the heavy lifting (+19.5 points): Reasonable protein quality. salmon delivers solid amino acid coverage. What we'd flag for vet discussion: controversial-ingredient penalty (-2 points). Contains high legume stacking. Multiple pulse-family ingredients in top 15. Mitigated by taurine supplementation or organ meat (natural taurine precursor) in top 10. A-tier is 11 points up. Controversial-ingredient penalty is where to find them.
Reasonable protein quality. salmon delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein.
AAFCO formulation inferred from declared all life stages. Verbatim statement not published by retailer.
Contains high legume stacking. Multiple pulse-family ingredients in top 15. Mitigated by taurine supplementation or organ meat (natural taurine precursor) in top 10..
- Bottom 4% for carb quality in dry kibbles (8/16)
- Top quartile for protein quality in AvoDerm's lineup (19.5/27)
- Bottom 10% for fat quality in AvoDerm's lineup (7/16)
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.
Natural Balance Specialized Nutrition Sensitive Skin & Stomach Adult Salmon & Oatmeal Formula Dry Dog Food, 22-lb bag
Scores 13 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Wholesomes Sensitive Skin & Stomach Large Breed Salmon Dry Dog Food, 30-lb bag
$1.65/lb vs your seed's $3.04/lb (46% less) at a comparable score.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.
- 1protein animalsalmon
Real fish meat. Natural source of omega-3s, which kibble usually has to add back from oil.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2protein animalherring meal
Concentrated herring with the water removed. Carries protein and omega-3s in one ingredient.
Position 2: co-primary protein. Two named animal proteins in the top 2 is a strong protein build.
- 3legumepeas
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 3. Pulse-family ingredient this high in the deck is a notable build choice. When stacked with other pulses in the top 10, matches the formulation pattern the FDA flagged in its diet-associated DCM investigation.
- 4legumepea flour
Powdered peas, usually used as a binder or filler. Counts toward the legume stack the FDA flagged.
Position 4. Within the FDA's top-5 DCM-pattern threshold. Especially notable if multiple pulses stack here.
- 5legumegarbanzo beans
Same as chickpeas. Part of the legume stack the FDA investigated. See why →
Position 5. Within the FDA's top-5 DCM-pattern threshold. Especially notable if multiple pulses stack here.
- 6vegetablepotato
Standard white potato. Steady carb source, common starch in grain-free recipes.
Position 6: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 7fatcanola oil
Plant oil. Some omega-3 from the parent plant, though dogs absorb it less efficiently than fish-derived omega-3. Fine in moderation.
Position 7: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 8supplementalfalfa meal
Dried alfalfa. Real fiber and trace minerals. Functional plant ingredient.
- 9avocado
- 10flax seed
- 11othernatural flavor
Legal term for animal-derived flavoring, usually hydrolyzed liver or broth. Adds taste, says nothing about quality.
- 12dried tomato pomace
The fiber-rich byproduct of tomato processing. Sometimes flagged unfairly. It's a real fiber source, not a filler shortcut.
Position 12: trace fiber inclusion.
- 13mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 14mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 15mineralcalcium phosphate
- 16mineralcalcium carbonate
Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.
- 17kelp meal
- 18avocado oil
- 19supplementtaurine
Amino acid critical for heart health. Especially important in grain-free or pulse-heavy formulas where natural taurine precursors run thin.
- 20mineralzinc sulfate
Inorganic zinc. Effective at AAFCO doses but less well-absorbed than chelated forms like zinc proteinate.
- 21mineralferrous sulfate
Inorganic iron. Standard mineral source. Iron proteinate is the gentler, better-absorbed premium form.
- 22iron amino acid chelate
Iron bound to amino acids for better absorption. Premium form versus inorganic iron sulfate.
- 23zinc amino acid chelate
Zinc bound to amino acids for better absorption. Same idea as zinc proteinate, the premium form of the mineral.
- 24mineralselenium yeast
Organic selenium grown in yeast. The form premium brands use, gentler and more bioavailable than sodium selenite.
- 25copper amino acid chelate
Copper bound to amino acids for better absorption. Premium form versus copper sulfate.
Showing first 25 of 37. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
20 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.