Stewlicious Meaty Beefy Stew, Grain-Free Canned Wet Dog Food, 13.2-oz can, case of 12
Graded by The Sniff System
Dave's Pet Food Stewlicious Meaty Beefy Stew is a grain-free wet food, primarily featuring beef and beef liver.
This formula offers good protein quality from beef, providing solid amino acid coverage. It also includes quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber and named fats with marine oil for EPA and DHA.
The biggest watch-out is the lack of an AAFCO statement, which means its nutritional completeness is unverified. It also contains guar gum, an emulsifier with emerging microbiome data, though this is a minor penalty in wet food.
Good fit for supplemental feeding or for owners who verify nutritional completeness elsewhere. Less ideal if you need a complete and balanced meal.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Good fit for lower-energy small companion breeds like French Bulldogs, Bulldogs, and Boston Terriers navigating a sensitive stomach. Beef broth leads at position 1. Frenchies have notoriously sensitive GI tracts plus a tendency toward obesity given their low activity needs. Limited-ingredient formulas with moderate calorie density tend to fit them well.
Looking at this for adult French Bulldogs or French Bulldogs with a sensitive stomach ? 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.
- NRC, 2006digestibility · fiber· cited in 2 claims
- AAFCO, 2024zinc
- Swanson et al., 2002prebiotics
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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.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 59/100, landing in C-tier (acceptable-with-notes). The biggest contributor was protein quality (+19.5 points): Reasonable protein quality. beef 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). If the brand publishing the AAFCO statement were on the label, the cap would lift and this formula could clear the B-band threshold (60).
Reasonable protein quality. beef delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
No AAFCO statement. Nutritional completeness unverified.
Contains guar gum. Emerging microbiome data on emulsifiers; no canine clinical evidence. Minor penalty in canned food..
- Top 10% for protein quality in Dave's Pet Food's lineup (19.4/27)
- Bottom quartile for crude fiber in grain-free wet foods (5.6% DMB)
- Top quartile for DMB protein in Dave's Pet Food's lineup (44.4%)
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.
Blue Buffalo Blue’s Stew Hearty Beef Stew Grain-Free Canned Dog Food, 12.5-oz, case of 12
Scores 1 point higher with a similar formulation profile.
Blue Buffalo Blue's Stews Grain-Free Chicken & Beef Variety Pack Adult Wet Dog Food, 12.5-oz can, case of 12
$3.75/lb vs your seed's $4.85/lb (23% less) at a comparable score.
Blue Buffalo Blue's Hunter's Stew Grain-Free Canned Dog Food, 12.5-oz, case of 12
Duck instead of beef, 3 points lower, different brand.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Wet and fresh foods contain more water than kibble (typically 65-78%). On a dry-matter basis, this food's protein content is roughly 44%, comparable to premium kibble (typically 30-45% DMB protein).
Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.
- 1beef broth
Real broth. Adds flavor and moisture, signals the recipe leans on real meat.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2protein animalbeef
Real meat. Dense in protein and iron. Some dogs are sensitive to it, but for most it's an excellent base.
Position 2: co-primary protein. Two named animal proteins in the top 2 is a strong protein build.
- 3protein animalbeef liver
Organ meat. Among the most nutrient-dense ingredients available, rich in B vitamins, iron, and vitamin A.
Position 3. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 4vegetablepotato
Standard white potato. Steady carb source, common starch in grain-free recipes.
Position 4: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 5dried egg product
Whole eggs with the water removed. Same nutritional value as fresh eggs, just shelf-stable.
Position 5: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 6vegetablecarrots
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, and a small amount of antioxidant value.
Position 6: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 7green beans
Real vegetable. Fiber and a small amount of vitamins. Often used in weight-management formulas because it bulks up a meal without adding calories.
- 8potato starch
Refined potato. Pure carb energy, low on other nutrition. Often used as a binder in grain-free recipes.
- 9legumepeas
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 9. Moderate inclusion. Contributes carbohydrate and some plant protein.
- 10wild rice
Position 10: minor grain inclusion.
- 11red peppers
- 12fiberguar gum
Thickener common in wet food. Emerging research on emulsifiers and the gut microbiome, but no smoking gun in dogs yet. See why →
Position 12: trace fiber inclusion.
- 13fatsunflower oil
Common plant oil. Useful in moderation for omega-6, though too much skews the omega ratio against the dog's favor.
Position 13: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 14mineraltricalcium phosphate
Calcium and phosphorus source. Same role as dicalcium phosphate, slightly different ratio.
- 15othernatural flavor
Legal term for animal-derived flavoring, usually hydrolyzed liver or broth. Adds taste, says nothing about quality.
- 16oat fiber
- 17fiberpea fiber
Insoluble fiber from peas. Doesn't carry the protein-inflation concern of pea protein. Mostly there for stool quality.
- 18brewers dried yeast
Yeast left over from brewing. Rich in B vitamins and amino acids. A traditional and well-tolerated inclusion.
- 19sodium phosphate
Mineral source and preservative. Standard inclusion at small doses.
- 20garlic
- 21mineralcalcium carbonate
Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.
- 22mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 23supplementparsley
Real herb. Trace amount of vitamins K and C. The dose in kibble is small, mostly there for label appeal.
- 24flaxseed oil
- 25fatmenhaden fish oil
Omega-3 from menhaden, a small oily fish. Same skin and coat support as salmon oil.
Showing first 25 of 55. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
20 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.