Weight Control Chicken Meal & Vegetables Grain-Free Dry Dog Food, 25-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Earthborn Holistic Weight Control Chicken Meal & Vegetables is a grain-free dry food with chicken as its primary protein.
Chicken meal as the first ingredient provides good protein quality and amino acid coverage. The inclusion of dried egg also adds to the protein diversity and bioavailability.
The biggest concern is the lack of an AAFCO statement, meaning its nutritional completeness is unverified. There's also significant legume stacking with peas, pea starch, and pea fiber high on the ingredient list.
Good fit for adult dogs needing weight management. Less ideal if you prefer foods with a verified AAFCO statement or high legume content.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Strong fit for adult Labrador Retrievers navigating weight management. Working in its favor: crude fiber (7%) helps satiety. At 315 kcal/cup this formula runs on the lean side, with crude fiber at 7% (above the catalog median, supports satiety), and the product name signals a weight-management design. 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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.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. 53/100 (C) reflects the structural fit of this formula against The Sniff System's eight scoring components. Protein quality did the heavy lifting (+14.5 points): Reasonable protein quality. chicken meal 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. chicken meal delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein.
No AAFCO statement. Nutritional completeness unverified.
Contains high legume stacking. Multiple pulse-family ingredients in top 15. Mitigated by taurine supplementation or organ meat (natural taurine precursor) in top 10..
- Lowest DMB fat in Earthborn Holistic's lineup (7.8%)
- Top quartile for crude fiber in grain-free dry kibbles (7.8% DMB)
- Lowest caloric density in Earthborn Holistic's lineup (315 kcal/cup)
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.
Eukanuba Fit Body Weight Control Medium Breed Dry Dog Food, 28-lb bag
Scores 22 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
True Acre Foods Grain-Free Chicken & Vegetable Dry Dog Food, 40-lb bag
$1.35/lb vs your seed's $2.65/lb (49% 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 animalchicken meal
Chicken with the water cooked out. Per pound, packs more protein than fresh chicken. See why →
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2legumepeas
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 2. 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.
- 3vegetablesweet potato
Complex carb with fiber and beta-carotene. Gentle on the stomach.
Position 3: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 4tapioca
Starch from cassava root. Highly digestible energy source, but pure starch with minimal nutrition beyond that.
- 5pea starch
Refined starch from peas, mostly carbs after the protein is removed. Counts toward the legume stack the FDA examined.
Position 5. Within the FDA's top-5 DCM-pattern threshold. Especially notable if multiple pulses stack here.
- 6fiberpea fiber
Insoluble fiber from peas. Doesn't carry the protein-inflation concern of pea protein. Mostly there for stool quality.
Position 6. Moderate inclusion. Contributes carbohydrate and some plant protein.
- 7dried yeast
Natural source of B vitamins and trace minerals. Adds a savory flavor that dogs respond well to.
- 8vegetablepumpkin
Soluble fiber that supports stool quality. Mild and well-tolerated.
Position 8: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 9protein animaldried egg
Whole eggs. The highest-quality protein on any ingredient label, by amino acid score.
Position 9: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 10fatflaxseed
Plant source of omega-3. Helpful for skin and coat, though dogs absorb omega-3 from fish more efficiently.
Position 10: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 11fatcanola 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 11: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 12othernatural flavor
Legal term for animal-derived flavoring, usually hydrolyzed liver or broth. Adds taste, says nothing about quality.
- 13protein animalsalmon meal
Salmon cooked into a dry concentrate. Carries both protein and natural omega-3s in one ingredient. See why →
Position 13: trace protein. Likely there for amino-acid diversity or label appeal more than nutritional weight.
- 14alaska pollock meal
- 15whiting meal
- 16fruitapples
Real fruit, some fiber and antioxidants. The amount in kibble is too small to matter much.
- 17fruitblueberries
Antioxidants, real. But the amount in any kibble is too small to do much. Mostly marketing.
- 18vegetablecarrots
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, and a small amount of antioxidant value.
- 19fruitcranberries
Often added with a urinary-tract-support marketing angle. Real cranberry compounds help in concentrate form, but kibble doses are small.
- 20vegetablespinach
Leafy green. Some iron, vitamin K, and fiber. The dose in kibble is small but it's real food.
- 21fiberdried chicory root
Natural prebiotic. Feeds beneficial gut bacteria. The same compound (inulin) used in human gut-health products.
- 22choline
- 23mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 24mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 25supplementtaurine
Amino acid critical for heart health. Especially important in grain-free or pulse-heavy formulas where natural taurine precursors run thin.
Showing first 25 of 37. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
22 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.