Super Premium Game Bird Recipe with Coconut Oil Dry Dog Food, 33-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Evanger's Super Premium Game Bird Recipe with Coconut Oil is a dry food featuring duck and turkey as its main protein sources.
This formula offers good protein quality, with duck meal providing solid amino acid coverage for your dog. It also includes quality carbohydrate sources that provide beneficial fermentable fiber.
The main thing to note is the absence of an AAFCO statement, which means the nutritional completeness of this food is unverified. This factor capped its overall score.
Good fit for dogs whose owners prioritize duck and turkey proteins. Less ideal if you require a verified AAFCO statement for nutritional completeness.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Good fit for adult Labrador Retrievers navigating weight management. At 401 kcal/cup this formula runs on the rich side. 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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Sniff scored this formula 59/100, landing in C-tier (acceptable-with-notes). The biggest contributor was protein quality (+17.5 points): Reasonable protein quality. duck meal 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. duck meal delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
No AAFCO statement. Nutritional completeness unverified.
- Lowest DMB protein in Evanger's's lineup (26.7%)
- Top 10% for carb quality in Evanger's's lineup (13/16)
- Lowest crude fiber in Evanger's's lineup (3.9% DMB)
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.
Evanger's Super Premium Chicken with Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food, 33-lb bag
Scores 18 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Supreme Source Grain-Free Turkey Meal & Sweet Potato Recipe Dry Dog Food, 22-lb bag
$1.82/lb vs your seed's $3.17/lb (43% less) at a comparable score.
ACANA Free Run Poultry Grain-Free Dry Dog Food, 25-lb bag
Chicken instead of duck, 15 points higher, different brand.
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 animalduck meal
Duck cooked into a dry concentrate. Per pound, more protein than fresh duck.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2protein animalturkey meal
Turkey with the water cooked out. Per pound, packs more protein than fresh turkey. See why →
Position 2: co-primary protein. Two named animal proteins in the top 2 is a strong protein build.
- 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.
- 4legumelentils
Same concern as peas. Affordable plant protein, but when they pile up in the top 5 ingredients, it's a flag. See why →
Position 4. Within the FDA's top-5 DCM-pattern threshold. Especially notable if multiple pulses stack here.
- 5grainbrown rice
Whole grain that's easy to digest. Steady carb energy plus a little fiber.
Position 5: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 6duck fat
Position 6: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 7grainpearled barley
Barley with the outer hull removed. Easy to digest, steady carb release.
Position 7: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 8othernatural flavors
Same as natural flavor. Usually hydrolyzed liver or broth, adds palatability.
- 9monocalcium phosphate
Source of calcium and phosphorus. Standard mineral inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 10fatcoconut oil
Saturated fat with medium-chain triglycerides. Mostly marketing in the doses kibble uses, but harmless.
Position 10: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 11dried kale
Leafy green with antioxidants and fiber. Small dose in kibble, but it's not just for marketing.
- 12dried spinach
Leafy green. Some iron, vitamin K, and fiber. The dose in kibble is small but it's real food.
- 13vegetablecarrots
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, and a small amount of antioxidant value.
Position 13: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 14dried kelp meal
- 15mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 16mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 17supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 18fruitblueberries
Antioxidants, real. But the amount in any kibble is too small to do much. Mostly marketing.
- 19fruitcranberries
Often added with a urinary-tract-support marketing angle. Real cranberry compounds help in concentrate form, but kibble doses are small.
- 20supplementturmeric
Spice with anti-inflammatory compounds. Real research in humans, but the dose in kibble is small. Mostly there for label appeal.
- 21fiberdried chicory root
Natural prebiotic. Feeds beneficial gut bacteria. The same compound (inulin) used in human gut-health products.
- 22saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast culture
- 23lactosacc™ probiotics: dried enterococcus faecium fermentation product
- 24probioticdried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product
A probiotic strain. Whether the dose is high enough to actually colonize is debated, but it's a real beneficial bacterium.
- 25dried aspergillus niger fermentation extract
Showing first 25 of 54. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
20 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.