Turkey with Salmon Grain-Free Adult Freeze-Dried Dog Food, 5-oz bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Loyal Saints Turkey with Salmon Grain-Free Adult Freeze-Dried Dog Food is a freeze-dried option featuring turkey, turkey liver, turkey heart, and salmon.
This food offers quality fat sources, including marine oil from salmon, which provides EPA and DHA. It also has quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber, and includes organ meats like turkey liver and heart for diverse, highly bioavailable protein.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for adult dogs of any size. Nothing serious working against it.
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 Golden Retriever, navigating diet-associated DCM concerns. Turkey anchors position 1, with zero pulses in the top 15, plus turkey liver at position 2 (a natural taurine precursor) and salmon at position 4. In its 2022 update on diet-associated DCM, the FDA identified Golden Retrievers as the most reported breed, with 121 cases out of 1,382 total canine reports (8.8%) received between January 1, 2014, and November 1, 2022 (FDA, 2022) .
Looking at this for adult Golden Retrievers or Golden Retrievers with diet-associated DCM concerns ? 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.
- FDA, 2022cardiac · epidemiology · breed predisposition· cited in 5 claims
- FDA, 2019diet composition· cited in 2 claims
- NRC, 2006nutrient bioavailability
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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.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 61/100, landing in B-tier territory. The biggest contributor was fat quality (+12 points): Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source). Also adding to the lift: carbohydrate quality (+12). Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber. The 14-point gap to A-tier sits mostly in protein quality (13 of 27 possible). Full protein quality requires named-species named-cut proteins in the top of the deck (e.g., "deboned chicken" rather than "chicken meal" or "poultry meal").
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein.
No negative drivers crossed our reporting threshold.
- Bottom quartile for protein quality in grain-free freeze-dried foods (13/27)
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.
Nulo Turkey Recipe with Cranberries Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food, 8-oz bag
Scores 11 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
A Better Treat Raw You Can See Salmon Recipe High-Protein Kibble & Raw Freeze-Dried Dog Food, 15-lb bag
$5.33/lb vs your seed's $76.64/lb (93% less) at a comparable score.
Nulo Salmon & Turkey Recipe with Strawberries Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food, 18-oz bag
Salmon instead of turkey, 10 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 animalturkey
Real meat. Lean protein, good amino acid profile, often well-tolerated by dogs sensitive to chicken.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2protein animalturkey liver
Organ meat. Same nutrient-density story as chicken or beef liver: protein, iron, B vitamins, vitamin A.
Position 2. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 3protein animalturkey heart
Position 3. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 4protein animalsalmon
Real fish meat. Natural source of omega-3s, which kibble usually has to add back from oil.
Position 4: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 5fatflaxseed
Plant source of omega-3. Helpful for skin and coat, though dogs absorb omega-3 from fish more efficiently.
Position 5: secondary fat. Often where marine oils sit when present alongside a primary land-animal fat.
- 6chia seed
Plant source of omega-3 and fiber. Like flaxseed, useful in trace amounts.
- 7carrot
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, antioxidants. Same as carrots, sometimes singular on labels.
- 8vegetablebroccoli
Real vegetable. Adds fiber and some antioxidants. Fine in the small amounts used in kibble.
Position 8: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 9blueberry
- 10mineraltricalcium phosphate
Calcium and phosphorus source. Same role as dicalcium phosphate, slightly different ratio.
- 11apple cider vinegar
- 12mineralsea salt
Same as salt. Required at small doses for normal physiology.
- 13fatfish oil
Concentrated omega-3s. The reason 'EPA' and 'DHA' get to show up on the bag.
Position 13. Trace marine oil. Contributes some omega-3 but well below the level that drives EPA/DHA totals.
- 14honey
- 15preservative naturalmixed tocopherols
Natural vitamin E used to keep fats from going rancid. The good kind of preservative. See why →
Natural preservative. Methodologically preferred over synthetic alternatives.
- 16apple
Real fruit, some fiber and antioxidants. The amount in kibble is too small to matter much.
- 17tomato
- 18shiitake mushroom
- 19orange
- 20cranberry
Same as cranberries. Real ingredient, dose in kibble is small.
- 21vegetablepumpkin
Soluble fiber that supports stool quality. Mild and well-tolerated.
- 22vegetablespinach
Leafy green. Some iron, vitamin K, and fiber. The dose in kibble is small but it's real food.
- 23beet
- 24tart cherry
- 25strawberry
Showing first 25 of 26. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
15 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.