Vitality Dog Food Review
The Vitality range of dog foods are made by Advanced Pet Care at the Naval Base in WA. They’re better known for their flagship brand Delicate Care or Cherish, whereas Vitality is targeted more at pet owners on a tight budget.
We can learn a lot about the health and nutritional needs of our dogs from a dog food like Vitality, so let’s take a walk through the ingredients…
Vitality review
This review is for the Vitality Classic Lamb & Beef recipe. There’s also a High Energy formula which is a little better, but it’s also harder to get hold of.
The Vitality range of dog foods is also exported, so note this review applies if you’re buying the brand in the Philippines or other countries.
Let’s start with a very simple fact about how ingredients in dry dog foods are selected for a recipe. Firstly, many ingredients can be used to make a dog food as long as vitamins and minerals are covered (usually as a mix which is dusted onto the kibble post-processing), and minimum percentages of protein, fat, fibre, and the like.
Once those minimums are met, the rest of the kibble can be something your dog doesn’t really need, but this is what decides whether the dog food is cheap or expensive. It also determines whether the dog food is unhealthy or healthy.
Vitality Classic opts for cheap ingredients, and a resulting cheap sale price which appeals to dog owners looking for a budget “feed” rather than premium dog food.
When it comes to dog foods, the cheapest inclusion to “fill” the kibble is wholegrain cereals (including wheat, corn, rice and/or barley).
This is the first and main ingredient, and offers your dog very little in terms of health and nutrition.
With over 50% estimated carbohydrates, that makes Vitality one of the most grain-heavy dog foods on sale in Australia today, and that isn’t good for your dog – they’re meat-biased predators, right? Not crop munchers.
The next two ingredients are enough to meet minimal requirements for protein and fat, and they are beef and lamb and animal fats. Fat is really on the low side at 10%, which is a shame as animal fats are a great energy source for your dog. Protein is mediocre, but the real issue is low protein and fat equates to high carb, and high carb doesn’t support the long term health and wellbeing of your dog.
I find cheap grain inclusions, specifically from wheat, to cause a lot of health problems as well. This comes as no surprise, as wheat (and other grains) aren’t natural foods for your dog – and this is based on science, such as the fact your dog has a short digestive tract which struggles to digest ingredients such as these.
Vitality dog foods may look appealing to you based on price alone, but I wouldn’t feed this to my dogs.
Ingredients
The ingredients of Vitality dog food (Lamb & Beef):
Australian wholegrain cereals (including wheat, corn, rice and/or barley), Australian Beef and lamb, premium animal fats, Omega Magic Oil Blend, salt, complete Vitamins and Minerals (Vitamins A, D3, E, B2, K3, Folic acid, Copper, Zinc (as oxide), Zinc Chelate, Selenium, Iodine), antioxidants.
Guaranteed Analysis
The guaranteed analysisof Vitality dog food (Lamb & Beef):
| Protein | 21% |
| Fat | 10% |
| Crude Fibre | (max) 3.5% |
| Carbohydrates * | Estimated 53% |
All their foods look virtually the same ingredients wise, their foods are almost all low fat and the protein numbers are no better.
Don’t like the way their website reads either, lots of useless info on there which makes them sound cheap and proud lol, proud of what exactly? Really bad food I would guess!