Prime100 SPD Air Dog Food Review

Prime100 dog foods have become increasingly popular in recent years, and this air-dried version is the latest addition to the range.

I’m a fan of air-dried dog foods as a really convenient way to feed your dog while keeping nutrients more intact, so we’re off to a good start.

But I can’t ignore the price – it’s even more expensive than ZIWI Peak. Let’s use that as a comparison, given how well respected ZIWI Peak is worldwide.

We also have the fantastic Australian air-dried food Eureka which is nigh on impossible to beat, so keep that in mind too.

Actually, it’s even more expensive than Frontier Pets, which uses freeze-drying as an even better form of removing moisture and extending shelf life. Not only that, but they list their ingredients as ethically farmed, non GMO, organic, free-range, human grade ingredients, which doesn’t appear to be the case with Prime100 SPD Air.

Not looking good from the outset for Prime 100 dog food, but read on.

Prime100 SPD Air dog food review (Chicken & Brown Rice)

What the marketing says

The marketing states Prime100 SPD Air is “vet endorsed” and “scientifically formulated”, but I can’t find out which vet endorsed it, why they endorsed it, or why the food is scientifically formulated. Do you know?

Bondi Vet?

SPD stands for Single Protein Diet which will help if your dog suffers food sensitivities on a particular meat protein like chicken, lamb, or beef. If your dog doesn’t have sensitivities you’re probably better feeding a mix of meats, or rotating between recipes.

Feeding an unvaried single protein diet for a long period may lead to intolerances. There’s been lots of research with this in human nutrition studies.

There’s some other claims on the packaging of SPD Air, including “zero GI issues” and “zero gluten”, and a “palatability guarantee” which I assume means your dog will eat it.

What the ingredients say

I wish there was more clarity with Prime100 SPD Air in terms of labelling and marketing. Take ZIWI Peak – on the front of the bag they state “96% chicken, organs, & NZ green mussels”, and “Free Range” in the title.

This doesn’t seem to be the case with Prime100 SPD Air.

They don’t say how much meat is in the food, but through the grapevine I’ve heard 90% meat and organs. I’m not sure if that’s wet weight or dry weight (yes, there’s a difference – I’ll tell you why later).

Apparently the meat in Prime100 SPD Air is human grade, but again without this being listed on the packaging I can’t confirm if this is true.

The meat in the Chicken & Brown Rice formula is listed Australian chicken meat. But is this inclusive of offal? Ground bone? Or just chicken mince?

Given most nutrients come from organs it would be useful to know if they are included? We can’t assume.

To compare, ZIWI Peak specifically lists chicken, chicken heart, chicken liver, chicken bone. Not just “chicken meat”.

We find the same lack of clarity with the second ingredient, which is carrot.

Did you expect brown rice as the second ingredient?

I did, given “Chicken & Brown Rice” is the recipe name.

It probably shouldn’t matter too much, but when ZIWI Peak is cheaper, with more meat ingredients, and more open about what it’s made from, it’s hard to ignore.

The composition of SPD Air is listed on the Prime100 website as “Guaranteed Analysis DM basis”. I find this a little frustrating.

Why say DM rather than “Dry Matter”?

Isn’t it best to be clear?

It took me a bit of time to realise what they meant by DM, but listing dry matter rather than wet makes protein and fat appear higher.

Given the guaranteed analysis is dry matter, 33.8% protein and 27.9% fat would leave a remaining 38.3% for carbohydrates and ash content. Don’t worry if you’ve lost me with this, but it’s an interesting point which I’ll explain.

Remember I mentioned earlier meat ingredients were supposedly 90% of the product? My guess is that’s wet weight, so inclusive of the water which is then removed in freeze drying.

That would mean on a dry matter (or “DM”) basis there isn’t the same ratio of meat to other ingredients.

So saying 90% meat sounds like there aren’t many carbs, but based on dry matter it would suggest there are more carbs than we would think (a good chunk of that remaining 38.3%?).

Summary

Perhaps I shouldn’t have used ZIWI Peak as a comparison, as Prime100 SPD Air still comes across as a decent product.

The pros are clear – it’s air dried rather than kibble, the ingredients all seem good, and it comes across as a decent dog food. I would imagine your dog would do well on the product, and in that sense it’s worth paying a higher price – for the health of your dog.

But I still can’t ignore the price. It seems ZIWI Peak is better value for money, and so is Frontier Pets as a freeze dried food which specifically states the quality of ingredients with no ambiguity.

Without clarity, I would have to conclude those two other brands seem better, more open, and cheaper.

I just wish Prime100 were clearer in their marketing, but perhaps there’s a reason why they’re not.

Where to buy

Ingredients

Ingredients of Prime100 SPD Air (Chicken & Brown Rice):

Australian Chicken meat (whole meat), carrot, safflower oil, brown rice, sweet potato, apple, vitamins and minerals (vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), Niacin (vitamin B3), calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5), pyridoxine HCl (vitamin B6), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), folic acid, zinc sulphate, zinc chelate, iron chelate, manganese sulphate, potassium iodate, potassium chloride, seaweed extract, sunflower lecithin, flaxseed oil, parsley, buffered vinegar, salt, algae oil, mixed tocopherols, glucosamine sulphate, chondroitin sulphate, Bacillus Subtilis (probiotic), taurine, citric acid.

Guaranteed analysis

Guaranteed analysis of Prime100 SPD Air (Chicken & Brown Rice) are as follows.