Tail Wagging Taste Exploring the Palatability of Ava Puppy Pet Food
AVA Puppy Food Review
Find out if Ava puppy food is good enough to provide all the nutrition that your growing puppy needs, as we take a close look at the ingredients.
Advanced Nutrition Vet Approved known as AVA is a high-quality premium brand which is produced by Pets at Home.
Designed to support wellbeing and health, as well as provide superior nutrition, AVA puppy food has a special blend of nutrients to support your growing pup.
Pets at Home produce a range of other foods and products; theyre not just a retailer.
They have created AVA to be a particularly gentle and natural addition to their products, perfect for pooches who are on the sensitive side.
AVA puppy food includes both wet and dry food so you can select the option that suits your pet.
But what do the AVA puppy food reviews make of this product?
Heres a look at whats inside the packaging.
Range of Foods
When you purchase dog food, some brands offer different options depending on the size of your dog.
AVA goes one step further and caters specifically for certain breeds, such as Shih Tzu, Yorkshire terrier, and many more.
Thats not the case with their puppy food though; this more selective type of food is only available with AVA adult dog food.
AVA puppy food is available in either a wet or dry format. The whole range is made from premium, natural ingredients only and is completely free of pork, soya, dairy, wheat and gluten.
Therefore if youve got a dog whos prone to allergies, this puppy food could be a top pick.
The wet puppy food they offer includes:
- Chicken pate
- Chicken and lamb pate
And their dry puppy food:
- Small breed chicken kibble
- Medium breed chicken kibble
- Large breed chicken kibble
Both 2kg and 15kg size bags are available.
The kibble is sold in bags for either small, medium and large breeds, which is a simplified version of their breed-specific adult food.
Its important to pick the type that corresponds with your poochs breed because the individual kibble will be sized for your dogs mouth.
Kibble which is too small wont feel satisfying for your canine, and if its too big, they may struggle to eat comfortably.
Recommended:We take a close look at Burns puppy food in our latest guide.
Health Benefits of Ava Puppy Food
No matter which type of AVA puppy food you select, your dog will be enjoying natural ingredients with no artificial additives.
The formula focuses on skin, coat and digestion to help your dog look and feel their best.
Puppy food has very different requirements than adult dog food and AVA has received official approval from vets.
It has been formulated to deliver a high-calorie diet which is rich in important nutrients to encourage healthy growth and development.
The protein is carefully chosen to be easily digestible by immature canine systems. It contains slow-release carbohydrates to support steady energy levels plus soluble and insoluble fibre to aid digestion.
Ongoing brain development, kidney health plus skin and coat conditioning are supported by nutrients which include Omega-3 and Omega-6.
Recommended: Dont miss our Acana puppy food review next.
Beneficial Ingredients
AVA is a dog food which aims to go beyond just providing good nutrition; the blend of ingredients help to improve your poochs health and get them in tip-top condition.
It does this by not only relying on the highest quality proteins and ingredients but including their own special blend of nutrients.
Known as +Imuvita, this collection of extracts has been carefully selected to boost your dogs wellbeing. It includes green tea extract, cranberry, beta-glucans and pomegranate.
Brewers Yeast is also included as an ingredient because of the health benefits its linked with. In dogs, Brewers Yeast is believed to promote healthy function of the eyes and liver, plus boost the hair and skin.
Brewers Yeast includes B vitamins as well as a whole host of minerals including chromium, selenium, zinc, potassium and iron.
These are good for your canines body in many different ways, such as supporting the immune system and helping with the production of red blood cells.
Recommended:Make sure to check out our Bakers puppy food review after this.
Is Ava Dog Food Good Value for Money?
AVA puppy food is geared towards dogs who have sensitivities and owners who want to ensure that theyre buying high-quality, all-natural ingredients.
This means its not aimed at the budget market and is competing with other premium brands.
Compared to other puppy foods which have a similar profile, AVA is middle of the range.
Its not the cheapest food nor is it the most expensive. Broadly speaking, its on a par with brands such as Iams.
Are There Any Negatives?
Although Brewers Yeast is associated with many health benefits in dogs, it can be problematic for some.
If you notice your dog is suffering with more gas than usual or is bloated, this could be due to the Brewers Yeast in the food.
Most dogs only suffer from mild symptoms which quickly pass but for others, the problem can be quite severe.
This is more likely to occur in dogs which have known digestive difficulties or a breed which has a tendency to bloat.
Larger breeds with deep chests are more likely to have tendency to bloat (such as St Bernard, Weimaraner, Irish Setter and Great Dane).
Brewers Yeast also has the potential to interfere with any medication your dog may be taking.
This is especially the case if the medication includes any Brewers Yeast already. Although the amounts involved are quite small, its best to clear it with your vet first.
Conclusion
AVA puppy food is one of the premium brands from Pets at Home that offers dog owners the opportunity to buy a natural, hypoallergenic formula which has been carefully blended to provide optimal health benefits.
Compared to lots of other dog foods, AVA stands out for its commitment to quality, receiving vet approval on the formula.
AVA dog food puppy reviews reflect this fact with the majority of owners praising it, and describing the positive effect on their canine.
If you want a dog food that will deliver a real bargain, AVA probably isnt what youre looking for.
However, if youre searching for a premium puppy food that contains high levels of protein and no hypoallergenic ingredients, this formula is very affordable.
Alternatives to AVA include Iams, Eukanuba, Skinners and Autarky, which range from cheaper than AVA to more expensive.
However, even with the alternatives, there are very few which are high in protein, a complete food, and hypoallergenic in the same way that AVA is.
For this reason, its widely rated by veterinary professionals as a top food for your pup.
Ava Wet Food Puppy Review
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Suitable for all breeds of dogs
Private label(or
white label) pet foods are pre-formulated recipes that companies can order from certain factories, add their own label or packaging and retail to the public as their own brand. They are therefore available from numerous suppliers.
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Mixing bowl composition
This is the ingredients list as printed on the packaging or manufacturer's website.
Think of the 'mixing bowl' composition like a recipe - all the ingredients you would need to put in a 'mixing bowl' in order to make the food.
Ingredients have to be listed in descending order of their weight so the higher it appears, the more there is.
Highlighted ingredients
Ingredients that we believe to be controversial or inferior are highlighted in yellow with particularly low grade, highly contentious or excessively vague ingredients in red.
As fed composition
While the 'mixing bowl' composition is useful for knowing what went into the food, it doesn't always reflect what your dog is actually eating. This is because the processes that turn the ingredients into the finished pet food can significantly alter the relative weights of the ingredients.
For this reason we've calculated the approximate 'as fed' percentages for the main ingredient categories in the finished product.
Please note that these figures are very approximate. They are estimates based on the information provided by the manufacturer in the ingredients list so the clearer the terminology and the more percentages they provide, the more accurate our estimates will be. Wherever information is lacking, we always assume the worst.
Ingredient categories
Meat ingredients: includes all meat and fish ingredients except isolated fats/oils.
Added oils and fats: includes all isolated oil and fat ingredients.
Carb-rich ingredients: includes all ingredients derived from grains, pseudo-grains, potatoes and other starchy root vegetables, sweet potato and legumes (except whole peas which are categorised under fruit and veg) except for isolated protein and extracted oils. Also includes fibre supplements.
Fruit and veg: includes all whole vegetables and fruits.
Other: all other ingredients. Mostly made up by nutritional supplements and additives.
For more information on any ingredient, please take a look at our Dog Food Ingredient Glossary
The dry matter level of a nutrient is the percentage there would be in the food if all of the water was removed.
With water taken out of the equation, these figures allow the nutrient levels of foods of different types (like wet and dry) to be compared on an even playing field.
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The
price per dayof feeding this food based on feeding the manufacturer's recommended daily amount from 395g cans bought at their rrp to a dog of:
Note:All suggested feeding amounts and costs are only approximate and may vary considerably from dog to dog. Be sure to contact the manufacturer if in any doubt.
78 out of 100-Good
Our unique product ratings are calculated based on a number of characteristics including the quality and quantity of the stated ingredients, certain nutritional and technological additives and the processing methods used to create the food. They are designed to indicate how beneficial we think a food is likely to be for the majority of dogs when fed on a daily basis for an extended period. Click here for more information
Country of origin: United Kingdom
A technological additive is any substance added to a pet food "for a technological purpose and which favourably affects the characteristics of feed".
The most common categories of technological additives include preservatives and antioxidants, gelling agents and thickeners and probiotics.
While the primary effects of technoloical additives are certainly 'favourable' (increased shelf life in the case of preservatives & antioxidants, better food texture and consistency in the case of gelling agents and thickeners etc.) some have been linked to health problems in pets and should be treated with caution.
Unfortunately, many technological additives do not have to be declared by the manufacturer so just because they do not appear on the label does not necessarily mean they are not in the food. If in doubt, ask the manufacturer directly exactly what technological additives their foods contain.
