Performadog Dog Food Review

If you’re looking for a high protein dog food from a reputable Australian company? Performadog is a brand I would happily recommend – for many reasons.

Despite being targeted at performance dogs (hence the name Performadog), I would consider the ingredients beneficial for less active dogs or even senior dogs. Who knows, it may help renew their energy and vitality as well as overall health and wellbeing!

Feedback over the years has been excellent for Perfomadog, and I can’t say I’ve heard anything bad about the brand whatsoever. Read the comments section, and you’ll see what I mean.

Let’s take a look at Performadog, and I’ll let you decide for yourself if it’s the right choice for you (and of course your dog!)

Performadog review

What the marketing says

To skirt over some of the marketing claims on the packaging, we find Performadog to be a “Scientifically balanced holistic food for all dogs”, even though active breeds, “canine athletes”, or breeding dogs are what they target the most.

The food is formulated by nutritionist Bill Wiadrowski. That name may not mean anything to you, but I’ve known Bill for many years and have found him one of the most thoughtful and studious pet food nutritionists in Australia, and a wealth of information. He’s the original formulator of Meals for Mutts when the brand gained an excellent reputation in Australia, and also the highly reputable brand Lifewise.

Even if you’ve never heard of Bill, take it from me this is an excellent reason why Performadog is a good choice for your dog.

Let’s move on, and take a look at the ingredients – which to me tell the real story of a dog food.

What the ingredients really say

One of the first things I look at for a dry dog food is composition, as a lot can be said for a formula which emphasises protein and fat over starchy carbohydrates.

We’ll mostly take a look at the Grain Free Lamb and Turkey formula which boosts a very respectable 32% protein and 22% fat – far better than most kibbles available in Australia (and a lot better than your popular household brand names sold in Coles and Woolies). Carbohydrates look to be very low for a dry dog food at 28.5% or less (estimated).

If your dog has a need for less fat, such as pancreatitis or hyperlipidemia, then the Ocean Fish Adult formula may suit your needs better. There’s also a Puppy formula which is a great choice in that respect.

We’re off to a great start, but it’s not all about the amount of protein and fat – it’s also about what ingredients make up the composition.

In the Lamb and Turkey formula, you’ll be happy to hear meat and meat fat plays a major part in the ingredients with the first three on the list being turkey, poultry oil, and lamb. The only one which may need explaining is poultry oil (likely chicken), which is a calorie-dense and digestible source of animal fat.

We next have a set of non-animal ingredients, but they’re good choices in terms of nutrition and digestibility – field peas, chickpeas, lentils, sweet lupins. Legumes play a part in adding fibre, protein, carbohydrates, and various nutrients, and compared to grains are a much better lower-GI alternative. It’s good to know the carbs in the food (which are respectably low at 28.5% or less) come from foods your dog will digest far better than other starchy carbs in most dog foods.

The next ingredient is egg. It’s an ingredient I love to see in dog food because it’s an absolute powerhouse of nutrition. We find egg alongside carrot, spinach, parsley, and kelp – ingredients you may associate with a much needed detox – but for our dogs these will provide a boost of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to keep their immune system in good form.

It’s worth noting Performadog use purple carrots, which science has shown to have excellent health benefits – more on this below which may surprise you! It’s worth noting Performadog offer purple carrots as a Purple Boost immune system supplement, but read the section below to find our why this could be great for your dog.

I think we’re at a good point to wrap up the review, but I find Performadog hard to fault as a dry dog food. I must add the food is naturally preserved (Vitamin E and rosemary oil), and unlike many popular dog foods isn’t packed with corn, wheat, or soy. Bonza.

That should justify why I’ve given Performadog such a high (and deserving) rating. I wish all dry dog foods were as good as this.

Where to buy Performadog

Performadog is available to buy from their website (where you’ll also find some excellent information about pet food in general).

Purple Boost Supplement & Other resources

Performadog uses purple carrots, which are scientifically fascinating as an ingredient in dog food.

In a study by Professor Linday Brown at the University of Southern Queensland, rats suffering the effects of a high fat/high carbohydrate diet had a miraculous turn around in health when purple carrots were added to the diet

That’s very impressive given the rats continued to be fed such a poor diet. Imagine if those rats were fed a healthy diet alongside purple carrots?

Need I remind you Performadog offer purple carrots as a supplement for your dog?

The below video is a discussion from ABC Catalyst’s “Why am I still fat?” (Dec 30, 2015) about the effects of anthocyanin on weight loss:

Ingredients

The ingredients of Performadog dry dog food (Grain Free Turkey and Lamb):

Turkey, poultry oil, lamb, field peas, chickpeas, lentils, sweet lupins, egg, carrots, spinach, parsley, kelp, tapioca, yeast extract, vitamins A, C, D3, E, K, B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin, pantothenate, folacin, biotin and natural organic acids, plus added minerals, calcium, phosphorus, sodium copper, zinc, iron, manganese and iodine.  Also contains natural flavours, Yucca schidigera extract and is preserved with natural vitamin E and rosemary oil.

Guaranteed analysis

The guaranteed analysis of Performadog dry dog food (Grain Free Turkey and Lamb):