Hound & Gatos was established in 2003 and sold to Gott Pet Products in 2018. This is a family-owned, Wisconsin-based company that also makes Charlee Bear dog treats. Hound & Gatos wet and dry recipes are made by a third-party manufacturer in the US midwest.
For our Hound & Gatos dog food review, we’ll look at the ingredient quality and safety of each line of food. Our dog food reviews are based on these criteria.
Hound & Gatos Dry Dog Food Review
Score: 5.8/10
Package Ingredients For Hound & Gatos Cage-Free Chicken Recipe: Deboned chicken, egg, sweet potato, tapioca, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), natural chicken flavor, dicalcium phosphate, minerals (calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, sodium selenite, calcium iodate), flaxseed, yeast hydrolysate (source of beta-glucans), cranberries, blueberries, broccoli, dandelion greens, salt, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, vitamin A supplement, niacinamide, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid), choline chloride, natural mixed tocopherols, taurine.
Using our evaluation criteria, Hound & Gatos Dry Dog Food is considered a moderate risk dog food. Here are our concerns:
Ingredient Quality
Overall, there are a few concerns when it comes to ingredient quality.
High In Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates in this line average 35% as calculated, which is excessive for a dry dog food. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates, but starch is required for extrusion in dry foods like these. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.
Excessive Added Vitamins and Minerals: This line loses ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.
Sodium Selenite: It’s also worth noting that the line contains sodium selenite as a source of selenium. Dogs need selenium, and it’s usually added in very small amounts. However some research suggests that sodium selenite may be associated with potential toxicity, so selenium yeast is the preferred form of this mineral.
Ingredient Safety
Many pet food ingredients are unsafe or are grown using unsafe chemicals. Here are some of the issues with Hound & Gatos Dry Dog Food line:
Ultra-Processed: On the ingredient safety side, this line loses significant points for being an ultra-processed dog food. The individual ingredients in dry dog foods are heated several times during processing, which can cause a significant loss of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.
High Pesticide/Herbicide Foods: These recipes contain ingredients that are known to carry a large pesticide/herbicide residue. Unless organic, when crops are spray-dried with Roundup, it leaves them with more glyphosate/herbicide residue than other crops, even genetically modified ones. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.
Natural Flavor: Recipes in this line contain natural flavor, which is added to make processed food more palatable. But natural flavor is often either MSG or animal digest, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.
Benefits
There’s one benefit for Hound & Gatos Dry Dog Food …
No GMO Ingredients: This is a non-GMO verified line, which is good to see. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Hound & Gatos Wet Dog Food Review
Score: 7.8/10
Package Ingredients for Hound & Gatos Beef Canned Recipe: Beef, beef broth, agar, sunflower oil, salt, salmon oil, choline chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, potassium chloride, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, sodium selenite, ethylenediamine dihydriodide, calcium carbonate, vitamin E supplement, thiamine mononitrate, niacin supplement, calcium pantothenate, biotin, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement
Using our evaluation criteria, Hound & Gatos Wet Dog Food is considered a low risk dog food. Here are our concerns:
Ingredient Quality
Overall, there are a few of concerns when it comes to ingredient quality:
Excessive Added Vitamins and Minerals: This line loses ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.
Contains Seed Oil: Some of these recipes contain sunflower oil, which is a highly processed and highly inflammatory oil. It’s an inexpensive alternative to higher quality animal fats and oils.
Sodium Selenite: It’s also worth noting that the line contains sodium selenite as a source of selenium. Dogs need selenium, and it’s usually added in very small amounts. However some research suggests that sodium selenite may be associated with potential toxicity, so selenium yeast is the preferred form of this mineral.
Unnamed Animal Ingredients: Unnamed animal ingredients are a sign of low quality. These foods contain fish oil that can be made from any type of fish. Unnamed animal ingredients are often a less expensive, low quality ingredient that can be made from rendered waste of many proteins.
Ingredient Safety
Many pet food ingredients are unsafe or are grown using unsafe chemicals. There’s only one ingredient safety concern with Hound & Gatos Canned Dog Food:
Highly Processed: Canned foods are heated before and during canning, which will cause significant losses in some active enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.
Benefits
There’s one benefit for Hound & Gatos Wet Dog Food …
No GMO Ingredients: This is a non-GMO verified line, which is good to see. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Is Hound & Gatos A Good Dog Food?
Overall, Hound & Gatos is on equal footing with similar premium dry and wet dog foods.
The dry dog foods are considered moderate risk based on our criteria. They contain average protein of 28%, which is low. Average carbohydrates are 35% as calculated, which is quite high.
The Hound & Gatos line of wet dog foods is a better rated food, according to our criteria. The 8 recipes have average carbohydrates of 6% as calculated on a dry matter basis, which is exceptionally low, and it’s what we expect to see in a wet dog food. Average protein is 46%, which is also a good level.
While still highly processed, canned foods lose fewer points for processing than kibble.
There is no information on the website about the sourcing or quality of ingredients.
There are additional concerns with the food and marketing. These don’t affect the Hound & Gatos dog food score, but they’re worth mentioning:
Unsubstantiated Marketing Terms: The company uses unsubstantiated marketing terms on its labels, such as free-range, grass-fed or humanely-raised. Without third-party certification, thse are purely marketing terms that have no legal meaning under pet food regulatory standards.
Does Not State Farmed Vs Wild Caught Fish: These recipes don’t specify whether the fish used in the salmon oil is farmed or wild caught. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild caught fish and does not contain the same healthy fatty acid balance.
Does Not Provide Omega-6:Omega-3 Ratio: It’s also worth noting that Hound & Gatos does not state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their foods. While this is true of most foods, AAFCO allows a very inflammatory limit of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation and disease.
HOUND & GATOS DOG FOOD RECALLS
Hound & Gatos has had no dog food recalls.
Evaluation Criteria
We evaluate and score dog foods based on two criteria:
Are the Ingredients High Quality?
Here are some common low quality ingredients or markers we look for:
- Is there excessive carbohydrate content, which can cause gut imbalances?
- Does the food contain unnamed proteins, which are low quality?
- Does the food use cellulose (wood pulp) as a source of fiber instead of real food?
- Are there excessive vitamins and minerals added in place of real food nutrition?
- Are there excessive added amino acids or plant proteins instead of expensive meat protein?
- Does the food contain inflammatory processed seed oils?
How Safe Are the Ingredients?
Many ingredients come from unhealthy, inflammatory sources or are full of pesticides so we look for:
- How processed is the food?
- Does the food contain known genetically modified foods?
- Does the food contain ingredients known to be high in pesticides?
- Does the food contain natural flavor, which are often MSG or animal digest?
- Does the food contain rice, which is high in arsenic?
Each food is objectively evaluated by these criteria and a score is assigned using the average of ingredient quality and safety. This is NOT a paid list and there are no affiliate links. Dogs Naturally has partnered with DogFoodReviews.com to make sure dog owners have unbiased, objective criteria to help them choose the best dog food on the market. You can view the full Evaluation Criteria at DogFoodReviews.com.
