Boss Nation Brands is a Seattle-based company. The founder is entrepreneur Vasili Nassar. The dog food brand appears to be a few years old. There are 2 lines of food that include freeze-dried raw and frozen. They offer 9 recipes in total. The products are processed in a plant in Oregon.
For our Boss dog food review, we’ll look at the food ingredient quality and safety of each line of food. Our dog food reviews are based on these criteria.
Is Boss Dog A Good Dog Food?
Boss has 2 lines that are low risk by our criteria. The freeze dried foods and frozen patties are lightly processed. They use whole food ingredients. This makes them the best options. It’s noted on their website and packaging that they don’t use GMO ingredients. They use some organics and note this on their labeling.
The founder has a history of making Greek yogurt products. They focus on digestive health. As a result, all Boss products contain pre- and probiotics. They guarantee the CFUs (colony forming units) in their products.
Boss uses human-grade ingredients. They state they’re suitable for human consumption at every stage of the manufacturing process. Until recently, human grade wasn’t a recognized term by AAFCO. AAFCO is the regulatory body that establishes guidelines for the pet food industry. It was strictly a marketing term. AAFCO has new guidelines for facilities producing human-grade pet foods. Among them, companies must have documentation. They must show that every ingredient and process is human grade. There is a break-in period of several years.
It should be noted that raw foods cannot be classified as human grade because under AAFCO standards, raw meat is not human edible.
The freeze dried food and frozen patties score well. They have higher carbohydrates in several recipes. They don’t include starches or grains so this can be due to the fruits and vegetables used. Minerals have been added to each of its recipes. When they add 5 or more minerals, it can indicate low quality ingredients. They lack naturally occurring minerals. Whole food sources provide these.
Its fish oil is a combination of Alaska wild caught salmon, pollock and herring. Wild-caught fish have a healthier fatty acid balance. It’s not clear if all fish used is from wild-caught sources. Boss Dog doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their recipes. This is true of most companies. It’s a concern because AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation.
Let’s look at each line in a little more detail.
Patties & Nuggets Review
Score: 8.8/10
Package Ingredients For Boss Dog Beef Recipe Raw Frozen Patties Recipe: Beef, beef heart, beef liver, ground beef bone, broccoli, carrots, beef kidney, lettuce, apples, ground flaxseed, fish oil*, apple cider vinegar, blueberry cranberry, organic inulin, dried kelp, potasium chloride, salt, salt, ginger, parsley, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, vitamin E supplement, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, mixed tocopherols (a preservative), vitamin D supplement, dried bacillus coagulans fermentation product. *fish oil-combination of alaska wild caught salmon, pollock and herring oils
This is a low risk frozen raw food by our criteria. There are added minerals. It’s not the typical pre-mix used by many. But it indicates nutrients are lacking from the ingredients. The beef recipe had a higher carb content. It could be due to the fruits and vegetables as these foods don’t contain grains or starches. There is minimal processing. However, it lost points for having high herbicide/pesticide foods.
The company states the type of fish oil used, which is good to know. However, it’s not clear whether they are all wild-caught. Wild-caught fish has a healthier fatty acid balance. The omega-6:omega-3 ratio isn’t provided. Omega-6 fats are inflammatory and AAFCO allows a very high ratio of 30:1.
Patties & Nuggets Benefits
- Lightly processed
- No added vitamins
- Probiotics with CFU guaranteed
- Wild-caught fish
Patties & Nuggets Concerns
- Added minerals
- Omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is not provided
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Boss Dog Freeze Dried Review
Score: 8.8/10
Package Ingredients For Boss Dog Lamb Recipe Freeze Dried Recipe: Lamb, lamb heart, lamb liver, ground lamb bone, broccoli, carrots, lamb kidney, romaine lettuce, apples, ground flaxseed, fish oil*, apple cider vinegar, blueberry, cranberry, inulin, dried kelp, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, ginger, parsley, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, vitamin E supplement, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, mixed tocopherols (as preservative), vitamin D supplement, organic inulin, dried bacillus coagulans fermentation product. *fish oil- combination of alaska wild caught salmon, pollock and herring oils.
Boss freeze dried raw is a low risk food by our criteria. On the quality side, one area of concern was for having higher carbs in 2 recipes. And each of the 4 recipes lost a point for having added minerals. Minerals were minimum. But when 5 or more are added it can indicate it’s lacking naturally occurring minerals. Whole food sources provide minerals. On the plus side, it relied on ingredients to supply vitamins and amino acids. On the food safety side, there is minimal processing. However, it lost points for having high herbicide/pesticide foods.
The company states the type of fish oil used, which is good to know. However, it’s not clear whether they are all wild-caught. Wild-caught fish has a healthier fatty acid balance. The omega-6:omega-3 ratio isn’t provided. Omega-6 fats are inflammatory and AAFCO allows a very high ratio of 30:1.
Freeze-Dried Raw Benefits
- Lightly processed
- No added vitamins
- Probiotics with CFU guaranteed
- Wild-caught fish
Freeze-Dried Raw Concerns
- Excessive added minerals
- Omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is not provided
- Higher carbs in some recipes
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
BOSS DOG DOG FOOD RECALLS
Boss Dog 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.