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Optimeal Puppy Skin & Digestive Support Lamb & Rice Recipe Toy Breed Dry Dog Food, 3.3-lb bag
Optimeal

Puppy Skin & Digestive Support Lamb & Rice Recipe Toy Breed Dry Dog Food, 3.3-lb bag

Evidence Fair
AAFCO compliance inferred from product name
dry $5.75/lb

Optimeal Puppy Skin & Digestive Support Lamb & Rice Recipe Toy Breed Dry Dog Food, 3.3-lb bag earns a Sniff Score of 70/100 (B) with Fair evidence. Zero controversial ingredients flagged. Reasonable protein quality. lamb delivers solid amino acid coverage..

Graded by The Sniff System

Why this score

Reasonable protein quality. lamb delivers solid amino acid coverage.

PQI

Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.

CQI

Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).

FQI

Controversial ingredients · 1

  • sodium selenite
    Synthetic selenium source. Selenium is essential, but sodium selenite has a narrower safety margin than organic alternatives like selenium yeast. Better-formulated foods use the organic form.

Every flagged ingredient has a published basis (confirmed harm / regulatory action / precautionary). See methodology →

Guaranteed analysis
Dry-matter protein: 32%
Protein
29%
min (as fed)
Fat
17%
min (as fed)
Fiber
5%
max (as fed)
Moisture
9%
max
Ingredients

Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.

51 total
Good Neutral Watch Flagged
  1. 1
    lamb

    Real meat. Often used for dogs with chicken or beef sensitivities. Slightly higher fat content than chicken.

  2. 2
    rice

    Generic rice. Could be white or brown, the label doesn't say. Brown rice would be specified if it were.

  3. 3
    chicken meal

    Chicken with the water cooked out. Per pound, packs more protein than fresh chicken.

  4. 4
    barley

    Whole grain with a low glycemic profile and some soluble fiber. Easy on blood sugar.

  5. 5
    turkey meal

    Turkey with the water cooked out. Per pound, packs more protein than fresh turkey.

  6. 6
    poultry fat
  7. 7
    potato protein

    Concentrated potato protein. Like pea protein, it inflates the protein number without matching meat-quality amino acids.

  8. 8
    pea protein

    Concentrated plant protein. Inflates the protein number on the label without matching the amino acid quality of meat.

  9. 9
    oats

    Whole grain. Steady energy, soluble fiber, and well-tolerated by most dogs.

  10. 10
    natural flavor

    Legal term for animal-derived flavoring, usually hydrolyzed liver or broth. Adds taste, says nothing about quality.

  11. 11
    dried plain beet pulp

    Beet fiber, with the sugar removed. Long unfairly maligned. It's a real soluble fiber that supports stool quality.

  12. 12
    dicalcium phosphate

    Calcium and phosphorus combined. Required source of both minerals, especially in formulas without much bone content.

  13. 13
    salmon oil

    Pure omega-3s. The thing skin-and-coat formulas are usually built around.

  14. 14
    powdered cellulose

    Plant fiber, often from wood pulp. Cheap bulk filler. Not harmful, but a tell that the recipe is reaching for inexpensive bulk.

  15. 15
    calcium carbonate

    Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.

  16. 16
    dried egg product

    Whole eggs with the water removed. Same nutritional value as fresh eggs, just shelf-stable.

  17. 17
    flaxseed

    Plant source of omega-3. Helpful for skin and coat, though dogs absorb omega-3 from fish more efficiently.

  18. 18
    dried chicory root

    Natural prebiotic. Feeds beneficial gut bacteria. The same compound (inulin) used in human gut-health products.

  19. 19
    salt

    Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.

  20. 20
    brewer's dried yeast
  21. 21
    choline chloride

    Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.

  22. 22
    l-threonine

    Essential amino acid. Sometimes added when plant proteins dominate, since threonine is naturally lower in plants than meat.

  23. 23
    sodium hexametaphosphate
  24. 24
    potassium chloride

    Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.

  25. 25
    vitamin e supplement

    Required nutrient and a natural antioxidant. Often pulls double duty as a preservative.

Showing first 25 of 51. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.

22 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.