Elevate Dog Food Review (Coles)

There’s something very cunning going on with dog food in Coles. First we had Mars Crave hit the shelves, with a far better counterpart in America than we’re offered in Australia. Now we have Elevate, again using the name of an American brand with glowing reviews… yet isn’t as great in Australia 😕

Are they counting on Australians being duped by reviews of American brands? Yes, quite probably, and if that’s the case they’re “taking you for a mug”.

In our Elevate dog food review we’ll take a look at the Australian offering, and you can ignore all the reviews of totally different American counterparts.

Elevate dog food review

What the marketing says

The front of the Elevate dog food bag states in big letters Formulated with Pet Nutritionists, but that doesn’t mean the health of your dog is their prime objective, or even whether they’re any good at pet nutrition. Usually the prime objective is profit.

The recipe we’ll take a look at for our Elevate dog food review is Chicken & Rice with Sweet Potato, but we note sorghum and field peas are more prominent in the ingredients than sweet potato. It claims to be a healthy weight formula for all breeds in the adult life stage.

We find a picture on the front of the bag of two succulent chicken drumsticks, a nicely chopped sweet potato, and a pile of white rice. These may not bear relation to what’s actually in the product.

What the labelling really says

The 27% protein in Elevate dog food seems really good and suggests a meaty product, but the ominously low 9% fat is in stark contrast. The reason is probably because the first three ingredients are all high in protein and very likely in equal amounts. Chicken meal would be first because it sounds better to the consumer, but rice and field peas combined very likely outweigh the meat 2:1. Protein from (white) rice and peas isn’t as bioavailable to a dog as meat protein. This is where profit comes into play, as white rice and peas are very cheap inclusions in a dog food compared to meat.

You can argue the low fat is for “healthy weight”, but dogs utilise animal fats very efficiently for energy and health, and the real cause of weight gain in dogs is more likely high carbohydrates from poor quality kibbles.

The significance of the meat whittles away when we consider the 4th and 5th ingredients as tapioca and sweet potato. Again, cheaper inclusions than meat, and very likely in a significant amount. If we consider all five of these ingredients we have only one part meat to four parts other cheaper stuff. That’s not good, and somewhat explains the low fat of 9% compared to the relatively high protein of 27%.

The rest of the Elevate dog food ingredients are fairly standard. Chicken gravy and poultry oil are by-products of rendering chicken parts to make the chicken meal (a dried powder). Cellulose is stigmatised in dog food as the inclusion is often a poor quality by-product of agriculture often found in healthy weight diets to bulk up the product while adding zero calories.

To end on a positive note, Elevate dog food is at least preserved naturally. As a whole it’s better to see rice, peas, and sweet potato than nastier inclusions of cereal by-products. We estimate the carbohydrates to be around 46% which is better than other supermarket offerings, but this is largely due to the ramped up protein from rice and peas.

To make Elevate dog food more species appropriate it would contain more meat and more meat fat at the very least. It’s far from being the worst dog food, but there’s a cavern of room for improvement.

Rated: Mediocre.

We hope our Elevate dog food review has offered some insights. If it has, please say so in the comments on tell others about this website. Thank you!

Where to buy Elevate dog food

Elevate dog food is available in Coles.

Elevate dog food review summary

For a supermarket brand, Elevate dog food might be a better option than others on the shelf. If you compare it to a dog food containing “cereals”, or worse “cereal by-products” then opt for Elevate. If your budget is tight and you can’t afford anything better, then consider supplementing this dog food with some fresh meats and organs which are often reduced in the meat section, or other beneficial foods like coconut oil, some veggies, or the occasional can of tuna or sardines.

If you want your dog to retain a healthy weight then note dogs usually retain a healthy weight on diets rich in meat and organs, or become overweight and bloated on diets full of fillers (mostly grains).

Elevate dog food ingredients (Chicken & Rice)

Ingredients of Elevate Chicken & Rice dry dog food as of June 2021:

Chicken Meal, Rice, Field Peas, Sorghum, Sweet Potato, Chicken Gravy, Cellulose, Sunflower Oil, Poultry Oil, Salt, Beet Pulp, Choline Chloride, Vitamins [Vitamin A, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Thiamine, Pyridoxin, Folic Acid, Vitamin K3, Biotin, Vitamin B12], Minerals [Iron, Zinc, Copper, Manganese, Iodine, Selenium], Yucca Schidigera, Potassium Chloride, Carnitine, Flaxseed, Carrot, Pumpkin, Blueberries, Cranberries, Mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary, Spearmint, Green Tea.

Elevate dog food guaranteed analysis (Chicken & Rice)

Guaranteed analysis of Elevate Chicken & Rice dry dog food as of June 2021:

Elevate dog food recalls

There are no known recalls of Elevate dog food at the current time.