Food Friday: PureVita Beef Stew

PureVita's Beef Stew is a grain-free canned dog food that looks an awful lot like people food. The meat is shredded rather than ground, and the peas and carrots are easy to spot. This is a single protein food, there's no eggs or chicken broth in there. It does, however, contain potato starch, sweet potato, and tomato paste.

The Company

I've written about PureVita and parent company Tuffy's Pet Foods before. Unlike Diamond, who failed to modernize their old conveyor belt production line until serious contamination forced recalls, Tuffy's is all about high-tech pet food processing. They opened a new production plant in 2014, with vacuum tubes instead of conveyor belts, making the system much easier to clean.

I'm less familiar with Tuffy's cannery, but the company is so invested in production quality that it's hard to imagine it's anything but awesome. I really appreciate that this company has large production facilities in the US, employing tons of people. I've heard they are a good company to work for, too!

The Food

There aren't many canned dog food that I find appealing. Usually they range from "meh" to "horrific". This stuff though, actually kinda looks like something I might eat. The vegetables and shreds of beef are visible. It also takes up the entire inside of the can, there's no big air bubble or tons of watery gravy.

This is a single-protein food with a very short list of ingredients, so it's a good choice for dogs with allergies. This is a beef and sweet potato food, with potato, tomato, peas, and carrots. It's also an all-life-stages food, so it's totally appropriate for puppies.

The Verdict

Ru had some urinary issues recently, and I decided to switch him to canned food exclusively. I got him some adorable little ceramic dishes with plastic airtight lids, so at dinnertime I just nuke his dinner for 20-30 seconds, and then stick it back in the fridge when he's done. How do I make sure there aren't any burning hot spots? I stir it with a baby spoon that changes color if it touches something above a certain temperature. Perfect slightly-warmed dog food every time. (Refrigerated canned food makes him shiver really bad.)

Ru is definitely my pickiest eater. The girls will eat pretty much any kibble, and definitely anything canned. Meanwhile, Ru has been known to skip meals. He really likes the canned Pure Vita a lot, I don't think I've seen him eat that much canned food at a time before. They also make a chicken version and a turkey version, and we are definitely going to try those soon.