If you aren’t familiar with American Journey dog foods, you’re in good company. After all, American Journey—Chewy.com’s private label brand—is relatively new.
American Journey products include wet and dry dog foods, wet and dry cat foods, dog treats, cat treats, and a salmon oil supplement. All their foods and treats:
- Are made with real animal protein as the first ingredient
- Never include any wheat, gluten, corn, soy, or chicken/poultry by-product meals
- Are made in the USA (some ingredients are imported)
I decided to try American Journey Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food. Its first three listed ingredients are deboned salmon, chicken meal, and turkey meal—all excellent sources of protein that provide most of the food’s 35.6% protein on a dry matter basis (32% on an as fed basis). This is far over the minimum protein levels for adult dogs (18%) and puppies (22.5%) recommended by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).
Dr. Coates’ Score for American Journey Dry Dog Food
American Journey Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food is formulated for all life stages meaning it is appropriate for both adults and puppies, but other American Journey foods are designed specifically for one life stage or the other.
In addition to its primary protein sources, American Journey Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food is made with other nutritious ingredients like carrots, kelp, blueberries, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, salmon oil, and flaxseed. It even contains Yucca schidigera extract, a natural product that can help reduce the smell of a dog’s stool!
Ideally, new dog foods should be designed under the guidance of a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. While American Journey products are formulated to meet or exceed AAFCO guidelines, the Chewy website states “American Journey is formulated by top industry professionals with over 20+ years’ experience in the industry combined.” This leads me to believe that board-certified veterinary nutritionists were not involved in product development.
Despite this, American Journey Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food still looks like it provides quality nutrition.
But how does it taste? Jones, a five-year-old, spayed female mixed breed, volunteered to be my test subject (through her human mom, Kelly). I recommended that Kelly gradually mix in increasing amounts of the new food with Jones’ old food, but Jones would have none of that. Kelly told me, “I mixed it with her other food for a couple of days, but she only ate the new, yummy food. Now I only give her the Salmon & Sweet Potato food. She eats until it’s gone. Perfect bite-size pieces—she is one happy dog!”
If you’re tempted to give an American Journey dog food a try, now is the time. You can get 25% off your first purchase of any American Journey product through Chewy.com. Just make sure you are signed in to (or sign up for) your account, and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.
Talk to your veterinarian if you have any questions as to whether an American Journey food would be a good choice for your dog.
- See Also: FirstMate Dog Food Review
