Heart to Tail Dog Food Review: The Best Affordable Dog Food?

By: Andrew
Time to read: 11 min.

This post contains affiliate links.

Providing your dog with a healthy diet is very important. You need to make sure your dog gets all of the nutrition it needs from its pet food. However, you also have to stay within your set budget, or you could quickly drain your bank account on expensive dog food.

Heart to Tail Dog Food is an affordable brand you can find at any Aldi Supermarket. The food contains plenty of nutrients for your dog. Additionally, this premium dog food is very affordable and has real meat on the ingredient list, making it a healthy, tasty choice for your pet.

In this article, you’ll also learn the following details about Heart to Tail Dog Food:

Pros and cons of this affordable dog food
How this dog food compares to similar brands
What the nutritional content looks like in this brand
And finally, answers to the most frequently asked questions

Table of Contents

Benefits of Heart to Tail Dog Food

Heart to Tail Dog Food is a somewhat new brand that recently appeared at Aldi supermarkets. This dog food offers a wide range of flavors with varying nutritional content. The most significant benefit is the brand’s affordability, with the nutrient content following closely behind.

Many pet parents are making the change to this brand of dog since it comes with many benefits. Here are all the pros you get with this dog chow:

Heart to Tail Is an Affordable Dog Food Brand

The cost of Heart to Tail dog food varies by state. However, it is very affordable across the country. The brand comes from Aldi- which is already known for offering affordable groceries. The price reduction also doesn’t mean you’re buying a low-quality kibble.

The brand is relatively new, compared to others, and not as nearly well-known as other companies. That means that you’re not necessarily paying for the name, but you will receive dog food at a much fairer and cheaper price than at other supermarkets because of this.

The Brand Offers Plenty of Nutrition and Protein

The amount of nutrition in Heart to Tail varies between the recipes of the products. However, many formulas offer high levels of protein and other nutrients. This case is especially true for the wet dog food recipes.

Heart to Tail offers high levels of protein, fat, and a decent amount of fiber too. These aspects make the dog food much healthier than some other brands you can find on the market today. Many of the formulas also contain added vitamins and minerals for your pup.

Heart to Tail Has a Flavor Dogs Love

Additionally, many people mention that their pets love the Heart to Tail dog food. Even if you have a picky dog at home, it’s sure to enjoy the meaty taste of the dog food.

If you’re looking for a new treat brand for your dog, try Heart to Tails’ line of treats! The company also sells tasty treats in-store alongside its dog food. The treats use natural beef, have no artificial flavors or colors, and are a great source of protein. They’re also affordable and should last you a very long time.

Heart to Tail Contains Added Vitamins and Minerals

When you check the ingredient list, you’ll notice that the dog food has plenty of vitamin and mineral supplements in the recipe. The brand chose these nutrients to encourage and promote health in your dog.

With all these supplements and high protein levels, this affordable dog food brand should meet all of your dog’s dietary needs. You may want to discuss your dog food options with your primary vet before you switch anything. Some dogs have different nutritional requirements, depending on their age and breed.

Overall, your dog is sure to get all of the vitamins and minerals they require from this dog food brand.

Downsides of Heart to Tail Dog Food

However, not every brand of dog food is going to be perfect. There are some downsides to Heart to Tail that we’re going to discuss below. For many people, the pros outweigh the cons of this brand, but there’s still a lot to consider.

The Food Contains Grains

Heart to Tail dog food won’t work if your dog is on a grain-free diet. If your pet has grain allergies, you’ll want to keep this brand away from them and discuss alternatives with your vet. However, grain in dog food doesn’t always mean that it’s unhealthy- you want to make sure it contains plenty of proteins and healthy fats first.

For pet parents who have a dog with allergies, grains in the food mean they can’t purchase it, no matter how the rest of the ingredient list looks.

There Aren’t Many Healthy Whole Foods

Next, Heart to Tail doesn’t include many whole foods. The meats used are mostly bone meals and leftovers from processing animals to make human food. While dog food still contains plenty of protein and nutrients, they’re not coming from healthy whole foods.

Overall, the food contains mainly animal by-products, which we will cover below.

A Lot of the Protein Comes From By-Products

Most of the protein in Heart to Tail comes from animal by-products. That means the meats used are leftovers from processing the food for human consumption. For example, animal by-products can include:

Livers
Spleens
Feet
Heads
Giblets
And more

Many animal by-products that the FDA bans in human food can go into pet food. For many pet owners, that’s a scary thought. However, not all animal by-products are harmful or unhealthy- it depends on how the preparation went.

Pet food-grade by-products are usually safe for pets to eat. It would be best to keep an out for recalls of the pet food brands you have at home. (Currently, officials never recalled Heart to Tail.)

How Does Heart to Tail Compare to Similar Brands?

Like similar brands, such as Pure Being, Heart to Tail is an affordable dog food option. Both Heart to tail and Pure Being dog foods are available at Aldi supermarket.

Now, let’s discuss how the two different brands compare.

Pure Being: Another Aldi Brand

To start, Pure Being has some recipes that don’t use any grains. If you have a dog with a grain allergy at home, then this would be the better option for them already. However, you still want to check the ingredient list for rice.

Here’s how Pure Being’s nutritional contents break down in their dry food:

25% crude protein
15% crude fat
3% crude fiber

And this is how Heart to Tail’s dry dog food looks:

21% crude protein
10% crude fat
4.5% crude fiber

As you can see, both of these numbers are very close to one another. However, Heart to Tail does contain slightly less crude protein. Both do still provide enough that you meet your dog’s nutritional needs. Overall, they both are affordable and offer your pup the nutrients that they need to stay healthy.

Nutritional Content of Heart to Tail Dog Food

Before buying any dog food, you must read the nutrition labels. The labels and ingredient lists will give you all the information you need to determine whether or not the dog food is healthy.

The American Kennel Club says it’s important to check out the basic four nutrients for your dog first:

Protein
Fat
Fiber
Water

You want to ensure that protein makes up most of the food, followed by fat, then fiber. Many dry dog foods don’t have much, if any, water in them. It’s important that you supply your pet with plenty of hydration during the day, especially if they’re only eating dry kibble.

The ingredient list has the ingredients ranked by their weight in the food. If you notice meat first, that’s a great sign, as it means most dog food consists of whole meat. With Heart to Tail, the ingredient list contains grains at the start.

That means the dog food consists mainly of grains. This aspect often happens with more affordable dog food brands, as the grains make the food cheaper. It’s not always a bad thing- with Heart to Tail, your pup is still getting plenty of protein and other nutrients in their diet.

Many vets recommend that you don’t put your dog on a grain-free diet unless they have a severe allergy. It’s a myth that dogs eating grains can cause allergies. Plus, many grains contain fibers that your pet requires in their diet.

Overall, grain isn’t necessarily bad- you need to make sure there’s still more protein and healthy fat, however.

Nutrition in Heart to Tail Dry Dog Food

Let’s take a look at Heart to Tail’s most popular line of dry dog food- the Complete Nutrition kibble. The top ingredients include:

Whole grain corn
Meat and bone meal
Corn germ meal
Corn distillers
What middlings
Animal fats

Further down on the list, you’ll find plenty of vitamin supplements. While corn is still the main ingredient, it’s excellent that meat and bone meal is second on the list. Those ingredients offer your dog the protein they need.

While there are more nutritious dog food brands out there, they are much more expensive. If you’re searching for something affordable, then this Aldi brand dog food would fit the bill. You may want to offer your dog wet food, too, a few times a week.

Overall, the nutrition label shows that there’s a lot of protein in this food. When it comes to affordable dog food, you must meet your pup’s protein needs first.

Nutrition in Heart to Tail Wet Dog Food

Heart to Tail’s wet dog food offers far more nutrition for your dog. The wet recipes contain more animal products, such as real chicken or beef. Some recipes even include rice and carrots or other dog-safe vegetables.

The wet dog food generally contains more nutrition and protein than the dry version. It’s also very affordable, making it the best option for affordable dog food. Finally, the wet dog food also includes far more moisture, making it slightly easier to keep you hydrated during the day.

Overall, the nutritional content in Heart to Tail’s wet dog food recipe is better than the dry versions. It’s like this for many brands so that most pet parents will feed their dog a mixture of wet and dry food during the week. Doing so ensures that your pet gets all the nutrients they need in their diet.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is Heart to Tail a Good Dog Food?

Heart to Tail is good, affordable dog food. Its ingredients seem to be of good quality, and there are high levels of protein and fat in the kibble. The amount of fiber in the dog food is also pretty low, which is good. There are a variety of flavors and recipes, some of which are better than others.

While the dry kibble is good, the wet Heart to Tail dog food is great! If you’re looking for something affordable, you could offer your dog the kibble for a majority of their diet- then serve them the wet food from time to time. There are better brands out there, but you would need to pay a lot more for them.

Is It Cheaper to Feed Your Dog Homemade Food?

If you’re feeding your dog wet food every day, you could save some money making it on your own. Of course, that depends on what you’re currently feeding your dog. It’s usually much more expensive to feed your dog home-cooked meals when compared to affordable dry dog chow.

If you’re cooking dog food at home, you still need to ensure that it has the proper amounts of protein, fat, fiber, and water in it. You should check out some recipes online or talk with your vet. They’ll know the best recipes to ensure your pup is getting a healthy and balanced diet.

Overall, a professional will likely recommend that you feed your dog kibble since brands design it with your pet’s health in mind. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t offer your homemade dog food from time to time.

Is Heart to Tail Dog Food Grain-Free?

Many Heart to Tail recipes list some grain as their first ingredient. If this concerns you, you’ll want to check out their wet food options. However, corn grain in dry dog food is usually what keeps it affordable. While it does offer some fiber, the grains are often seen as a filler in the recipe.

Any time you plan on switching your dog’s diet, it’s important to check with your vet for professional advice. The vet can recommend tailored amounts and feeding schedules, as well as suggest appropriate ratios, if you plan on mixing the dry and wet food together.

Is Heart to Tail Wet Food Good for Dogs?

The Heart to Tail wet food contains better ingredients and more protein than the brand’s dry food recipes. There are also lower levels of fat and carbs in wet dog food. However, the wet dog food does cost more overall than the dry food.

Therefore, you’ll want to carefully consider your options if you’re searching for something more affordable.

What Ingredients Are Bad in Dog Food?

Melamine is a harmful ingredient in dog food because it’s a type of plastic. Melamine is usually added to dog food to make it look like the kibble is rich in protein. However, the ingredient is actually very toxic and harmful to your pup.

Additionally, you don’t need corn syrup or dyes in dog food. There’s no real reason to make dog food look more appealing to people- your dog isn’t going to care what their food looks like! These ingredients don’t have any nutritional benefits for your dogs either and add unnecessary sugars to the food.

Is Grain Really Unhealthy for Dogs?

Grains are not harmful unless your dog happens to have a grain allergy. However, it’s still essential that you make sure your dog is getting the proper amounts of protein, fat, and fiber in their meals.

If you’re thinking about doing a grain-free diet for your dog, it’s essential that you talk with your vet before making any massive changes. Grains do offer dogs some fiber, and there may be health risks associated with grain-free diets. It’s always best to check in with your primary vet before making any significant changes to your dog’s diet.

Conclusion

Overall, Heart to Tail Dog Food is an excellent way to provide a healthy diet for your dog. While not a grain-free option, the brand does offer a good nutritional value for your pup. Plus, the company does it at an affordable price. It’s worth noting that the brand’s wet dog food contains more nutrients and moisture as well.

Here’s a short recap of our post:

Heart to Tail is very affordable.
The brand offers plenty of protein and nutrition.
The brand’s wet dog food is healthier than dry.
The kibble isn’t grain-free.
Heart to Tail has no recall history.

Sources

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