Ol Roy dog food, manufactured and distributed by Walmart since 1981, has long been popular with pet owners across America. The low-cost option takes its name from Sam Walton’s bird dog.
Low-grade meat by-products and soy flour/textured vegetable protein combine in this product, forming an inferior blend that may block absorption of essential vitamins and minerals.
Contents
Ingredients
Ol Roy is a private label brand sold by Walmart that features various canned dog foods and treats that have low cost; however, this food has also been subject to recalls in several instances.
Walmart’s private label brands like Ol’ Roy are often cheaper and provide less information compared to name-brand products, such as disclosing the source of ingredients or disclosure of allergies.
Ol’ Roy canned dog foods claim to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages; however, their recipes use meat by-products and unnamed poultry meal as primary protein sources; additionally they contain substantial quantities of textured vegetable protein (TVP), which has lower quality ingredients derived from unknown animal sources; they’re preserved with BHA, which has been identified as a potential carcinogen.
Corn, wheat gluten and barley are among the other ingredients included in the formula; it is not advised that dogs be given these foods because they can lead to digestive distress and diarrhea in dogs.
Nutrition
Ol Roy Cuts in Gravy Bacon Cheeseburger Flavor Wet Dog Food provides your pet with all of the essential nutrients it needs to stay healthy and thrive. Made up primarily of meat and poultry by-product meal as its primary sources, as well as all necessary minerals and other components necessary for its wellbeing.
Meat and bone meal, composed of rendered animal tissues such as stomach contents, bones, manure, skin, hoofs and horns is the first ingredient. Beef provides more protein; however it may come from inferior cuts. Finally liver is considered an excellent source of protein but this source should only come from animals who were humanely slaughtered.
Food from Mars Petcare, Del Monte and Sunshine contains several less-than-ideal ingredients such as the artificial preservative BHA and corn starch, carrageenan from seaweed as a thickening agent, which has been linked to intestinal inflammation in dogs.
Reputation
Ol’ Roy dog food formulas are among the top-selling canned and dry dog foods in the US, sold exclusively at Walmart stores for over a decade and popular with pet parents who seek an economical food option for their pups. Unfortunately, their reputation has suffered significantly due to a series of recalls and negative customer reviews in recent years.
This food features low-quality ingredients that provide poor sources of nutrition to dogs, such as meat by-products and carrageenan, an ingredient with questionable safety standards that has been linked to cancer in both people and canines. BHA preservative has also been implicated as cancer-causing agent.
Ol’ Roy does not disclose its manufacturing processes, which has long been one of the company’s major weaknesses. Formerly owned by Doane Pet Care Company (which was acquired by Mars Petcare US in 2014), its products now produced by JM Smucker subsidiary Big Heart Pet Brands are available across grocery chains and discount stores alike.
Cost
Ol’ Roy from Walmart is popular because of its low price point, as well as being high-protein diet with lots of flavor. Unfortunately, though, this food uses fillers and lower quality ingredients compared to premium brands – and may therefore not be bioavailable to dogs as easily.
Ol’ Roy is Walmart’s private label store brand of pet food manufactured by Doane Pet Care of Brentwood, Tennessee and owned by Mars Petcare US. Doane produces products such as IAMS, Pedigree, Sheba Royal Canin Eukanuba Cesar as well as Ol’ Roy.
Ol’ Roy product lines earned The Advisor’s second lowest star rating of 2.5 due to their use of meat by-products as key sources of protein, along with soy flour and textured vegetable protein (TVP). A few recipes in this line have even been recalled due to possible melamine contamination.
