Gravy Train

Gravy Train Information

Gravy Train is a dog food brand owned by Big Heart Pet Brands / J.M Smucker Company.

It was formerly owned by Del Monte Pet Products but was purchased by J.M Smucker Company in 2015 along with a number of other pet foods brands like Meow Mix, Kibbles ‘N Bits, Natural Balance, and Nature’s Recipe.

The brand is best known for being the first brand to utilize mixing their dog food recipes with water to create a gravy-like consistency.

Despite its early innovation and popularity, Gravy Train is categorized by many to be one of the lowest-quality dog food brands in the United States.

Gravy Train dog food is widely available for purchase at large retail and grocery stores like Walmart. Also, it can be purchased online from several large pet food websites like Amazon and Chewy.

Gravy Train Product Range

Gravy Train has a small product range of dog food recipes. This range includes a mix of dry dog food and dog treats.

Most of Gravy Train’s recipes are not age-specific or size-specific, but there is a single recipe designed for small breed dogs.

Gravy Train Nutrition

The nutrition provided by Gravy Train dog food is below average, bordering on significantly below average.

This correlates to significantly below-average proportions of protein and fat and a huge proportion of carbohydrates.

Below is an example of the nutrition provided by a Gravy Train recipe.

This kind of nutritional profile is not well suited to the vast majority of dogs, and they would be better suited to a diet with a higher proportion of protein and fat.

If you would like to learn more about canine nutrition, we highly recommend checking out our Dog Food Guide.

Gravy Train Ingredients

High-Quality Meat & Fish Ingredients

Gravy Train does not use any meat or fish ingredients that we would consider to be high-quality.

Sadly they use mostly unnamed meat and fish ingredients that are not transparent and accountable.

Other Notable Ingredients

Some Gravy Train recipes make use of Chicken By-Product Meal. This is a highly processed form of Chicken, which is made up of less desirable cuts of meats and has had the majority of its moisture removed before manufacturing.

While this may not sound ideal, this ingredient can provide beneficial nutrition, including high levels of protein and fat. However, there are many dog owners who are not supportive of ingredients like these.

Corn is a core ingredient in Gravy Train recipes and is extremely controversial. There are many pet owners who swear by Corn and are happy to see it feature in recipes, while there are others who are strongly against its use.

Regardless of which side of this you choose to be on, Corn can provide beneficial nutrition in the form of carbohydrates, plant-based protein, and select micronutrients.

Sadly Gravy Train also makes use of a number of grain by-products such as Soybean Meal, Wheat Middlings, Brewers Rice, and Wheat Flour.

These ingredients are not beneficial additions to any dog food recipe and after leftover ingredients that would otherwise go to waste.

While they can provide some nutrition in the form of carbohydrates, they are not an optimal source and often lack transparency.

Meat & Bone Meal is a mix of meat and bone that has been ground up and had the bulk of its moisture removed. From a nutritional perspective, this can provide a mix of protein and fat.

While meat meals should not be feared, unnamed meat meals such as this should be avoided. There is no transparency and guarantee of its source, and it could vary significantly from batch to batch.

Animal Fat is a similar ingredient to Meat & Bone Meal in that it is not accountable. It can provide the recipe with a source of animal-based fat.

We would much prefer that Gravy Train specify the source of this animal fat, such as Chicken Fat or Beef Fat, like other brands do.

Gravy Train Animal Testing

At this time, we have no information on whether Gravy Train participates in invasive or laboratory testing of animals.

We strongly believe that laboratory or invasive testing of animals is a cruel and outdated practice. We hope that in the future, it will be eliminated.

Gravy Train Recalls

Based on our research (FDA, AVMA, DogFoodAdvisor), Gravy Train is not a recall-free brand.

In February 2018, a large range of Gravy Train products were recalled due to a potentially low level of pentobarbital. Pentobarbital is used as a tranquilizer to euthanize sick or injured animals.

Digestion of Pentobarbital can cause drowsiness, loss of balance, nausea, or in extreme cases, death.

This recall included the below batches of canned dog food.

• 13.2 oz. With T-Bone Flavor Chunks, UPC# 7910052541
• 13.2 oz. With Beef Strips, UPC# 7910052542
• 13.2 oz. With Lamb and Rice Chunks, UPC# 7910052543
• 13.2 oz. With Beef Chunks, UPC# 7910034417
• 22 oz. With Beef Chunks, UPC# 7910051647
• 13.2 oz. With Chicken Chunks, UPC# 7910034418
• 22 oz. With Chicken Chunks, UPC# 7910051645
• 13.2 oz. Chunks in Gravy Stew, UPC# 7910051933
• 13.2 oz. Chicken, Beef & Liver Medley, UPC# 7910051934
• 13.2 oz. Chunks in Gravy with Beef Chunks, UPC# 7910034417

In March 2007, a small range of Gravy Train products were recalled due to Melamine. Melamine is an industrial chemical and should not be found in pet food. It can cause serious harm to animals and, in extreme cases, cause death.

The below batches of dog treats were included in this recall:

• Production Code TP7B19 and “Best by” Aug. 19, 2008
• Production Code TP7B20 and “Best by” Aug. 20, 2008
• Production Code TP7B21 and “Best by” Aug. 21, 2008

We always ask that pet owners are vigilant of any future recalls of Gravy Train or any other pet food brand.

Gravy Train Featured Articles

The 10 Worst Dog Foods – Given its reputation, it will come as no surprise that Gravy Train features in our round-up of the worst dog food brands.

In this article, we discuss several of the worst dog food brands and give an in-depth explanation as to why they are considered to be poor-quality.

Best of Gravy Train

Hearty Classic Chicken Flavor Review

Check Price On Chewy

The above is Gravy Train’s Chicken focused recipe and is what we believe to be their best offering.

It is the only Gravy Train recipe to include a named meat ingredient in Chicken By-Product Meal. While there are other concerns with this ingredient, the fact it is named makes it transparent and accountable.

It provides a small portion of animal-based protein and fat.

The recipe also includes a mix of Corn, Soybean, Wheat, and Rice ingredients. These provide a very large proportion of carbohydrates.

Gravy Train Full Product Range

Dog Food

Dry Dog Food

Beefy Classic

Hearty Classic Chicken Flavor

Meaty Classic Beef Liver & Bacon Flavor

Hearty Pot Roast Flavor

Small Bites Beefy Classic

Dog Treats

Beef Sticks

Jerky Strips

Steak Bones Beef Flavor

Wavy Bacon