Regular readers of my blog will need no introduction to my dog, Coco. She has a very sensitive gut and I have tried elimination diets and a variety of different foods over the years to see which one she gets on with best. And I eventually found the right dry kibble products for her, but finding a nutritious wet food that she could eat proved to be much more difficult. So following a consultation with a vegan vet, I was very pleased when they offered to send me samples of this food and as a consequence, I slowly introduced it into Coco’s diet. She has been eating it for 3 months now and likes it very much, has more enthusiasm for her meals, and continues to enjoy her high octane play dates with her furry pals! So read on for my Give a Dog a Bean review and find out why this naturally hypoallergenic dog food is now a regular feature in Coco’s diet.
Pros
- Palatable
- Nutritionally complete
- Vet formulated
- Hypoallergenic
- Competitively priced
Cons
- It can be a little dry
Who makes Give a Dog a Bean?
This plant-based product is made by a brand called Just be Kind dog food, founded by a vegan vet. It was developed to provide a nutritionally complete, hypoallergenic food that also avoids pea and soya – ingredients that are commonly found in other vegan dog foods but that can be a cause of gut issues in some dogs. That said, it can be enjoyed by any dog, not just those with sensitivities.
Our experience with Give a Dog a Bean
It took a long time to find the right dry food for Coco, and finding a suitable wet food took even longer. But it does feel like we may have finally hit the jackpot with Give a Dog a Bean. After an initial 3 month trial she is still enjoying it, she has had no adverse gut or skin reactions, it encourages her to eat her meals, her poos are regular and not stinky (always a sign of good health in my book!) and her energy levels are consistently good.
I’ll admit to having been a bit sceptical at first though, particularly about the bean bit – I know what effect beans can have on us humans, so was fully expecting to accompany Coco on some ‘wind-powered’ walks. And for the first few days that’s what happened, and she kept looking at her bottom to see what the noise was! But it settled very quickly and in all honesty, I’m not sure it was down to the beans and could just have been a natural part of introducing something so new to her diet, even though I did it very gradually. Anyway, that problem hasn’t become a permanent feature, fortunately!
And it’s great to have a wet food for her again because it has always been her preference. She enjoys the dry food more now as a result too and I find I don’t often have to soak it to make her eat it any more – something I was having to do regularly before. I do still think that if this food were wetter, it would make it even more palatable than it already is, but that’s not much of a complaint really.
From a personal perspective, I’m happy with this food because it smells pleasant and I love the ingredients list. It looks as good as home-cooked food to me, doesn’t look ultra-processed, and you can actually see the different ingredients in the food – it’s not just a mushy mess. To my mind, it must be much healthier for Coco, and I’m sure it must be good for her gut biome too.
Anyway, I have looked at all these elements individually in more detail below.
My dog, Coco, enjoys eating it
As soon as a tin of Give a Dog a Bean is opened, Coco is there sniffing the air. I think because we are so used to the stench of animal-based dog foods, it seems strange that dogs can be attracted to something that smells so…well, wholesome and mild! Perhaps it’s the vegetables, proteins and amino acids – Coco loves sniffing (and eating!) grated tofu and let’s face it, that doesn’t smell of much. Anyway, whatever it is, she likes it.
And it doesn’t stop at the smell, she enjoys eating it too and she can be pretty fussy, believe me. I’d always thought that dogs will eat anything, but not Coco (although she’s not beyond digging up and eating one of her long-buried chews – if she remembers where she put it)!
I have also tried this food out on one of Coco’s fussy pals, Sundi – who has helped us out on other dog food taste tests – and even she eats it very happily. So I can only conclude that dogs find this food pretty palatable.
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She gets all the nutrients from it that she needs
Give a Dog a Bean dog food is nutritionally complete. In short, that means it provides Coco with all the nutrients she requires without the need for supplementation or additional foods. But it’s not just me that thinks it’s nutritionally complete! This product complies with all the FEDIAF guidelines – the European pet food industry organisation – and these determine which nutrients are required to ensure a dog food is compliant.
Not only that, but the British Veterinary Association has recently updated its policy to state that any nutritionally complete diet is appropriate to feed your dog, regardless of its basis i.e. it doesn’t matter if it’s vegan, fish or meat-based. Basically, it’s not what your dog eats, but whether they get the right nutrients. And this dog food gives them exactly that.
Coco certainly isn’t lacking in energy, her health is good, her coat is really soft and shiny, and her breath is the best it’s ever been! I just wish it could make her less stubborn, but I don’t suppose any food can do that…
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This food has been formulated by a vet
I find it enormously reassuring that this food is formulated by a vet – a vegan herself – working in collaboration with a team of dog nutrition experts. She is the founder of the Just be Kind brand that makes it, and seems genuinely passionate about dog health, and the environment. Having had first-hand experience of seeing dogs in distress and suffering ailments that she knew could be alleviated by eating the right food, she has apparently helped many desperate pet parents to transition their dogs onto a plant-based diet. And in doing so, she was also able to see how vegan dog food could be further improved, hence her development of Give a Dog a Bean.
So even though Coco really doesn’t care a jot who makes her food, I do! And because this brand doesn’t have a huge multi-national company behind it, I imagine that this food is the lifeblood of the business, and quality will be really important to them. Apart from the nutritional elements that I know are in there because of its compliance with FEDIAF guidelines, the fact that I can see the beans, quinoa, vegetables and seeds that go into this food makes me feel confident I’m feeding my dog a wholesome diet, not something that has been processed beyond recognition.
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My dog has no adverse reaction to it
Despite having followed a number of elimination diets recommended by previous vets, Coco’s gut issues just never went away, and it was possible that she was still being exposed to ingredients that were causing her a problem – grains, soy etc, even though they were ‘hydrolysed’ (to my understanding this means processed to the point where the body doesn’t recognise and react to it). But in the 3 months since moving over completely to Give a Dog a Bean (together with a combination of Solo Vegetal and Green Crunch dry foods), I have seen a significant reduction in her symptoms and they have now almost completely disappeared. She can still have the very occasional episode of sickness, air-licking, and obvious tummy pain, but what was a permanent feature of her life is now a rare occurrence and could be down to snaffling something off the floor, or ‘foraging’ on her walks.
And based on other reviews I’ve seen, Coco is not alone and this hypoallergenic food seems to have helped quite a number of dogs who now no longer suffer gut and skin issues as a result. I think it may be because this product doesn’t rely on proteins being ‘hydrolysed’ to make them suitable for sensitive tummies and skin, it quite simply avoids them altogether – even pea protein – which seems so much more sensible and I’m sure the rest of the dog nutrition world will catch up at some point!
I mentioned that Coco also eats a hypoallergenic dry food mixed in – read my Solo Vegetal review if you’d like to find out more about that.
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How much does it cost?
OK, vegan dog food doesn’t come cheap, probably because animal-based pet food uses the awful by-products of the meat and fish industry which helps to keep its prices down, so I expect to pay more than I would for the average brand in a supermarket. But fortunately this product is competitively priced in comparison to many other vegan dog foods, and when I think of the quality of what I’m buying, and the benefits it brings Coco, I think it’s worth every penny.
There are ways of saving a bit of money too – you receive a good discount if you subscribe, and you can also use my discount code below for 10% off your first purchase.
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Coco would like some gravy added!
Well, that says it for me really – I think Coco would find this food even more palatable if it had some gravy. It’s not a major issue, it’s easily remedied by adding a little warm water or oat milk, and some dogs aren’t bothered by gravy anyway. It’s just that Coco likes her food wet and I think it helps the biscuits go down for her too.
My verdict on Give a Dog a Bean
I really like this product. I think it is high quality, and looks so nutritious it feels like I am feeding my dog home-cooked food. Importantly though, it also seems to have largely resolved Coco’s gut and sensitivity issues which is something I’ve been trying to do for years, and that’s a real relief for me – and for Coco!
But as with any dog food, it’s not just whether I like it. I might think it’s the best dog food in the world, but if my dog doesn’t like the taste, she’s not going to want to eat it! Fortunately, she does like it very much and happily munches her way through her mealtimes. Not only that, she suffers no negative consequences from doing so which, after years of discomfort for her, is a great result all round.
So this food is perfect for dogs who suffer from gut and skin issues because of its careful formulation, but it’s equally good for those without sensitivities too and I would certainly recommend it if you’re looking for a wholesome, tasty and nutritious food for you dog.
Discount Code for Give a Dog a Bean: VEGANMUM
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