Highly Digestible Dog Food: What Does 93%+ Digestible Mean?
A Pup Above fresh food is up to 50% more digestible than standard kibble, citing third-party research that puts A Pup Above's fresh recipes at 93%+ digestible.1 Digestibility is the percentage of a food's nutrients that a dog's body actually absorbs and uses, rather than passing through unused, and it's measured with a standard digestibility trial that compares how much of a nutrient goes in against how much comes back out. Below is what that number means, how a trial like this works, and what's actually in a recipe that makes it easier to digest.
What Does "Digestibility" Mean in Dog Food?
Digestibility isn't the same as the nutrient numbers on a bag. The guaranteed analysis on a label tells you what's in the food; digestibility tells you how much of that your dog's body can actually use. A food can list an impressive protein percentage and still deliver less usable nutrition if a large share of it passes through undigested.
The standard way to measure this is a total-collection digestibility trial: dogs eat a known, measured amount of a food, and researchers measure how much of each nutrient shows up in the stool. The difference between what went in and what came back out, expressed as a percentage, is the apparent digestibility of that nutrient. It's the same basic principle described in veterinary nutrition literature on gut health and nutrient absorption.2
Several things affect the result: the quality and form of the protein, how the food is cooked, and how much fiber and filler it contains. Whole cuts of meat behave differently in a dog's gut than heavily processed or rendered ingredients, and gentler cooking methods tend to preserve more of a protein's original structure than high-heat processing does.
Where Does A Pup Above's 93%+ Digestibility Figure Come From?
The 93%+ figure is A Pup Above's approved digestibility claim: it's cited to third-party research using the total-collection approach described above, not a number pulled from a label calculation, which is why it's attributed every time it's used.1
Set against kibble, that gap is significant: published kibble digestibility can run as low as 64%, which is why A Pup Above fresh food is up to 50% more digestible than standard kibble.4
This page covers the plain-language version of that claim: what digestibility means and how it's measured in general, without publishing granular protocol detail such as dog count, study dates, or the specific formulas tested, since that documentation isn't available to this draft. Treat the 93%+ figure as A Pup Above's cited, approved claim rather than a fully documented study writeup.
What Makes A Recipe Easier to Digest?
Digestibility isn't an ingredient you can add. It's the result of what goes into a recipe and how it's handled before it reaches the bowl. A few things drive it:
- Whole, human-grade ingredients. Human-grade means every ingredient and the finished product meet the same standard as food made for people, prepared in a facility licensed for human food. That starts a recipe with meat and vegetables in recognizable form, not rendered by-products or fillers.
- A gentle cooking method. A Pup Above's recipes are gently cooked using a sous-vide method: sealed and cooked at a controlled, lower temperature rather than extruded at high heat. Gentler heat tends to preserve more of a protein's original structure, which is part of what a digestibility trial is measuring.
- Real bone broth. Recipes are infused with real bone broth rather than water or synthetic flavoring, adding moisture and easily absorbed nutrients to every bag.
- Fiber from real food, not filler. Ingredients like sweet potato and pumpkin add fiber that supports normal digestion, the same role fiber plays in any dog's diet, without relying on grain or plant fillers to bulk out the recipe.
What Are the Signs My Dog Is Digesting Their Food Well?
You don't need a lab to notice the basics. Firm, consistent stools; a dog that finishes meals without excessive gas or bloating; steady energy between meals; and a coat that looks and feels healthy are the everyday signs that a food is being absorbed well rather than passing through.
That lines up with what A Pup Above customers report after switching. In a growing sample of recent, structured customer reviews, 21 of 47 respondents noted a visible improvement in their dog's coat or energy.3 That's a self-reported trend from real customers, not a clinical outcome claim, and we'll keep updating the figure as more structured reviews come in.
Does Highly Digestible Food Matter More for Some Dogs Than Others?
Yes. Puppies, senior dogs, and dogs with an ongoing sensitive stomach get the most practical benefit from a highly digestible diet, because their systems have less margin for foods that are harder to break down. Digestion and stool-related comments appear in 59 combined mentions across A Pup Above's approved customer reviews, and it's one of the most common reasons customers say they went looking for a different food in the first place.3
If a sensitive stomach is the specific reason you're here, what to feed a dog with an upset stomach is the more targeted next read, and the Sensitive Stomach collection is built around A Pup Above's gently cooked recipes formulated for digestive sensitivities.
Which A Pup Above Recipes Does This Apply To?
The 93%+ figure reflects A Pup Above's standard formulation approach: gently cooked, human-grade, sous-vide, with real bone broth, which is how every recipe across the Fresh Dog Food line is made. It isn't a one-off result from a single recipe; it's a description of the method behind the product line as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "93% digestible" actually mean? It means that A Pup Above cites third-party research putting 93%+ of the nutrients in these recipes as absorbed rather than passed through unused.1 It's an attributed research figure, not a made-up marketing number.
How is dog food digestibility tested? The standard method is a total-collection feeding trial: dogs eat a measured amount of food, researchers measure what comes back out, and the difference between intake and output, as a percentage, is the food's apparent digestibility.2
Is highly digestible food better for dogs with sensitive stomachs? It can help. Foods that are more fully absorbed put less material through a dog's gut undigested, which is one reason gently cooked, human-grade recipes come up often for dogs with digestive sensitivities. It isn't a substitute for a vet's diagnosis if your dog has an ongoing GI condition.
What are signs my dog's food is easy to digest? Firm, regular stools, minimal gas or bloating, steady energy, and a healthy-looking coat are the everyday signs. Loose stools, frequent gas, or a dull coat can point the other way.
Which A Pup Above products does the 93%+ figure apply to? The 93%+ figure reflects A Pup Above's standard recipe approach, gently cooked, human-grade, sous-vide, with real bone broth, used across the Fresh Dog Food line.
Does the cooking method affect how digestible a food is? Yes. Gentler cooking methods, like the sous-vide process used in A Pup Above's gently cooked recipes, tend to preserve more of a protein's original structure than high-heat processing, which is part of what a digestibility trial measures.
The Bottom Line
Digestibility is one of the more measurable, less hand-wavy claims in dog nutrition: it's a percentage backed by a specific trial method, not a marketing adjective. A Pup Above's 93%+ figure is cited to third-party research using that method, and it describes the standard recipe approach used across the Fresh Dog Food line: human-grade ingredients, gently cooked sous-vide, and real bone broth in every bag. For more on the standard behind the whole line, see Our Food.
Sources
- Third-party research substantiating A Pup Above's approved digestibility claim (per the APA Claims Library) via the total-collection method described above. No specific institution, author, sample size, or date is available for public citation as of this draft; hold for a named source before treating this figure as a fully documented, citable study result. ↩
- General veterinary nutrition literature on gut health, nutrient absorption, and digestibility trial methodology: "Gut Microbiota and Health of Dogs and Cats," National Institutes of Health/PMC: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10609632/ ↩
- A Pup Above verified customer review data via Okendo, pulled August 13, 2026: 1,212 approved reviews for the digestion/stool-related mentions (59 combined); a structured-attribute subset of 47 recent reviews for visible coat/energy improvement (21 of 47). ↩
- Gross, K.L., et al. Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, 5th ed. Mark Morris Institute, 2020 (published kibble digestibility as low as 64%, cited for the approved comparison claim). ↩