Royal Canin is easily one of the most popular dog food brands out there. It produces many different recipes, including ones that are breed specific, so many dog owners are drawn to it.

However, there are also negatives about this brand. For instance, it tends to be extremely expensive. It also utilizes a few controversial ingredients, like gluten meal.

For this reason, we recommend that you keep reading to find out if this Royal Canin is suitable for your canine.

At a Glance: The Best Royal Canin Dog Food Recipes

Royal Canin Dog Food Reviewed

Who Makes Royal Canin and Where Is It Produced?

Royal Canin owns production facilities in Missouri and South Dakota. All of its pet food distributed in the United States is made at these company-owned plants. Therefore, it determines the safety guidelines for its own food. There are also fewer middlemen, which often leads to higher-quality food.

Which Types of Dogs Is Royal Canin Best Suited For?

This brand produces many different dog foods. Therefore, just about any canine may find a suitable recipe. This brand is best known for its veterinary diets, which are best for canines with serious health problems. These formulas often require a veterinary prescription, though, so they aren’t available for every dog out there.

Royal Canin also has breed-specific recipes. However, these tend to be expensive. Also, they usually don’t have many positives for the particular breed. For instance, this brand often advertises special kibble shapes for certain breeds, but this isn’t necessary (or even helpful) in the least.

Its more generalized formulas are based on the breed size. For instance, it has a small breed formula. However, just because your dog is small doesn’t mean that Royal Canin’s size-specific formula is best for them.

Which Types of Dogs Might Do Better With a Different Brand?

Royal Canin recipes tend to be expensive and don’t always contain better ingredients. However, its veterinary formulas are great and difficult to find elsewhere. If your dog has a specific health condition or is sickly, this brand may be a great option for you.

However, for the average dog, you could likely find something cheaper and with better ingredients. Just because this brand has a formula for your breed doesn’t necessarily make it the best choice.

Discussion of Primary Ingredients (Good and Bad)

Despite the price tag, Royal Canin isn’t known for using great ingredients. In fact, many of its ingredients are quite low quality.

For instance, most of its formulas include brown rice or a similar grain as the first ingredient. While brown rice is a whole grain and provides plenty of fiber, it’s not recommended in large amounts. Dogs also need protein and fat. Brown rice doesn’t have high amounts of either of these macronutrients. Grains are often not bad for dogs, but your canine needs more of other ingredients.

Chicken by-products are also used heavily in these foods. By-products are not a high-quality protein source, as they are often not that digestible. They also include fewer important amino acids than whole chicken or chicken meal.

That said, the by-product utilized by Royal Canin is a concentrate. Therefore, it does include more protein and amino acids than your average by-product source. However, it is still less absorbable, which means that most of the protein will simply pass through your dog’s digestive system.

Many other grain sources are used. Some are whole grains, while others are not. Brewer rice is a common ingredient. This rice isn’t necessarily bad for your dog, as it does include nutritional content. However, moderation is key.

Various plant-based protein sources are also utilized. Some are high quality and absorbable, like corn gluten meal. However, others are of lower quality, like wheat gluten.

A Quick Look at Royal Canin Dog Food

Recall History

Royal Canin has had several recalls over the years. Some of these are notable, while others were small.

In May and April 2007, this brand was part of the huge melamine recall that affected most dog food companies. This recall was the result of a supplier problem that caused the rice to be contaminated with melamine. Several dogs got sick from this issue. However, Royal Canin wasn’t the only dog food brand affected, as it seemed to be an industry-wide problem.

In February 2006, Royal Canin had to recall several canned dog foods because they contained excessive levels of vitamin D3. This led to the death of several animals and the sickness of dozens of others. The problem was with the supplier that premixed the vitamins. However, the company did have a transparent way of handling the crisis. In fact, it has been described as a “textbook example” of how dog food companies should handle recalls.

Reviews of the 3 Best Royal Canin Dog Food Recipes

1. Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Golden Retriever Adult Dry Dog Food

The Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Golden Retriever Adult Dry Dog Food is a good example of this company’s breed-specific dog food.

Note that it’s extremely expensive. You’re going to be paying double or even triple the price of many other brands, including ones commonly described as “premium.” It is designed specifically for Golden Retrievers over 15 months of age (before then, they should be consuming a puppy formula). Like most breed-specific brands, the kibble shape is “unique.” However, there is no evidence that this shape is important for Golden Retrievers.

This formula does feature quite a few additions for heart health, including taurine, EPA, and DHA. Goldens are prone to these conditions, so their addition is helpful. Calories and fat are also lower than most formulas to encourage a healthy weight.

However, the ingredient list isn’t the best. Brown rice appears as the first ingredient. The only meat protein is chicken by-product meal. Many grains, including wheat, are also included.

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2. Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Adult Hydrolyzed Protein HP Dry Dog Food

As an example of a veterinary diet, we have Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Adult Hydrolyzed Protein HP Dry Dog Food. This formula includes hydrolyzed protein for dogs with severe food allergies. These proteins cannot cause allergic reactions, which is vital for dogs that are allergic to many different things. This formula also includes prebiotics, which can help your dog’s digestive system. However, it does not include any probiotics.

That said, the first ingredient in this food is brewer’s rice, not protein. Therefore, the protein is lower than in most other formulas. Your dog will mostly be consuming this rice. The protein used is soy, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does have a lower digestibility than other proteins.

Finally, this formula is extremely expensive. However, hydrolyzed protein is expensive to make, so this is to be expected to a certain extent.

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3. Royal Canin Size Health Nutrition Small Adult Formula

For small dogs, Royal Canin Size Health Nutrition Small Adult Formula may be on your list to look at. However, like with other Royal Canin formulas, the ingredient list is a bit disappointing. Corn is the first ingredient. Fortunately, this ingredient is considered high quality, as most dogs can absorb the nutrients from corn quite well. However, that doesn’t mean that corn works well as the first ingredient.

The only meat source is chicken by-product meal. As you might guess, this isn’t high quality in the least. Various types of rice are also included, along with wheat gluten. This concentrated plant protein contributes a large amount of protein to your dog’s food, though it may not be as absorbable as other types of protein.

EPA and DHA are both added to this formula. Therefore, it does include extra fatty acids that may be helpful for your dog’s coat. The kibble size is also small, as you’d expect from a small breed formulation.

What Other Users Are Saying

Despite the relatively poor ingredients, many customers don’t have many bad things to say about this brand. Those who purchased recipes expecting a high-quality food were a bit disappointed, though. There are several negative reviews on Royal Canin foods stating that the ingredient list is not worth the price.

Several people also reported increased stool content, though some misinterpreted this as good. Increased stool means that your dog is absorbing less from their food and producing more waste, which is not a good thing in most cases.

The taste of Royal Canin seems to be lacking. One reviewer said that her dog simply spits the Small Breed recipe back out.

Generally, the biggest negative is that the formulas tend to be overpriced.

Final Verdict

Royal Canin recipes do meet the dietary needs of most dogs. The company also creates veterinary formulas that treat a variety of different conditions, making them a good choice for dogs that have underlying health conditions.

However, the foods tend to be quite overpriced and full of sub-standard ingredients. Therefore, we cannot rate them as high as most other brands. We do recommend their veterinary formula for dogs with health problems. For your average dog, though, you’ll be better off using a different brand.

• See Also: Retriever Dog Food Review