CANIDAE PURE PETITE GRAIN-FREE WET DOG FOOD Review

With a score of 6.2/10, this is considered a moderate risk dog food. There are 6 recipes that average 44% protein and 20% carbohydrates, as calculated on a dry matter basis. This is Canidae’s highest scoring food. It also has the highest average protein of all Canidae foods. 

This line loses ingredient quality points for its high carbohydrate content, ranging from  17 to 30%. This is a grain-free food but it contains dried peas which are still high in starch. Excessive carbohydrate is an indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.

This line loses significant ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.

The line also loses ingredient quality points for plant proteins. They’re a low cost substitute for quality animal protein. Animal sources of protein are preferred because they contain a wider array of amino acids and are more digestible. 

These canned foods lose points as they are highly processed. Canned foods are heated before and during canning, which will cause significant losses in some active enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients.

These recipes also use foods, sometimes in the top 5 ingredients, known to be high in pesticide/herbicide residues, including dried peas. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers pose a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils. Foods with the largest reported amount of residue will be penalized, including crops that are known to be spray-dried with glyphosate.  

Finally, safety points are lost as natural flavor is used in each recipe to make processed food more palatable. But natural flavor is often either MSG or animal digest, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.

Ingredient splitting doesn’t lose points but it’s used in some recipe in this line.  It’s the technique of splitting ingredients into sub-categories to move certain ingredients (like different pea ingredients) higher on the ingredient list. This is often used to disguise the amount of lower quality ingredients in the recipe, and moves desirable ingredients, like proteins, higher.

It’s also worth noting that the line contains sodium selenite as a source of selenium. Dogs need selenium, and it’s usually added in very small amounts. However some research suggests that sodium selenite may be associated with potential toxicity, so selenium yeast is the preferred form of this mineral.  

The company states that the salmon used in these recipes is wild-caught which has a healthier fatty acid profile than farmed fish. 

Canidae does not state the omega6:omega-3 ratio in their foods. While this is true of most foods, AAFCO allows a very inflammatory limit of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation and disease.