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CaniSource Dog Food Reviews

Average Score

5.4
4 color scale

Food scores are based on ingredient quality and safety. For more information, view our  evaluation criteria.

CaniSource dog food was founded in 2005 in Quebec, where the company operates its own factory. The company manufactures dehydrated dog food and cat food. There is no information available about company ownership.

IS CANISOURCE A GOOD DOG FOOD?

Canisource Grand Cru is a line of 6 recipes of dehydrated dog food, and is considered a moderate risk dog food. It averages 29% protein and 39% carbohydrate as calculated. 

Dehydrated dog foods like these involve less processing and heat exposure than dry and wet foods that go through several stages of heating that causes a loss of nutrients. Dehydrated foods are considered moderately processed based on our criteria. 

Nonetheless, there’s some loss of nutrients based on the inclusion of added vitamins and minerals in all these recipes. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes. It should be noted that there are no added amino acids so those are obtained from the ingredients and protein sources in the recipes. 

It’s also worth noting that most recipes contain 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.  

Canisource notes that it doesn’t include wheat, corn or soy in its recipes, however its recipes include starchy ingredients like rice, barley, oats, chickpeas, lentils, peas and sweet potatoes that raise the carbohydrate levels. Average carbohydrates as calculated range from 35% to 41% as calculated. That’s noteworthy since we’d expect lower carbs in a dehydrated dog food that doesn’t require carbs for processing (unlike the extrusion process in kibble). 

These recipes also have protein averaging 29%, much lower than we’d expect in a dehydrated dog food.

It’s good to see these foods include probiotics, however, they don’t guarantee the amount of CFU (colony forming units). 

The website reports the company sources locally from HACCP-certified (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points) food plants. This is an internationally recognized food safety standard to help improve product quality and consistency, and reduce the risk of contamination from bacteria and food-borne pathogens. 

They also state they use “human-grade” ingredients. Until 2023, the “human-grade” description wasn’t a recognized term by AAFCO, the regulatory body that establishes guidelines for the pet food industry. Under new AAFCO guidelines, all facilities processing human grade pet food products must be registered as both an FDA (not USDA) food facility and an FDA feed facility, as the FDA regulates pet food production and labeling. Additionally, companies using the “human grade” label must have documentation showing that every ingredient within the entire product and process is human grade. 

Here are additional concerns that lowert Canisource pet foods scores in ingredient quality and safety.

On the ingredient safety side, similar ingredients are used in all recipes, including grains and legumes known for high pesticide or herbicide residues. In some cases these are in the top 5 ingredients. Unless organic, crops can carry a high pesticide/herbicide residue when spray-dried with Roundup before harvest. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.  

The recipes also contain seed oils like sunflower and canola. These are highly processed and inflammatory oils that are an inexpensive alternative to higher quality animal fats and oils.

Additionally, canola oil is derived from a GMO crop. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off. 

Rice is used in one recipe and loses an ingredient safety point because of potential arsenic contamination. Arsenic is a significant concern with rice since it naturally absorbs arsenic that can contaminate the water it’s grown in. Arsenic is linked to chronic health issues.  

Two recipes contain fish but it’s not stated whether fish ingredients are wild caught or farmed. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild caught fish and does not contain the same healthy fatty acid balance. It’s also worth noting that Canisource doesn’t state the omega 6:omega-3 ratio in their foods. While this is true of most companies, it’s unfortunate since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory limit of 30:1. 

Grand Cru Benefits

Grand Cru Concerns

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CANISOURCE PET DOG FOOD RECALLS

To date, Canisource dog foods have not been recalled. 

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