Royal Canin Dog Food Reviews

Royal Canin produces 4 lines of dog food. There are 2 lines of dry dog food with 86 recipes. There are 2 lines of canned dog food with 22 recipes. The dry foods are among the lowest scoring brands reviewed here. They are all very high risk dog foods by our criteria. The Canned foods are high risk by our criteria. 

Most of the dry recipes score 0/10 for ingredient safety. They don’t fare much better for ingredient quality. They have high carbs from grains and starches. Each dry recipe has 3 to 6 in the top 10 ingredients. These include corn, rice, pea fiber, wheat, barley and oat groats. They’re followed by a lengthy list of additives.

There are no discernible whole food ingredients. Fruits and vegetables are absent from all recipes. And so are their nutrients and fiber. Each recipe has a list of 15-30 added vitamins, minerals and amino acids. These nutritionally balance the food. Then they meet the AAFCO minimum requirements. Vitamins and minerals should come from whole food sources. They include a full spectrum of cofactors. This makes them safe and bioavailable. Five or more implies the food is of poor nutritional value. There are very limited proteins used. Amino acids are added to make up for this. 

These recipes contain sodium selenite as a source of selenium. Dogs need selenium, and it’s usually added in very small amounts. Research suggests that sodium selenite may be associated with potential toxicity. Selenium yeast is the preferred form of this mineral.

Royal Canin offers dozens of breed, size, age and health specific recipes. However, the labels reveal very similar ingredients. They appear to be the same but re-ordered in the recipes. The ingredients include lists of starches and grains. They also have waste products from the human food industry. These include brewers rice, dried beet pulp, powdered cellulose, and psyllium seed husk. They might identify them as sources of fiber. However, fruits and vegetables are a better source of fiber. They also provide valuable phytonutrients instead of chemical additives.

Royal Canin Dry has 40 recipes. They have excessive carbohydrates. They average 40% as calculated. Protein averages 25%.

Many recipes are marketed for specific health issues. There are separate recipes for dental health, sensitive skin, aging, weight care, digestive care and puppies. Most recipes lack a clear protein source. Small Sensitive Skin Care lists many inflammatory foods. They include brewers rice, corn gluten meal, wheat gluten, oat groats, dried tomato pomace, dried beet pulp (all waste products), wheat and chicken fat. A list of 30 synthetic vitamins, minerals and amino acids follows. A recipe for Small Coat Care has similar ingredients. The main difference appears to be the addition of chicken by-product meal. There are no novel ingredients in any of the 40 recipes.

Chicken by-product meal is a dry rendered product of slaughterhouse waste. It’s what’s left of a chicken after the choice cuts are removed. The quality can vary as the raw materials are not consistent. This is allowed as pet food is treated as a feed product. That’s what’s fed to farm animals. It has a different set of requirements from human food. 

Royal Canin Breed Specific Dry has 46 recipes. Average protein is 26%. Average carbohydrate is excessive at 38% as calculated. 

Royal Canin highlights specific breeds like Cocker Spaniels, Bulldogs, Mini Schnauzer, Pugs, Chihuahuas and Golden Retrievers. The recipes have similar amounts of protein and high carbohydrates for each breed. Ingredients are similar to its other line of dry dog food. They list rice, chicken by-product meal, oat groats, corn, chicken fat and wheat gluten. The order changes a bit. There are various combinations of the same ingredients in each of the other 46 recipes. However, the package photography is specific to each breed. 

There are additional concerns beyond those mentioned. All 108 Royal Canin recipes share quality concerns. Many dry and canned foods have cellulose, another waste product. They include ultra-processed and inflammatory seed oils. They have unnamed animal products like fish oil. And they have plant protein like wheat or corn gluten. They are cheaper and lower quality than meat protein. 

Ingredient safety concerns are ultra-processing. This involves several stages of heating that destroys nutrients. Canned foods are processed less. Heat is involved so nutrients are destroyed. There are synthetic preservatives. There are high herbicide foods, some in the top 5. There are also GMOs, often in the top 5 ingredients. There is natural flavor. It’s a low quality ingredient. It’s usually made from animal digest or MSG. Most recipes contain rice. It has potential for arsenic contamination. 

The 2 lines of canned foods score a bit higher than the dry dog foods. Both are high risk according to our criteria. Royal Canin Canned has 12 recipes. They have average protein of 37%. This is acceptable for canned dog food. Average carbohydrates are 27%. This is high for canned dog food. Royal Canin Breed Specific Canned has 10 recipes. They have average protein of 36%. Average carbohydrates are 24%.  

All canned foods list water as the first ingredient as opposed to a food. Unlike the dry foods, these foods have meat products as the next 4 or 5 ingredients. However, pork and chicken by-products are at the top of the list. As noted earlier, they’re hard to define as they’re not consistent products. It’s what’s left after the choice cuts are removed from the animal or poultry. And in fact, it can include cartilage, beaks, feet and hooves.

The ingredients in the canned recipes are similar. Most are repeated in a different order. Each recipe has a list of 23 or more added vitamins and minerals.

The ingredients in the canned recipes are similar. Most are repeated in a varying order. Each recipe has a list of 23 or more added vitamins and minerals. Canned foods list water first as opposed to food. Unlike the dry foods, these recipes have meat products as the next 4 or 5 ingredients.

There are other ingredient quality concerns. Recipes have cellulose. It’s an insoluble fiber made from wood pulp. Canned foods have similar safety concerns to dry foods. In addition, they have carrageenan. It’s used as a thickener. But it’s linked to intestinal inflammation and other health issues. 

There is ingredient splitting in some of these recipes. This is the practice of splitting ingredients into subcategories. It makes them appear lower on the list. It can move more desirable protein ingredients higher. 

Royal Canin doesn’t state whether fish or fish oil is from farmed or wild sources. Wild-caught fish is more nutritious. It has a better fatty acid balance than farmed fish. Royal Canin doesn’t provide the omega-6:3 ratio. This isn’t unusual among companies. The ratio is always a concern because AAFCO allows a highly inflammatory ratio of 30:1.  

We have listed the average score of Royal Canin foods and each sub-brand below. Click on any line to view the individual foods and scores.