Canidae Dog Food Review in 2024

Ensuring your dog receives proper nutrition is paramount to their well-being. Just as humans need nutritious and high-quality food, your dog requires the same. Ultimately, your goal is to offer your dog a lengthy and robust life, which can only be achieved with the right balance of minerals and nutrients.

Have you heard about Canidae dog food yet?

We’ve been hearing a lot about this new dog food and comparing it to popular foods like Blue Buffalo.

They promise a food full of goodness with a complete nutrition approach.

We’re here to take a closer look and share with you our complete reviews on Canidae dog food and more.

Our goal as we look at these reviews for Canidae dog food is to let you know absolutely everything vital there is to know about Canidae dog food.

Ultimately, the choice will be up to you but you will know the good, the bad, and the ugly so that you can make a fully informed decision considering these pet foods and more.

Will Canidae dog food be the right choice for your dog?

About Canidae Dog Food

The first thing we want to cover in this Canidae dog food review is a basic overview of the company in general. You can tell a lot about a dog food by first taking an inside look at the company creating the food. In fact, we think analyzing Canidae as a whole is utterly essential to getting a true Canidae dog food review.

Every dog food and dog food company takes a different approach. Many of them brag about their strong points but just because they say it is so doesn’t really make it so.

The good news is that we found that the general consensus of Canidae dog food reviews is that they really are who they say they are and it’s worth a deeper look to truly understand the brand and quality as a whole.

We’re sure you could find imperfections, as you can with any brand, but if there is anything that Canidae dog food reviews tells us is that they seem to have a positive reputation for a reason and their brand is well worth a second glance.

So let’s take a look!

You can check out the company’s story and a picture of their beloved mascot, Doink, easily on their website. This company was founded originally in 1996 and they have been running strong ever since.

The company was founded by two pet owners who were simply seeking a better solution for their pets. They tried all of the regular kibble and they just knew there had to be more.

So they set out with the intentions of providing a dog food alternative that had better nutrients and better flavor so it truly was better for pets and pet owners alike. Their first and highest goal has always been quality. You will see this at play as we dig into Canidae ingredients and see the premium quality of nutrition and how they use that outlook in their food.

Canidae uses a veterinarian created formula. This is always a reputable sign because it means that professionals that are familiar with our pets are part of the process of designing the food.

They strive to provide a balanced diet that focuses on whole-body health. Canidae has also since invested in a pet nutrition plant that is located in Brownwood, Texas.

This plant actively researches and develops the pet foods that are used by the company, considering things like safety and integrity in their approach. Having a facility such as this, gives the owners of Canidae full control of things like formula creation and adaption as well as the quality and nutrition of each and every aspect of their pet food lines.

Canidae also works to give back to the planet. They use regenerative agriculture as well as sustainable businesses practices. They partner directly with US farmers, using green technology and resources to support both our pets and our Earth. This company is constantly looking for ways to improve and do things even better and they use nature as the resource it is intended to be in the process.

We noticed a particular statement from this company that really stuck out to us. “By choosing Canidae, you’re saying you want to invest in a healthier plant for pets and their people.” There’s just something to be said about a company that strives to make the best while also being the best that they can be.

Ingredients

Candiae has 5 primary dog food lines that we will talk about in these reviews. While we won’t dig into each food line or flavor individually, we will take a look at the product line as a whole and analyze the ingredients of their most popular flavor so you can get a closer look at just what you are getting when you invest in Canidae food.

The ingredient list is something that you should pay close attention to. So many brands out there use a lot of fillers and by-products that not only provide no nutritional value but are really not healthy or helpful for your dog.

Canidae strives for premium ingredients and complete nutrition, so that is something we will closely review here to see if they fulfill that promise.

Here are their primary lines:

+ Canidae All Life Stages Dry
+ Canidae All Life Stages Wet
+ Canidae Grain Free Pure Dry
+ Canidae Grain Free Pure Wet
+ Canidae Grain Free Pure Ancestral

Canidae Top Products:

Their most popular line is the Canidae all life stages line because it is a bit of a one size fits all option. Not that they are saying that every dog is the same but rather that a comprehensive provision for health is important at all life stages and so they took that approach. Of course, the Canidae grain free pure line is also pretty popular because Canidae Pure means no grains and just all around wholesome health.

They keep their core product lines fairly minimal and rather focus on premium nutrition within these few options instead of a huge line of dry dog food formulas and wet dog food formulas that simply are an unnecessary solution.

They focus on quality rather than quantity and an abundance of options that will overwhelm your senses.

If you really want the least amount of ingredients, take a closer look at Canidae Pure as it has just 7-10 ingredients and is an ideal solution for dogs with sensitivities.

Within the life stages formulas, they offer a large breed blend and several different ingredient formulation recipes.

Their top picks are things like the large breed, lamb meal and rice, or the chicken meal and rice dog foods from their dry dog food formulas.

Quality of Ingredients

As we dive into the quality of the ingredients that this company uses, we were impressed. There is no corn, wheat, or soy to be concerned about. The ingredients are easy to identify and understand and we can tell that they each have a purpose here. Nothing is used that doesn’t need to be.

Everything is driven, essential, and high quality.

Whether you’re looking for a specific flavor or the Canidae pure option that has limited ingredients, you have an array of dog foods that scream of quality in every ingredient on the list.

When we also take note that these ingredients were carefully farmed using sustainable practices, it boosts our confidence in this brand just a little but more.

You see options that cater to specific needs like the life stages multi protein pet food or the Canidae grain free pure blend. We have seen this company immensely compared to the Blue Buffalo lines and we feel that is because they use local farming partners to help raise their ingredients and source the best nutrients for dogs that you can possibly ask for.

We love that Canidae takes several different needs into account and that they create the all life stages formula so you don’t have to purchase multiple different options if you have multiple dogs at home.

Pat parents often have more than one pet to take care of and it can be challenging to keep up with food sensitivities when you just a reliable dog food that is friendly for every dog.

What we do know is that all of the ingredients are top quality. We’re going to focus on just one of their top lines as we complete an ingredient analysis but if you look at Chewy, Amazon, or another partner site for Canidae, you can find their full list of ingredients for any flavor.

Ingredient Analysis

Before we dig deep into analyzing the ingredients that are in Canidae all life stages food, keep in mind that you can also try for Canidae pure if there is something here you don’t like.

The dog food review for the ingredient analysis we’re providing here is specifically related to Canidae All Life Stages chicken meal and rice dry formula.

Here are the top ingredients from the All Life Stages chicken meal and rice recipe from Canidae.

+ Chicken meal
+ Brown rice, white rice, and rice bran
+ Cracked pearled barley
+ Peas
+ Chicken fat
+ Tomato pomace
+ Flaxseed
+ Salmon oil
+ Potassium Chloride
+ Suncured alfalfa
+ Sage extract
+ Cranberries
+ Sunflower oil
+ Enterococcus Faecium fermentation product
+ Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product
+ Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product
+ Vitamins including Vitamin E supplement, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid
+ Minerals including iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, manganese
+ Papaya
+ Pineapple

We notice right away that there are a couple oil additives but we are pleased to see that they use sunflower oil rather than canola oil. Canola oil crosses a hard line for us in terms of quality ingredients. This is not a grain free recipe so it does have brown rice as well as rice bran.

The salmon recipe they offer would include menhaden fish meal as an animal protein. We also want to point out that the life stages offers a multi protein option. This is not a grain free pure solution from Canidae dog food but there is a Canidae grain free pure selection that is also high quality and available in wet dog food and dry dog food.

The multi protein formula contains grains rather than a meal sweet potatoes compilation. Canidae also has a Canidae grain free pure petite blend that is made for pure petite use much as the name suggests.

There are multiple size options in both wet dog food and dry options. In this blend, they offer 5 pound, 15 pound, 30 pound, and 44 pound bags through their affiliate programs.

Now, let’s take an inside look at some of these top ingredients. We want to know that they are top notch and they have a specific, beneficial purpose for dogs.

Chicken Meal

In this particular pet food, chicken in meal form is the top ingredient. Some of the other recipes have things like lamb meal as the animal protein. It really just depends on the formula. For example, salmon has menhaden fish meal added and then the chicken selection has turkey meal as well as lamb meal in the formula. You will notice that there isn’t an actual meat as the protein for dogs but it seems to work according to this dog food review. We typically like to see real meat but it’s not necessarily a requirement.

Even the multi protein formula contains lamb meal and various other meal solutions with grains, vegetables, and such. This isn’t a deal breaker but it is something to be aware of. In the life stages formula, these provide protein as well as omega fatty acids and help to fill the dog foods it is used in.

Grains

Remember that unless you choose Canidae grain free pure or pure petite blends, you are not getting meal sweet potatoes as the carb filler or additives but uses real grains like brown rice, white rice, rice bran and barley. These almost directly replace things like the sweet potato that you find in Canidae grain free pure dog foods.

The limited variety also contains things like lamb meal as the animal protein

but contains only wholesome grains rather than the added white rice and bran that you see in this particular option for dogs.

Pure petite and grain free pure lines are made with wholesome grains so the approach is just slightly different.

What you should know is that even grains can be an important part of a balanced diet. It really is about the quality of grains used. For example, a dog food that uses soy, corn, and wheat does so to cheapen the product and it’s not a quality grain filler. However, you will notice that these are true grains rather than additive and filler grains that serve no purpose.

You will even see alfalfa alfalfa listed in the ingredients, specifically sun cured alfalfa. Pet parents see the protein content that meal rice and things like sun cured alfalfa can contribute for dogs. Just look at Diamond pet foods for comparison of some of the natural grain additions.

Peas

Peas are another important ingredient used here. It is included even in the limited ingredient and the life stages multi protein recipe choices. Pease are an important contribution to fiber in your dogs diet.

Peas provide a balance of carbs as well as fiber and protein in the recipe for dogs. It can contribute to a healthy skin and coat just as much as some of the other common ingredients used.

Peas also support your dogs immune system and reduces insulin levels so if your pet food needs to help maintain things like weight and blood sugar, peas are the solution.

Grain free pure recipe options specifically need peas to help substantiate the loss of grains for these dogs. If you look at any limited ingredient recipe, you probably want to see peas as part of the mix for your dogs.

Chicken Fat

Chicken fat might seem like an unnecessary addition but it really does serve a purpose here. Added animal fat actually enhances the quality of the other ingredients in the food rather than reducing the quality like some people think.

A balanced diet needs some healthy fats in the mix and we like to see this part of the recipe.

Chicken fat actually serves a purpose in providing omega 3 fatty acids and other omega fatty acids and it is a high quality ingredients in these food recipes. Omega 3 fatty acids contribute to your dogs skin and coat among other needs as well. These ingredients can also contribute to Omega 6 fatty acids. Pure elements include these ingredients as well.

Sunflower Oil

You will notice that Canidae uses sunflower oil in their dog foods, which is an interesting addition but it replaces things like salmon oil that you see in a lot of different recipes out there.

Sunflower oil provides nutrients like EPA and DHA but it also helps to bind the other high quality ingredients together.

Guarantee Analysis Focus

Finally, let’s take a quick look at Canidae foods as a whole. Here is a specific breakdown, according to the guaranteed analysis details for this Canidaepet food reviews.

+ Crude protein – 26% minimum
+ Crude fat – 15.5% minimum
+ Crude fiber – 4% maximum

The caloric content is broken out to be 3,600 kcal/kg, 3.6 kcal/g, 1,636 kcal/lb., or 449 kcal/cup.

Ingredient Conclusion

Ultimately, when take take a detailed look at Canidae food reviews and review the pet food presented before us, we see high quality ingredients. It might not be the salmon sweet potato blend that we see from other brands but Canidae provides their own vet-produced high quality dog line that is unique and proprietary in its own ways.

Most dog food products have specific components. Pet parents like to see a comprehensive overview of meal rice, protein content, crude protein, Omega 6 fatty acids, Vitamin a supplement, pure elements, and other ingredients properties.

Whether you’re looking for a lamb turkey meal or you want to see sweet potatoes peas and other vegetables, there is logic behind each ingredient here. Dogs benefit from lamb, turkey, meal, rice and other ingredients in different ways and the pure elements of the ingredients are what we really look for here.

Health Benefits

Candiae offers a number of health benefits for dogs. Whether you use a lamb, turkey, or chicken solution, the benefits are similar across the board. Here are some of the most noteworthy health benefits we want to cover.

The protein source of Canidae food for dogs is quality protein from a specific meal derivative. This provides dense nutrition as well as a taste that doesn’t make most dogs turn up their nose. This is a pretty important quality for dogs because you want nutrition they will actually enjoy and Canidae provides that.

Canidae has Health Plus solutions in their reviews for dogs. This plus solution includes important antioxidants, Omegas, and probiotics. You see these indicated in the fermentation products and some of the other hard to pronounce words in the dogs recipe list on Canidae foods and reviews.

Canidae includes grains in their primary dog food but the items in the dog food recipes are completely free of things like corn, wheat, and soy that are common problem ingredients and can cause allergens. We love that the Canidae foods and ingredients come from reliable sources and provide a balanced nutrition from every angle.

Finally, this formula is created and produced by veterinarian professionals and it is generally made to accommodate a variety of ages, breeds, and sizes overall.

Flavors/Product Line Options

We have mostly focused on one specific dog food from Canidae here but they have a whole line of options available. You are not limited to the flavor or even style of food that we have mentioned for dogs prior to now. They offer quite a few different products that are worth taking a look at so you are not limited here. Regardless of what your dog needs as far as flavor or sensitivities, Canidae most likely offers a solution.

Product Lines

Let’s first talk about the various lines that you are likely to see available through Canidae. Some of their lines break down a lot into various flavors but this list is specifically just for dog products available through Canidae. This will hopefully provide you with a basic understanding of just what Canidae brings to the table.

+ All life multi protein
+ All Life Stages dry dog food
+ All life stages wet dog food
+ Grain Free pure wet dog food
+ Grain free pure dry dog food
+ All life stages less active
+ Grain free pure senior dog food
+ Grain free pure healthy weight
+ Grain free pure biscuits
+ Grain free and pure limited ingredients puppy
+ Ancestral dry dog food lines
+ Pure treats
+ Small breed petite dog foods
+ Bakery snacks
+ Pure limited ingredient chewy treats

Canidae offers quite the list of different types of products. There is something here for whatever your dog needs may be, thanks to Canidae. There is every flavor, size, age, and style in some manner or another.

This covers the basic lines that Canidae offers in both protein, limited ingredient, wet dog food, and dry food options for dogs. Let’s take a look at some of the flavor choices for dogs from Canidae dry food.

Flavors

This list of flavors is what Canidae offers for dry food for your dog or dogs. Remember that each one contains protein among other ingredients and the makeup can vary. Most of these flavors are available in both dry food and wet food for dogs from Canidae.

+ Canidae Multi protein flavor
+ Pure dog salmon sweet potato
+ Canidae ALS Lamb and rice
+ Pure dog bison, lentil and carrot
+ Pure dog duck and sweet potato
+ Pure dog lamb and pea
+ Canidae ALS turkey and brown rice
+ Chicken sweet potato and bean
+ Chicken meal and rice
+ Canidae dog pure lamb, venison, and goat
+ Chicken, lentil, and egg
+ Canidae dog petite salmon
+ Canidae ancestral fish
+ Wild boar and garbanzo bean
+ Canidae ancestral red meat
+ Canidae ancestral avian

These flavors really barely touch the surface. There are a variety of combinations for your dogs, including multiple dog homes or purchasing uniquely for each dog from Canidae. It all depends on what you need and the flavors your dogs enjoy.

Cost & Where to Buy

The cost of feeding your dog from Canidae is a premium price but it is in line with many other premium brands overall.

For example, chicken and rice recipe that we analyzed in the ingredients from Canidae dry food above is a high quality food for dog. Here are the Canidae prices for that particular dog blend according to Chewy. A 5-pound bag is about $12. A 15-pound bag is about $30, a 30-pound bag is about $50. A 44-pound bag is roughly $65.

Online, Canidae dog solutions can be found at Chewy, Tractor Supply, Blair’s Farm & Fleet, Amazon, Pet Flow, and Pet Care Rx. You can also find Canidae dog products at places like Petco but these other names are their online partners specifically.

Recall History

Recalls are important to understand so we always take a close look at recall history for a product. Canidae has a positive recall history that only shows one recall against them. This recall was dated 2012. It was a voluntary recall from Canidae because of the potential for salmonella at one of the US plants that they used for production. Canidae applied the recall to 4 dry dog foods options. There is nothing more current or unhandled

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Canidae a Good Food for Dogs?

Overall, yes, we believe Canidae to be a quality dog food. It offers protein, healthy fats, and carbs in a balanced and nutritious approach.

Is Canidae Better than Blue Buffalo?

This is a matter of preference and it could vary depending on your dog and your preferences. The two are comparable in nature overall.

Which Canidae Dog Food is Best?

We recommend using a Pure option because we like the wholesome grain approach.

Is Canidae Dog Food Made in China?

Canidae pet foods are produced in facilities throughout the USA.

Conclusion

No matter what flavor, style, or need you are after, we feel that Canidae offers a great food solution for your dog.

We love their approach as well as their value in giving back and sustaining the economy in their processes of creating quality food solutions.

Recommended: Pure Harmony Dog Food Review