Highly Recommended
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Our Verdict
Cesar Wholesome Bowls wet product range is made up of six recipes which each receive the Dog Food Advisor’s rating, 4.5 stars.
The table below shows each recipe in this range including our rating and the AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.
Recipe and Label Analysis
Cesar Wholesome Bowls Chicken, Apple and Sweet Potato was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.
Cesar Wholesome Bowls Chicken, Apple and Sweet Potato
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Protein
Fat
CarbsCarbohydrates
Chicken, water, apples, sweet potatoes, soy oil, tapioca starch, powdered cellulose, dried plain beet fiber, tricalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, soy lecithin, choline chloride, salt, ascorbic acid, minerals (magnesium sulfate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate), xanthan gum, vitamins (alpha-tocopherol acetate (vitamin E), niacin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), d-calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5), riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), vitamin B12 supplement, biotin, folic acid), ferrous sulfate, vitamin A supplement, beta carotene, copper sulfate, vitamin D3 supplement, potassium iodide, sodium selenite
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 3.5%
Red denotes any controversial items
| Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 11% | 1% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 69% | 6% | 17% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 68% | 15% | 17% |
Ingredients Analysis
The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.1
Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
The second ingredient is water, which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.
The third ingredient is apple, a nutrient-rich fruit that’s also high in fiber.
The fourth ingredient includes sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are a gluten-free source of complex carbohydrates in dog food. They are naturally rich in dietary fiber and beta carotene.
The fifth ingredient is soybean oil. Soybean oil is red flagged here only due to its rumored (yet unlikely) link to canine food allergies.
However, since soybean oil is high in omega-6 fatty acids and contains no omega-3’s, it’s considered less nutritious than flaxseed oil or a named animal fat.
The sixth ingredient is tapioca starch, a gluten-free, starchy carbohydrate extract made from the root of the cassava plant.
The seventh ingredient is powdered cellulose, a non-digestible plant fiber usually made from the by-products of vegetable processing. Except for the usual benefits of fiber, powdered cellulose provides no nutritional value to a dog.
The eighth ingredient is beet fiber. Beet fiber is the refined by-product derived from sugar beet production. This item is most likely included here for the usual benefits of dietary fiber.
The ninth ingredient is tricalcium phosphate, a beneficial source of calcium and phosphorus. In addition, this additive is used in wet foods as an emulsifier – an agent designed to disperse a food’s fats more evenly in water.
From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.
But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.
With two notable exceptions…
First, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually associated with higher quality dog foods.
And lastly, this recipe contains sodium selenite, a controversial form of the mineral selenium. Sodium selenite appears to be nutritionally inferior to the more natural source of selenium found in selenium yeast.
Nutrient Analysis
Based on its ingredients alone, Cesar Wholesome Bowls looks like an above-average wet dog food.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 69%, a fat level of 6% and estimated carbohydrates of about 17%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 67% and a mean fat level of 6%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 19% for the overall product line.
And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 9%.
Above-average protein. Below-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical wet dog food.
Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a moist dog food containing a significant amount of meat.
Cesar Dog Food Recall History
The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Cesar through December 2024.
You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.
Our Rating of Cesar Wholesome Bowls Dog Food
Cesar Wholesome Bowls includes both grain-free and grain-inclusive wet dog foods using a significant amount of named meats as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4.5 stars.
Compare Cesar Wholesome Bowls Dog Food
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A Final Word
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