Which Royal Canin Recipes Get Our Best Ratings?

Royal Canin Adult Breed Health Nutrition wet dog food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 3.5 stars.

The Royal Canin Adult Breed Health Nutrition product line includes the 11 wet dog foods listed below.

Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile when available… Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Royal Canin German Shepherd Adult Loaf in Sauce Canned Dog Food was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is water, which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most wet dog foods.

The second ingredient lists pork by-products, slaughterhouse waste. This is what’s left of a slaughtered pig after all the prime cuts have been removed.

With the exception of hair, horns, teeth and hooves, this item can include almost any other part of the animal.¹

The quality of this ingredient can vary, depending on the caliber of the raw materials obtained by the manufacturer.

The third ingredient includes chicken by-products, what’s left of a slaughtered chicken after all the choice cuts have been removed.

In addition to organs, this item can also include feet, beaks, undeveloped eggs and almost anything other than prime skeletal muscle.

The quality of this ingredient can vary, depending on the caliber of the raw materials obtained by the manufacturer.

The fourth ingredient is pork liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The next ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.²

Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The sixth item is corn flour, a finely ground meal made from dried corn. Corn is an inexpensive and controversial cereal grain of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

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 vegetable oil, a generic oil of unknown origin. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in any oil is nutritionally critical and can vary significantly (depending on the source).

Without knowing more, it’s impossible to judge the quality of an item so vaguely described. However, compared to a named animal fat, a generic vegetable oil cannot be considered a quality ingredient.

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 Royal Canin product.

With 5 notable exceptions…

First, we find carrageenan, a gelatin-like thickening agent extracted from seaweed. Although carrageenan has been used as a food additive for hundreds of years, there appears to be some recent controversy regarding its long term biological safety.

The article, The Carrageenan Controversy, published in Scientific American, does a good job of addressing this topic.

Next, we note the inclusion of fish oil, which is naturally rich in the prized EPA and DHA type of omega-3 fatty acids. These two high quality fats boast the highest bio-availability to dogs and humans.

Depending on its level of freshness and purity, fish oil should be considered a commendable addition.

In addition, 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.

Next, we note the use of taurine, an important amino acid associated with the healthy function of heart muscle. Although taurine is not typically considered essential in canines, some dogs have been shown to be deficient in this critical nutrient.

And lastly, with the exception of zinc, 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.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Royal Canin Adult Breed Health Nutrition looks like an above-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 34%, a fat level of 21% and estimated carbohydrates of about 37%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 34% and a mean fat level of 20%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 37% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 58%.

Which means this Royal Canin product line contains…

Above-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to other moist dog foods.

Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a wet dog food containing a moderate amount of meat.

Our Rating of Royal Canin Wet Dog Food

Royal Canin Adult Breed Health Nutrition is a grain-inclusive wet dog food using a moderate amount of named meats and by-products as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 3.5 stars.

Royal Canin Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 related to Royal Canin.

No recalls noted.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

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More Royal Canin Brand Reviews

The following Royal Canin dog food reviews are also posted on this website:

• Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Puppy Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Royal Canin Canine Health Nutrition Dog Food Review (Wet)
• Royal Canin Dog Food Review
• Royal Canin Lifestyle Health Nutrition Urban Life Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Royal Canin Size Health Nutrition Giant Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Royal Canin Size Health Nutrition Large Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Royal Canin Size Health Nutrition Medium Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Royal Canin Size Health Nutrition Small Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Royal Canin Size Health Nutrition X-Small Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Hydrolyzed Protein Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Royal Canin Veterinary Diets Gastrointestinal Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Royal Canin Veterinary Diets Selected Protein Dog Food Review (Dry)