Kirkland Signature Super Premium Adult Complete Dog Food, Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Formula, 12kg

Product Information

Kirkland does fare a bit better than Royal Canin when it comes to ingredients used. They use real meat as the first ingredient in most, if not all, recipes, so you have a higher quality of protein with that. However, they use meat by-products and meat by-product meals to bulk things out. Nature’s Domain Signature Dry offers grain free recipes but grain has been replaced with starchy ingredients that include peas, lentils, garbanzo beans, fava beans, sweet potatoes, potatoes and canola meal. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate, but starch is required for extrusion in dry dog foods. Foods that are high in carbohydrate can raise insulin and cause obesity and changes to the gut bacteria. Cellulose is low quality, insoluble fiber made from wood pulp. It’s the least expensive and least functional form of fiber since it’s very poorly fermented. Dog foods often include it to firm stools and add bull, especially to weight management recipes, as is the case here. Dogs have no known need for fiber, unless it’s fermentable fiber that supports gut health. Ingredient Safety The Signature Puppy Formula from Kirkland Dog Food aims to offer balanced nutrition to both a pup and an adult nursing dog. Kirkland gives this feeding guide that you can adhere to when deciding how much food (cups) you can give to your dog in a day: Weight (lbs)

When you are researching any dog food for your pet, it’s a good idea to look up the food’s past recalls. Most dog foods have been recalled at one point or another — and if you think about it, human food gets recalled, too. Like the Great Lettuce Recall of 2018, when mass amounts of healthy romaine, green leaf, and red leaf lettuce sent to grocery stores were contaminated with E. coli. Or the Kirkland brand berries that were recalled in 2019 due to Hepatitis A contamination. I’ve been using the Costco three-berry blend for years, and I also eat lettuce. I wasn’t personally affected by either recall, but I made sure to wait until the FDA gave the all-clear signal on both types of products before buying again. Kirkland Signature Super Premium Maintenance Cat Food: While this isn’t a dog food product, Kirkland also offers cat food options under the same brand. This puppy formula offers a premium and nutritionally balanced option for puppies compared to other leading brands in the market.Look for the AAFCO statement on the bag or can of dog food — if it’s there, it’s a sign of quality.

Costco, the parent company behind Kirkland, has been increasingly focusing on sustainability. While specific details might vary, the company emphasizes ethical sourcing and sustainable practices. For detailed information, it’s best to consult Costco’s sustainability reports or outreach to their customer service. We couldn’t risk something happening to our furry family members. The thing was, we were an on-a-budget family and Pedigree was the cheapest food. Buying pet food at a pet store was out of the question: it came in smaller bags and cost more. With two dogs, that method would’ve chewed our wallet to bits in a month.Dogs who are fed a high-fat diet have better performance and a greater capacity to burn fat, especially working and sporting dogs. Purina Pro Plan dog food formulas feature a wide range of good protein sources like genuine poultry, beef, and salmon. It’s disconcerting to know that whatever process Pedigree uses to manufacture its dry dog food is the sort that allows animal hairs into the food. What, exactly, is your dog eating when she eats Pedigree dry dog food?

This states that complete and balanced diets must contain the bare minimum of all elements required by dogs, as suggested by the “guaranteed analysis.”

Nutrition

Kirkland Signature Mature Formula also contains glucosamine and chondroitin, which are beneficial for senior dogs' joint health. These ingredients help to support joint mobility and reduce the risk of age-related joint issues, such as arthritis. This is particularly important for senior dogs that may experience joint discomfort or stiffness due to aging. Plant proteins are also used as a less expensive substitute for quality animal protein. You want to see animal sources because they’re more digestible and contain a wider array of amino acids than plant based protein sources. While specific details regarding animal welfare in Kirkland’s sourcing might not be publicly detailed, Costco, the company behind Kirkland, emphasizes ethical sourcing practices. Concerned consumers can reach out to Costco directly for more specifics on their sourcing policies. The recipes in this line contain ingredients that are known to carry a large pesticide/herbicide residue. Spinach and peas (unless organic) are spray-dried with Roundup, leaving them with more glyphosate/herbicide residue than other crops, even genetically modified ones. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.