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Royal Canin Dog Food Review

Royal Canin Dog Food Review

Royal Canin comes with French flair, vet-recommended prescription formulas, and novel breed-specific formulas which are great for hooking you in as a consumer Ooo, its the only Great Dane dog food in Australia!

I find most dog owners feed Royal Canin for two main reasons it was recommended by their breeder, or recommended by their vet.

The reason for this is the manufacturer (I bet you didnt know it was Mars?) pours buckets of money into marketing their products to those key people. Theyre master marketers, and one of the most influential conglomerates in the world.

Marketing their products to vets and breeders is a genius technique, because when we bring home our new pup were going to accept the guidance of those professionals.

But is Royal Canin good for our dogs?

Lets take a look at the different aspects of Royal Canin, and why you may choose to feed it to your dog.

Big review coming up!

Royal Canin Veterinary vs Hills Prescription Diet

Ill get this out of the way first, as when it comes to prescription dog foods in Australia we really only have two options Royal Canin and Hills Prescription Diet.

If your dog is suffering some kind of health issue like renal, urinary, gastro, or diabetes, these formulas will address the concerns of those illnesses with a specially tailored recipe.

If Im honest, the dry foods from both brands dont come across as overly healthy for your dog, as both are very high in grains for what I consider an animal which should have a more meat-based diet.

Out of Royal Canin and Hills Prescription dry food recipes I tend to favour Royal Canin, but in both cases I find the wet foods far more appropriate.

Price is also a factor, as neither of these brands are cheap. Thankfully Pet Circle and keep these brands in stock for competitive prices (Sssh, dont tell your vet).

Theres a 3rd option in Australia for prescription style dog foods, and thats LifeWise. As a smaller Aussie made & owned company I find their formulas are more appropriate for your dog, and they have a decent reputation worth checking out?

When should I feed Royal Canin? (Ive heard it isnt very good!?)

A common question is Ive heard Royal Canin isnt very good, but my dog has [a condition] and I dont know what to do?

You can probably blame pet food review websites (like this one) for that kind of confusion, so lets see if I can put your mind at rest.

If your dog has some kind of health concern, or your vets recommended Royal Canin for a particular reason, then feeding such a food for a period of time may help your dog.

For example, if your dogs had skin or gastro issues on whatever food youve been feeding, then Royal Canin Anallergenic may offer your dog some much needed relief.

Also, if your dog is suffering a more severe problem, Royal Canin (or Hills) are likely the best options in terms of kibble given other brands wont cater for those specific dietary requirements.

But!

You have to take a look at the ingredients and ask yourself if theyre really suitable for your dog over the long term.

Fair enough, a formula like Anallergenic may show a dramatic improvement in your dogs condition, but you need to ask what in the previous food may have caused the issue in the first place?

Even with conditions such as diabetes and renal disease, you must ask yourself these same questions.

Related: Why do vets recommend Hills Science / Prescription Diet (or Royal Canin)?

Wet or Dry?

This has been the longest preamble of any review, but well get back on track shortly.

When it comes to Royal Canin Veterinary (and Hills for that matter), I find the wet foods far better in terms of ingredients and nutrition. Wet food is generally better than dry, and the process offers more digestible food for our dogs.

When it comes to dental health youll find dry foods more commonly recommended, but personally I consider neither wet nor dry overly good at addressing dental health or periodontal disease.

Wet food has no abrasiveness, and dry foods are also questionable dental formulas merely contain additives to fight plaque.

Some Australian vets promote Raw Meaty Bones in this respect, and I tend to agree with them completely the gnawing and chewing action I see as a far more natural way for your dog to retain great dental health (which also wards off other disease).

BACK ON TRACK: Royal Canin review

Lets take a look at Royal Canin from both a marketing standpoint, and what the ingredients really say. Theres a bit of a contrast!

What the marketing says

Royal Canin use the slogan Health Nutrition Since 1968. That doesnt mean their food is formulated primarily for the nutritional needs of your dog. Keep in mind its a product, designed for profit, and Mars makes a very lucrative profit out of this brand.

Dont be fooled by Royal Canin breed specific formulas either. Any decent dog food should cover the nutritional needs of any dog regardless of breed and size, but its always worth knowing the dietary needs of your particular breed so youre fully clued up.

If your specific breed is prone to specific conditions then theres no reason you cant address those with supplements, either from natural ingredients or from a pet store.

Breed specific formulas are an excellent marketing angle for Royal Canin, but make sure you read the ingredients and consider if they sound good for your dog!

On the subject of ingredients, lets take a look

What the labelling really says

For the sake of this Royal Canin dog food review well take a look at Medium Adult as a benchmark. Youll find most formulas are similar.

There are four main ingredients in this recipe, so dont be duped by meat as the first ingredient it doesnt meant its the most significant ingredient.

The 2nd and 3rd ingredients are maize and more maize. So very likely more maize than poultry protein as the 1st ingredient.

The 4th ingredient is wheat flour.

Could this be three parts maize and corn to one part poultry protein?

If you consider your dog a meat-eater like I do, then this seems a bit odd, does it not?

Theres a cunning labelling trick called ingredient splitting where an ingredient is split into two to make another ingredient (usually meat) look more significant. Were easily fooled into thinking the first ingredient is the main one when it isnt.

We can consider maize flour and maize the same thing, so a classic case of ingredient splitting.

On the subject of wheat, I find this a common cause of skin and health problems in dogs, and a possible precursor to your vet prescribing Royal Canin Anallergenic to address the issues when they arise (clever, eh?)

Not the premium canine diet we were expecting?

Lets take a look at the more minor ingredients, if youre still interested?

The 5th ingredient is animal fats (around 14% of the recipe), so anything listed after that can be considered a more minor ingredient. This is where most of the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to make the food complete and balanced are included.

Or in other words, these small inclusions are how the recipe meets requirements (like AAFCO standards) and how all that maize and wheat flour is possible.

The protein in Royal Canin Medium Adult is a little over average at 25%, and with a fat percentage of 14 is okay, but we can guestimate around 45% carbohydrates, mostly from grains.

That isnt great, and not what you would expect given the premium price.

What are the benefits of feeding Royal Canin to your dog?

Credit where credits due, larger manufacturers have better regulation and standards within their factories. Combined with better quality control we should have some assurances Royal Canin is safe.

I often hear from people who have visited Mars Petcare production facilities how impressed they are of cleanliness and standards.

Consumer feedback in terms of sudden gastro or vomiting is rare on Royal Canin (and I have to say seems common on some other Australian brands), but my real concern is the long term health impact on our dogs of feeding so much grain.

Unfortunately when it comes to prescription diets, or diets targeted at specific breeds, Hills and Royal Canin Veterinary are the only options. Generally Royal Canin formulas seem marginally better than Hills, and with both brands the wet foods tend to have significantly more meat compared to the grain-based dry formulas.

Royal Canin, in terms of the many Mars brands of dog food sold in Australia, is probably the most premium offering, so I suppose thats a plus.

Where to buy?

Royal Canin dog and cat food is sold everywhere, but youll likely find it cheaper at Pet Circle or both of these often have sales on, so keep an eye out.

How do you pronounce Royal Canin?

I hear Royal Canin pronounced incorrectly all the time. Many people use the pronunciation Can-in which is incorrect. Thats can as in tan can, and in as in in.

Ill skip the Royal part as you already know that one.

The correct pronunciation of Canin would be with a French accent given the word is the literal translation of the English word canine. If you want to pronounce Royal Canin in French, simply mimic the audio provided by Google translated Royal Canin in French (press the speaker button).

In English (or Australian) you know you can get away with saying it however you like, but the most correct pronunciation in English is Royal kay-nin.

Summary

Its a shame how limited we are with prescription diets for our pets, with Hills (Colgate-Palmolive) and Royal Canin (Mars) being the only companies large enough to offer such a wide and cleverly devised range.

The dry foods all seem to be grain-heavy and high carbohydrates, which doesnt conform to what we know about even basic canine nutrition, let alone specific health conditions.

Overall Royal Canin dry dog foods contain a great deal of corn and allergenic grains like wheat. If youre worried about the health of your pet its worth researching more natural diets for their condition, and tailor a diet to suit.

If you wish to go with Royal Canin (perhaps at the recommendation of your vet), then opt for the wet over the dry, or at least a mixture of both.

Hopefully this very verboseRoyal Canin dog food reviewhas offered you enough information to decide whether its right for your dog, and hopefully not left you baffled and banging your head on a wall.

Feel free to add any comments or questions below!

Ingredients

The ingredients of Royal Canin Active Adult dog food (at the time of review):

Dehydrated poultry protein, maize flour, maize, wheat flour, animal fats, dehydrated pork protein, wheat, hydrolysed animal proteins, beet pulp, fish oil, soya oil, yeasts, minerals, hydrolysed yeast (source of manno-oligo-saccharides). ADDITIVES (per kg): Nutritional additives: Vitamin A: 12000 IU, Vitamin D3: 800 IU, E1 (Iron): 46 mg, E2 (Iodine): 4.6 mg, E4 (Copper): 9 mg, E5 (Manganese): 60 mg, E6 (Zinc): 181 mg, E8 (Selenium): 0.12 mg Preservatives Antioxidants.

Guaranteed Analysis

The guaranteed analysis of Royal Canin Active Adult dog food (at the time of review):

PROS

• High standard of production and quality control

CONS

• Formulated mostly with corn and wheat

Royal Canin Dog Food Review

The Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Adult product line includes the 30 dry dog foods listed below.

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

Recipe and Label Analysis

Royal Canin Labrador Retriever was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Ingredients Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken by-product meal, a dry rendered product of slaughterhouse waste. Its made from whats left of a slaughtered chicken after all the choice cuts have been removed.

On the brighter side, by-product meals are meat concentrates and contain nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.

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

The second ingredient is brown rice, a complex carbohydrate that (once cooked) can be fairly easy to digest. However, aside from its natural energy content, rice is of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

The third ingredient includes oat groats, a whole grain, minimally processed form of oats. With the exception of their caloric content and the fact theyre also gluten free, oat groats can be considered average in nutritional value.

The fourth ingredient is corn gluten meal. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once corn has had most of its starchy carbohydrate washed out of it.

Although corn gluten meal contains 60% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

The fifth ingredient lists brewers rice. Brewers rice is a cereal grain by-product consisting of the small fragments left over after milling whole rice. Aside from the caloric energy it contains, this item is of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

After the natural flavors, we find chicken fat. This item is obtained from rendering chicken, a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.

Chicken fat is high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life. Although it doesnt sound very appetizing, chicken fat is actually a quality ingredient.

The eighth ingredient is pork meal, another protein-rich meat concentrate.

The ninth ingredient is beet pulp. Beet pulp is a controversial ingredient, a high fiber by-product of sugar beet processing.

Some denounce beet pulp as an inexpensive filler while others cite its outstanding intestinal health and blood sugar benefits.

We only call your attention here to the controversy and believe the inclusion of beet pulp in reasonable amounts in most dog foods is entirely acceptable.

The next 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.

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 6 notable exceptions

First, this food includes wheat gluten. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once wheat has had most of its starchy carbohydrate washed out of it.

Although wheat gluten contains 80% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

Next, vegetable oil is 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, its 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.

In addition, 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.

Next, 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.

Also, 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.

And lastly, this food contains menadione, a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.

Since vitamin K isnt required by AAFCO in its nutrient profiles, we question the use of this item in any canine recipe.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Adult dog food looks like a below-average dry product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 31%, a fat level of 12% and estimated carbohydrates of about 49%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 27% and a mean fat level of 16%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 49% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 60%.

Above-average protein. Near-average fat. And near-average carbs when compared to a typical dry dog food.

When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the corn gluten meal and wheat gluten, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing a moderate amount of meat.

Royal Canin Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Royal Canin through April 2024.

No recalls noted.

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

Our Rating of Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Adult Dog Food

Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Adult is a grain-inclusive dry dog food using a moderate amount of named by-product meal as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 3 stars.

Recommended with Reservations

Who Owns Royal Canin?

The company was founded in 1968 by French veterinarian, Dr. Jean Cathary. After a long period of sustained growth in Europe, the company was purchased by American conglomerate, Mars, Inc., in 2001.

The pet foods are manufactured in multiple factory locations throughout the world, including Ontario, Canada and North Sioux City, South Dakota.