Finding quality food for your dog isn’t the easiest thing. The market is packed with brands that offer a wide range of different foods, making it a bit challenging to choose just one.
However, it’s important that you feed your pet food that contains quality and safe ingredients. One such dog food brand is the Eukanuba that’s been around for quite some time already. It’s a reliable brand that offers thirteen dry foods.
While every dog is unique and different and thus has different needs, Eukanuba tries to cater to all their needs in terms of nutrition. As a result, the list of its products is versatile and suitable for different age groups and breeds.
Continue reading to learn about the brand and what it offers. In the article below, we’ll discuss the nutrition, feeding guidelines, allergies, food form, the safety of ingredients, and much more.
About The Brand
Eukanuba was founded in 1969 by a man called Paul Iams who had a new dog food formula. Since day one, the brand showed supreme quality and dedication in making a product with the best ingredients.
Its philosophy is that pups are carnivores and should be fed accordingly. For this reason, the brand uses high-quality animal proteins such as chicken and lamb as its primary source of protein.
As such, the food helped many pets live a happier life. In other words, its nutritional range even includes some special veterinary prescription diets meant for specific life stage, sensitivities, breed size, and activity levels.
Nutrition
There are several things you should pay attention to when it comes to nutrition. The best way to figure out if something is right for your pet is to consult with a vet or another professional. This is the only way to ensure you’re feeding your dog the right way.
When it comes to the nutrition of Eukanuba dog food, it’s important to note that different foods contain different levels of protein, fat, and calories.
Calorie weighted basis shows 24% of protein, 37% of fat, and 40% of carbs. Again, the data might differ from food to food, but in essence, all Eukannuba products feature relatively same numbers.
While protein is crucial for your pup’s development and health, you shouldn’t always aim for the highest percentage. It all depends on the kind of diet your dog requires, the breed, his/her age, activity level, and other factors.
Because nutrition is as critical, all Eukanuba foods have it clearly labeled in the pack of each package. This allows you to check the exact percentage of protein, fat, and calories and whether it would fit your pup’s diet.
Ingredients
In most cases, the first ingredient is chicken or beef. The second ingredient is chicken by-product meal, which is actually a dry rendered product coming from slaughterhouse waste. In other words, chicken by-product meal is what’s left of chicken once all the choice cuts have been removed.
Apart from organs, this by-product meal can also include beaks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and lots of other things. Though it sounds rather scary, by-product meals are actually meat concentrates. They contain up to 300% more protein than actual fresh chicken. However, its quality can vary.
Another few ingredients you should know of are cornmeal and sorghum. Cornmeal is ground flour made from dried corn that has almost no nutritional value to your pet. Sorghum is another cereal grain rich in starch that also has nearly no nutritional value.
Some Eukanuba formulas include brewers rice and beet pulp as well. Brewers rice is cereal grain by-product that contains only some caloric energy and almost no other value. Beet pulp in reasonable amounts is acceptable although many people avoid it.
Safety
The Eukanuba dog food is generally safe for most dogs with average activity levels and no particular sensitivities. Whether it’s completely safe or not depends on your dog’s particular diet and how specified it is.
For example, if your dog is allergic to gluten or starch, Eukanuba might not be the best choice because it contains cereals and grain.
Generally, it’s a safe choice for pups that have an all-inclusive diet and are overall healthy and active. Though the formulas contain by-product meals, they’re all in safe amounts and should in no way harm your dog
If you’re in doubt about whether Eukanuba is safe for your pup, we suggest you consult with a veterinarian.
Breed
Eukanuba has an extensive product range, offering special formulas for small and large breeds. Since small breeds need different nutrition than large ones, they also require different diets and foods. For this reason, the brand came out with specific formulas that are suitable for both.
However, the brand doesn’t offer any food for specific breeds like some other brands do. If you have a Rottweiler or a Husky, you can maybe feed them Eukanuba food made for large breeds. However, if you have a large or a small breed that requires a special diet, you should consult with your vet to figure out whether Eukanuba formulas are safe.
Food Form
Though most brands offer both wet and dry food, Eukanuba offers dry food only. All of its thirteen formulas are in the form of kibble. Some kibbles are smaller than others, depending on whether they’re made for large or small breeds.
These kibbles are easy to chew and are suitable for your dog’s teeth. It takes some chewing for the dogs to swallow it, which is good for their teeth and jaws.
Life Stage
Eukanuba offers formulas for puppies, seniors, and adults. Most of their kibble is suitable for adults with normal activity levels, though a few are meant for puppies and seniors as well.
Keep in mind that the brand has different kibble for large breed puppies and small breed puppies. In the same way, you can choose between seniors of a small breed and large breed alike.
It takes some knowledge of your dog’s diet to be able to choose between these options. Though the back of each package offers some information and feeding guidelines, you should talk to your vet about this.
Recall History
Recall history is always important to check before you start feeding a particular brand to your pet. Though these recalls can happen for various reasons and have happened to almost all brands, you should still know of them.
Since 2009, Eukanuba had two of its formulas recalled from the market. The Iams and Eukanuba Dog Food were recalled on the 1st of August, 2010. A few years later, the Iams and Eukanuba Dog and Cat Food were recalled on the 14th of August, 2013.
Both times, foods had the potential to be contaminated with salmonella.
Allergy
Almost all formulas have at least one ingredient that could be potentially dangerous if your dog is allergic. Though none of the ingredients are known to be harmful to all hounds, some could be dangerous if your dog is allergic itself.
Ingredients like brewers yeast, corn, and grains are potentially dangerous if your dog is prone to different allergies. The brand doesn’t offer any specific formulas for allergic dogs since all the foods contain gluten and grain.
Feeding Directions
When it comes to how much and how often you should feed your pet, the choice is mainly up to you. Each Eukanuba package features recommended feeding guidelines based on its nutritional value, calorie intake, and fat and protein percentage.
However, some dogs are more active than others even if they’re the same breed. For this reason, you should only use these recommendations as guidelines, not as rules.
The best way is to go with the recommended amount unless you were advised otherwise by your vet. From this, you can see whether the amount is too little or too much for your pet, after which you can tweak the portion size accordingly.
Final Thoughts
Eukanuba is a popular brand that’s been around for a long time. Its team of nutritionists and professionals has experience and knowledge required to deliver quality food for different pups.
On top of that, its line of products is different, so in most cases, there’s something for everyone. This is grain-inclusive food with a moderate amount of by-product meal. However, it’s generally safe, and most dogs seem to like its many flavors.
One thing you should keep in mind is that all dogs differ, even the ones of the same breed. As such, some might require special diets and vet recommendations regarding portion sizes and calorie intake. Also, if your dog is allergic to anything, you should carefully read the ingredients. Make sure to closely watch your pup when you first introduce her/him to any of the Eukanuba formulas.