Since the FDA recall of a Retriever dog food product, there is a stir in the market. Dog owners want to know is Retriever dog food good or not. Well, despite the Retriever dog food recall, Retriever is not on a list of banned dog foods for the past five years. Its one product was recalled.
We understand that owners are conscious about which dog food brand is good for dogs. and if not retriever, what is the most reliable dog food brand? Well, this is what our article is for.
First, have a look at the summary.
| Retriever dog food | Not recommended |
| Shady Ingredients | Not-listed meat source, corn, gluten, and wheat millings |
| Chemicals | Artificial preservatives and color |
| Cost | Expensive |
| Reputation | FDA recalled |
Who makes retriever dog food and what are its products?
Manufactured in the USA, by the Retriever brand, Retriever dog food claims to be high protein dog food for active dogs. They claim to promote skin health and shiny coat in dogs that eat Retriever dog food. It is a dry dog food that can be served wet too. You just have to add a warm cup to make it wet.
Retriever dog food has 27% protein and 15% fat portions. The food also contains vitamins and minerals. Calories content is 380-390 calories per cup and puppies will need 2 cups per day. Whereas for adults and heavy dogs that are up to 50 kgs, the daily required diet is up to 6 cups a day. For dogs doing heavy training and circus, the recommended diet is even more.
The brand has 5 dry dog food products which are
- Mini Chunk
- Retriever High Protein
- Puppy blend
- Choice chops
- Bites and Bones
Is retriever dog food for all dogs?
Not specifying its name, the food can be given to all active dogs. The Internet is flooded with questions like Is retriever dog food good for Pitbulls and other large breeds or not?
Well, according to its manufacturers you can feed this food to all active dogs. The food range has food for both puppies and adult dogs.
Despite the manufacturers claiming to be the best, if you will like to give this food to your dog depends highly on its review. Here is our detailed analysis of the product.
Is Retriever dog food good?
There are certain parts to our analysis. Let’s explore them one by one.
Ingredients
Talking about Retriever puppy food ingredients, there is a list of questionable ingredients in this dog food
- Retriever dog food uses bone meat as its prime ingredient. According to them, that is why the food is fit for active dogs. By “bone meat” they mean bone tissues that are bad for dogs. Bone meat is usually very stretchy, hard, and low quality in terms of “meat”.
Bone content can be hard on a dog’s stomach. So they can cause vomiting or diarrhea. Bone content in dog food is actually an indication of a low-quality product. Keep in mind that only Bone broth is good for dogs.
- Also, the meat comes from anonymous sources which makes it shady. The source could be a mix of meat from many animals. Which makes it a big No for your pup. Not every dog can digest a mixture of pork, lamb, duck, or whatever meat they use.
- The second common ingredient is corn. Corns are known to cause allergies in dogs. Also, it’s not a very “rich” component to add to a dog’s diet.
- Retriever dog food also contains wheat milling that is no more than “low-quality filling”. Only low-quality pet food will use that.
- The food also contains a soya bean meal. Keep in mind that soybean meal is here for the “protein ” portion and Retriever dog food’s high protein portion comes from this.
As they are by-products of soya bean oil and do not have a high nutritious profile so don’t count them for protein factor. This is a plant-based protein and is questionable to be used for “active dogs” as they require more nutrition than this.
- The animal fat in the product is also from anonymous sources and you never know if it’s from dead animals or animals with diseases. Also, this fat is preserved with BHA. BHA is considered a cancer-causing agent.
- The product also has gluten. Many dogs are allergic to gluten too. Also, Gluten does not have high nutritional value.
Chemical and preservatives
The food has artificial coloring which makes it actually a low-quality product. Dog doesn’t care about the color of their food. Coloring is done to make the food look good and “classy”.
Cost Aspect
Retriever dog food is expensive as hell. Many dog owners claimed that they are not going to feed this food to their dogs because they can’t afford it. A bag of Retriever dog food costs more than 50$. This is insane and if you have an adult dog or multiple dogs, you are going to be bankrupt soon.
The FDA Retriever brand dog food recall
FDA recalled a bone and bite product of Retriever dog food and the reason is shocking. The Retriever dog food recall 2022 was due to the presence of aflatoxin. Aflatoxin is a mold that mostly grows on crude vegetable oils and since Retriever uses soybean oils, their quality is in question now.
Aflatoxin causes food poisoning and liver cancer. A dog can show all the signs of poisoning after eating aflatoxin. It can experience lethargy, nausea, and dizziness. Consult your vet if your dog has eaten food with aflatoxin.
Final Verdict
Retriever dog food has not earned very good ratings based either on “technicalities” or general likeliness by owners or dogs. This dog food is full of mysterious ingredients, costly, and on a “shady list” due to recalls.
So is Retriever dog food good? Well, we say No. Instead try other brands like Farmer’s dog, blue buffalo, and diamond dog food. They are much better options.
