Home Reviews Canine Caviar Limited Ingredient Dog Food Review (Dry)

Canine Caviar Limited Ingredient Dog Food Review (Dry)

By Mike Sagman

Updated: March 21, 2024

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Highly Recommended

Rating:

Canine Caviar Limited Ingredient Diet Dog Food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4 stars.

The Canine Caviar Limited Ingredient Diet product line includes 8 dry dog foods.

Each recipe below includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage: Growth, Maintenance, All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Important: Because many websites do not reliably specify which Growth or All Life Stages recipes are safe for large breed puppies, we do not include that data in this report. Be sure to check actual packaging for that information.

Use links below to compare price and package sizes at an online retailer.

• Canine Caviar Free Spirit Entree [A]
• Canine Caviar Open Meadow Entree [A]
• Canine Caviar Open Sky Grain Free Entree [A]
• Canine Caviar Special Needs Entree (2 stars) [M]
• Canine Caviar Leaping Spirit Grain Free Entree [A]
• Canine Caviar Grain Free Puppy Entree (4.5 stars) [G]
• Canine Caviar Wild Ocean Grain Free Entree (4.5 stars) [A]
• Canine Caviar Open Range Grain Free Entree [A]

Canine Caviar Open Meadow Entree was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is dehydrated lamb. Dehydrated lamb is considered a meat concentrate and contains more than four times as much protein as fresh lamb.

Plus (unlike lamb meal) dehydrated lamb is never exposed to high temperatures during processing, so it preserves more of the meat’s natural goodness.

The second ingredient is millet, a gluten-free grain harvested from certain seed grasses. Millet is hypoallergenic and naturally rich in B-vitamins and fiber as well as other essential minerals.

The third ingredient is lamb fat. Lamb fat is obtained from rendering lamb, a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.

Lamb fat is high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing, lamb fat is actually a quality ingredient.

The fourth and sixth ingredients are coconut and coconut oil.

Depending upon the quality of the raw material, coconut is rich in medium chain fatty acids.

Medium-chain triglycerides have been shown to improve cognitive function in older dogs.¹

Because of its proven safety² as well as its potential to help in the treatment of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) and chronic skin disorders, MCT can be considered a positive addition to this recipe.

The fifth ingredient is sun-cured alfalfa. Although alfalfa is high in protein (18%) and fiber, it’s uncommon to see it used in a dog food. This hay-family ingredient is more commonly associated with horse feeds.

The seventh ingredient is dried kelp, a dehydrated form of seaweed also known as alginate. Kelp is most likely used here as a thickening or gelling agent.

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 product.

With three notable exceptions…

First, this recipe contains fructooligosaccharide, an alternative sweetener³ probably used here as a prebiotic. Prebiotics function to support the growth of healthy bacteria in the large intestine.

Next, we find 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.

Since taurine deficiency appears to be more common in pets consuming grain-free diets, we view its presence in this recipe as a positive addition.

And lastly, this food includes chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Judging by its ingredients alone, Canine Caviar Limited Ingredient Diet Dog Food looks like an above-average dry product.

But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 27%, a fat level of 16% and estimated carbohydrates of about 49%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 29% and a mean fat level of 17%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 46% for the overall product line.

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

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

When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the sun-cured alfalfa, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing a moderate amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Canine Caviar Limited Ingredient Diet includes both grain-inclusive and grain-free dry dog foods using a moderate amount of named meats as their main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars.

Highly recommended.

Please note certain recipes are sometimes given a higher or lower rating based upon our estimate of their total meat content and (when appropriate) their fat-to-protein ratios.

Canine Caviar Dog Food Recall History

The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 related to this Canine Caviar Limited Ingredient product line. If there are no recalls listed here, we’ve not yet reported any events.