Cesar Sunrise (Canned)

Rating:

Cesar Sunrise dog food earns the Advisor’s second-lowest rating of two stars.

The Cesar Sunrise product line includes three canned dog foods.

Although each formulation appears to be designed for adult dogs, we found no AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for these dog foods on the Cesar website.

• Cesar Sunrise with Smoked Bacon and Egg
• Cesar Sunrise Grilled Steak and Eggs Flavor
• Cesar Sunrise Chicken and Cheddar Cheese Souffle

Cesar Sunrise Grilled Steak and Eggs Flavor dog food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.

The first ingredient in this dog food is water… which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a normal finding in most canned dog foods.

Three of the next six ingredients are all animal by-products… or slaughterhouse waste. These items are the unsavory leftovers of slaughter commonly deemed “unfit for human consumption”.

In other words, these are the residual body parts of slaughtered animals remaining after all the better cuts have been removed.

What’s worse, one of the items listed here is simply referred to as “meat” by-products.

Since (in this case) the source animal is not named, the meat can come from almost anywhere… even diseased or dying livestock.

With the exception of hair, horns, teeth and hooves, this stuff can include heads, ovaries or developing fetuses.¹

Although meat by-products can be high in protein, we do not consider a generic ingredient like this a quality item.

The third ingredient lists liver. Normally, liver can be considered a quality component. However, here, the source of the liver is not identified. For this reason, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.

The fifth ingredient lists beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.¹

The sixth ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.³

Beef and chicken are both naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

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 have much of an effect on the overall rating of this product.

With three notable exceptions…

First, the carrageenan listed here is a gelatin-like thickening agent extracted from seaweed.

Next, we also note the presence of sodium nitrite… a controversial color preservative. Sodium nitrite has been linked to the production of cancer-causing substances (known as nitrosamines) when meats are exposed to high cooking temperatures.

And lastly, the minerals here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.

Cesar Sunrise Dog Food
The Bottom Line

The collection of lower-quality meat ingredients in this Cesar Sunrise product is difficult to ignore.

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 44%, a fat level of 28% and estimated carbohydrates of about 20%.

All three Cesar products exhibit the same nutrient percentages as our example product.

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

With no plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a canned dog food containing a notable amount of meat.

Now, if the nutrient gauges were the only data we had to evaluate, Cesar Sunrise would look like a top level dog food.

Yet it’s difficult to ignore all those Red Flag meat ingredients.

Bottom line?

Cesar Sunrise dog food is a meat-based canned dog food using an abundance of named and generic meat by-products as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand two stars.

Not recommended.

Those looking for a slightly better product from the same company may wish to visit our review of Cesar Bistro dog food.

A Final Word

This review is designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in a specific health benefit for your pet.

For a better understanding of how we analyzed this product, please be sure to read our article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews”

Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.

Have an opinion about this dog food… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.

If the nutrient gauges were the only data we had to evaluate, this Cesar Sunrise product would “spec out” like a relatively high quality dog food.

But the numerous Red Flag meat items cause us to tone-down our enthusiasm.

In comparing this dog food to its one-star sibling, Cesar Dog Food, the slightly higher position of the beef and chicken items on the list prompts a nominal ratings upgrade.

OK, I know I might be splitting hairs here… but (just the same) I’m recognizing this subtle improvement and awarding this Cesar Sunrise product two stars… but just barely.

Not recommended.

Some Final Thoughts

Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult your veterinarian for help.

Have an opinion about this dog food brand… or maybe the review itself?

Please feel free to share your comments below.

Notes and Updates

01/15/2010 Original review
08/19/2010 Review updated

The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.

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