Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul (Canned)

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Rating: ★★★★☆

Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul canned dog food gets the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4 stars.

The Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul product line includes three canned dog foods, two claimed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for adult maintenance and one for growth (Puppy).

The following is a list of recipes available at the time of this review:

  • Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover’s Soul
  • Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul Adult Formula
  • Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul Senior Formula

Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul Adult Formula was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.

Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul Adult Formula

Canned Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 36% | Fat = 18% | Carbs = 37%

Ingredients: Chicken, turkey, chicken broth, duck, salmon, chicken liver, whole grain brown rice, white rice, oatmeal, carrots, peas, potatoes, barley, egg product, guar gum, flaxseed meal, kelp, apples, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, dried chicory root, carrageenan gum, vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, ascorbic acid, niacin supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate and sodium selenite

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.5%

Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients

Estimated Nutrient Content
MethodProteinFatCarbs
Guaranteed Analysis8%4%NA
Dry Matter Basis36%18%37%
Calorie Weighted Basis31%38%32%

Four of the first five ingredients in this dog food are meat items

  • Chicken
  • Turkey
  • Duck
  • Salmon

All four components are naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The third ingredient lists chicken broth. Broths are nutritionally empty. But because they add moisture to a dog food they are a common finding in many canned products.

The sixth item includes chicken liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The seventh item 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 eighth ingredient mentions white rice, a less nutritious form of rice in which the grain’s healthier outer layer has been removed.

The ninth ingredient is oatmeal, a whole-grain product made from coarsely ground oats. Oatmeal is naturally rich in B-vitamins, dietary fiber and can be (depending upon its purity) gluten-free.

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, the minerals listed 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.

Next, carrageenan is a gelatin-like thickening agent extracted from seaweed. Although carrageenan has been used as a food additive for hundreds of years, there does appear to be some recent controversy regarding its long term biological safety.

And lastly, chicory root is rich in inulin, a starch-like compound made up of repeating units of carbohydrates and found in certain roots and tubers.

Not only is inulin a natural source of soluble dietary fiber, it’s also a prebiotic used to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in a dog’s digestive tract.

Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul
The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul looks to be an above-average canned dog food.

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 36%, a fat level of 18% and estimated carbohydrates of about 37%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 37% and a mean fat level of 21%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 34% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 55%.

Below-average protein. Below-average fat. And above-average carbs as compared to a typical canned dog food.

With no sign of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a wet food containing an moderate amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul is a meat-based canned dog food using a moderate amount of assorted meats as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars.

Highly recommended.

Those looking for a nice kibble from the same company may wish to visit our review of Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul dry dog food.

Special Alert

Rice ingredients can sometimes contain arsenic. Until the US FDA establishes safe upper levels for arsenic content, pet owners may wish to limit the total amount of rice fed in a dog's daily diet.

A Final Word

The descriptions and analyses expressed in this and every article on this website represent the views and opinions of the author.

Although it's our goal to ensure all the information on this website is correct, we cannot guarantee its completeness or its accuracy; nor can we commit to ensuring all the material is kept up-to-date on a daily basis.

Each review is offered in good faith and has been 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 specific health benefits for your pet.

For a better understanding of how we analyze each product, please 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 qualified veterinary professional for help.

In closing, we do not accept money, gifts or samples from pet food companies in exchange for special consideration in the preparation of our reviews or ratings.

To learn how we support the cost of operating this website, please visit our public Disclosure and Disclaimer page.

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

Notes and Updates

03/06/2010 Original review
10/06/2010 Review updated
07/01/2012 Last Update

  • Rollie33

    When my dog gets bored we add a scoop into his dry food…voila! He inhales it like a gourmet meal! He has the shiniest coat! He is very happy and healthy….glad we went with calls!!

  • RHar

    I have been feeding this brand to my 10 dogs for over a year and a half now and I have had amazing results. 6 out of 10 are seniors, my oldest now is 17 1/2 years old and is playing around like a puppy! She has been on heart medication for over a year and her heart condition has not gotten any worse, but prior to her eating this food, I really did not think she would live another 3 months, that was a year and a half ago! I truly believe that she is doing so well because of her diet. Before switching their food my other dogs seem to be sick all the time, now they are healthier, their coats are shiny, no more ear infections and I know it is because they are eating a much healthier dog food. I highly recommend this food.

  • Cherylsfluffies

    we feed chicken soup to our dogs canned and dry also i sell them in my store, i had concerns about the recall. i contacted the diamond plant and they had a licenced vet call me back with my concerns. it was a volantary recall. there was 1 out of 12000 bags affected with samonilla.which i was told doesnt really bother the dogs but more likely was giving the caretakers the problems. it was at one factory, in one wing of the plant. and they assured me that the cans were nt affected. the recall was about 12 brands not just chicken soup. they are now shipping the large bags but i still cannot get the small bags but the cans never stopped shipping. it is a good food and if my dogs go off their food for any reason (surgery or illness) i get the best results offering them chicken soup for the puppy lover soul.

  • Gb190

    I am feeding my dogs Chicken Soup for the Soul can food. After reading about the dry food recall I am concerned about the safety of this product.  Is there any problem with the wet food ??

  • NYC_DogRescuer

    I just dropped by to post pretty much the exact same thing you had, Laura. I simply googled “rosemary effects dogs” after reading a comment on Amazon, and there are countless websites claiming it could indeed trigger seizures. It was news to me (then again, a lot of things are) and since my 12 year-old has been on daily phenobarbital for his seizures for years, I think I’ll stay away from this product despite the pretty awesome review.

  • Bob Andrews

    I’ve been feeding my dogs Science Diet, because of Vet suggestions, and my dogs were constantly sick and wouldn’t eat. Fed them the Chicken Soup (Canned and Dry) for approximately 6 days. They both have not been sick since then, are gaining weight and have tons of energy. My one dog used to have constant constipation, not any more! I would recommend this stuff to anyone…check out the other commercial brands, cereals, chemicals and animal by-products (who knows what that means?) We just talked to a friend of our that the class researched dog foods in college for a project. He said that you wouldn’t believe what really goes into these pet foods. I’d tell you, but it’s too gross!! My suggestion is just buy food that you know what’s in the can.

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi James… Egg product is a protein-rich, dehydrated form of shell-free eggs.

  • jAMES kARL

    WHAT IS EGG bY PRODUCT

  • lance

    We have been mixing the canned with the dry (same label) to get her off of Purina puppy chow. She loves it and had only 2 days of kinda loose transition stools. We get a kick out of the actual veggies you can see easily in the food. I am glad feeding this food to our 12 week German Shepherd.

  • laura

    I was going to purchase the chicken soap cans for my dog. Started looking at the reviews on the product and someone commented on the rosemary extract. So, I found this site
    http://www.dogfoodscoop.com/pet-food-neurotoxins.html. You do not have it as a red item; so, im thinking that it may not be true.

  • Karla D

    I gave the canned Chicken soup for the puppy lovers soul mixed with his regular dry food (Natura) to my 12 week old Sharpei puppy. He has had Anus Gland leakage 4 times since then and his stool is not as firm as before. I am getting rid of the cans. back to dry food only.

  • Dillon Wright

    I’ve tried this food for two dogs that were nutritionally in excellent health. Not long after adding this to the diet both dogs started having severe bouts of diarrhea extreme enough to require veterinary intervention.
    Altho the label does not suggest it this food appears to have a high fat content. The ingredients have a ‘greasy’ look. The contents are runny rather than more firm as one finds in most canned foods. Once this food was stopped the problem stopped also.

  • Meagan

    Bought one can of this last night because I was not sure if I would get my Diamond cans in the mail today. Anyway they inhaled this CSDLS!

  • Meagan

    This is already in my amazon cart to be ordered next in line. anybody have comments on if you have fed it? thanks :)