Eukanuba Dog Food (Canned)

Rating:

Eukanuba Canned Dog Food receives the Advisor’s below-average rating of 2 stars.

The Eukanuba product line includes 10 canned dog foods.

However, since we’re unable to locate AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for these dog foods on the Eukanuba website, it’s impossible for us to report specific life stage recommendations for these recipes.

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

• Eukanuba Dinner with Chicken
• Eukanuba Entree with Beef and Rice
• Eukanuba Entree with Lamb and Rice
• Eukanuba Entree with Turkey and Rice
• Eukanuba Mixed Grill with Chicken and Beef
• Eukanuba Entree with Fresh Chicken and Rice
• Eukanuba Puppy Entree with Chicken and Rice
• Eukanuba Hearty Stew with Beef and Vegetables
• Eukanuba Puppy Mixed Grill with Chicken and Beef
• Eukanuba Mixed Grill with Chicken and Beef in Gravy

Eukanuba Dinner with Chicken in Gravy Dog Food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.

The first ingredient includes 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 second ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.¹

Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The third ingredient is chicken liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The fourth item is chicken by-products, or slaughterhouse waste. This is what’s left of a slaughtered chicken after all the prime cuts have been removed.

In a nutshell, chicken by-products are those unsavory leftovers usually considered “unfit for human consumption”.

In addition to organs (the nourishing part), this stuff can contain almost anything — feet, beaks, undeveloped eggs — anything except quality skeletal muscle (real meat).

Although this item contains all the amino acids a dog needs, we consider chicken by-products an inexpensive, lower quality ingredient.

The fifth ingredient mentions wheat gluten. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once wheat has had most of its starchy carbohydrate washed out of it.

Compared to meat, glutens are inferior plant-based proteins low in many of the essential amino acids dogs need for life.

This inexpensive plant-based ingredient can significantly boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

The sixth item lists meat by-products. Like chicken by-products, these are also the inedible leftovers of slaughter considered “unfit for human consumption”.

In a nutshell, meat by-products are the unsavory leftovers of processing considered by many “unfit for human consumption”.

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

What’s worse, this particular item is anonymous. It doesn’t even specify the source animal. So, this meat can come from almost anywhere, even diseased or dying livestock.

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

The seventh item is beet pulp. Beet pulp is a controversial ingredient, a high fiber by-product of sugar beet processing.

Some denounce beet pulp as an inexpensive filler while others cite its outstanding intestinal health and blood sugar benefits.

We only call your attention here to the controversy and believe the inclusion of beet pulp in reasonable amounts in most dog foods is entirely acceptable.

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 two 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.

And lastly, 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.

Eukanuba Canned Dog Food
The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, Eukanuba canned dog food looks to be a below-average 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 47%, a fat level of 31% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 14%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 45% and a mean fat level of 31%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 16% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 67%.

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

When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the wheat gluten, this looks like the profile of a canned dog food containing only a moderate amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Eukanuba Canned Dog Food is a meat-based wet product using a notable amount of chicken and meat by-products as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 2 stars.

Not recommended.

Those looking for a comparable kibble from the same company may want to check out our review of Eukanuba 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.

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Other spellings: Eukenuba, Eucanuba

Notes and Updates

11/15/2009 Original review
06/07/2010 Review updated
04/26/2012 Last Update