Best Salmon Dog Food

These dog foods were carefully reviewed for ingredient quality, nutrition, and standards.
Julia Ogden Karan French

By

Julia Ogden
Julia Ogden

Julia Ogden

Content Director

Julia is the content director at the Dog Food Advisor and responsible for the overall strategy of the website.

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&
Karan French
Karan French

Karan French

Senior Researcher

Karan is a senior researcher at the Dog Food Advisor, working closely with our in-house pet nutritionist, Laura Ward, to give pet parents all the information they need to find the best food for their dog.

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Updated: September 11, 2025

Why you should trust our dog food reviews

We've been reviewing food since 2008 with a proprietary formula in partnership with experts and user feedback. All reviews are verified by our in-house animal nutritionist. Why trust us

Laura Ward

Review verified by

Laura Ward
Laura Ward

Laura Ward

Pet Nutritionist

Laura studied BSc (Hons) Animal Science with an accreditation in Nutrition at the University of Nottingham, before working for eight years in the pet food and nutrition industry.

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All reviews are 100% impartial but if you buy using links on this page, we may earn a referral fee.

Dogs tend to love salmon dog food because of its rich taste, strong aroma, and high nutritional value. Salmon has a natural intense flavor and smell that appeals to dogs.

Compared to some other meats, salmon has a softer, flakier texture that’s easy to chew and digest. Dogs instinctively crave high-protein foods, and salmon provides a rich, meaty source of essential amino acids.

Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, salmon also helps promote a healthy skin and a shiny coat, reduces inflammation (great for dogs with allergies or joint issues) and support cognitive function and brain health. It is also packed with B vitamins, potassium, selenium, and antioxidants, all of which support a strong immune system and overall health.

Many dogs with chicken or beef allergies tolerate salmon well, and as it is easy to digest it a great option for sensitive pups.

If you’re looking for the best salmon dog food for your pet, our list — put together by a team of vets, pet nutritionists and researchers — will help you make a more informed choice. Please see below.

The Dog Food Advisor - Editor's choice

Best Salmon Dog Food February 2026

  • Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Salmon and Brown Rice

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    This particular formula uses a small number of ingredients, reducing the likelihood of exposure to common allergens.  It derives the bulk of its animal protein from fresh salmon and fish meal, a less common protein compared to chicken or beef, making it a good option if your pup has shown sensitivities to more typical proteins.

    Natural Balance uses quality ingredients. It states that all its recipes are research-backed and contain wholesome ingredients.

    Our dry matter label analysis reveals the recipe contains 26.7% protein, 13.3% fat and 52% estimated carbs… which produces a fat-to-protein ratio of about 50%.

    Read our review of the full Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Dog Food (Dry) range here

    Main Ingredients Salmon, menhaden fish meal, brown rice, brewers rice, oat groats
    Type Grain-Inclusive
    Protein Percentage 26.7%
    AAFCO Standards Maintenance
    Best For All Dogs

    Sample buyer review...

    "Great for sensitive tummies and allergies! We found out my dog was allergic to chicken and we decided to switch protein and brand! This was approved by our vet and our pup just loves it!"

    Read more buyer reviews at Chewy.com
  • Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream

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    A fully balanced, grain-free recipe containing no artificial colors, flavors or toxic chemical preservatives. It is packed with the right nutrients for the overall vitality of your pup.

    Taste of the Wild is a family-owned company based in the U.S. that aims to create high-quality, affordable pet food for everyday pet owners.

    Our dry matter label analysis reveals the recipe contains 27.8% protein, 16.7% fat and 47.6% estimated carbs… and a fat-to-protein ratio of about 60%.

    Read our review of the full Taste of the Wild Grain-Free Dog Food (Dry) range here

    Main Ingredients Salmon, ocean fish meal, sweet potatoes, peas, pea flour
    Type Grain-Free
    Protein Percentage 27.8%
    AAFCO Standards Maintenance
    Best For Adult Dogs

    Sample buyer review...

    "Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Smoke-Flavored Salmon Grain-Free Dry Dog Food is the best food for our dog."

    Read more buyer reviews at Chewy.com
  • Open Farm GoodBowl Wild-Caught Salmon and Brown Rice

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    Open Farm GoodBowl Wild-Caught Salmon and Brown Rice is oven-baked in small batches to seal in nutrients. Includes humanely raised meat sources and wholesome grains such as brown rice which is gluten-free and high in fiber. There are no added antibiotics or hormones.

    Open Farm recipes are crafted with high-quality and ethically sourced ingredients that can be traced back to the original source.

    Our dry matter label analysis reveals the recipe contains 27.8% protein, 13.3% fat and 50.9% estimated carbs… and a fat-to-protein ratio of about 48%.

    Read our review of the full Open Farm GoodBowl Dog Food (Dry) range here

    Main Ingredients Salmon, menhaden fish meal, peas, fava beans, milo
    Type Grain-Inclusive
    Protein Percentage 27.8%
    AAFCO Standards All Life Stages
    Best For All Dogs

    Sample buyer review...

    "Highly recommend! My Bulloxers love it and have been doing great on this food. Definitely a great quality food I'll be putting in my pups rotational feeding we stick to Open Farm and recommend it to everyone we know even more so far my dogs have really enjoyed the grain inclusive recipes."

    Read more buyer reviews at openfarm.com
  • pawTree Grain-Free Real Salmon, Peas & Sweet Potato Recipe

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    pawTree Grain-Free Real Salmon, Peas & Sweet Potato Recipe uses high-quality, fresh, whole ingredients, with single-source animal protein and wholesome fruits and vegetables.

    A brand that takes a holistic approach to pet nutrition. The food contains no fillers or by-products and is rich in named animal proteins and antioxidants, providing the pure, natural nutrition your pets need.

    Our dry matter label analysis reveals the recipe contains 34.1% protein, 17% fat and 40.9% estimated carbs… and a fat-to-protein ratio of about 50%.

    Read our review of the full pawTree Grain Free Dry Dog Food range here

    Main Ingredients Salmon, dried chickpeas, dried peas, turkey meal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols)
    Protein Percentage 34.1%
    AAFCO Standards All Life Stages
    Best For All Dogs

    Sample buyer review...

    "My dog is very healthy with a magnificently beautiful coat. I do not want to feed her anything else. "

    Read more buyer reviews at pawtree.com

How we review dog foods

We read the label.

This may sound simple, but there are thousands of dog foods on the market, and the label is the only source of reliable, standardized and government-regulated data available on every one of them. This includes the AAFCO nutrient profile, the Guaranteed Analysis and the ingredients.

We use our algorithm.

We take the data and enter it into our unique algorithm to produce a different set of figures, including the Dry Matter Analysis (the nutrient levels after water has been removed). This algorithm gives us a base score range on our five-star rating system.

We refine the score.

We take into account other factors, such as the quality of ingredients and the nature of the first few ingredients on the list (and therefore the most prevalent in the food), and narrow the score. The key ingredients are explained in-depth in the review.

Our expert nutritionist takes over.

At this point, our expert pet nutritionist, Laura Ward, goes through the review to check and approve it. She has the authority to make small discretionary changes to the star-rating based on her judgment of a food. We now have our final star-rating.

What other information do we include for dog parents?

Each dog food review includes sample consumer reviews and links to other reviews. It also includes the brand’s recall history. Our Best Dog Food pages also include consumer reviews.

Why we don’t just feed foods to our dogs.

Despite what other dog food review sites claim, simply giving a food to a dog and seeing if they eat it is completely unscientific and has little value as a review method. If you give a kid candy, they’ll happily eat it, but it doesn’t mean it’s good for them. And no one food suits every dog.

It’s also dangerous for dogs. We rate every dog food, good and bad. Why would we deliberately feed a dog bad dog food?

That said, we understand that personal experience of a food is important to dog parents and include consumer reviews on our pages.

What about lab-testing dog food?

Lab-testing dog food can provide useful, in-depth information, but as mentioned, there are thousands of dog foods on the market. We’d love to test them all, but there isn’t a facility in the country that could. Therefore, it’s impossible to have a fair universal rating system using lab tests.

It’s worth noting that dog food brands carry out their own testing. This ensures compliance with AAFCO and FDA pet food standards, as well as checking for pathogens.


Why you should trust our dog food reviews


Dog Food Advisor has been impartially reviewing dog food since 2008. We are the most trusted dog food review site in the United States, with a 4.9-star TrustPilot rating.

Here's why:

We do not accept money, gifts, samples or any other incentives in exchange for special consideration in writing our reviews.

We rate every dog food in the same way, using the only information we believe is equally available for all foods, reliable and therefore fair: what’s on the label. It’s the only way for any review site to rate every dog food on the market.

We focus on ingredients, nutrient profiles and recipes. We look at the ingredients used, including their quality, and review the nutritional analysis and macronutrient balance. We take into account any controversial or harmful ingredients.

Every review is expertly checked and approved by our highly qualified in-house animal nutritionist, Laura Ward.

We report all dog food and dog treat recalls through our Dog Food Recall Alert service, no matter the brand.

For more information, read our How We Rate Dog Food and Disclaimer and Disclosure pages.

Final word

The Dog Food Advisor does not accept money, gifts, samples or other incentives in exchange for special consideration in preparing our reviews.

However, we do receive a referral fee from online retailers (like Chewy or Amazon) and from sellers of perishable pet food when readers click over to their websites from ours. This helps cover the cost of operation of our free blog. Thanks for your support.

For more information, please visit our Disclaimer and Disclosure page.

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