Canine Caviar Grain Free Limited Ingredient Diet Dog Food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4.5 stars.

The Canine Caviar Grain Free Limited Ingredient Diet product line includes five dry dog foods, four claimed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages and one for growth (Puppy).

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

• Canine Caviar Grain Free Puppy (5 stars)
• Canine Caviar Open Sky Holistic Grain Free (4 stars)
• Canine Caviar Wilderness Holistic Grain Free (4 stars)
• Canine Caviar Wild Ocean Holistic Grain Free (5 stars)
• Canine Caviar Open Range Holistic Grain Free (4 stars)

Canine Caviar Open Sky Holistic Grain Free was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is duck meal. Duck meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh duck.

The second ingredient includes chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans. Like peas, bean and lentils, the chickpea is a nutritious member of the fiber-rich legume (or pulse) family of vegetables.

However, chickpeas contain about 22% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

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

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

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

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.

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 sweetener¹ probably used here as a prebiotic. Prebiotics function to support the growth of healthy bacteria in the large intestine.

Next, this recipe includes coconut oil. Both coconut and coconut oil have been reported to have a beneficial effect on a dog’s skin and coat, improve digestion, and reduce allergic reactions.²

And lastly, this food contains 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 Grain Free Limited Ingredient Diet 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 29%, a fat level of 17% and estimated carbohydrates of about 45%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 31% and a mean fat level of 19%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 42% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 61%.

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

When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the chickpeas and alfalfa in this recipe and the split peas contained in other recipes, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing a moderate amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Canine Caviar Grain Free Limited Ingredient Diet is a plant-based dry dog food using a moderate amount of various species as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4.5 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.

Those looking for a grain-based product from the same company may wish to visit our review of Canine Caviar dry dog food.

Canine Caviar Dog Food Recall History

The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to this product line. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls sorted by date. Or view the same list sorted alphabetically by brand.

To learn why our ratings have nothing to do with a product’s recall history, please visit our Dog Food Recalls FAQ page.

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