Venison kibble is a favorite in the dog food community due to its novel nature and outstanding benefits to dog health. Canine Caviar has just released their new venison kibble, Leaping Spirit out to the public now with Pearl Millet as it’s carbohydrate source instead of Split Pea. If you’re interested in looking at our new venison or buying online, click here.
Today we’ll be comparing Canine Caviar’s Leaping Spirit venison formula with other similar brands in the market. There are many differences between venison diets among different brands. We’ll look at the ingredient lists for each as well as calories and see how each dog food stacks up.
Canine Caviar Leaping Spirit (Venison & Pearl Millet)
Proteins: Venison Meal
Carbohydrates: Pearl Millet
Ingredient Count: 31
Canine Caviar always makes dog nutrition a top priority. It’s for that reason, we are so popular among dogs with special nutritional and medical needs and dogs that love zooming around and being active balls of energy. We use only one protein and one carbohydrate: Venison and Pearl Millet. The simplicity of our formulas ensures effective digestion and absorption of nutrients. It also helps owners better understand what is in our diets and whether they’re suitable for their dog. We use a wide array of healthy botanicals such as kelp and alfalfa to help your dog grow healthy and strong. The quality of our food really shows when you see this formula contains 552 calories per cup! Every other formula we’ll be comparing today is under 400 calories per cup. That difference speaks volumes but let’s take a look at the other venison formulas for a more in-depth look.
Natural Balance Grain Free Sweet Potato & Venison
Proteins: Venison
Carbohydrates: Sweet Potatoes
Other: Pea Protein, Potato Protein, Natural Flavor, Dried Potato Products, Salt
Ingredient Count: 43
Natural Balance is a common brand that you can find at your local grocery store. They market their formulas as being limited ingredient like many of the other brands in this comparison. Both Natural Balance and Canine Caviar use one protein and one carbohydrate but there is a slight difference between the two. While Canine Caviar lists Venison as its first ingredient, Natural Balance lists Sweet Potatoes as their first ingredient. Ingredients are listed by weight which means there is more sweet potato than venison which may be concerning to some dog owners. There are also some ingredients that are concerning. Pea protein and potato protein are featured as the third and fourth ingredient respectively. Dogs require that a majority of their protein comes from meat. The position of these two ingredients might suggest a high volume of vegetable protein which has been associated with health issues such as DCM.
American Journey Grain-Free Venison & Sweet Potato
Proteins: Deboned Venison, Venison Meal
Carbohydrates: Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Chickpeas
Other: Pea Protein, Natural Flavor, Salt
Ingredient Count: 42
American Journey Grain-Free Venison & Sweet Potato is another limited ingredient diet similar to Canine Caviar. Despite being limited ingredient, this venison kibble formula has the second most number of ingredients (42) out of the formulas listed today. They also use multiple protein sources and carbohydrates. There are some questionable ingredients such as the pea protein which is high in the ingredient list as well as natural flavor and salt. The biggest difference between this formula and Canine Caviar though would have to be the calories. American Journey sports the lowest calories per cup at 330; a stark difference from Canine Caviar’s 552. That’s a difference of 222 calories per cup!
Nutro Adult Venison Meal & Sweet Potato Recipe
Proteins: Venison Meal
Carbohydrates: Dried Potatoes, Lentils, Chickpeas, Dried Sweet Potato
Other: Potato Protein, Natural Flavor, Salt
Ingredient Count: 35
Nutro uses the most carbohydrate ingredients at 4. All this variety in carbohydrates makes it more difficult to digest food. That’s very important considering a dog passes food through it’s body in 6-8 hours; a stark contrast to the human digestive system which takes multiple days to digest meals. With such fast digestive systems, it’s important that dogs eat meals which are complete and balanced but also simple to digest. The more ingredients a dog has to process, the less effective it will be at absorbing the important nutrients it needs for health and energy. Nutro uses potato protein, natural flavor, and added salt which might be concerning to some dog owners. A cup of Nutro Venison Meal & Sweet Potato lists at 373 calories per cup; better than American Journey but still not near Canine Caviar.
Zignature Venison Formula
Proteins: Venison, Venison Meal
Carbohydrates: Chickpeas, Peas,
Other: Natural Flavor, Salt
Ingredient Count: 36
Our last formula for today is Zignature’s Venison Kibble. Zignature focuses on providing quality food that keeps your dog healthy. They source their ingredients from multiple countries around the world such as New Zealand, Australia, and France. They also use meat protein as their first ingredient just like Canine Caviar. The venison formula uses two protein sources, both venison based, and two carbs, chickpeas, and peas. Zignature holds the second highest calorie count in this comparison but is still 158 calories per cup less than Canine Caviar. Zignature doesn’t include any plant or vegetable-based protein like Natural Balance, Nutro, and American Journey but does use Natural Flavor and Salt.
Final Thoughts
No formulas are exactly the same so pet owners should always research before buying. Look for a brand that ties in with what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a simple allergy friendly formula that will keep your pup healthy and strong, Canine Caviar is the food for you.
Check the Canine Caviar Blog for more great articles such as our Buffalo Kibble Comparison or see how Canine Caviar Changes Dogs Lives.