Royal Canin dog food reviews: Everything you need to know about this quality dog food brand

When searching for the best dog food for your pooch, the chances are you've heard about Royal Canin dog food. The brand is much loved by pet owners and vets alike due to its vast amount of recipes. They've got breed-specific and age-specific recipes as well as a Veterinary range, which is designed to improve certain health conditions through diet alone, such as allergies, intolerances and sensitivities.

This quality dog food brand comes highly recommended, but what's so special about Royal Canin? And why do vets recommend Royal Canin? We've investigated what goes into making a Royal Canin recipe and put together some Royal Canin dog food reviews, so you've got everything you need to know about this popular brand.

As Royal Canin have over 750+ wet and dry dog food diets, it would be near impossible for us to review every single one. However, we have tested some of their recipes on an almost-elderly Yorkshire Terrier, an overweight Labrador Retriever and a Cockapoo from puppyhood into adolescence. It's fair to say we have a good mix of experience which includes the brand's Veterinary diets range as well as the regular tailored kibble range. Here is Take a Break Pet's resident dog expert Rosie Floyd's experience of feeding her dogs, Gina, Barney and Bella, a range of Royal Canin dog foods.

Royal Canin dog food reviews

Royal Canin Mini Adult

My Yorkshire Terrier Jack Russell cross, Gina, is notoriously fussy with her food, but she's been on the Royal Canin Mini Adult kibble for just over a year now, and she's not turned her nose up to it yet. As she's entering her senior years, her teeth just aren't as strong as they used to be, so she needs a food that she can still easily crunch up. The adapted kibble size for the Royal Canin Mini Adult food is just the right size for her, and she can easily break it down with her teeth.

The recipe contains L-Carnitine, which helps your pooch maintain a healthy metabolism, and Omega 3 to keep their coat looking shiny and glossy. I have definitely noticed a difference in Gina's coat condition since switching her from cheaper dog foods that I've fed her before. Her coat always has a lovely sheen to it, and it feels like the overall colour is brighter too.

Royal Canin Veterinary Health Nutrition Satiety Adult Dry Dog Food

Barney has always been a typical greedy Labrador, so it didn't take him long to pile on the pounds. We'd noticed he'd become a bit slower and was struggling to get up after laying on the floor so we'd tried extra walks, reducing and changing food to get his weight down, but nothing had worked. However, he then needed to lose a significant amount of weight to be able to have surgery, so we really had to work quickly to get his weight down.

Our vet suggested trying out the Royal Canin Veterinary Health Nutrition Satiety Adult Dry Dog Food to help him shift the timber he'd been slowly putting on. We introduced it slowly at first, mixing it in with his regular food before switching completely to it within a month. After 12 weeks, Barney had lost the 12kg he needed to, was able to have this surgery and had a spring back in his step once more. Although the surgery was over a year ago, our vet has suggested keeping him on the food but increasing the amount we're feeding him so he's in the maintenance stage of his diet rather than the weight loss stage.

One of the best things I've found about the Royal Canin Veterinary Health Nutrition Satiety Adult Dry Dog Food is how easy the feeding guide at the back is to follow. When putting a dog on a diet, you never want them to feel like they're starving, but you do know that you need to cut back, but it's hard to know by just how much. Thanks to the feeding chart on the packaging, I've never felt like that with this food. As long as you know how much your pooch weighs to begin with, you simply take a look at the chart for their current weight and also whether they're underweight, ideal or overweight, and Royal Canin will tell you the exact amount of grams your pup needs to achieve their goal.

Royal Canin Medium Puppy

With my other dogs on Royal Canin, I wanted to introduce Bella to the brand fairly soon after I brought her home. After a couple of weeks on the food her breeder was feeding her, I transitioned slowly to Royal Canin Medium Puppy, which she stayed on from roughly 16 weeks old until she was over a year old.

I wanted to pick Royal Canin food for Bella because of the tailored nutrition they offer, and I knew that choosing a recipe tailored to her adult breed size would ensure she had everything she needed to grow into a happy and healthy Cockapoo. This puppy food offers just the right blend of antioxidants, prebiotics and protein which are included to support your puppy's natural defences as they grow up while supporting and maintaining your puppy's overall digestive health.

The different stages of tailored nutrition meant it was easy to transition Bella over to the adult version of food when she reached the right age. As an adult, Bella is around 10kg, so she sits right in the middle of the weights for both the mini-breed and medium-breed food. We started her on the medium breed adult, but she preferred the smaller kibble size of the mini breed, so she's now on the same food as her sister, Gina.

Royal Canin dog food reviews: our thoughts

In my opinion, one of the best things about Royal Canin is the sheer amount of recipes they have available to cater to all kinds of dogs and all kinds of health conditions. I have been feeding my dogs Royal Canin for a long time anyway, but since I've had experience with my dogs having specific health problems, I've noticed just how much food can make a difference.

From my reviews above, you can see how much the weight loss food has made a big difference to how much Barney weighs but also his overall wellbeing. He doesn't struggle so much with getting up off the floor, and I can see his joints aren't under as much pressure as before and that's all down to switching to Royal Canin. Bella has recently been diagnosed with a small liver sensitivity, and the vet has suggested switching to Royal Canin's Hepatic range to see if this can help to improve her condition. We're still in the early days of this diet so we'll see how she improves, but as a dog owner, it's nice to know that there are foods out there that can aid with recovery from health conditions.

I'm quite lucky with my dogs that, other than the odd health condition, they don't have any allergies or intolerances to deal with as I know this can make choosing a dog food more difficult. My doggy nephew Teddie has grain sensitivities, and as Royal Canin's food can contain higher percentages of grains, wheat and corn compared to other dog food brands, their recipes aren't really suitable for him. The main flavour of the recipes also tends to be poultry, which is a common allergen in dogs, so this is something to bear in mind when deciding whether Royal Canin is the right brand for your pooch.

Overall, I've had a really positive experience with feeding my pooches Royal Canin over the years and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to other dog owners, especially in cases where they've got health conditions that could be improved by diet. However, in these cases, it's always best to check with your vet before switching just to make sure it's the right decision for your pup.

Royal Canin dog food reviews FAQs

How much Royal Canin should I feed my dog?

How much Royal Canin you should feed your dog will entirely depend on the diet selected, as well as breed, weight, activity level, health, neutering stage, age and many other factors. One of the things I love about Royal Canin is how easy the feeding guide on the packets is to follow. You just need to know how much your dog weighs and whether they're underweight, the just about right weight or overweight and it'll give you the exact amount to feed your dog each day. All you need to do then is divide that amount by how many times a day you feed your dog and weigh it out to the correct amount each mealtime and you'll be good to go.

Who owns Royal Canin?

Now that we've explored some Royal Canin dog food reviews, let's get into the history of the brand. Royal Canin was founded in 1968 in a small village in the south of France by veterinarian Jean Cathary. Dr. Cathary was frustrated to see that German Shepherds kept coming back to his practice after completing courses of treatment for eczema with no improvement in the symptoms. This inspired him to find a nutritional solution to deal with the dermatitis problems that are common to the German Shepherd breed. Dr. Cathary believed in the power of nutrition and his vision was and is still today deeply ingrained into the brand.

Royal Canin is now a division of Mars Petcare, which is a global leader in health nutrition for cats and dogs. The brand works closely with pet professionals, such as breeders and veterinarians, to design the most precise nutrition for cats and dogs. Since the creation of Royal Canin, they have developed nearly 750 tailored recipes that have been made with a pet's age, lifestyle, size, breed, sensitivities and activity levels in mind to provide diets that cater for every furry friend's specific needs.

What's so special about Royal Canin?

From mini dog kibble for small breeds and food for specific breeds for puppies and adult dogs to diets for specific conditions, like hypoallergenic dog food for pooches with allergies and intolerances, there's truly something for every dog with Royal Canin

When the brand develops a diet, they identify a need, like a dog food for weight loss for example. They then make a recipe with precisely measured individual nutrients to help improve your pup's condition and overall wellbeing. Using the weight-loss food example, Royal Canin's Veterinary Health Nutrition Satiety Dry Dog Food contains a high protein content to help your dog maintain muscle mass while losing weight safely, a high level of natural fibre to help keep your dog satisfied and reduce begging in between meals and an adapted macronutrient profile to reduce the chance of weight regain.

Some of the breed-specific recipes take into account the shape, size and texture of kibble so it's adapted to the shape and size of your pet's mouth. For example, the Labrador Retriever kibble has a hole in the middle that increases its volume without making it too hard to bite into. This helps reduce the speed Labradors can ingest the kibble, which is something this breed is notorious for.

Is Royal Canin a good dog food?

If you're after a dog food that is a tailored recipe to your dog's breed and size, or if you've got a dog that has health and dietary requirements, like a high fibre food for anal gland problems, Royal Canin is a great dog food.

The brand is dedicated to delivering nutrition specifically tailored to the health requirements of dogs and puppies, which is why they spend countless hours researching their nutritional needs to understand the role that nutrition plays in helping your pup maintain a healthy lifestyle.

As well as meat, Royal Canin uses ingredients such as grains, wheat and corn, which we know is of concern to some pet owners when it takes up a high percentage of the overall composition. However, the brand says that the nutritional values of those types of ingredients vastly depend on the amount used as well as the quality of the nutrients they contain, such as proteins, vitamins, fat etc. as well as their digestibility. That's why each of Royal Canin's tailored diets, whether from their standard dog food or veterinary food range, includes at least 50 individual nutrients throughout the types of ingredients used so it's adapted to your pet's unique needs.

Why do vets recommend Royal Canin?

You may find when you go to the vets, they may recommend Royal Canin to you. That's because of the extensive amount of specific diets they have, whether for certain breeds/ages or health conditions. They are a market leader in science-based pet nutrition, which is one of the reasons why they have received the Vet Trust Awards 2024 Pet Food Company Most Trusted by Vets.

Royal Canin's diets are developed through extensive research and partnerships with pet professionals. In fact, they have their own board of experts made up of animal geneticists, veterinarians, professors and veterinary medicine specialists that they consult to make every recipe, ensuring each one is tailored to the specific needs of the dog you're feeding.

Rosie Floyd is a Pets, Homes and Garden Product Writer for Take A Break Pets, specialising in all things dogs. She grew up always having at least one dog as part of the family and has experience in owning a variety of breeds, including Labradors, Cockapoos and Yorkshire Terriers.