Whole Dog Journal’s Approved Canned Dog Foods

Check out Whole Dog Journal's list of approved canned dog food products, with over 800 varieties! Did your dog's food make the list?

By
Nancy Kerns
-
Published:
29
canned dog food
Today, many of the products that are made in human-food production facilities (with human-grade ingredients) are packed in paperboard boxes such as “TetraPaks.” People who want to serve only the freshest food to small dogs can shop for products packed in foil pouches or small plastic tubs.
Here you’ll find a list of pet food companies that make the kind of foods that meet our canned dog food selection criteria. We’ve included ALL the information we gathered from each company on our approved foods list. Here’s the most exciting part about the table, however: It’s a searchable database that you can use to find appropriate foods for your dog!
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29 COMMENTS

  5. My vet keeps recommending Purina ProPlan Veterinary Diet canned prescription HA(allergy) and the OM (weight management). I read the ingredients and always question whether it’s a good food. My vet assures me it is. Not sure if it is truely, or if vets are getting kickbacks. I’m hoping not the later. Could your staff review ingredients and advise me? I’d so appreciate it. I have a 14 yr Lab on the OM, 6 yr old Lab and two 2 yr old Biewer Terriers on the HA. I can get label info if needed. Thank you

    • Most vets who care about their patients and don’t get kickbacks; of course there are those who do compromise ethics. If you know your vet well and have had good experiences with him/her, then give the diet a try. Their diet recommendations are based on scientific analysis of ingredients. The “Diet” or “prescription” in PurinaProVet, Royal Canin, Hill’s are for dogs with special dietary needs and may not sound appetizing by reading the ingredient and are expensive, they do contain everything necessary for your dogs dietary health. My dog was placed on RC lowfat GI diet–it costs a fortune and I would never choose it based on ingredient list, but the fat/protein content (in our underweight enteropathic dog’s case) is as listed on label. Food ingredients are not regulated in the same way medications are, but prescription diets do have to meet certain thresholds. They’re likely not going to be organic or sustainably made…but they will take care of your dog. More dog food companies are coming out with precription diets–things you can only purchase with vet Rx. If you were prescribed an antibiotic for an infection, would you decline to take it do do the chemicals listed in the ingredient list? I assume WDJ’s dietary recommendations are generally meant for the average healthy dog. Follow your vets advice. I’m not a vet but have a dog and am an MD; questioned my vet team about everything–labs/studies my dog had, for example to help me understand why we needed this particular new gross food (canned and dry).

    • My understanding is that while in veterinary school, buckling under the weight of astronomical debt these companies will offer to pay off all or part or also offer a stipend so long as they agree to sell their food. I am not a conspiracy nut but I would also look at the parent company- is this just one offshoot of many products or is it their focus?

      Most importantly up until recently like their counterparts in medical school- IF ANy nutrition is required it is almost always a semester (some forward thinking schools have changed this) BUT like almost all Doctor’s focus on curing rather than preventing (other than my crass “eat less exercise more” as a 12 year old clearly suffering from every symptom of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis which causes hypothyroidism all he would have had to do was palpate my neck for twenty seconds as the Endocronologist did SEVEN years later and said you have Hashimoto’s the tests will confirm and give us a baseline- now he was one of the best in the country- but my point is Doctor’s and Veterinarians are a blessing but I have found that the smartest one’s don’t roll their eyes when I present my research and opinion (as an auditor I am a research addict) The best vet I ever had would even come back to me and say you know that article you mentioned you were right your dogs are lucky to have you and when as a new mama to an adopted dog I asked about food she said well….we sell some foods here but I always think it’s best to do a little research! No wonder some fancy veterinary board stole her away !!!!

      PS I am not trying to say your vet. Is trying to pull the wool over your eyes very often they may believe their food IS the best as it is probably better than supermarket food and the representatives have no doubt touted the benefits- just do some research and see what you find – good luck!!! I fed my dogs based on what I found they were all adopted at different ages not having been taken care of very well my three rough collies lived until about 15-16 I usually fed them a salmon / sweet potato or pumpkin food that was rated as good by WDJ

    • Sorry I didn’t see this comment earlier. Almost every time, when we hear about someone having difficulty with online access, it turns out that they have registered for access or their subscription with three different email addresses and passwords. Whether or not you think that’s the case, send an email to customer_service5@belvoir.com and they can help you straighten it out.

  8. I was so excited to hear about the searchable data base! I am tired of scrolling through 100s of grain free foods on websites trying to pick out the grain inclusive options. However,, your data base comes up with 0 when I enter this as an option. I’ve tried it a couple of different ways and always get nada. Sigh, back to scrolling..

    • Are you looking for DRY foods? The only data that is current (as of today) is the CANNED food — and that should be working. If you are looking for a canned grain-free food and getting zero results, please comment back. We are trying to work out any bugs in the system before we load the MUCH LARGER dry food list for the February dry foods review.

      There is a *limited* set of *partial* information for dry foods that we loaded using *last year’s data* that a person who is looking around can currently access, but if you note the “date entered” it’s a year old. That’s there for our tests. The new and more complete data will be up and accessible when the February issue is posted.

  9. I am a member; I signed in; I asked to see the list of canned dog food; i was asked to sign in; when i ask to see the list; I am asked to sign in; — and the annoying loop repeats! I still cannot learn about canned dog food.

  12. I have a question about the price per ounce listed on the chart. I looked at Newman’s Own, both the Chicken and Brown Rice, and the Turkey and Brown Rice, and calculated the price per ounce X 12.7 ounces, which equals price per can, then X 12 for a case. In one instance, the Chewy price (which I get when I click “Buy Now” was WAY off the price per can amount (Turkey and Brown Rice), but the other one was on target.
    I know it’s fiddly to stay on top of all the price counts, but it is a bit misleading to quote a price per ounce, then have someone see that it’s double that on the Chewy site. Or is this a Chewy issue?
    I’m new to this subscription, and am enjoying the articles as I learn more about helping my dog lose some weight and still feel satisfied with food. I just wanted to point out this discrepancy on the chart. Thanks!

  13. The date for this database, prices included, were collected in July and August 2021 for the October 2021 issue. It sounds like they are changing — as are the prices of a lot of food worldwide.

    When we begin to collect data for the October 2022 issue, we will note and highlight the biggest price changes from the previous year.

  15. I recall reading somewhere that it is a good idea to vary the dog food occasionally. I also have learned that changing a dog’s food could cause digestive issues. What is your advice? Many thanks for your wonderful publication.

  16. I am so disappointed in this list. After reading WDJ’s two articles about the danger of high levels of copper in dog foods, I tried to try to find a replacement for my dog’s canned food. I discovered that all of the non-poultry-based WDJ-approved-2021 canned foods carried by my local store have copper levels that exceed the European maximum. I was hoping that WDJ’s 2022 list would point me in the right direction and eagerly anticipated the release of this list. I was shocked to see brands that I know exceed the European maximum for copper on WDJ’s approved list of canned dog foods. WDJ stated, “Veterinary nutrition experts say that many dog foods contain enough copper to slowly kill your dog.” (See “How To Find a Low Copper Food”, Whole Dog Journal, March 2022) Why is WDJ approving foods that it states will slowly kill our dogs? Can WDJ please provide a revised list of approved canned dog foods that meet the European requirements for copper content?

  17. I search for “contains fish)
    Zero results

    Then “contains salmon”
    Many results

    Then “does not contain chicken, beef, etc” (different searches)
    zero results

    Aargh

    I’m looking for great quality palatable wild fish based canned or frozen food. I am
    Against using all farmed animals to feed my dog

  22. Thank you SO much for this searchable database! I was looking for limited single protein dog food and read your print article. I came here online and found what I needed. Great information!