The 6 Top Rated Gentle Giants Dog Food Recipes
| Product Name | Price | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Gentle Giants Natural Dog Food | Buy on Amazon | 4.7 |
| Gentle Giants With Real Beef And Real Bacon Dry Dog Food | Buy on Amazon | 4.2 |
| Gentle Giants Canine Nutrition Salmon Feast Dry Dog Food | Buy on Amazon | 4.5 |
| Gentle Giants 90% Chicken Grain-Free Wet Dog Food | Buy on Amazon | 4.6 |
| Gentle Giants 90% Beef Grain-Free Wet Dog Food | Buy on Amazon | 4.6 |
| Gentle Giants 90% Salmon Grain-Free Wet Dog Food | Buy on Amazon | 4.3 |
1 Gentle Giants Natural Dog Food
- Allergens: Common Allergens in this Product Include Chicken, Eggs, Peas, Rice, Sweet Potatoes, and Carrot
- First 5 ingredients: Chicken Meal, Chicken Fat, Pearled Barley, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Peas
- Primary Proteins: Chicken Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Dried Egg Product
- Calories: 358 kcal Per Cup
- Flavor: Chicken
- Type: Dry Dog Food
- Life Stage: All Life Stages
It is crafted using a mixture of eight fruits and vegetables, farm-raised chicken, brown rice, and plenty of omega fatty acids. This is a natural formula with no added artificial flavors, but there is a surplus of vitamins such as Vitamin C to ensure your pup stays healthy throughout their lifetime. Gentle Giants is focused on wholesome pet food recipes that use quality animal protein to feed dogs of all breeds, sizes, and ages.
This one of Gentle Giants’ brand dry foods is made with added prebiotics and probiotics. Both help with digestion, which is great for dog owners who know they have a pup in the family that struggles to use the bathroom properly and has issues with various dry food. Even picky dogs are sure to be enticed by the chicken flavor of this quality food.
Chicken Meal, Pearled Barley, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Peas, Chicken Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Poultry Flavor, Whole Flaxseeds, Menhaden Fish Meal, Dried Yeast, Dried Kelp Meal, Dried Egg Product, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Spinach, New Zealand Green Mussel, Pumpkin, Cranberries, Blueberries, Apples, Chicory, Ascorbic Acid (Source Of Vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Methionine Complex, Copper Sulfate, Copper Lysine Complex, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Methionine Complex, Beta Carotene, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Plantarum Fermentation Product, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate, Cobalt Glucoheptonate, Mixed Tocopherols And Rosemary Extract
2 Gentle Giants With Real Beef and Real Bacon Dry Dog Food
- Allergens: Menhaden Fish Meal, Tomato Pomace, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots
- First 5 ingredients: Beef Meal, Pearled Barley, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Peas
- Primary Proteins: Beef Meal, Beef, Bacon, Menhaden Fish Meal
- Calories: 358 kcal Per Cup
- Flavor: Beef and Bacon
- Type: Dry Dog Food
- Life Stage: All Life Stages
Containing absolutely zero GMO ingredients, Gentle Giants presents this dry food for canines, made with real beef and bacon. Beef and bacon aren’t usually put together in dog foods, but having a dry food product that uses these ingredients means that pet parents don’t have to worry about accidentally setting off their dog’s poultry allergy.
Not all dogs are allergic to the same food, but poultry is a common allergen. So if you find that your current pet food is giving your dog an upset stomach, you might want to consider switching their diet over to a poultry-free recipe like this real beef and bacon dry dog food from Gentle Giants.
Being cautious with food allergies is especially important if you have any senior dogs at home. As dogs age, they need gentle diets that won’t cause undue distress. Dog food reviews show that owners are impressed by the high quality of the ingredients in this food and are happy that they can provide complete and balanced nutrition for their pup without worrying about kibble that uses a chicken recipe hurting their dog.
Beef Meal, Pearled Barley, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Peas, Beef, Bacon, Whole Flaxseeds, Menhaden Fish Meal, Dried Yeast, Dried Kelp Meal, Chicory, Tomato Pomace, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Monocalcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Spinach, New Zealand Green Mussel, Pumpkin, Cranberries, Blueberries, Apples, Calcium Carbonate, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Zinc Methionine Complex, Copper Sulfate, Copper Lysine Complex, Manganous Oxide, Manganese Methionine Complex, Beta Carotene, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, Cobalt Carbonate, Cobalt Glucoheptonate, Mixed Tocopherols and Rosemary Extract.
3 Gentle Giants Canine Nutrition Salmon Feast Dry Dog Food
- Allergens: Dried Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Peas
- First 5 ingredients: Salmon Meal, Whole Dried Potatoes, Whole Dried Peas, Tapioca, Salmon Oil
- Primary Proteins: Salmon Meal
- Calories: 350 kcal per cup
- Flavor: Salmon Feast
- Type: Dry Dog Food
- Life Stage: All Life Stages
A grain-free blend of nutritious Gentle Giant dog food. This is another great recipe from the independent dog food company headed by Burt Ward, offering a natural formula free of corn, wheat, soy, and gluten. You’ll find only the good stuff in Gengle Giants Salmon Dry Dog Food, one of the best dog foods on the market for all kinds of dogs.
The Salmon recipe contains omega fatty acids, Glucosamine, and Chondroitin to help your dog’s joints and mobility. This is especially important if you have large breed dogs at home because they can be prone to joint issues as they age. But it’s not just large breed dogs who suffer from joint conditions – small dog breeds can, too.
Your pup must be getting better quality food than what is usually available in commercial dog food recipes – the standard cheap canine food you see in supermarkets or pet shops, etc. The ingredients for this Gentle Giant dog food also contain tapioca, which is known to be beneficial when included in food for canines because it can support their digestive health.
Salmon Meal, Whole Dried Potatoes, Whole Dried Peas, Tapioca, Salmon Oil, Dried Pumpkin, Dried Sweet Potatoes, Natural Flavors, Whole Flaxseeds, Dried Carrots, Dried Celery, Dried Kelp, Dried Tomatoes, Dried Beets, Salt, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Dried Cranberries, Dried Blueberries, Dried Apples, Dried Parsley, Dried Lettuce, Dried Watercress, Dried Spinach, Dried Chicory, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Chondroitin Sulfate, Zinc Methionine Complex, Manganese Methionine Complex, Copper Lysine Complex, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Beta Carotene, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Cobalt Carbonate, Cobalt Glucoheptonate, Folic Acid, Citric Acid, Mixed Tocopherols (a source of Vitamin E), and Rosemary Extract.
4 Gentle Giants 90% Chicken Grain-Free Wet Dog Food
- Allergens: Sweet Potatoes
- First 5 ingredients: Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chickpeas, Natural Flavor, Sweet Potatoes
- Primary Proteins: Chicken, Green-Lipped Mussels
- Calories: 88 kcal per 3oz can
- Flavor: Chicken
- Type: Wet Dog Food
- Life Stage: All Life Stages
Moving from dry food to wet food for your pup, this 90% chicken recipe from Gentle Giants is sure to be a hit with your canine (provided they don’t have a poultry allergy, of course!). You can’t get a more natural poultry flavor without feeding your dog straight fresh chicken. This natural formula is crafted with chicken and chicken broth, combined with several delicious fruits and vegetables that are sure to keep your pup healthy.
There are no fillers in this food product, and there’s no chicken fat or chicken meal. This is just quality chicken mixed with a little extra natural poultry flavor from chicken broth and a great load of vitamins, minerals, and other good stuff. Grain-free and added green-lipped mussels support your canine’s joints while they live their best life.
Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chickpeas, Natural Flavor, Sweet Potatoes, Agar-Agar, Potassium, Chloride, Salmon Oil, Salt, Choline, Parsley, Pumpkin, Apples, Cranberries, Blueberries, Dandelion Greens, Dried Green lipped Mussels, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Magnesium Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Foloc Acid.
5 Gentle Giants 90% Beef Grain-Free Wet Dog Food
- Allergens: Sweet Potatoes
- First 5 ingredients: Beef, Beef Broth, Chickpeas, Natural Flavor, Sweet Potatoes
- Primary Proteins: Beef, Green-Lipped Muscles
- Calories: 192 kcal per 6oz Can
- Flavor: Beef
- Type: Wet Dog Food
- Life Stage: All Life Stages
In similar efforts to the 90% chicken wet food for canines that Gentle Giants produces, there is also a 90% Beef recipe that is grain-free and comes in three sizes. You can choose from 3oz cans, 6oz cans, or 13oz cans for all of the canned wet dog food products that Gentle Giants stocks, which is great for multi-dog households where bulk buying dog food is a must to keep the cost of having pets as low as possible.
With a blend of 90% tender beef, your dog will certainly ask for more chow during dinner time. Luckily, beef isn’t one of the common dog allergies in food that pet owners should be aware of, so there should be no issue feeding your pup some excellent vitamin and mineral-rich wet dog food as a part of their daily diet.
Beef, Beef Broth, Chickpeas, Natural Flavor, Sweet Potatoes, Agar-Agar, Potassium, Chloride, Salmon Oil, Salt, Choline, Parsley, Pumpkin, Apples, Cranberries, Blueberries, Dandelion Greens, Dried Green-lipped Mussels, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Magnesium Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Viatin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Foloc Acid .
6 Gentle Giants 90% Salmon Grain-Free Wet Dog Food
- Allergens: Sweet Potatoes
- First 5 ingredients: Salmon, Fish Broth, Chickpeas, Natural Flavor, Sweet Potatoes
- Primary Proteins: Salmon, Fish Broth, Green-Lipped Muscles
- Calories: 83.6 kcal per 3oz Can
- Flavor: Salmon
- Type: Wet Dog Food
- Life Stage: All Life Stages
Canned dog food uses wild-caught salmon as its main source of protein and a bunch of non-GMO fruits and vegetables. Gentle Giants’ 90% Salmon Wet Dog Food is grain-free, just like their Chicken and Beef wet food flavors. For a balanced meal that contains only the best ingredients, serving your dog a bowl of Gentle Giants’ salmon recipe is a great choice. Beyond the wild Alaskan salmon and unmodified fruits and vegetables, your dog will also benefit from a helping of green-lipped muscles from New Zealand and a whole host of vitamins and minerals.
Keep your dog healthy by providing a nutritious meal from Gentle Giants 90% Salmon Grain-Free Wet Dog Food. The dandelion greens in the formula will aid your dog’s digestion while promoting liver function and health. More than that, there are no filler ingredients, and the food is rich in antioxidants from the added blueberries and cranberries.
Salmon, Fish Broth, Chickpeas, Natural Flavor, Sweet Potatoes, Agar-Agar, Potassium, Chloride, Salmon Oil, Salt, Choline, Parsley, Pumpkin, Apples, Cranberries, Blueberries, Dandelion Greens, Dried Green lipped Mussels, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Magnesium Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Viatin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Foloc Acid.
Is Gentle Giants a Good Dog Food?
Pushing aside the charity work of the brand and the unique history of the brand’s owners, Gentle Giants is a decent pet food to feed your dog. Both their canned food products and their dried pet food have a good amount of protein from quality sources, and there are even grain-free product options to choose from.
Many of the products look similar at first glance, but the real differences lie in the flavors and the source of protein for each product. While the whole range of 90% meat/fish canned wet food has practically the same ingredients, you can’t argue that other pet food brands don’t do the same thing. Every household canned food brand changes the flavor of its products and keeps most of the other ingredients to create a new product.
The crude fat in Gentle Giants’ dog food formula is significantly lower than other dog food brands. In the average canine food brand, you can expect a crude fat percentage upwards of 20%, sometimes as high as 40%. Gentle Giants’ dry dog food is around 9% minimum crude fat, while their canned food is 7%.
Though no scientific backing says reduced fat content will lengthen a dog’s life, it certainly won’t shorten it, and reduced fat could be a great thing for small dog breeds prone to obesity. Other dog food review sites agree that Gentle Giants have some quality ingredients in their products, many of which are necessary to ensure your pup has a healthy diet.
The Short History of Gentle Giants Company
Before the company launched its products in 2005, they spent ten years researching and developing their recipes so that they could offer the best dry food and most amazing wet foods on the market. Gentle Giants doesn’t just cater to dogs, either. They have a line of products suitable for cats and kittens, which includes many of the same amazing and high-quality ingredients as their canine food range. Ingredients like salmon oil, dandelion greens, dried kelp meal, and more.
Every staff member at Gentle Giants is a huge animal lover, starting with Burt Ward and his wife, who have put their hearts and souls into creating the range of Gentle Giants’ dog food. Their products are formulated to meet the standards set by AAFCO, ensuring that every meal is full of the right level of nutrition that all pet owners should expect their furry friends to get. Ward even attributes his dogs’ long lives to the products he and his wife have created and put on the pet food market.
The company’s creation came about when Burt and his wife, Tracy, realized that they needed better quality dog food for their rescue dogs than what was available. In 1994, they set up an organization for rescuing and rehoming dogs, which spent a lot of time and effort on nursing their dogs back to health. After some research, they decided to make their chow for their pups – where the “Gentle Giants” part of their brand’s name comes from. It already existed in the form of their rescue and adoption shelter.
Where is Gentle Giants Dog Food Made?
The Gentle Giants dog food brand is produced in Sioux City. All products are produced at the company Consumers Supply Distributing.
Where Do They Source Their Ingredients From?
The ingredients in Gentle Giants’ formula seem to be sourced in the U.S., considering that it’s made in a manufacturing company based in Sioux City. However, there’s no official website information on where they source their ingredients. That said, we know that they use wild Alaskan salmon, so it’s safe to say that Gentle Giants are probably sticking to local sources and keeping sources and production all in the U.S. It would be great if the company could include this information in their FAQs, though!
Product Lines – Differences and Which One You Should Choose
Whether you’re looking at their wet or dry food, there are only three flavors. Chicken, Beef (or Beef and Bacon), and Salmon. While there’s some variety between the Real Beef and Real Bacon Dry Dog Food and its accompanying 90% Beef Wet Dog Food, that’s not the difference that pet owners should be paying attention to.
There’s been plenty of information released about grain-free dog food in recent years, which has led to arguments across the internet about whether or not grain-free is best for your dog. The average dog doesn’t need to eat grain-free dog food unless their veterinarian suggests it as an alternative to their regular food. It’s usually only suggested if the dog has grain-based food allergies. So, although Gentle Giants has grain-free dog food in its product listings, it’s only suitable for dogs with grain allergies. Otherwise, you could be leading your pup down a path of ill health and obesity.
Instead, the best pet food created by Gentle Giants has to be their Real Beef and Bacon kibble, which we mentioned earlier. It contains much fewer potential allergens, such as poultry, and isn’t grain-free. If you’re looking for wet food, the three 90% meat/fish canned foods we used in this Gentle Giants dog food review are all grain-free. They’ll work fine, but you shouldn’t feed your dog grain-free food for every meal unless your vet says to.
Let’s Take a Closer Look at Ingredients
We’ll look beyond the standard meat and fish ingredients here because they need little explanation for dog owners to understand how they can benefit their furry friends. Instead, let’s look at other ingredients in the Gentle Giants dog foods.
- Chicken Fat: Depending on the product, this may be preserved with mixed tocopherols. Mixed tocopherols are a combination of different sources of Vitamin E. Chicken fat is a great energy source to use in pet food and helps keep a dog’s skin and coat healthy. It’s also suitable for many dogs that have chicken allergies.
- Oatmeal: High in fiber, oatmeal contains a number of vitamins and minerals that your dog’s body will appreciate. It’s a source of soluble fiber, which is the better form of fiber because it can regulate irregular bowel movements and blood glucose levels. For a wider selection of choices, check out our high fiber dog food guide.
- Whole Flaxseeds: Flaxseed can ease arthritis, lower blood pressure, and even improve your dog’s kidney function. It’s an amazing food that has anti-inflammatory properties that your dog will be able to benefit from at any age. Including a small amount of flaxseed in your dog’s diet will also keep their skin and coat healthy. Take a look at our guide on dog food for kidney disease for more info.
- Dried Kelp Meal: Kelp is high in fiber, which gives it many of the same benefits that flaxseed has when it’s included in pet food. Beyond improving digestive health, kelp can promote better dental health in your pup; reducing plaque and tartar.
- Dried Plain Beet Pulp: Some dogs can be sensitive to beets if they are GMO beets, but you’ll be happy to know that Gentle Giants doesn’t use any GMO ingredients in their food. When beet pulp is included in pet food, it’s usually there as another source of fiber to help your dog keep their digestive health in top form.
- Salmon Oil: Like other kinds of fish oil, salmon oil can support your dog’s heart, keep their coat shiny and healthy, and reduce the irritation that comes with dry, flaky skin.
- Dandelion Greens: Think of dandelion greens like an alternative to spinach. However, dandelion greens actually provide more vitamins than spinach does, including Vitamins C, K, D, B-Complex, and a number of minerals.
- Brown Rice: Another digestion aid for our ingredients list, brown rice has plenty of vitamins and minerals that are essential to a dog’s health, including folic acid. It doesn’t have as much folic acid as white rice, but there’s enough in there to aid your pup’s metabolic functions.
Dog Food Recall History
As far as we know and other sites that allow dog food reviews, Gentle Giants has never had to recall any of its products since the company started up in 2005.
Price
The price for Gentle Giants dog food varies, depending on the size of the product you buy. At the time of writing the dog food reviews we have in this post, here are the non-sale prices for the products mentioned, as listed on Chewy:
Where Can I Buy Gentle Giants Dog Food?
As well as being sold on their own brand’s website, you can buy Gentle Giants’ pet food from the following places:
- Petco
- Walmart
- Target
- Chewy
- Petsmart
- TractorSupply
- Amazon
In a Nutshell, Is Gentle Giants a Good Choice?
In our opinion, yes. The owners of Gentle Giants care about giving dogs the best nutrition possible, as is evident by the sheer amount of vitamins and minerals in each of their products. They use quality ingredients, ensure omega fatty acids, so your pup has healthy skin, and adhere to the guidelines set out by the American Feed Control Officials.
It’s a wholesome pet food brand that caters to dogs from all walks of life, made by people who have spent many years rescuing and rehoming dogs.
FAQs:
Despite the name making many assume otherwise, Gentle Giants is suitable for all types of dogs. That means all sizes, all breeds, and all ages. You can feed your dog Gentle Giants’ dog food products from when they’re a puppy up to their senior years. Check the feeding guidelines to determine how much dry or wet pet food you buy to feed your pup. Like other “all life stages” pet food, Gentle Giants lists feeding guidelines according to your dog’s weight. Overeating, in any dog’s case, can lead to obesity and other health problems.
Gentle Giants has ensured that they adhere to the pet food nutrition and feeding guidelines established by AAFCO. You can be sure that you’re feeding your dog a nutritious meal with the Association of American Feed Control Officials’ seal of approval.
The answer to this question lies with your pup. As a general rule, avoid common allergens when feeding a dog with a sensitive stomach – avoiding the chicken recipes Gentle Giants has on the market. The Beef, Beef, and Bacon, and Salmon flavors should all be suitable for your dog, provided they aren’t allergic or sensitive to any of the other ingredients listed in those products. Consult your vet about whether your pup needs to go grain-free or not because that would help you choose between buying the grain-free salmon dog and puppy food or the grain-inclusive beef variants.
