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Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog Food is specifically designed for medium-sized breeds between 21 and 55 pounds. This food is formulated for adult dogs between 12 months and 7 years of age with a customized kibble that is soft enough for easy chewing but hard enough to clean your dog’s teeth. This dog food formula features an exclusive blend of flavors and aromas to ensure maximum palatability for your dog as well as a blend of fat, protein, and other nutrients to provide balanced nutrition. If you are looking for a commercial dog food specially formulated to meet the nutritional needs of medium-sized breeds, Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog Food may be a good option. Before you purchase this brand of dog food, however, you would be wise to consider the ingredients used to make this dog food and how they impact the total nutritional value of the product.
Ingredients List
Brewers rice, chicken by-product meal, wheat, corn gluten meal, oat groats, chicken fat, natural flavors, dried beet pulp, fish oil, calcium carbonate, grain distillers dried yeast, vegetable oil, potassium chloride, monocalcium phosphate, salt, hydrolyzed yeast, L-lysine, choline chloride, vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), biotin, D-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A acetate, niacin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement], trace minerals (zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, copper proteinate), rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols and citric acid.
Explanation of Top 5 Ingredients
The top 5 ingredients included in Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog food are: Brewer’s rice, chicken by-product meal, wheat, corn gluten meal, and oat groats. Below you will find a brief explanation of each of these ingredients:
Brewer’s Rice – This type of rice is a by-product resulting from the milling process for whole rice. While this ingredient is not harmful for your dog, it only provides moderate nutritional value – whole grain brown rice would be more nutritious. The fact that this ingredient is number one on the list means that it is present in the largest volume in Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog Food – having a high-quality source of protein at the top of the list would be more nutritionally beneficial for your dog.
Chicken By-Product Meal – This ingredient consists of the parts of the chicken that are left over after the edible parts have been removed during rendering. These parts may include organs, feet, beaks, and more – anything except for feathers. By-product meals from named sources (like chicken by-product meal rather than “meat” by-product meal) are typically of higher quality and they can be a good source of protein. The quality of this ingredient varies from one batch to another, however, so it can only be considered a moderate source of nutrition, at best.
Wheat – This ingredient is an inexpensive fibrous material that dog food manufacturers use as a “filler”. A filler is simply an inexpensive ingredient that adds to the bulk of the food without providing much nutritional value. The fact that this ingredient is listed third on the ingredients list for Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog Food is somewhat troubling.
Corn Gluten Meal – Corn gluten meal is the rubbery by-product that remains after the starchy carbohydrate has been removed from the whole corn kernels. This ingredient may contain up to 60% protein but it has a much lower biological value than whole sources of protein (like meat). While corn gluten meal does contain protein, it is a low-quality source of protein – it is lacking in several of the essential amino acids your dog needs. Dog food manufacturers use ingredients like corn gluten meal to make the protein content of the food look higher but it is important to realize that a significant portion of that protein is not biologically valuable to your dog.
Oat Groats – This ingredient consists of whole grain oats that have been minimally processed. Even though they are not as processed as other ingredients included in Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog Food, they are still considered a moderate source of nutrition. Oat groats are rich in protein and fiber and they contain other valuable nutrients like zinc, iron, and B vitamins. Though this ingredient does provide some nutritional value, a whole source of protein would be more nutritionally valuable.
Other Notable Ingredients
Aside from the top five ingredients, there are several other notable ingredients found in Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog Food. Dried beet pulp, for example, is rich in dietary fiber and it is the by-product that results from the processing of sugar beets. While some believe beet pulp to be an inexpensive filler ingredient, it does provide some nutritional value in moderate amounts.
The sixth ingredient included in Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog Food is chicken fat. This ingredient comes from the rendering process for whole chickens and it is rich in an omega-6 fatty acid called linoleic acid. While chicken fat may not sound healthy, it is a high-quality source of dietary fat which helps to balance out your dog’s nutrition.
The ninth ingredient included in Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog Food is fish oil. This ingredient is an excellent source of natural omega-3 fatty acids like EPA and DHA, both of which are easily digestible for dogs. As long as the fish oil is fresh, it can be considered a high-quality addition to the ingredient list for this dog food.
Another group of ingredients worth considering are the chelated minerals that have been added to this dog food formula. Chelated minerals have been chemically attached to protein molecules which makes them more readily available and easier for your dog’s body to absorb and utilize. These ingredients are commonly found in high-quality dog foods so they help to boost the overall nutritional value of this Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog Food formula.
The rest of the ingredients listed for Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog Food are likely present in such small volumes that they will not have a significant impact on the nutritional value of the product. These ingredients include various vitamins and minerals as well as natural flavors. One last ingredient worth mentioning is grain distillers dried yeast, the eleventh ingredient on the list. While this ingredient may not sound healthy, it can be a valuable source of supplemental protein in dog food. This type of yeast is a type of plant by-product that contains about 40% protein which helps to boost the overall protein content of the dog food.
Conclusion
Overall, Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog Food can be considered an average source of nutrition for your dog, at best. Four of the top five ingredients in this formula are plant-based with only one moderately beneficial source of protein included in the entire list of ingredients. The fact that this product contains several filler ingredients is troubling, especially since several of these ingredients are among the top five ingredients by volume. This dog food formula would benefit from a high-quality source of whole protein as the first ingredient with acceptable carbohydrates like oat groats and grain distillers dried yeast being present in smaller quantities. If you are looking for a high-quality source of nutrition for your dog, you can do better than Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog Food.
Paw Rating
This Royal Canin Medium Adult Dog Food formula receives a paw rating of 2.5 out of 5. Though this formula contains a few high-quality ingredients, the majority of the ingredients provide only average or below-average nutritional value.
