Kirkland Dog Food

Kirkland is Costco’s own brand of dog food and is only available to buy in Costco stores, not online. The range includes both dried kibble and canned food. As to be expected of a low cost store’s own brand, Kirkland dog food falls into the cheaper price bracket. It is manufactured on behalf of Costco by Diamond Pet Foods, which is a giant pet food company with a reputation for using cheap imported ingredients of dubious origin in order to keep prices down.

So does the cheap price mean poor quality?

Some own brand dog foods contain a lot of cheap filler, preservatives and artificial additives, with little meat protein content. This will be of concern to dog owners who want their dog to eat a diet high in animal protein and low in carbohydrates. However, Kirkland dog food contains meat as the first ingredient, followed by meat meal, which is a good source of protein.

Dog owners who believe dogs should eat an almost exclusively carnivorous diet like their wild ancestors may be put off by the fact that Kirkland does contain a significant amount of plant-based carbohydrates such as rice and pearled barley.

Dogs with certain food sensitivities might find grain based food hard to digest, in which case owners may be better off buying a more expensive grain free brand that has a higher meat content.

Is it worth buying Kirkland dog food?

Kirkland gets mixed reviews from dog owners. Some dogs love it and appear to thrive on it. Others with sensitivities may react to some of the many ingredients. For owners of dogs that can eat anything, Kirkland may be worth considering. But owners of dogs with special dietary needs may be better off spending more money on a premium brand.

People who want the reassurance that the ingredients in their dog’s food is of the best quality and could even be safely eaten by humans may be put off by the fact that the ingredients aren’t all locally produced and the manufacturing is outsourced to a large company. Dog owners who are attracted to the concept of real food, fresh, locally raised ingredients and small batch cooking, are likely to be willing to spend more on a premium dog food.

But for dog owners on a budget, Kirkland offers an affordable dog food brand that is one of the best in its price range.