Kirkland Dog Food
September 21, 2008
Filed under Dog Food Reviews, Kirkland
Kirkland Dog Food Review
Kirkland dog food made by Diamond is conveniently sold at Costco’s world wide. The Kirkland product line has 6 dry food formulas designed to meet the individual requirements of specific ages of dogs. The Kirkland Signature Adult Dog Formula has two variances, chicken and lamb, which gives a healthy choice for hypersensitive dogs. The Kirkland dog food products are less expensive compared to other well-rated dog food brands however their prices does not compromise the quality of their dog food lines. Last time we checked it was 17.99-23.99 for a 40lb bag, depending on the formula. Due to the price many are lead to believe that this food is just another low quality dog food, however, we believe that Kirkland dog food falls in the middle of the food quality spectrum.
Compared to other budget-friendly dog food brands, Kirkland dog food formulas don’t incorporate corn, soy, or wheat among the first five ingredients. There is also no mention of unspecified animal by-products which are often from questionable sources that can further degrade the quality of the dog food.
Chicken and lamb are the main sources of animal proteins for Kirkland dog food formulas. This is a good protein source for dogs of all ages. Whole grains including brown rice and cracked pearl barley also form the basal ingredients.
Although chicken is an excellent protein source, it is used raw which means it still contains 80% water which is lost when processed, leaving only a small part of its original weight. This is probably the reason for the addition of the chicken meal which is a meat concentrate and contains 300% more protein compared to fresh or raw chicken.
Brown rice is a good source of complex carbohydrates which can be easy to digest after it has already undergone processing. Another ingredient that supplies starchy carbohydrate, fiber and other nutrients is Barley.
Chicken fat is a by-product obtained from rendering chicken. It is rich in omega-6 fatty acids and linoleic acid which are important in the different physiological processes of the body. It is important for dog food manufacturers to specify the source of fat in order to assess the quality of the ingredient. There are dog food manufacturers that list down this ingredient as “animal fat”.
Among the different ingredients, beet pulp has been met with skepticism because although it is a high-fiber ingredient, it is often used as inexpensive filler.
Other minor ingredients which contribute to the over-all nutrition value of the dog food include potato which is a good source of highly digestible carbohydrates; fish meal provides additional animal protein; flaxseed which is an excellent plant source of omega-3 fatty acids and soluble fiber.
There is no mention, though, of probiotics or beneficial bacteria which is present in many top-rated dog food products.
Customer Reviews
The most common feedback relates to the price of Kirkland dog food products -it is not every day that one can get a good quality dog food at such low prices. There are dog owners who agree that the high protein from quality meat sources is great for their dog’s hair coat, body weight, and energy—all these positive feedbacks even though their dogs were eating less compared to other dog food brands.
Negative feedbacks include diarrhea in first time users, manifestation of allergy symptoms, digestive problems that include vomiting, loose stools, smelly gas, and an upset stomach.
Please visit the links listed below for Kirkland dog food reviews by formula.
Have a comment or question about our Kirkland dog food review? Want to share your experiences with others? We welcome your comments!
Kirkland Dog Food Reviews
Kirkland dog food comes in four different formulas:
- Kirkland Signature Range Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Adult formula
- Kirkland Signature Range Lamb and Rice Adult
- Kirkland Signature Range Super Premium Puppy Chicken, Rice and Vegetable
Kirkland Dog Food Consumer Rating
| Title | Votes | Rating | Review |
| Kirkland Dog Food | 410 | 6.8 | -1.0 |
| Kirkland Signature Range Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Adult formula | 88 | 7.1 | -1.0 |
| Kirkland Signature Range Lamb and Rice Adult | 164 | 6.4 | -1.0 |
| Kirkland Signature Range Super Premium Puppy Chicken, Rice and Vegetable | 222 | 7.1 | -1.0 |
Do you have a breeder program of any sorts? Possibly a 200 lb. discount or somethng simalar? Thanks … our dogs have been on Adult Lg Breed for a long time and do well.
I wish people would do a little more research before making decisions. Kirkland food contains menadione sodium bivulfite (source of vitamin K activity), which has been shown to have multiple negative effects – including hemolytic anemia, allergic reactions and eczema, and weakening of the immune system.
The FDA has banned synthetic Vit. K for human use due to its toxicity.
Before using Kirkland -or any other food with synthetic Vit. K (aka menadione), please go read the information at The Dog Food Project – http://www.dogfoodproject.com
we switched to lamb and rice formula for our 2 year old english bulldog. he loves the taste. he had a bad skin condition and it totally cleared up after we changed to the kirkland brand. his coat is thicker, shinier and overall healthier now. he is full of energy (for a bulldog). the one thing that changed is that his stool is softer, (more human like) and requires bum wipes more often, but i will take this over the bad skin he previously had.
I would like to add to the above that his flatulence has stopped? or at least I do not smell it anymore…it was awful before we switched his food. There is also less poo to clean up, goes as often but not big chunks of it anymore.
I have a 5 month old lab and I had him on Evo dog food, and that was too rich for him. So I switched him to California Natural dog food and he started getting the squirts. So I tried Kirkland puppy food, and he is doing great. No soft stools and a ton of energy. The breeder we got him from feeds all of her dogs the Kirkland also. He also gets NuVet K-9 vitamins.
I have never used this product. I arrived at this site looking for information for a client, who was trying to find it here in Minnesota after feeding it while living in Washington State.
On kellyco.com I pulled up a list of ingredients and found no “menadione” or vitamin K of any kind on the list. I found a 4lb bag for 7.39 and a 40lb bag for 31.19 (both before tax or shipping). The protein was listed at 28% on the adult bag. I am not impressed with the ingredients listed as “meal”, ie: chicken meal, fish meal, etc. because those ingredients include ground feathers, feet & beaks and other parts that the animal would not eat if given the whole animal to consume. Otherwise I think this food is comparable to other good quality dog/cat foods. The bag also has a note that AAFCO testing was conducted on animals.
As to “finicky” cats – if your cat won’t eat, he/she is not hungry; you might try only feeding twice per day and taking away what the cat shows no interest in after 15 min. As to the “taste” that dogs love – dogs will eat anything with a strong scent & bolt it down without enjoying the “taste”, that word is used to market dog food to humans. Thanks to everyone for the great input!
correction… it is not “meal” but “byproducy” that I object to in a pet food; sorry for the misinformation.
Beet pulp is an ingredient in Kirkland/Costco dog food that some dogs are allergic to, which could be causing some of the reactions listed in earlier posts. This does not mean Kirkland is a bad food just not a good food for your dog. (this also assumes dog food was the culprit in making any dogs sick, have bumps or hair loss, etc) Kirkland dog food formulas also differ. Menadione sodium bivulfite (source of vitamin K activity) is not listed as an ingredient in all Kirkland formulas, so if this is a concern read ALL the ingredients on ALL the formulas before you purchase any dog food.
I had 6 dogs on Science Diet Light, a product my vet recommends and sells. According to the HillsSD website the Light formula no longer contains a meat/chicken source at all. It use to, but not now, even though the price has gone through the roof. I did not see paying almost $50.00 for a 40lb bag of corn, so I needed to make a switch. I will use my 50 lb dog as an example. He gets 2 and a half cups of Kirkland Adult dog food, 2 Kirkland dog biscuits and all 6 dogs go to the dog park for an hour worth of laps everyday. (my dog’s food portions vary by their weight) All my dogs are very healthy and at a good weight. Dogs needs hips, if your dog does not have an indent where theirs hips should be cut down on the food. Over feeding and lack of exercise contribute to soft stools and diarrhea in dogs, not necessarily the food. Some feeding guidelines are way out of line for what the dog really needs and what the dog may actually munch on all day, which can be all kinds of treats, people food and also lack of exercise. Consider the other things your dog will eat in a day and feed them less food. When changing foods, do so over a period of 10-14 days or you WILL have soft stools/diarrhea and smell issues.
I have had a good experience with Kirkland Adult Dog Food and when people ask me about dog food I tell them to try it for a bag or two and see how it works. It is well worth the membership price considering it is half the HillsSD price. When you have 6 dogs and have lost half your income, you have to be more price aware. One person I know has switched too and he says his dogs’ coats are much better and the smell that he got with a real basement dog food (Wal-mart brand) has gone away. He is very happy with the change as well.
Bottom-line: Not all dog foods will work for all dogs even if those dogs are from the same litter. Dog food ingredients change all the time regardless of who the manufacture is, as mentioned above with HillsSD and they do not always tell the consumer. New and improved does not always mean better, sometimes it just means more expensive. Check websites and read the label.
We have been using Kirkland Signature Adult Lamb, Rice & Vegetable and Chicken, Rice & Vegetable formula’s for a few years now for our Irish Wolfhound adults and puppies. Price has gone from about $23 +/- CDN to over $32 +/- CDN and has now come down slightly. All bags are date stamped well into the future, smelled and appeared good as well as fresh — worth our driving 400 kilometers every few weeks or so to pick up several bags at a time!!!
this dogfood made my dog have runs over night! i am taking the enourmous bag and 30 cans i got back to costco and demanding my money back. i am in the pet waste management business and will make sure people know about how terrible this food is!!!
theruns says:
July 23, 2009 at 8:08 am
this dogfood made my dog have runs over night! i am taking the enourmous bag and 30 cans i got back to costco and demanding my money back. i am in the pet waste management business and will make sure people know about how terrible this food is!!!
My vet recommends when changing food do it over 12 days. If you don’t it can cause stomach cramps, diareha, excess gas, and indigestion.
My twelve year old mixed sixty one pound Akita/Chow, Lily, does well on Kirkland dry and canned, also LOVES the premium biscuits. She is puppy like,has bright eyes, a good coat, loves to run and has no intesetinal issues. I have also switched my cats to Kirkland dry. I enjoy the quality of Kirkland products I have used.
We have had our 5 month old Sheltie on Kirkland puppy formula after our breeder told us this is what they used. What a great formula. Our vet wanted to change her food until I showed her the bag with ingredient list. She was very impressed, the fact that they do not use corn was very important as well as the listing of meat rather then byproducts.
We have since switched our 13 year old Yorkie from Science diet to Kirkland Mature and he is much happier and active. Science diet is about twice as expensive and uses corn which is very hard for dogs to digest.
We have been feeding Kirkland for mature dogs to our 12 year old black lab for 7 or 8 years with no problem, it seems high quality. Last month she suddenly stopped eating and would vomit if she did eat. We thought we were losing her so spent $300 for full tests and blood work and everything came back OK. funny thing was she seemed hungry for things like tomatoes or similar healthy scraps which we then started mixing with her kibble to try to get her to eat it. She would pick them out and leave the kibble. I must stress that she is a lab and would eat anything and as much of it as possible up to this point in her life. We assumed that due to her age her appetite and tastes may be changing, so bought some high quality canned food to mix with the kibble. She somehow picked out and ate the canned food, licked the kibble clean but left it behind. So we tried a different kibble, Pedigree brand, which she seems to love and is back to her old self again, thank God, as she has been great dog.
So I am left to believe there is something wrong with the batch of Kirkland food that she can sense and that caused her to throw it up. It didn’t kill her but I believe she was heading that way if she didn’t have the sense to give it up.
Has anyone else had an experience like this with Kirkland food recently?
We used to use Eukenuba for our Bella who is a cane corso mastif; until the last vet visit where we were told she needed to lose some weight and that the expensive food we were feeding her was the cause. Upon the vets recommendation we switched Bella to Kirkland Lamb and Rice formula and Bella who is usually really picky and can leave a bowl of food sit all day, is now scarfing up this new food and hopefully on her way to weight loss and better nutrition.