Royal Canin

Royal Canin German Shepherd Puppy review

Name: Royal Canin German Shepherd Puppy
Brand: Royal Canin

44.6/100Average

DryPuppy

A growth food for a pup heading towards a 35 kg adult, and the one figure that matters most is missing: calcium is not printed. Dehydrated poultry protein leads, with a vegetable protein isolate third. The gut and joint supports are named at source, and the food lands in our Average band.

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Our view

Likely to suit

German Shepherd puppies, the breed and size the recipe is built around
Gut support named and quantified, with fructo-oligo-saccharides at 0.34%
Pups starting joint support early, from hydrolysed crustaceans and cartilage
A moderate fat level, at 17.4% of dry matter
A printed micronutrient panel, with zinc at 128 mg per kilo

Worth watching

No calcium line, so a large-breed growth claim rests on no number you can see
Poultry protein, animal fats and hydrolysed animal proteins with no species named
A vegetable protein isolate third, so part of the protein comes from a plant
Wheat and maize flour, which rule out a grain-free home

Written by our editorial team. Independent guidance, not veterinary advice.

How this scores

How we score

44.6/100Average

Protein and processingAverage

Nutritional balanceGood

TransparencyPoor

ValueAverage

The details

Dog fit

Written for German Shepherd puppies. Ask Royal Canin for the calcium figure before a big pup starts on it, and move the ration on by age band as the chart sets out.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Puppy

Main protein

Poultry

The score, in context

Royal Canin German Shepherd Puppy 44.6

All one Average. Typical dry food: Good.

There is real formulation work in the bag, but our reading is of what the label proves, and a Shepherd owner is asked to take most of this one on trust.

What's in it

Dehydrated poultry proteinNo bird named and no percentage, so the recipe can shift between runs with the wording unchanged.
Rice
Vegetable protein isolatePlant protein lacks the amino acid balance a growing dog draws on.
Wheat flour, maize flour
Animal fats, hydrolysed animal proteinsUnnamed species again.
Beet pulp, vegetable fibres, psyllium husks and seedsBulk, plus soluble fibre from the psyllium.
Fish oil, soya oilThe essential fats; fish and soya join the allergen picture.
Fructo-oligo-saccharides, hydrolysed yeast0.34%, 0.05% MOSThe best-specified part of the recipe.
Hydrolysed crustaceans, hydrolysed cartilageGlucosamine and chondroitin, named at source but undosed.
Yeast extracts, marigold extract, mineralsBetaglucans and lutein.

A complete dosed panel: vitamin A at 30500 IU, vitamin D3 at 800 IU, vitamin E at 620 mg, with zinc, manganese, iron, copper, iodine and selenium.

No calcium figure on the label. For a Shepherd pup growing towards 35 kg, ask Royal Canin for it.

Moisture is not declared, so the dry matter figures assume 8%.

Named ingredients

Dehydrated poultry protein, rice, vegetable protein isolate*, wheat flour, maize flour, animal fats, hydrolysed animal proteins, beet pulp, vegetable fibres, fish oil, minerals, soya oil, fructo-oligo-saccharides (0.34%), psyllium husks and seeds, hydrolysed yeast (source of manno-oligo-saccharides: 0.05%), hydrolysed crustaceans (source of glucosamine), yeasts extracts (source of betaglucans), marigold extract (source of lutein), hydrolysed cartilage (source of chondroitin).

Against the range

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

380.8 kcal/100g

Protein

30%

Fat

16%

Fibre

2.7%

Ash

7.3%

Dry weight

Protein

32.6%

Fat

17.4%

Fibre

2.9%

Ash

7.9%

Carbs

39.2%

As-fed composition

Estimated breakdown of the finished product by ingredient category, from the declared ingredient list and ingoing weights. These are estimates, not measurements.

Meat

41.4%

Carbs

44.4%

Veg

10.5%

Oils

2.8%

Other

0.9%

Pricing & size