Exclusive Dog Food: An In-Depth Review

Cons

• Some recipes, such as the 30/20, rely on corn gluten meal and ground whole corn: not generally considered highly digestible grains for dogs (often considered “fillers”)
• Only one option provides something other than chicken as the primary protein source
• No grain-free options

Benefits of Exclusive Dog Food

Formulas for every dog

Whether you have an active adult dog who needs plenty of fuel to get them through its activity all day, your older dog is starting to slow down, or you’re starting out with a new puppy, Exclusive Dog Food makes food that is perfect for your pet’s needs. Here are some of the formulas they offer for different types of dogs.

Puppies

Whether your puppy is destined to grow large or stay small, they need perfectly balanced nutrition. Chicken is the first ingredient in both the large- and small-breed puppy recipes. This high-quality source of protein encourages total health in your puppy, including lean muscles and a strong immune system. The first ingredient is whole chicken, followed by chicken meal. This provides a great balance of whole animal protein for vitamins and minerals, and meal for sheer protein content.

Natural sources of glucosamine and chondroitin provide the building blocks needed to make strong joints. Joint issues can be a problem for both large and small breeds. Large dogs are prone to hip and elbow dysplasia, while smaller dogs often fall victim to luxating patellas. All of these negative conditions can be delayed or even prevented with proper nutrition, including plenty of glucosamine and chondroitin.

Puppy foods are enhanced with DHA, which is an omega 2 fatty acid that supports the healthy development of your puppy’s brain and vision. Plenty of calcium and phosphorus build strong bones and teeth. The regular puppy diet provides crude protein of 29% while the Large Breed Puppy Diet provides crude protein of 27%. It also keeps fat content noticeably lower, at 14% instead of 18%. This is to prevent growth spurts which can be damaging to large-breed dogs as they grow.

Adult dogs with normal energy needs

Your adult dog needs enough protein to give them plenty of energy. The Performance 30/20 diet provides a substantial 30% protein and 20% fat. Protein from chicken and chicken meal offers plenty of glucosamine and chondroitin while whole grain brown rice offers carbs to provide ongoing energy.

This recipe also has flaxseed meal and fish meal, providing lots of vitamin A and Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids to give your dog a shiny coat. The substantial fat content and balanced carbohydrates provide energy right away and helps your dog maintain energy throughout the day.

Is your healthy adult dog more of a couch potato than an exercise buff? The Exclusive Adult Dog Chicken and Brown Rice Formula provides 26% protein and only 16% fat, so your dog has everything they need to build strong muscles and have enough energy for their day without gaining weight. This recipe also includes glucosamine and chondroitin for healthy joints.

Want something other than chicken as the first ingredient for your dog? The exclusive Lamb and Brown Rice formula has whole lamb and lamb meal as its first ingredients, followed by highly digestible grains like whole grain brown rice, pearled barley, and oatmeal. If you want a lower-fat diet for your dog, this is a good choice. Only 12% fat compared to 22.5% protein means that this diet will enable your dog to develop strong, lean muscles, not fat.

If you are looking for another lower-fat option, the Exclusive Large Breed Adult Dog Chicken and Brown Rice formula only has 13% fat with 25% protein. This diet is designed to fuel your large dog’s energy needs without taking any chances of them gaining even an ounce over their ideal weight.

It is extremely important to keep large-breed dogs at a lean weight throughout their lives in order to prevent problems in the joints, heart, and other issues. This food is formulated with lots of natural sources of glucosamine and chondroitin to support your large-breed dog’s joint health and plenty of natural fiber to keep your dog’s digestive system in peak condition and to make your large dog feel fuller. Four percent of crude fiber is higher than the standard 3% in other recipes.

Senior dogs

As your dog gets older, their needs begin to change. Older dogs slow down and are more prone to gaining weight. This is when issues from joints and heart begin to come out. You may notice your older dog gets up more slowly or struggles on slippery floors.

You need a senior diet with plenty of glucosamine and chondroitin to support your older dog’s joints. The Exclusive Senior Recipe has 600 mg of glucosamine and 100 mg of chondroitin to give your older dog the best nutrition for their joints.

The 25% of protein encourages the building of lean muscles that support joint health, while only 11% of fat keeps your older dog from putting on the pounds. Three percent of fiber is enough to keep everything moving in your older dog’s digestive system but not so much that your peckish older dog will struggle to consume enough nutrition.

Weight Control

It is amazing how quickly dogs can pack on the pounds. If you’re like me, you may not even have noticed that your pup was getting a bit chunky until you take them for their yearly vet visit. There is no mistaking the condescending look from the vet as they deliver the information that my dog is “over-conditioned,” which is the vet’s nice way of saying my dog is fat.

A weight-control diet is essential to help your dog get back to a healthy weight without feeling that they’re being starved. A very low-fat content in the weight-control diet of 9-11% with sufficient protein at 26% will allow your dog to feel full and get all the energy they need while safely shedding pounds.

Affordable

Exclusive Dog Food isn’t cheap, but it is more reasonably priced than many other high-quality foods that offer similar ingredients. If you want a company that you can stay with from your dog’s puppyhood all the way into their golden years, you need a formula that you can afford to pay for, year in and year out. Exclusive Dog Food offers your dog everything they need to be healthy while leaving you with some money to buy treats and toys.

Quality ingredients

Each one of these recipes is made up of high-quality ingredients. In all cases, whole chicken or lamb is the first ingredient, followed by chicken or lamb meal. Chicken fat is generally high up on the ingredient list. While chicken fat may not seem very healthy, it is high in linoleic acid, an important omega-6 fatty acid, so chicken fat is a great ingredient to have in your dog food.

High-quality carbohydrate sources such as brown rice, barley, brewers rice, and oatmeal all provide excellent sources of energy that are highly digestible. Flaxseed is a great source of protein, soluble fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids. Most recipes also have a fish meal, which is good for your dog’s skin and coat as well as being a great source of meat protein.

What People Are Saying About Exclusive Dog Food

I searched the web to see what people thought of the Exclusive Dog Food that they purchased. Reviewers are happy with the price point on this food, and generally very happy with the product as well. Many users were happy that they could either order this product online or buy it at their local feed store.

Alternatives to Exclusive Dog Food

Instinct Be Natural Dog Food

Are you looking for a recipe that lists chicken as the first ingredient but you’re concerned about the sourcing of the chicken? This Instinct Be Natural Recipe Natural Dry Dog Food has cage-free chicken as the first ingredient, followed by cage-free chicken meal.

There are no fillers like chicken or poultry by-products, corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. This ingredient list also leaves out Brewers rice, which is considered a filler by some people.

Rather, the ingredient list on Instinct Be Natural is filled with high-quality meat protein from chicken, followed immediately by oatmeal, brown rice, barley, and chicken fat. Ground flaxseed and alfalfa meal are high on the ingredient list as well, which calls into question how much of the overall crude protein content of 25% actually comes from chicken.

• No so-called fillers from corn or Brewers rice such as in Exclusive Dog Food
• More expensive than Exclusive
• Source of meat protein is from cage-free chicken

Blue Buffalo Wilderness Dog Food

Attracted to the healthy options for seniors but want something that provides more carbohydrates from vegetables instead of being so reliant on grain? This Blue Buffalo Grain-Free Diet may be just what you are looking for.

Like Exclusive, chicken and chicken meal are the first ingredients. However, immediately after the first ingredients, the changes between this recipe and Exclusive become clear. Peas, pea protein, and pea starch are the next three ingredients after chicken. These offer a great source of healthy carbohydrates as well as a range of vitamins and minerals.

Menhaden fish meal is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids to give your dog a smooth, beautiful coat. Fish oil is near the top of the list, which is a great source of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids as well.

• Grain-free, relying on pea products instead of grain
• Free of corn, wheat, or soy
• More expensive than Exclusive

This food by Nutro is comparable in price to foods by Exclusive, but they offer some differences in ingredients, which may be worth your consideration. Beef is the first ingredient of this recipe. This is followed by chicken meal, whole brown rice, Brewers rice, split peas, rice bran, and chicken fat. Lamb meal is not far after, for another great source of protein from meat.

Flaxseed is relatively far down on the menu compared to other foods; therefore, you can feel relatively confident and most of the 22% crude protein in this diet comes from animal protein.

• Beef, rather than chicken, is the first ingredient
• Free of corn, wheat, or soy
• Brewers rice and rice bran are considered fillers by some people and these are very high on the ingredient list

Conclusion

Exclusive Dog Food is a wonderful choice for the caring family on a budget. If you have more than one dog to feed or your dog is of significant size, you will likely be satisfied with the high-quality ingredients and recipes provided by Exclusive Dog Food. Further, you don’t need to feel concerned about potential issues regarding fillers or sources of ingredients.

This is one of the best foods that you will find at this price point. Whether you have a large or small puppy, adult dog, or senior, you’ll find a wonderful formula for their needs.