Gentle Giant Dog Food Review 2021

Gentle Giants is an American-based company owned by Burt Ward and his wife, Tracy Posner Ward. Burt is a mid-sixties TV star recognized for playing Robin in the TV show Batman. He switched his energy to manufacturing Gentle Giants dog food with an aim to double the lifespan of large and giant dog breed representatives.

Does it sound great? Personally, I love brands with a mission and desire to help pets and their owners. But what I love even more is the ability to live up to the claims and deliver quality products that do their job.

So, I embark on a journey to reveal if this canine food brand is a good choice for your pet or just a waste of money. Would you like to know what I have found out? Read this Gentle Giants dog food review, and may the force be with you.

Ward and his wife were committed to saving the lives of dogs via their Gentle Giants Rescue program. As they were engaged in the rescue of more than 15,500 canines, the couple noticed that too many large dogs died at the age of 5 or 6 years because of the lack of proper nutrition. With that in mind, the husband and wife decided to take a proactive position and formulate natural dog food with high protein, low fat, and moderate carbs.

As of now, the brand offers dog food for canines of all ages, sizes, and life stages. According to the direct speech of Burt Ward, they fed these recipes to canines with the weight of 3 lb. and 300 lb., as well as to puppies that were 4 weeks old and senior pooches. The results were equally amazing, and the pets stayed healthy and active.

But it’s history, so let’s come back to present times and see what Gentle Giants has prepared for dogs and their parents. These days, all the recipes of this brand are formulated by experts and contain the perfect amount of nutrients the dog might need to support heart health, prevent sugar spikes, and maintain joint functions.

The Gentle Giant website contains no information about the company’s manufacturing facilities. But as an experienced dog food reviewer, I know that there are some other sources to get this sort of information.

So, I browsed through Gentle Giants dog food reviews on different marketplaces harboring hope to dig at list something. 30 minutes later, I discovered that all their recipes are made in the USA with the ingredients sourced in the USA as well. No detailed information about the manufacturing facility or the origin of the Gentle Giants dog food ingredients is provided.

Are there any proven benefits of Gentle Giants natural dog food? Is it really so helpful for large dogs as advertised in the commercial?

Do you know what I’ll tell you? There’s hardly a universal recipe that would be equally beneficial for all canines. Many pet parents saw positive changes in the overall well-being of their dogs after switching to this brand, others claimed that nothing changed.

But I can’t deny the fact that Gentle Giants produces some of the simplest dog food formulas based on meat meal (which is three times richer in proteins than meat) and a mix of functional ingredients. Thanks to this, the recipes are packed with proteins, low in fats, and moderate in carbohydrates to deliver a balanced and nutritionally-rich diet to every bowl. Gentle Giants do not add artificial ingredients or GMO-modified fruit. All the ingredients are healthy and natural.

The product range of Gentle Giants dog food is not impressive. There are only 7 recipes in total, 3 kibble options (with chicken, salmon, and beef & bacon flavors), and 4 canned formulas (with chicken, beef, salmon, and turkey tastes). Here are some of them.

Gentle Giants Canine Nutrition Chicken Dry Dog Food

• Features protein-packed chicken meal as the first ingredient.
• Contains 12 nutritious fruit, veggies, and grains.
• Includes prebiotics and probiotics for gut health.

Gentle Giants Canine Nutrition Salmon Dry Dog Food

• Includes only salmon protein, no chicken.
• Made with 20 functional fruits and vegetables.
• Is packed with vitamins and minerals for overall well-being.

Gentle Giants Canine Nutrition 90% Chicken Grain-Free Wet Dog Food

• Contains 90% of real chicken.
• Is free of grains and fillers.
• Supports proper hydration.

Gentle Giants Canine Nutrition 90% Beef Grain-Free Wet Dog Food

• Made with 90% of real beef meat.
• Excludes grains, fillers, by-products.
• Doesn’t have chicken (suitable for allergic dogs).

Gentle Giants is known for balancing one animal protein source with a mix of plants and supplements to help regulate the dog’s diet and ensure the canine gets all essential nutrients required by nature.

Perhaps, that’s why you won’t find a crazy mix of flavors in this brand. All the Gentle Giants recipes are broken down into two lines: dry food and canned food.

There are only three dry food recipes that come in chicken, salmon, and beef flavors. Gentle Giants kibble is available in grain-free and grain-friendly formulas. So, you can choose whatever you think will work best for your doggy. Real meat is replaced with protein-rich chicken meal, which is produced from meat that has been processed, dried, and then blended.

The Gentle Giants wet dog food features four formulas that include chicken, beef, salmon, and turkey tastes. All canned recipes are grain-free and include real meat as the primary ingredient.

The ingredient composition varies depending on the food type. But the list of ingredients looks pretty much the same as you switch between the products in the same category. For example, all Gentle Giants recipes contain meal as the first ingredient. No real meat or fish at all. Some recipes contain grains like pearled barley, brown rice, oatmeal, which are then followed by other plants like dried plain beet pulp, kelp, tomatoes, apples, blueberries, cranberries, and others. The grain-free formulas include peas and potatoes as a source of carbs.

Those people who believe that their dogs should eat more meat rather than consume plant proteins and fiber won’t like the ingredient list of Gentle Giants dry dog food. However, their wet recipes might be more appealing to them.

All canned foods by Gentle Giants are made of meat, which makes 90% of the whole recipe. The rest of the ingredients are sweet potatoes, chickpeas, blueberries, cranberries, which deliver carbohydrates, antioxidants, and proteins to the diet of your canine. The company doesn’t use carrageenan or other harmful stuff. They also refuse to add gums as thickeners, replacing them with natural agar-agar.

Besides, the most prominent feature of Gentle Giants recipes is the use of probiotics and prebiotics, which support proper digestion.

Considering the fact that dogs do well both on the meat and plant diet, the ingredient list seems to be species-appropriate. But I would like to see more meat and fewer plants in dry recipes.

Gentle Giants natural dog food contains an average level of proteins in both wet and dry recipes. The average percentage of protein in the recipes is 24%, which is the same as in other average dog food brands.

Because there are too many plants like peas, potatoes, kelp, and other carb-rich ingredients, dry recipes of Gentle Giants are overpacked with carbohydrates. The level of carbs is estimated as around 53%, which might be unacceptable for the canines that already have issues with weight management or are less active.

What makes Gentle Giants dog food different from other companies is a relatively low fat content. According to Gentle Giants, this peculiar feature of recipes is responsible for increasing the longevity of large dogs' lives. Just compare, an average dog food might contain up to 40% of fats, while the recipes of this brand have only 9-11% of crude fat.

Gentle Giants dog food recall history is crystal clean since there were no recall cases since the company’s establishment.

Is Gentle Giants dog food good for large and small breed dogs? Personally, I believe it’s an average dog food with its pros and cons. On the one hand, these are low-fat formulas that increase the longevity of life of large and giant dogs. Gentle Giants dog meals feature one source of animal proteins, which might be beneficial for canines with allergies. But on the other hand, there are too many plants and carbohydrates in their recipes, which might not be appropriate for all canines. What is certain is that the company uses natural ingredients, avoiding adding red-flag products like corn, soy, preservatives, and carrageenan. With that said, it makes sense to give this brand a try and see how it works for your four-pawed friend.