Taste of the Wild Dog Food Review: June 2024 Update (2024)

Choosing the right dog food for your pet can be a daunting task because of all the product choices in the market claiming to be the best.

As a responsible pet owner, our job is to dig deep and find out for ourselves what works well with our canine and what does not.

With that end in mind, we’ll focus this article on just one brand. This Taste of the Wild dog food review will include a look into the company and a detailed look into each of its product lineup.

The Taste of the Wild Company

A family-owned company, Taste of the Wild is under the Diamond Pet Foods umbrella producing pet food for dogs and cats. The entire product line was inspired by the protein-rich diet of our pets’ wild counterparts: wolves and lions.

Each Taste of the Wild recipe is intended to provide the complete nutrition our pet needs in the way that nature intended — always real meat first. And not just any protein.

The brand uses lots of unique meat in its formulas such as smoked salmon, venison, bison, and wild boar for a tasty alternative to the usual dog food standard fare.

Currently, the brand offers wet and dry dog foods in Grain-Free, Ancient Grains, and Limited Ingredient formulations.

Essential Nutrients

To better understand each Taste of the Wild dog food review and each ingredient analysis, it’s important that you’re familiar with these common terms below. What exactly are these and why are their nutrition content important ingredients in dog foods?

1. Crude Protein – Protein is one of the essential building blocks of the body tissues and is often used as a fuel source. Crude protein estimates the total amount of protein in a specific food, from both animal and non-animal sources.
2. Crude Fat – Fat supports cell growth, keeps the body warm, helps it to absorb nutrients, and gives it energy. Crude fat is the amount of oil content in a food and counts not only true fat but fat soluble vitamins as well.
3. Crude Fiber – Crude fiber is the measurement of indigestible fiber in a food that provides bulk to the meal.
4. Moisture – It’s the water content each meal contains, which ideally should range between 6-10 percent in dry dog foods and up to more than 70 percent in wet dog foods. It’s a critical part of any good diet because water is essential for the body to stay healthy and function properly.
5. Vitamins – These are substances that are responsible for the function, development, and growth of the body’s cells.
6. Minerals – These are naturally occurring elements that have varying functions in the body, ranging from making hormones to building bones and transmitting nerve impulses.
7. Antioxidants – These substances play a role in protecting the body from free radicals that may cause diseases.
8. Omega Fatty acids – In dog food, these usually pertain to Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, which are fats that the body can’t make by itself. They provide a number of health benefits including reducing inflammation, supporting normal brain development, making shinier coats, improving heart health, and treating symptoms of chronic diseases, among others.

Taste of the Wild Dog Food Review (Wet)

The wet dog food range of Taste of the Wild is limited to a grain-free lineup consisting of five recipes in a gravy mixture. Each of these recipes start off with real meat followed by nutritious ingredients such as tomatoes, raspberries, and blueberries for antioxidant support.

Since there are no grains, fuel source alternatives such as peas, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and/or chickpea flour are used instead.

Prebiotics have been added to help pups maintain healthy guts by feeding the friendly bacteria in the digestive system. Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are also included, along with numerous added vitamins and minerals.

Aside from being grain-free, these wet foods do not contain any corn, filler, wheat, nor any artificial preservative, flavor, or color.

Note: There’s dried egg product included in the recipes, which needs looking into if your dog is allergic to poultry and eggs.

Here's a round up of our reviewed products:

1. Taste Of The Wild Southwest Canyon Canine Formula
2. Taste Of The Wild Sierra Mountain Canine Formula
3. Taste Of The Wild Pacific Stream Canine Formula
4. Taste Of The Wild High Prairie Canine Formula
5. Taste Of The Wild Wetlands Canine Formula

1. Taste of the Wild Southwest Canyon Formula

Southwest Canyon provides dogs with an unusual blend of beef, lamb, and wild boar.

While beef and lamb may be staples in dog foods, the addition of wild boar provides the meal with a richer and nuttier taste courtesy of its distinct, dark red meat. These trio of meats combine to give each meal a total of 9% crude protein.

Beef and vegetable broth provide much of the moisture content, which is set at a maximum percentage of 82%.

Chickpea flour provides plant protein as well as fiber to the mix (crude fiber is at 1% max). The sunflower oil, as well as other oils in the ingredients list, contribute to a healthy fat content (crude fat at 4%).

Each 13.2 ounce can contains 378 kcal.

2. Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain Formula

This Taste of the Wild formula keeps the taste pure by featuring real lamb as the main star of the recipe.

There’s lamb, lamb liver, and even roasted lamb for dogs that can’t get enough of the tender pink meat of the woolly mammal. A beef and vegetable broth bring in needed moisture — and taste! — for a total of 82% max moisture.

This lamb recipe has a little less crude protein than the Southwest Canyon flavor (9%), but it’s still got a good 8% minimum.

The crude fat content comes from the various oils in the recipe for a total of 4.5% (higher this time by .5% when compared to Southwest Canyon. Crude fiber is the same at 1% max.

The caloric content is pegged at 351 kcal per can.

3. Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Formula

The Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Pacific Stream Canine Formula offers dogs the yummy goodness of the ocean’s bounty.

Salmon (whitefish) is listed as the first ingredient and the main animal protein source, helping bring up the crude protein of the meal to 8% minimum.

Turkey and fish broth provide a more complex flavor along with plenty of moisture content (pegged at 82% maximum). There’s also turkey meat and turkey liver in the mix.

Salmon offers less fat than other types of meat, which is why the crude fat content is only at 4% minimum. Crude fiber is at 1% maximum.

The caloric content for each can is 364 kcal.

4. Taste of the Wild High Prairie Formula

The High Prairie canine formula by the brand combines four kinds of red meat together, from the staple beef and roasted lamb to the unusual bison and roasted venison.

Red meat lovers will definitely get a kick out of this recipe. The total crude protein is 8% minimum.

There are three types of broth in the High Prairie canine recipe: lamb, beef, and vegetable. These broths, aside from giving the food a more interesting taste, also provide the moisture content, which reaches 82% max.

The crude fat here is a little lower than other Taste of the Wild wet food formulas (except for the Wetlands flavor, which is the same). It’s at a low 3.5% minimum only, while fiber remains the same at 1% max.

The caloric content for this recipe is the lowest for this range at 322 kcal per can.

5. Taste of the Wild Wetlands Formula

The name of the game in the Wetlands is fowl. Your pet will have fun with the uncommon tastes he will encounter in this recipe.

There’s duck, smoked turkey, and roasted quail — all quite interesting flavors that aren’t in your usual dog food.

This delicious meaty mix offers dogs a crude protein content of 8% minimum.

The crude fat is one of the lowest in the wet food range at 3.5%. The moisture is brought by the duck broth, chicken broth, and a non-fowl product — fish broth — to bring the total to 82% max.

Crude fiber is the same at 1% maximum.

Each can contains 335 kcal.

Taste of the Wild Dry Dog Foods

The Taste of the Wild dry dog food range has three lines under it: Grain Free, Ancient Grains, and Limited Ingredient.

Here's a round up of our reviewed products:

1. Taste Of The Wild High Prairie
2. Taste Of The Wild Appalachian Valley
3. Taste Of The Wild Wetlands
4. Taste Of The Wild Sierra Mountain
5. Taste Of The Wild Pacific Stream
6. Taste Of The Wild Pine Forest
7. Taste Of The Wild Southwest Canyon

Grain-Free

One of the main draws of the Taste of the Wild brand is its novel protein sources. In the Grain-Free dog food line, this includes everything from buffalo to bison. As an alternative to grains, foods like sweet potatoes, lentils, and/or potatoes deliver all the energy your dog needs to meet his daily activities.

Real fruits and veggies (like tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, and peas) provide the mineral, vitamin, and antioxidant support that every canine requires.

A proprietary K9 strain probiotic blend keeps the digestive system healthy, while doses of Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids offer skin, coat, and body nutrition. The yucca schidigera extract offers support for joint health and helps keep joint inflammation down.

Every first ingredient is always real meat, and there are no wheat, fillers, corns, or grains anywhere in the food. You can also count that there are no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives in the mix.

1. Taste of the Wild High Prairie

The High Prairie canine formula relies on buffalo, lamb meal, and chicken meal to provide a delectable mixture of red and white meat for our carnivorous canines. This blend of three types of meat help bring the crude protein content of the dry dog food recipe up to a minimum 32%.

Sweet potatoes and potatoes provide the fuel source for the body, while chicken fat brings the crude fat content of the meal up to a minimum of 18%. Since this is a dry kibble, the moisture content is naturally lower than in wet foods at 10% maximum.

Crude fiber for digestive health is set at 4% maximum. There are also Omega fatty acids in the blend with Omega 6 and 3 at 2.8% and 0.3% minimum respectively.

Each cup of this formulation gives a caloric content of 370 kcal.

2. Taste of the Wild Appalachian Valley

Small breeds they may be, but little dogs do need lots of nourishment. This Taste of the Wild dog food recipe gives all the nutrients that small dogs require in tiny, bit-sized pieces perfect for small mouths and teeth.

For this recipe, a healthy blend of venison, lamb meal, egg, duck meal, garbanzo beans, and ocean fish meal combine to bring the crude protein content to a minimum of 32%.

The crude fat content is up at 18% minimum, partly due to the canola oil content. Crude fiber is at 4% maximum, but there are lactobacillus microorganisms to further aid the digestive system.

Moisture is found to be at 10% maximum. The Omega 6 and 3 fatty acids here are the same amount as that of the HIgh Prairie recipe (2.8% and 0.3%)

The caloric content for every cup of this meal is 370 kcal.

3. Taste of the Wild Wetlands

The Wetlands Taste of the Wild dog food formulation keeps it simple by bringing your pup a nice selection of choice fowls in one healthy package. The first ingredient is duck, joined by chicken, roasted quail, roasted duck, and smoked turkey.

It’s a yummy combination that brings up the crude protein content to a steady 32%.

There’s chicken fat in this recipe, helping the crude fat content up to a minimum 18%. The crude fiber is at 4% maximum and moisture is at 10% maximum. These don’t vary much from the figures of the High Prairie and Appalachian Valley formulas mentioned above, except when it comes to the Omega fatty acids.

Omega-6 is less at 2.4%, while Omega-3 is a tiny bit more at .4% minimum.

The caloric content at 375 kcal per cup is a tiny bit more than some other Grain-Free Dry food formulas.

4. Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain

It’s lamb, lamb, and more lamb with Taste of the Wild’s triple lamb treat formula. The first ingredient is lamb, followed by lamb meal (lamb parts with highly concentrated sources of protein), then rounded off with roasted lamb, bringing the crude content total to a minimum 25%.

It’s not as high as the other dry Grain Free flavors, but lamb is an excellent alternative to beef if your dog happens to be allergic.

If the protein is a bit lower than the other flavors, the crude fiber here is higher at 5% maximum. The moisture is 10% max (no difference), Omega-6 at 2.4%, and Omega-3 at .3% minimum.

Each cup contains 338 kcal, which when combined with the lower minimum crude fat content of 15% (courtesy of the salmon and canola oil), can be ideal for dieting dogs.

5. Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream

Pups who are crazy about salmon will go gaga over this triple salmon treat. The meal uses salmon, salmon meal, and smoked salmon for a richer-tasting feast. The addition of ocean fish meal helps bring up the crude protein content up to 25% minimum.

Like with the lamb flavor above, this Pacific Stream canine formula also has a minimum crude fat content of 15% (some courtesy of the canola oil), Omega-6 at 2.4%, Omega-3 at .3%, and moisture at 10% max. The crude fiber, however, is lower at 3% maximum.

The caloric content for each cup of this dog food is set at 360 kcal.

6. Taste of the Wild Pine Forest

Dogs with food sensitivities might find this red meat formulation more to their liking. It’s a tasty combination of venison, lamb meal, and garbanzo beans for a distinct meal that’s full of protein and highly-digestible energy.

The crude protein is helped along with the addition of ocean fish meal, bringing it to a minimum 28%.

The crude fiber content here is 5.5% — higher than most recipes in the Grain-Free range. The moisture content remains the same at 10% maximum, the crude fat is at 15% minimum, the

Omega-3 fatty acid is .3% minimum, and the Omega-6 fatty acid is at 2.8% minimum.

The caloric content is the lowest in the Grain-Free range with 337 kcal only per cup.

7. Taste of the Wild Southwest Canyon Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

Dogs need variety too, like humans. And there couldn’t be more variety than with a mixture of beef, lamb, wild boar, and ocean fish, which brings the total crude protein to 29%. Legumes like garbanzo beans and peas provide the energy source to fuel all kinds of everyday dog adventures.

The crude fiber content here is a nice 5% maximum, crude fat at 15% (courtesy of the canola oil), and moisture at 10%. The minimum Omega-3 fatty acid is .3% while the Omega-6 is 2.4%.

Each cup of dog food contains 360 kcal.

Ancient Grains and Prey Reviews

Here's a round up of our reviewed products:

1. Taste Of The Wild Ancient Wetlands With Ancient Grains
2. Taste Of The Wild Ancient Mountain With Ancient Grains
3. Taste Of The Wild Ancient Stream With Ancient Grains
4. Taste Of The Wild Ancient Prairie With Ancient Grains
5. Taste Of The Wild Prey Turkey Limited Ingredient
6. Taste Of The Wild Prey Angus Beef Limited Ingredient

Ancient Grains

For the Ancient Grains line, the Taste of the Wild dog food brand uses healthy and complex grains such as quinoa, sorghum, millet, and chia seeds (so-called ancient grains because these have remained largely unchanged in the span of thousands of years) to provide a fiber and protein-rich diet for pups.

These grains are then paired with the wild protein sources that the brand is known for.

With the exception of grains, the formula remains mostly the same. The first ingredient is always a unique and highly-digestible animal protein. Superfood ingredients such as raspberries and blueberries provide each meal with enough nutrients to meet all daily requirements. In fact, each recipe in this line was formulated to FDA and AAFCO standards.

The brand’s proprietary K9 Strain® Probiotics are added into the mix after the cooking process to ensure that the 80 million live active cultures for each pound of pet food remains viable. These cultures keep your canine buddy’s immune and digestive systems in good condition.

There are still no corn, wheat, fillers to be found in these foods. And these Taste of the Wild dog food recipes continue to be free of artificial colors, preservatives, or flavors.

1. Taste of the Wild Ancient Wetlands with Ancient Grains

Fowl rules in this pet food Ancient Grains recipe. Led by duck as the first in the ingredients list, it also includes duck meal, chicken meal, roasted quail, roasted duck, and smoked turkey for a tasty poultry feast. There’s a good amount of crude protein in this mixture, which totals to a minimum of 32%.

Chicken fat adds to the total crude fat content of 18%. Crude fiber content is listed at a maximum of 3%, and moisture is at 10% (the same with other Taste of the Wild dry food kibbles across all ranges).

There’s a bit of change with the omega fatty acid percentages if you compare these with the Grain-Free range of dry kibbles. It’s much higher here with Omega-6 fatty acid up to 3% minimum and Omega-3 up to .6% minimum.

However, the caloric content for the Ancient Grains line seems to be higher too. For this recipe, it’s pegged at 404 kcal per cup.

2. Taste of the Wild Ancient Mountain with Ancient Grains

Ancient Mountain gives dogs the delicious taste of real pasture-raised lamb. In this recipe, the triple combination of lamb, lamb meal, and roasted lamb offers up a distinctive flavor-rich meal for dogs who just can’t get enough of this red meat.

Sorghum adds more protein into the blend for a total minimum crude protein value of 25%. It’s lower compared to other flavors in this line, but it’s still much higher than the AAFCO standard of 18% minimum.

Moisture content is 10% maximum, crude fat at 15% minimum, and crude fiber at 10% max. The Omega-3 fatty acid is set at .6% minimum, while Omega-6 is 2.8% minimum.

The caloric content for this flavor is 391 kcal per cup.

3. Taste of the Wild Ancient Stream with Ancient Grains

Salmon and ocean fish are here to give your dogs their fill of the ocean’s bounty. Real salmon is the first item on the list of ingredients, followed by salmon meal, ocean fish meal, and smoked salmon for a distinctive flavor. These fishy ingredients combine for a total crude protein of 30%.

The crude fat content is listed at 15% minimum, crude fiber at 3% maximum, moisture at 10% maximum, Omega-3 at .6% minimum, and Omega-6 at 2.8% minimum — all similar to the content of the Ancient Mountain recipe.

Each cup of this formulation contains 392 kcal.

4. Taste of the Wild Ancient Prairie with Ancient Grains

An interesting mix of five distinctive and unique flavors, Ancient Prairie offers dogs the variety that they crave for each meal. Buffalo is the first in the ingredients list followed by pork, chicken meal, roasted bison, and roasted venison for a total minimum crude protein content of 32%. The blend of different meats lend this recipe a rich and flavorful taste.

The moisture here remains the same as with all dry Taste of the Wild dog foods, but the crude fat is at 18% minimum, and the crude fiber is 3% maximum. The Omega-6 fatty acid content is at a high 3%, while the Omega-3 content is at .6%.

The Ancient Prairie formula offers the most caloric content in the Ancient Grains line. It’s pegged at 422 kcal per cup.

Prey (Limited Ingredient)

Prey is the range of pet food Taste of the Wild makes specifically for dog owners who want a simplified approach to a dog’s diet. The idea for this line comes from the diet of dogs in the wild, whose meal consists of only one animal protein source — that of the prey they hunt.

The Prey promise is to be transparent as possible with each ingredient included in the meal. Each of the foods are made up of only four or less key ingredients to make it easy for owners to track everything that goes into the food bowls of their dogs.

The four key ingredients are usually composed of an animal protein, tomato pomace, lentils, and sunflower oil. Lentils offer lots of fiber and complex carbohydrates, tomato pomace gives essential nutrients and soluble fiber, and sunflower oil provides omega fatty acids.

Another good addition to the mixture is the guaranteed 80 million CFU/lb probiotics (live bacteria that maintain digestive health and promote a strong immune system).

Here, there are no GMO products or non-rendered (Twice-cooked. Usually by the supplier then by the manufacturer) meat ingredients. Everything is cooked once in any of the Diamond Pet Food facilities to ensure that as much nutritional integrity is retained. There are also no by-products, and real animal protein is always the first ingredient.

1. Taste of the Wild Prey Turkey Limited Ingredient

For many dogs, turkey is considered a novel protein since it’s not a common ingredient in pet foods. It’s certainly a tasty alternative to chicken for food-sensitive pets. Even if there’s no sensitivity to speak of, turkey is still an excellent meat to consider if you tend to vary your dog’s diet because it has a richer and darker taste than the humble chicken.

The meat in this recipe offers up a nice 30% minimum of crude protein. The maximum content for moisture is 10% and 5% for crude fiber. Meanwhile, the minimum content for crude fat is 15%, 2.5% for Omega-6 fatty acids, and .5% for Omega-3 fatty acids.

Each cup of this meal has a content of 343 kcal.

2. Taste of the Wild Prey Angus Beef Limited Ingredient

It’s not just simple beef. The only animal protein source in this recipe is Angus beef, a type of beef that offers more flavor (due to the better marbling) than most other kinds. It’s a good meat choice for dogs that love red meat.

The protein content in this dog food recipe, however, is lower when compared to the turkey flavor. It’s only at 27% minimum, but still a good deal more when comparing against the AAFCO standard of 18% for dry kibbles. The crude fat, crude fiber, and moisture content are the same at 15%, 5%, and 10% respectively.

There is also no difference in the amount of Omega fatty acids, with Omega-6 at 2.5% and Omega-3 at .5%.

Each cup of this meal gives a caloric value of 340 kcal.

Taste of the Wild Recall

There has been one record of a Taste of the Wild recall. It happened several years ago — in May of 2012, to be exact. Thousands of dry dog and cat food products were recalled from the shelves after an untold number of pets became ill from salmonella.

It wasn’t just Taste of the Wild that was affected. There were multiple brands involved, all of which were manufactured in one of Diamond Pet Foods’s facilities.

In 2019, Taste of the Wild was tagged by the FDA as one of 16 brands producing food that may be linked to heart disease leading to heart failure in pets.

However, the investigation is still ongoing, and again to be fair, there are only a small number of cases involved (53 pets with DCM for Taste of the Wild) against 29 million of Taste of the Wild food bags sold for the previous 2 years (according to a Diamond Pet Food representative).

Further, a statement made by VIN News Service says that, “the FDA cannot say with certainty that diet is the culprit.”

We have to be clear that as of this writing in 2024, no recalls have been issued again since 2012.

Verdict: Is Taste of the Wild a Good Dog Food Brand?

One of the main draws of the brand is its use of novel proteins. Now, if you’re a pet owner with a dog who has food sensitivities, a recipe using novel protein is one of the best ways to reduce allergic reactions. (A novel protein is a protein source that is not commonly found in dog foods. Bison, rabbit, and quail are all examples.)

The theory is that since these aren’t common, your dog likely won’t have previous exposure to them, and it probably won’t trigger an allergic reaction in him.

Novel proteins are often used to stop a dog’s immune system from overreacting to allergens, which then gives their gastrointestinal tracts time to heal and detoxify.

If you’re not concerned about food sensitivities, but instead on the food’s quality, we’ll still give the brand two thumbs up. The first ingredient in any of their recipes is always good-quality animal protein, and there are lots of varieties and flavors to choose from for a dog whose palate is tired of the usual dog food fare.

Not only with flavors, there’s also a wide range of choices when it comes to feeding your dog. You can select from wet and dry. If dry kibbles is your choice, you can also pick from recipes with grains and without or from a recipe with limited ingredients. There are meals designed for little puppies, all life stages, and small breeds.

Now if we will base our review on protein content, the brand is doing better than most with a protein content of up to 32% in their dry kibbles. It’s no slouch when it comes to vitamins or mineral content because it uses whole superfoods in its various blends.

We have to note, however, that there is a pending class action lawsuit against the brand. It claims that Taste of the Wild uses harmful pollutants in its food, specifically in the Grain-Free Southwest Canyon recipe, which is reported to have a lot of lead content.

So what is our Taste of the Wild dog food review verdict? If we had to rank the brand overall (discounting the ongoing lawsuit to be fair), we’ll place it at 4 out of 5. If what is claimed in the lawsuit proves to be true, we’ll mark Taste of the Wild down to a 1.