Latest Zignature Dog Food Reviews | Top picks and tips 2018

Dear dog-lover,

This article is solely dedicated to a dog food brand called Zignature. Since it’s quite comprehensive and elaborate, we have made a table of content for your convenience and simplified navigation.

There are two reasons why we as veterinary experts decided to review this brand exclusively. For one, they claim to be, simply put, very healthy for your dog by excluding various proteins and other ingredients that are not well-suited for your pet (we talk about this in our aforementioned article about balanced HP-LC diet), and, secondly, they are less advertised than some other big brand names for which you can already find tons of reviews including some honest ones (still, we might take on some of the brands after a while). Note that we go in-depth for dry food only in this article as it’s always a greater debate on how good actually a dry food for dogs can be since most companies, in reality, make them from cheap ingredients and put out loud ads to make better profits. Let’s see if that’s the case here.

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Table of content

Concise overview of Zignature
Overall comparison
Individual reviews and HM tips
Verdict and tailwind notes by hmtip

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Concise overview of Zignature

Zignature dog food is produced in US. The meat they use for their products comes from different places of the globe since there are certain recipes that may require something that simply cannot be found in such portions or quality in the same country – kangaroo, for instance.

With that being said, here are all the formulas they use which we will review and give our verdict:

It is also important to note that their dog food products do not use these ingredients considering common dog allergies directly related to these:

 

In general, the manufacturer has produced these products with a thought of dogs with allergies and various food sensitiveness in mind, however, we will go beyond that and see how good they actually are for any dog.

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Zignature dog food products

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Overall comparison of our Top 5

If you didn’t have the time to go through the article about balanced HP-LC diet, may this diagram serve as your personal springboard when assessing and balancing the potential sources of nutrition for your pup.

Bear in mind, however, that, although a strong indicator, you shouldn’t look at the number alone in the next table. Therefore, read our reviews of each product to see its real advantages and disadvantages, as well as our tips when and how to use them to decide whether suitable for your household.

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Individual reviews of Top 5 formulas and our tips

We will review each product separately and give our feedbacks and tips for you to decide if it’s appropriate for you. You may notice that the percentages don’t sum up to 100 in our graphs. We did this intentionally as it was important to show these 4 measurements specifically and their ratio (more or less, they make up around 85-90% of the nutrition value). We go in-depth for 5 best Zignature dog food formulas in our opinion. By best, we mean either ones that were the most appealing ones, serve a certain purpose (is good for skin inflammation, etc.), or simply is the best overall.

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Zignature Kangaroo Formula

 

 

 

 

Let’s start with the most interesting one, at least for us, anyway – Zignature Kangaroo Formula.

The meat used in this product comes from Australia (makes sense, doesn’t it?). Right off the bat, we can excel this product for containing almost no saturated fat. It’s rich in various vitamins B and in iron, also containing important Omega-3 fatty acids.

Just like other formulas, this one really doesn’t contain any chicken meat or its by-products, as well as any grains. We won’t put this as an advantage over other products in the list, as none of them contain these. Similarly, we won’t put each time in the disadvantages section the fact that all formulas possess selected portion of veggies or fruits – that’s something that’s common amongst dry dog foods, and Zignature actually excels in terms of how little (and what exactly) they put from this sort.

The main drawback we found – it’s just a bit too high carbs… At least for an average dog. Yes, the protein the kangaroo meat provides is actually second to none, which is crucial to any carnivore, however, the amount of carbs this formula possesses (obviously, it’s not just the meat, but also chickpeas, sunflower oil, flaxseed, and other ingredients) makes us question you – would you be able to balance it out with other foods, and, in addition, could you provide enough workout activities/exercises for your four-legged friend to stay in shape and also have a good enzyme system?

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Zignature Zssential Formula

 

 

 

 

Zssential formula isn’t as mysterious as it sounds – the reason behind such luxuriant name is that it’s multi-source protein recipe – turkey and turkey meal (US), salmon (US), duck meal (France), and lamb meal (New Zealand).

Just like our previous pick, Kangaroo formula, this one is full of Vitamins B and Omega-3 fatty acids. Not so rich in iron, though. However, this formula is supplemented by blueberries cranberries meal which are rich in antioxidants. Simply put, it will somewhat support your dog’s immune system, and also help to fight off various diseases. In general, we wouldn’t recommend adding fruits to your dog’s menu, however, this definitely isn’t the worst case and has some positive value, too, as mentioned before.

The good part about this formula is that it is a bit richer in protein and less in carbs compared to Kangaroo formula.

Overall, as you can see, Zssential formula is closer to an optimal breakdown of protein, carbs, and lipids (fats). Yet, we would suggest some additional meal high in protein but more importantly – very low in carbs.

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Zignature Trout and Salmon Meal Formula

 

 

 

 

Trout and Salmon Meal Formula, as the title indicates, is fish-based. Some dogs love it, some – not so much. However, what is certain – it keeps your dog’s coat shiny thanks to the salmon oil it contains along with flaxseed and sunflower oil. The salmon oil also prevents inflammation and excessive weight gain.

While it’s relatively high in protein, it also surpasses the recommended portion of carbohydrates – 38% (chickpeas, peas, and others). Therefore, the same recommendation for other low carb sources of nutrition applies.

Just like other aforementioned formulas, it’s got Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin B12; Additionally, it has some important antioxidants for a better immune system.

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Zignature Lamb Formula

 

 

 

 

Unless your dog has an allergy to lamb, this is an excellent choice for sensitive stomachs. Another good feature this formula entails is a very rich content of Omega 3 that can really help dogs with joint troubles and skin allergies.

The main drawback we found – again, it’s relatively high in carbohydrates. Once again, if supplemented with other low carb nutrition, can be a very satisfying addition to your dog’s menu.

This product doesn’t lack iron, is rich in Vitamins A and B12, also possessing a fair amount of zinc, copper, and selenium, as well as niacin and riboflavin which is essential to metabolic energy production.

Overall, the formula is decent for active dogs, and useful for long-haired breeds because of the excellent features in this regard.

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Zignature Turkey Formula

 

 

 

 

Frankly, one of our favorites, and for good reasons. Zignature Turkey Formula is high in quality protein as it is a good source of the aforementioned riboflavin that is essential for the production of metabolyc energy. It’s also high in omega oils and low in saturated fat.

It is also of the best choices for joint stiffness and skin inflammation.

While it’s the lowest in carbs compared to other products we’ve reviewed so far on the list, ideally, you would still get some additional meal for your dog that is even lower in carbs. As far as the dry food industry goes, this truly is one of the best in this regard as well.

This is a very limited ingredient formula, and we love the simplicity of it. Overall, would be our pick No. 1 for most active dogs (since it’s also a bit higher in fats (non-saturated)), however, there are certain factors, such as lifestyle and taste preferences (you may get a similar product in nutritional value with another flavor your companion prefers), that may us suggest another formula instead.

HM tip: Consider this one of, if not the best, dry dog foods on the market today - excellent for active dogs and also very useful to ones with prone in inflammation and troubling joints (can be all three together). The nutritional value with the limited ingredient formula is second to none and, overall, our favorite (Zssential comes very close, therefore, a matter of preference in terms of ingredients), especially, for active, athletic dogs.

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Verdict and tailwind notes by hmtip

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Overall best dry dog food: Zignature Turkey Formula

Best dry food for dogs with weight issues: Zignature Trout and Salmon Meal Formula

Best dry food for dogs with joint and skin issues: Zignature Lamb Formula and Zignature Turkey Formula

We have to admit that Zignature dry dog food has left a very positive impression of this company - they really do carefully pick the ingredients they use in their limited formulas, and most of them may have a positive effect on your dog's health. With that being said, we're still no fans of dry dog food and suggest you get additional nutrition for your dog that is even lower in carbohydrates. Yes, within the world of dry food, Zignature stands out and has become a favorite of ours - in the combination of natural nutrition with low level of carbs, that is.

For your information, this very company produces wet (canned) dog food as well using the same base for their formulas (turkey, lamb, kangaroo, etc.) - we suggest you take a look at them as well since they are lower in carbs - in average, around 25%. You can get them from Amazon online. Note, however, that canned food has to be consumed much faster than the dry food (we'd suggest 4-5 max for Zignature formulas when opened). This is one of the main reasons dog owners tend to go for the dry food. We, taking into account the reality of human lifestyle and the interaction with their pet today, would still suggest to mix it up a bit, and provide your companion with both dry and wet food - both for nutritional value and taste (no secret dogs tend to prefer the wet food). Nevertheless, you should still find time to exercise your four-legged companion.

Given our tips, if you still cannot decide which dog food would be the most suitable for your individual fella, feel free to leave a comment or contact us via email.

With best regards,
Your hmtip team