Wild Earth Information
Wild Earth is an extremely unique and controversial dog food brand that produces vegan dog food. While this may sound unbelievable at first, it is very real, and Wild Earth has seen significant demand for its products.
Many readers may first have come across Wild Earth from its appearance on the popular TV show Shark Tank, where Mark Cuban chose to invest in the company and its founders.
You can see a brief clip from this appearance in the below video.
However, despite this publicity, many in the industry were concerned about the prospect of feeding dogs a meat-free diet, given their ancestral roots.
Wild Earth strongly believes that dogs do not need to consume a diet with meat and instead can rely on plant-based protein.
As well as being more cost-effective than meat-based dog food, Wild Earth would point out how much more environmentally and ethically friendly vegan dog food is.
Wild Earth is very similar to some other newer dog food brands, such as The Farmer’s Dog and Ollie, in that their food is only available online and is heavily promoted to be purchased as part of a subscription.
These subscription-style arrangements offer convenience to dog owners and allow them to not worry about remembering to pick up their dog’s food. Moreover, the subscriptions often offer heavy discounts to make them more appealing.
As for where Wild Earth dog food is produced, based on our research, it is made in a small facility in the United States that is operated by Wild Earth.
Wild Earth Product Range
At this time, Wild Earth has a very limited product range compared to traditional dog food brands.
They produce just a single dry dog food recipe, and they have no wet dog food recipes.
However, when you consider that they do not use meat ingredients, this removes the need for several different recipes that would each use a different meat ingredient as most brands produce.
In addition to their single dry dog food recipe, Wild Earth has a small range of dog supplements and treats.
Many newer dog food brands, especially those that are online-based, produce supplements and treats and aim to pair them with their food.
Wild Earth Nutrition
Given the unique circumstances around Wild Earth’s dog food, it is difficult to compare them to other dog food brands and recipes.
However, we have calculated the nutritional value of their recipe, which you can see below.
As the graphic shows, Wild Earth dog food has a surprisingly impressive proportion of protein for a recipe with no animal-based content coming in at 32%.
However, given that the recipe contains several plant-based protein concentrates (which we will discuss later), this does make sense.
The low proportion of fat compared to most dry dog food recipes is also expected, given that adding fat to a recipe without using animal ingredients is a challenge.
We recommend you check out our Dog Food Guide, where we go into greater detail on the importance of protein and other topics surrounding canine nutrition.
Wild Earth Ingredients
High-Quality Meat & Fish Ingredients
- N/A
As we’ve already mentioned, Wild Earth is a vegan dog food company which means there are no meat or fish ingredients found in their recipes.
Other Notable Ingredients
The most abundant ingredient in Wild Earth’s dry dog food recipe is actually Dried Yeast which will surprise many.
Dried Yeast is often used as a minor ingredient in traditional dog food recipes for its health benefits but to see it used in such high quantities is unusual.
Dried Yeast is a surprisingly dense source of plant-based protein along with carbohydrates and dietary fiber, which is almost certainly why Wild Earth chooses to use it.
Past Dried Yeast, Wild Earth makes use of two industry favorites, Chickpeas and Peas.
These legume ingredients are hugely popular among traditional dog food companies, especially when producing grain-free food.
They are dense sources of nutrition, including carbohydrates, plant-based protein, fiber, and select vitamins and minerals.
However, there are some concerns in the industry about the high usage of legumes in grain-free dog food and increased rates of Canine Heart Disease.
You can learn more about this link and the research that is being done into it in our article Best Dog Foods Without Peas.
This concern may be compounded when you learn that Wild Earth also utilizes vegetable by-products such as Pea Protein and Potato Protein.
These by-products are processed versions of these vegetables that are much denser sources of protein.
They are often used as minor ingredients in traditional dog food to boost protein levels without shelling out on additional meat or fish ingredients.
However, in Wild Earth’s case, they are one of the primary sources of protein in the recipe and are specifically used instead of meat ingredients to allow the recipe to be vegan rather than to save on cost.
You can learn more about these two ingredients in our articles Peas, Pea Protein, Pea Flour, and Pea Fiber in Dog Food & Potatoes, Potato Protein & Potato Starch in Dog Food.
Wild Earth’s recipe is not, in fact, grain-free as they include a small portion of Oats in their recipe. Oats are one of the more favored grain ingredients used in dog food.
This is because they are seen as less processed and can provide a bigger range of nutrition, including carbohydrates, fiber, plant-based protein, and several beneficial vitamins and minerals.
Canola Oil is an extremely popular vegetable oil that is well-known among dog owners for use in food for human consumption.
However, it is also regularly used in dog food recipes. The main purpose of Canola Oil is as a binding agent to help hold the ingredients of the food together.
This is especially important for Wild Earth dog food as they can not rely upon animal-based fats that would normally be present.
Moreover, Canola Oil can provide fat to the recipe as a whole, as well as some beneficial fats such as the Omega Fatty Acids.
You can read more information on the use of Canola Oil in dog food in our article Canola Oil In Dog Food.
Lastly, Wild Earth includes a portion of Flaxseed Meal as a minor ingredient. Flaxseed ingredients such as Flaxseed Meal are extremely popular among premium dog food brands.
This is as Flaxseed can provide several health benefits to dogs, thanks to the high levels of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids they contain.
Benefits can include an improvement in the condition of a dog’s skin and coat, as well as a reduction in the risk of certain health issues and diseases.
However, there are many other health benefits of Flaxseed that are far less well-known. You can learn about these in our article Flaxseed In Dog Food.
Wild Earth Animal Testing
At this time, we have limited information on what type of testing or trials that Wild Earth participates in for its dog food products.
Given that animal testing or trials are a controversial topic in general, they may be extremely controversial for vegan dog food, such as that produced by Wild Earth.
Many would disagree with forcing dogs to consume a vegan diet and fear that it could have negative health effects.
However, Wild Earth does make a brief mention of their testing in the FAQ section of their website, where they state the following:
Did Wild Earth conduct tests with real dogs when developing this food?
“Yes, our dog food and treats have been tested through humane volunteer testing, supervised by a panel of vets and scientists. Both acceptability and digestibility studies have shown excellent results.”
While we would prefer Wild Earth to provide more information on their tests and trials, this is a step up from many other brands.
We strongly believe that invasive or laboratory-style testing of animals in the pet food industry is a cruel and outdated practice and one which we hope will decline.
Wild Earth Recalls
Based on our research (FDA, AVMA, DogFoodAdvisor), we can find no evidence that leads us to believe that Wild Earth dog food has undergone any recalls, which makes Wild Earth a recall-free dog food brand.
However, given that Wild Earth is still a relatively small brand and has only been operating for a few years, this lack of recalls in its history will not come as a surprise.
It is worth mentioning that some believe that because Wild Earth does not use any animal-based ingredients in its recipes, its risk for recalls may be lower than traditional dog food.
While this claim is hard to prove or substantiate, it could hold some merit and is something that may be proven in the future.
Regardless of Wild Earth’s recall-free record, we advise dog owners to remain vigilant for any future recalls from Wild Earth and encourage dog owners to be vigilant of any recalls issued by other brands to ensure that their dogs remain healthy and safe.
Best of Wild Earth
Complete Protein Dog Food Review
Given that Wild Earth only has a single dry dog food recipe, we weren’t given much choice as to which of their recipes was the best.
As we’ve discussed in detail throughout, Wild Earth’s dry dog food recipe is vegan and completely free from any animal or fish-based ingredients.
Instead, it relies on plant-based ingredients, in particular those high in plant-based protein. Examples include Yeast, Peas, Chickpeas, Pea Protein, and Potato Protein.
While we’d typically mark these as negative additions, the fact that Wild Earth is specifically vegan means that any customers of theirs would already be expecting this kind of content.
In addition to their core vegetable and plant-based ingredients, the recipe also includes some minor ingredients such as Flaxseed Meal, Chicory Root, and Fructooligosaccharides.
Wild Earth Featured Articles
Wild Earth has not been featured in any of our articles to date.
Full Wild Earth Product Range
Dog Food
Complete Protein
Dog Supplements
Skin & Coat
Hip & Joint
Digestion & Immunity
Dog Treats
Strawberry & Beet
Peanut Butter
Banana & Cinnamon