Is Costco (Kirkland) Dog Food Actually Good?

Or is it just clever marketing like their $1.50 hot dogs?

You’ve probably strolled through Costco, caught a glimpse of that giant 40-pound bag of Kirkland dog food, and thought: “Wait… is this stuff actually good for my dog?”

Yeah… me too. Especially after I found out Costco doesn’t even make it themselves, another kibble company makes it for them (more on this later).

So, I decided to put Kirkland’s Super Premium Dog Food to the test to answer three big questions:

1. What’s really in the bag?

2. Are you overpaying for what you’re getting?

3. What score does it actually get out of 100?

And by the end, you’ll know whether this food deserves a spot in your pantry, or if it’s just clever marketing like Costco’s $1.50 hot dogs (but dammit those hot dogs are good).

How We Score Dog Food

We recently revamped our food rating system, so you’re not just getting ingredient breakdowns like in the past.

You’re getting an evidence based, real-world review of what it’s like to feed the food. This includes nutrients, formulation, feeding experience, ingredient quality, and safety.

This review was the first time we used our new calculator. The results surprised us.

What the Packaging Tells Us (and What It Doesn’t)

Let’s start with the front of the bag. There’s a ton of buzzwords like:

• Super Premium (which means… nothing)

• Made with real lamb (as opposed to fake lamb?)

• Joint support and probiotics (nice, but vague)

These are marketing terms meant to sound impressive and convince you to buy the food.

What actually matters is the phrase “complete and balanced for adult dogs.”

This tells us two key things:

1. The food meets the minimum nutrient requirements for dogs to survive.

2. The food is formulated specifically for adult dogs - not all life stages.

Why “All Life Stages” Isn’t Ideal

If a food is labeled “all life stages,” it has to meet puppy nutritional requirements, which are much higher than what adults or seniors need.

That often means excess nutrients, like calcium and phosphorus, in adult dogs’ diets.

Costco actually avoids this issue in most of their adult formulas by not formulating them for “all life stages.”

The Guaranteed Analysis Problem

Every pet food bag lists something called a Guaranteed Analysis. But those numbers are based on crude values - which need to be converted to dry matter to be meaningful.

This gets a bit complex so we did the math for you.

Protein? ✅

Fat? ✅

Fiber? ✅

Calcium & Phosphorus? …umm, where are they?

That’s right. One of the most important nutrient ratios for dog food - calcium and phosphorus - isn’t even on the bag.

And then when we checked online, we found conflicting information!

• One Costco page said calcium was 1.2%

• Another said 1%

• Phosphorus varied too - 0.8% vs. 0.9%

Even worse? The lamb recipe we reviewed listed 1.7% calcium, almost double the recommended level for adult dogs.

Not ideal.

Ingredient Breakdown

Let’s unpack the massive ingredient list.

Here’s what we found:

• Dark Blue = Vitamins & minerals for balance

• Light Blue = Marketing ingredients (like chondroitin, probiotics)

• Green = Carbohydrates like rice, barley, flaxseed, potatoes

• Orange = Protein sources: lamb, lamb meal, egg, chicken fat, fish meal

• Red = Red flags: peas and pea flour (linked to DCM risk)

I used to hate meat meal, but it’s actually more like protein powder - concentrated protein that helps reduce cost without sacrificing on what’s essential to our dogs.

As for peas and legumes, they’re pretty controversial right now. Research is still emerging, but we try to avoid them when they’re high on the ingredient list due to the increased risk of DCM (dilated-cardiomyopathy).

As for the rest of the ingredients, there isn’t much to note. Pretty standard.

Who Makes Costco’s Dog Food?

Here’s the fun part. Costco doesn’t make their own food, it’s manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods.

While Diamond claims their team includes vets, PhDs, and board-certified nutritionists, there’s a big caveat: none are board-certified veterinary nutritionists, which is considered the gold standard.

Let’s look at the Pet Nutrition Knowledge Hierarchy (PNKH) to see who knows what about pet nutrition:

*Please note, BA is supposed to be BS*

Pet parents ➝ certified canine nutritionists ➝ bachelor’s degree in science ➝ master’s degree in science ➝ PhD ➝ vet ➝ board-certified veterinary technician specialist ➝ board-certified veterinary nutritionist

Costco’s team ranks pretty high… but still not at the top. They top out in the yellow bar.

Why People Buy Costco Dog Food: THE PRICE

Let’s do the math:

• If your dog weighs 25 lbs, it would cost you $16/month to feed Costco Dog Food

• If your dog weighs 75 lbs, it would cost you $36/month to feed Costco Dog Food

• If your dog weights 125 lbs, it would cost you $57/month to feed Costco Dog Food

You’re getting a ton of food for a great price, and that’s why so many people choose Kirkland.

It’s accessible, affordable and has pretty good marketing.

TL;DR & Final Score

So how does Kirkland Dog Food rank overall?

✅ Meets basic nutrient needs

✅ Affordable

✅ Formulated for adults (not all life stages)

❌ Conflicting nutrient info online

❌ No board-certified veterinary nutritionist involved

❌ High calcium & phosphorus levels (especially in lamb formula)

❌ Peas/legumes used without clear safety threshold

Final verdict: not horrible for the price, but not my favorite.

Costco Dog Food gets a final score of 70/100

What food should we review next?

Thanks for reading and tell your pets I said hello :)

Bryce