V-Dog Kinder Kibbles Review: The Best Vegan Dog Food?

V-Dog might be the most famous vegan dog food brand there is.

It’s a family owned business that’s exclusively been making vegan dog food since 2005.

If they weren’t good at it, they’d be out of business.

V-Dog only makes dry food, in 2 variations: kinder kibble, and kinder kibble mini-bites (for smaller dogs). Both are intended for adult dogs.

At the moment, they don’t make any wet (canned) food.

I recently spent a lot of time researching vegan dog foods to make a list of the best vegan dog foods.

One of the best was V-Dog, so I thought I’d do an expanded review here.

So let’s break down the product.

V-Dog Kinder Kibbles Overview

Breed sizes: Small – Large Breeds

Main ingredients: Dried peas, Pea protein, Brown rice, Oatmeal

Cost: $$$

Sizes: 4.5 lbs (only mini version), 20 lbs, 30 lbs

If this is the first time you’re thinking about putting your dog on a vegan diet, I fully understand being hesitant.

You want to be 100% sure that your dog will be healthy and happy.

V-Dog is one of the best options to start with, because based off of hundreds of reviews I’ve read, almost all dogs seem to like it.

Not only that, but very few have any issues (and no serious ones).

That’s mainly due to the quality of ingredients.

Note that the cost is somewhere in the middle for vegan dog foods, which are more expensive than “regular” dog foods usually.

It’s not “cheap”, but it’s cheaper than some of the other “top” options.

Full Ingredients List and Product Information

The most common reasons dogs switch to and thrive on V-Dog is because it’s free of most common allergens.

There’s no corn, soy, wheat, or animal products (duh!).

Here’s the full ingredient list, but pay the most attention to the ones at the start of the list, which there is the most of:

Dried Peas, Pea Protein, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Potato Protein, Sorghum, Canola Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols) , Natural Flavor, Suncured Alfalfa Meal, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dicalcium Phosphate, Flaxseeds, Millet, Calcium Carbonate, Lentils, Peanut Hearts, Quinoa, Sunflower Chips, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Dried Carrots, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate), DI-methionine, Dried Parsley, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin Supplement, D-calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D2 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hyrdochloride, Biotin, Folic Acid), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (A Source Of Vitamin C), Preserved with Citric Acid, Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Dried Blueberries, Dried Cranberries, Dried Celery, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lettuce, L-Carnitine, Dried Watercress, Dried Spinach, Rosemary Extract.

Overall, this is a list of high quality ingredients, with no filler ingredients.

There’s a few ingredients I’d like to highlight:

• Peas and pea protein – The main protein source, and one of the best plant-based protein sources. Peas have a solid amino acid profile.
• Flaxseeds – One of the only plant sources of omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3s are important for dogs, just like they are for humans.
• Brown rice – One of the better sources of carbohydrates in vegan dog food. It has a decent amount of fiber, along with minerals like magnesium and phosphorus.

The ingredient list is long, but you’ll notice that most of them are ingredients or plants included in small amounts. These make sure that the food meets all the nutrient levels that a healthy dog needs.

Nutritional Breakdown

Let’s take a quick look at the nutritional profile of the food.

For reference, “normal” dog foods (the best ones) have about 30% protein.

So V-Dog has a little less protein than them, but it’s still well above the minimum protein level set by AAFCO standards (18.0%).

V-Dog has one of, if not the highest protein content you’ll find in any vegan dog food, and that’s a big plus.

It’s hard to make plant-based food that’s high in protein, but they’ve done a really good job here.

V-Dog Product Recalls

In over 13 years of operating, V-Dog has never had a product recall as far as I can find.

This provides some reassurance that they have safe manufacturing practices and source high quality ingredients.

Where Should You Buy V-Dog?

There are 2 main options.

First, you can buy straight from V-Dog’s website.

The option I’d recommend instead is buying from Chewy.com. The prices are typically the exact same, but Chewy often offers discounts. Plus they carry other dog products that you might be interested in.

V-Dog Review Summary and Alternatives

Depending on how you value different aspects of dog food, V-Dog might be the best overall dry vegan dog food.

It’s protein content is as good as you’ll find, the ingredients are all high quality, and almost all dogs like it.

The only potential issue is that the price is a bit higher than comparable options, but it’s also cheaper than some competitors as well.

If price is an option, try either of these 2 other options, which are both really good vegan dry food options as well:

• Nature’s Recipe – The cheapest dry food you’ll find while still being relatively high quality. It’s soy based, and not all dogs like it, but many love it, so it may be worth a try. See my full Nature’s Recipe Vegetarian Dog Food review for more.
• Natural Balance – A bit cheaper than V-Dog, Natural Balance is another rice and pea-based vegan dog food that most dogs love. This is the #1 overall ranked food on my list of the best vegan dog foods. Here’s my complete Natural Balance Vegetarian Formula review.

That’s it for me!

If you’ve had any experiences with V-Dog or any other vegan dog food I’d love to hear about them in a comment below.

Otherwise, I hope this V-Dog Kinder Kibbles Vegan dry food review was helpful.