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Zignature is a dog food brand that creates limited-ingredient recipes for our canine companions. It offers both wet and dry dog food recipes that are designed to provide complete and balanced nutrition for dogs, and each recipe includes meat, fish, or poultry as the first ingredient.
But is Zignature dog food the best choice for your pup? To help you decide, let's take a closer look at the Zignature recipes available, customer reviews, and pros and cons to consider in this in-depth Zignature dog food review.
Zignature dog food product ranges and flavors
There are a total of 15 formulas in the Zignature range, with
wet and dry foods available alongside dog treats.
These formulas can be split
into three separate product lines: Zignature Original, Select Cuts, and
Small Bites. Zignature also provides a wide selection of treats that can be used as training rewards or when you just want to spoil your dog with a tasty snack.
Zignature Original Dog Food
Zignature Original
The Zignature Original product line features 12 limited-ingredient dog food recipes. All feature meat as the first ingredient, are high in
protein, and are a good source of omega
fatty acids for skin and coat health. They also feature vitamins and minerals like
taurine for heart health and
Vitamin E. All but one of the 12 formulas are available in dry and wet food recipes.
Zignature Original dry foods include meat meals as a secondary protein source. Common secondary ingredients include chickpeas, peas, and
flaxseed.
These dry recipes have decent protein-to-fat ratios — Zignature Original Turkey dry food contains above-average protein (35.5% as dry matter) and slightly above-average average
fat (16.1% as dry matter) compared to standard kibble.
Zignature Original wet foods contain a handful of primary ingredients: meat, broth, peas, chickpeas, and alfalfa meal. Zignature Original wet foods are higher in protein and considerably higher in fat than their dry counterparts. Zignature Original Turkey wet food contains 43.1% protein as dry matter and 34% fat as dry matter.
Zignature Original flavors:
- Turkey
- Lamb
- Pork
- Goat
- Salmon
- Catfish (available as a dry food only)
- Venison
- Kangaroo
- Whitefish
- Zssential Multi-Protein (turkey, turkey meal, salmon, lamb meal, duck meal)
- Duck
- Whitefish Limited Ingredient
- Trout & Salmon Meal
- Zignature Puppy (turkey, whitefish, and pork meal)
Zignature Small Bites Dog Food
Zignature Small Bites
If you’re the proud pet parent of a
small breed, the Small Bites
range is designed with them in mind.
Small Bites features five of the formulas from
the Zignature Original range, but with smaller kibble sizes to suit
smaller mouths. Each recipe features meat or fish as the first ingredient and
contains
probiotics to help ensure good gut health. Small Bites are largely the same recipes as Zignature Original dry dog foods, with the same protein-to-fat ratios.
Small Bites dry dog food flavors:
- Lamb
- Zssential
- Kangaroo
- Trout & Salmon Meal
- Turkey
Zignature Select Cuts Dog Food
Zignature Select Cuts
The Select Cuts range offers three dry dog food formulas that feature lamb,
turkey or trout and salmon as
the first ingredient.
Proteins are paired with
ancient grains like millet and
flaxseed to provide
nutritional goodness for your pup. Each recipe is
high in protein to
maintain muscle and fiber to aid healthy digestion. With ten or fewer ingredients (aside from vitamins and minerals), Zignature Select Cuts are ideal for dogs with food allergies.
Zignature Select Cuts cost about the same as Zignature Originals, but are lower in protein. For example, Zignature Select Cuts Turkey recipe contains 27.7% protein as dry matter and 18.3% fat as dry matter.
Select Cuts dry dog food flavors:
- Lamb
- Trout & Salmon Meal
- Turkey
Zignature Dog Treats
Zignature also offers a selection of 19 dog treats. There are soft and moist treats to provide a tasty reward for your canine companion, and crunchier biscuit treats called Ziggy Bars that can be used as
training treats. Zignature treats are made using the brand's limited-ingredient philosophy and feature an animal or fish protein source as the first ingredient.
Soft Moist dog treat flavors:
- Trout
- Kangaroo
- Lamb
- Salmon
- Turkey
- Venison
- Whitefish
- Pork
- Duck
Ziggy Bars dog treat flavors:
- Venison
- Whitefish
- Zssential
- Salmon
- Trout
- Turkey
- Pork
- Duck
- Kangaroo
- Lamb
Why Wag! likes Zignature dog food
There are several reasons why you might consider feeding Zignature
dog food to your fur-baby.
Quality ingredients
First and foremost, Zignature's formulas all feature
quality ingredients with meat, poultry, or fish always first. They’re
high in protein to help your dog maintain lean muscle mass, and they
feature probiotics and plenty of fiber to promote healthy digestion.
Zignature also carries out extended feeding studies to ensure that it
provides high-quality nutrition for dogs.
Limited-ingredient recipes
Zignature formulas are also limited-ingredient recipes, so if your
pup has a
sensitive stomach or
food allergies, there are fewer potential causes of tummy
troubles in Zignature formulas. And because there’s a wide range of
wet
and
dry dog food recipes available, you’ll find something in the Zignature range
to suit every dog’s taste and texture preference.
Made in the USA
Finally, Zignature dog food is made in the USA, which gives you the
peace of mind of knowing that each recipe is developed to high
standards. This will make you feel good about what you dish up for your
dog at every mealtime.
Concerns & considerations
Here are few considerations to bear in mind before buying Zignature dog food.
Cost
One factor that may put some pet parents off buying Zignature dog
food is its price tag. With 25 lb bags selling for around $79 at online
retailers, it’s not what you’d call a cheap food. Pet parents on tight budgets might want to consider other
more budget-friendly dog foods.
Concerns over grain-free diets
Another factor to consider is that when the
FDA first announced
that it was investigating potential links between grain-free diets and a
form of heart disease in dogs known as
Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM), Zignature was listed as one
of the most commonly named food brands in DCM reports submitted to the
FDA.
However, there are now multiple recipes in the Zignature range that contain
grains, and in its
most recent update,
the FDA pointed out that it had “received reports of non-hereditary DCM
associated with both grain-free and grain-containing diets.”
The FDA is
continuing to investigate dietary links to DCM, reporting that most of
the diets linked to reported cases of DCM contain legume seed
ingredients — but there is not yet any evidence indicating that legume
seed ingredients are inherently dangerous. A
recent statement by the FDA in 2024 suggests its investigation now includes both grain-free and grain-inclusive dog foods.
In an
online statement,
Pets Global, the company behind Zignature, says it is committed to
researching its diets, including “measuring health parameters well above
the minimum standards required by a typical AAFCO feeding study” and
cardiac health markers with dogs during long-term feeding studies.
What pet parents say about Zignature dog food
“Our
12-week-old pup was having bloody stools. Vet ran so many tests and
came up with nothing. They asked us to try a limited-ingredient diet
thinking she must’ve been allergic to something in her diet. She must’ve
been because we don’t have issues anymore with this brand. She loves
it. We buy the wet food, dry food and treats. Thank you, Zignature!”
“My
Mastiff loves Zignature. I appreciate how many single-protein options
are available in this brand to choose from because she gets bored of one
flavor after a while, so it's good to have the option to change things
up from time to time. She didn't care too much for the kangaroo option,
so I bought her turkey this time because I know she's a fan of poultry.
She digs right in every dinnertime! This brand is a great choice for
pets with allergies or protein sensitivities because it's grain- and
gluten-free, and they typically only use one source of protein, so it's
easy to choose what you want to feed your dog every time. I love
Zignature!”
Read more reviews on
Chewy.
Zignature dog food history
Zignature
is a brand owned by Pets Global, Inc., a holistic wellness company
founded in 2010. Headquartered in Valencia, California, it also
manufactures Essence Pet Foods, Fussie Cat, and
Inception Pet Foods.
Zignature formulas are produced at three locations in the USA: Brainerd, Minnesota; Perham, Minnesota; and Mitchell, South Dakota.
Zignature dog food recalls
Zignature dog food has never been recalled as of March 2025.
All product images sourced from Chewy and the Zignature website. Copyright Pets Global Inc.
FAQ
Is Zignature formulated to meet AAFCO standards?
Yes, Zignature recipes are formulated to meet
AAFCO dog food nutritional requirements.
Where is Zignature dog food made?
All Zignature formulas are manufactured in the United States at 3 locations: Brainerd, Minnesota; Perham, Minnesota; and Mitchell, South Dakota. Recipes feature ingredients sourced from the United States, France, New Zealand, and Australia.
Does Zignature make cat food?
Not currently. However, according to its website, Zignature is in the process of developing cat food formulas.
How does Wag! determine paw ratings for dog food?
Our editorial team conducts independent research when choosing which foods to feature and how to rate them. Our paw ratings are largely based on the ingredients and nutritional content of each food. Here’s a quick guide to what our paw ratings mean:
- 1 paw: High filler content, meat not listed as first ingredient
- 2 paws: Meat meal, bone meal or meat by-products listed as first ingredient
- 3 paws: Named meat listed as first ingredient (e.g., chicken)
- 4 paws: Same as 3 paws, but also made with whole, limited ingredients and minimal processing
- 5 paws: Same as 4 paws, but is also veterinarian or veterinary body approved and includes human-grade ingredients
- Half-paws may be awarded for extra benefits, like affordability, trustworthiness, etc.