What score does Zignature Select Cuts Puppy with Super Grains get in this review?

It scores 94 out of 100 on our published label rubric. The panel opens with Lamb, and the score table on this page shows every signal, its points and the label fact behind it. Crude protein is guaranteed at 26.5 percent.

Is Zignature Select Cuts Puppy with Super Grains suitable for puppies?

It is written for growth: the label is a puppy recipe, so it fits puppies first. Adult dogs can eat it, but its calorie and nutrient density are aimed at a growing dog.

How many calories are in Zignature Select Cuts Puppy with Super Grains?

The label gives 3,870 kcal per kilogram and 416 kcal per cup. Portion by calories rather than by the look of the bowl.

Has Zignature dog food been recalled?

Our November 2026 check of FDA recall records found no posted dog food recall events for Zignature. That is what we could verify, not proof of a perfect history.

Is Zignature Select Cuts Puppy with Super Grains grain free?

No: its panel includes Oats, so it is a grain inclusive recipe. The full ingredient list above shows every grain line in label order.

Zignature Select Cuts Puppy with Super Grains review

Zignature · Select Cuts Puppy with Super Grains · Dry food · Growth (puppy)

94 / 100Our label score

★★★★½4.5 of 5 stars, from the score

26.5%Crude protein (min)

416kcal per cup

0FDA recall events for the brand

On the facts printed on its own label, Zignature Select Cuts Puppy with Super Grains scores 94 out of 100 on our rubric: top of the range we have scored. The panel opens with Lamb, and the first ingredient signal earns 20 of its 20 points. At 26.5% crude protein it ranks 30 of the 54 Zignature recipes we scored for protein. Crude fat reads 18%.

At 416 kcal a cup it sits mid range for energy, so standard portion maths applies. Its adequacy claim rests on formulation: balanced on paper against the AAFCO nutrient profiles rather than fed to dogs in a trial. Our November 2026 check of FDA records found no posted dog food recall events for Zignature.

The panel runs to 23 ingredient lines. 7 of them are animal source lines and 6 are plant lines. The first added fat appears at line 7, so 6 lines sit ahead of it in the recipe by weight. Salt appears at line 14 of 23: ingredients listed after salt are present in small amounts, a standard reading aid for long panels. The vitamin and mineral pack begins around line 16; the 8 lines from there on are mostly supplements, preservatives and functional extras rather than staple foods.

The label facts

Maker	Pets Global, Inc.
Format	Dry food
Life stage	Growth (puppy)
Full ingredient list, in label order	Lamb Whitefish Whitefish Meal Oats Barley Millet Turkey Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols) Turkey Meal Sunflower Meal Flaxseed Pork Meal Goat Milk Natural Flavors Salt Potassium Chloride Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacinamide, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid) Taurine L-Threonine Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate) Choline Chloride Mixed Tocopherols (Preservative) L-Carnitine Rosemary Extract
Guaranteed analysis	Crude protein (min) 26.5% · crude fat (min) 18% · crude fiber (max) 5.5% · moisture (max) 10%
Dry matter reading	With the water taken out, the same analysis reads 29.4% protein and 20% fat. Dry matter is how wet and dry foods can be compared fairly.
Calories	3,870 kcal/kg, 416 kcal/cup, as labeled
AAFCO adequacy	is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for growth, including growth of large size dogs (70 lbs. or more as an adult).
Price	Not listed. We publish a price only when we have verified it from a dated listing, and we had not for this recipe when the label was read.

How the score breaks down

Signal	Points	What the label shows
First ingredient	20 / 20	Lamb, a named whole animal protein, opens the panel.
Animal protein depth, first 10 ingredients	15 / 15	5 of the first ten ingredients are named animal ingredients.
Protein level for the life stage	12 / 15	Crude protein reads 26.5% as labeled, read against the growth (puppy) stage the label claims.
Fat level fit	10 / 10	Crude fat reads 18% as labeled.
Whole foods versus filler-flagged ingredients	10 / 10	None of the rubric's flagged ingredients appears in the first ten.
Artificial colors and preservatives	10 / 10	No artificial colors, color-retention chemicals or artificial preservatives appear in the panel.
AAFCO adequacy basis	7 / 10	Formulated to meet AAFCO profiles for the stated stage (growth).
FDA recall history	10 / 10	No FDA posted dog food recall events for this brand were found in our November 2026 check.
Price tier	Not scored	Not scored in this round. We publish a price only when we have verified it from a dated listing.
Total	94 / 100	Scaled from 94 of 100 available points. Stars are the score divided by 20, rounded to the nearest half. The method is published in full on the dog food hub.

Ingredient notes: the first ten, one by one

Definitions below are written from AAFCO's ingredient definitions in our own words. They describe what an ingredient is, never what a brand claims about it. Names that appear in our ingredient dictionary link to it; the dictionary counts how many scored recipes carry each ingredient.

Lamb. Lamb is the named meat in fresh form. Panel order is set by weight before cooking, and fresh meat is mostly water, so its share of the finished food is smaller than its place at the top suggests.
Whitefish. Whitefish is a named fish, bringing animal protein and, in oily species, omega 3 fats. Fish first panels suit dogs that react to land meats.
Whitefish Meal. Whitefish Meal is the named animal rendered and ground, with water and most fat cooked off before it is weighed. Per kilo it carries far more protein than the fresh meat does.
Oats. Oats is a whole grain that digests slowly and brings soluble fiber, a steady energy source in grain inclusive recipes.
Barley. Barley is a whole grain rich in beta glucan fiber, which feeds gut bacteria and slows digestion.
Millet. Millet is a plant ingredient, bringing energy, fiber or plant protein to the panel.
Turkey Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols). Turkey Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols) is rendered fat from the named source. Fat is the densest energy in the recipe and carries much of its flavor.
Turkey Meal. Turkey Meal is the named animal rendered and ground, with water and most fat cooked off before it is weighed. Per kilo it carries far more protein than the fresh meat does.
Sunflower Meal. Sunflower Meal is the named animal rendered and ground, with water and most fat cooked off before it is weighed. Per kilo it carries far more protein than the fresh meat does.
Flaxseed. Flaxseed is a plant seed bringing fiber and ALA, a plant omega 3. Dogs convert ALA to the active forms poorly, so it does not do the job fish oil does.

Who it suits

Puppies: the label is written for growth, which adult maintenance foods are not
Owners who want a named whole meat, not a meal or a plant, at the top of the panel
Owners who put a clean FDA recall record near the top of their list

Who should skip it

Owners who specifically want a food proven in feeding trials rather than by formulation

The brand's recall record

No FDA posted dog food recall events for this brand were found in our November 2026 check of FDA recall records. That is a statement about what we could verify, not proof of a perfect history.

See the full dog food recall tracker for recent events across all brands.

Other Zignature recipes we scored

Recipe	Score / 100	Protein	Format
Zssential Formula	98	32%	Dry food
Zssential Small Bites Formula	98	32%	Dry food
Puppy Formula	97	31%	Dry food
Trout and Salmon Formula	93	31%	Dry food
Trout and Salmon Small Bites Formula	93	31%	Dry food
Turkey Formula	93	32%	Dry food
Turkey Small Bites Formula	93	32%	Dry food
Pork Formula	92	30%	Dry food
Freeze Dried Zssential Entree	91	38%	Freeze-dried food
Zssential Formula Wet Food	91	11%	Wet food
Essence LIR Landfowl Formula	90	41%	Dry food
Essence LIR Ranch Recipe	90	32.5%	Dry food

Those are the twelve highest scoring of the 53 other Zignature recipes we scored. The full comparison, flagship review included, is on the Zignature brand review.

Feeding it

Switch foods gradually over about a week, mixing more of the new food into the old each day. Portion by calories, not by the look of the bowl: our feeding calculator works out a daily amount from your dog's weight, and this recipe's calorie line above is the number it needs.

What that means at the bowl, for a typical neutered adult (resting energy 70 times body weight to the power 0.75, times 1.6; treats come out of the same budget):

Dog's weight	Daily energy	Of this recipe, at 416 kcal a cup
3 kg	about 255 kcal	about 0.6 cups
10 kg	about 630 kcal	about 1.5 cups
20 kg	about 1,059 kcal	about 2.5 cups
30 kg	about 1,436 kcal	about 3.5 cups

Puppies, pregnant dogs and very active dogs need more; older and weight watching dogs need less. The calculator linked above adjusts for those cases.

Zignature Select Cuts Puppy with Super Grains: our recipe review