Victor brands itself as a company dedicated to producing super-premium dog food that supports high-level performance.
This small company uses locally sourced ingredients and oversees the entire production process in their Texas facility. Dog owners online trust this brand to provide scientifically-backed formulas without unnecessary fillers.
Eating locally sourced ingredients is healthier for humans. But does Victor dog food have the quality to justify the super-premium label?
I’m a former vet tech who is passionate about helping pet parents understand canine nutrition. So I researched Victor Super Premium Pet Food to help dog owners determine if this brand is the best option for their pup.
Keep reading this Victor dog food review to learn more about this brand’s history, ingredient quality, and past controversies.
About Victor Dog Food
Victor Super Premium Pet Food has been gaining momentum as a popular option for pet owners seeking an alternative to feeding dog food produced by massive corporations. Despite an excellent reputation online, it can be difficult to find this product in local stores.
The company develops its recipes with the belief that every ingredient should have a purpose. These formulas use fewer filler ingredients than products offered by larger brands. But, many of their recipes use meat meals as the first ingredient instead of whole meat.
This small brand distinguishes itself by using locally sourced ingredients for the majority of its recipes. Most of the suppliers that Victor uses are within a day’s drive of their facility in East Texas. And every dry Victor dog food product is produced in their home plant in the United States.
My favorite thing about Victor dog food is the control that this small company maintains over the quality of their ingredients and the manufacturing process. I try to eat locally and greatly appreciate pet companies that source their ingredients responsibly.
Despite using higher quality ingredients, Victor formulas generally have more affordable price tags than other premium brands. Reducing transportation costs by using local ingredients helps limit the price point without sacrificing quality.
Smaller companies can only offer a select line-up of products. Victor is best known for its high-performance formulas. But their product ranges offer recipes suitable for nearly every type of dog and every life stage.
Victor Dog Food Brand History
Mid America Pet Food is Victor’s parent company. The organization was formed in 2007 and acquired Victor dog food soon after. Mid America Pet Foods operates its plant in East Texas, where they can source ingredients from local ranches.
To this day, the company remains a small operation focused on quality over quantity. Only 90 employees work at their east Texas facility.
Victor is their premium brand of pet food. But Mid America also owns Eagle Mountain Pet Food, a budget dog food brand.
The Victor brand name has been around since the 1940s. But the modern product line only emerged with the acquisition by Mid America in 2007.
Today, all Victor formulas are developed under the supervision of an expert nutritionist in a custom facility.
The company also established a truck fleet in 2018 to manage the delivery of ingredients to their plant and the distribution of final products.
Where Is Victor Dog Food Made?
All Victor Dog Food is made in-house at the company’s custom manufacturing plant based in Mount Pleasant, Texas. East Texas is an ideal location for a pet food company due to the proximity of local ranches.
The company’s founders originally built the Victor manufacturing facilities on their own. Victor formulas are still produced in this same facility today.
Most of the ingredients used in Victor Dog Food recipes come from local suppliers within a day’s drive of company headquarters. The company claims that more than 80% of the ingredients used in their recipes come from within a 200-mile radius.
Mid America Pet Food even manages its own fleet of trucks to have greater control over the delivery of ingredients to their plant. Lower transportation costs and time mean they can pass on additional cost savings to their customers without decreasing quality.
Greater oversight helps ensure the quality of ingredients used in Victor dog food formulas. The company can also perform extensive testing during the manufacturing process to maximize safety.
This brand is also one of the only pet food companies to use a complex of minerals and amino acids developed by Zinpro for better absorption. Most larger companies fortify their formulas with minerals from inorganic sources.
Victor performs regular testing of the ingredients that they source for their products for quality assurance. Final formulas also undergo rigorous inspection for safety and nutritional content.
Despite recent popularity growth, this smaller brand is still difficult to find at some local pet stores. Victor is widely available in their local region, but most dog orders order their food from an online retailer.
Victor Brand Lines
Victor offers a limited selection of super premium pet foods. The brand’s different product lines have unique formulas designed for different dogs.
All Victor recipes meet the nutrient profiles recommended by AAFCO. But you should always consult a veterinarian before making any changes to your dog’s diet.
Victor Classic
Victor Classic is the company’s flagship line of basic dog food formulas. The four recipes included in this product range use multiple proteins and grains to meet the energy requirements of active dogs.
These formulas are not classified by life stage and are best suited for adult dogs with active lifestyles. Victor specializes in high protein formulas that have a loyal following by canine professionals who need high-quality nutrition for sporting dogs.
The classic line supports healthy digestion and immune systems with the VPRO blend of probiotics and prebiotics. Victor also selected the ingredients for these recipes to create a nutrient-dense formula that provides more energy with lower intake.
Although these recipes are grain-inclusive, Victor uses gluten-free ingredients to minimize the risk of adverse reactions in sensitive dogs.
Victor Select
The Victor Select line includes recipes suitable for dogs of any age. Unlike the multiple proteins used in Classic recipes, these dog foods use specific proteins to provide a nutritionally complete diet based on science.
These recipes are ideal for dogs who suffer from allergies to certain proteins. Although Victor recommends these recipes for dogs of all life stages, I generally only recommend using specialized puppy formulas for growing dogs.
All of the recipes in this product line have similar nutritional content, making them interchangeable for dogs who prefer flavor variety. If your dog has grain sensitivities, you can choose a grain-free recipe from the Select range.
Select formulas have a lower protein content than the Classic range. This crude protein content is better suited for maintaining a healthy weight in dogs with sedentary lifestyles.
Victor Purpose
Victor Purpose formulas have recipes formulated specifically for dogs with particular dietary needs. Like the Victor Classic line, these products also use multiple meat sources to offer a high protein content. The recipes are also available in grain-free versions.
The Purpose product range has recipes formulated for both puppies and seniors. Their senior formula also provides nutritional support for maintaining a healthy weight in older dogs.
Other recipes in the Purpose line-up include a performance formula that includes extra joint support for active dogs. The Victor Purpose Nutra Pro formula also features an exceptionally high protein content of 38%.
These recipes can offer higher crude protein content than other premium brands because of the high volume of concentrated meat meals. The primary ingredients used in this product range include beef meal, chicken meal, and blood meal.
Victor Realtree
Victor dog food partnered with the Realtree Outdoors brand to produce Victor Realtree, a product line of super premium pet food. These dog foods are ideal for hunting and working dogs who need enhanced nutrients for stamina.
The Realtree Outdoors brand specializes in hunting and fishing gear for outdoorsmen. These dog owners typically struggle to find an appropriate diet for their hunting companions.
A combined high fat and protein content ensures that working dogs get the energy they need from their diet. Protein is essential for supporting muscle mass. And dogs use chicken fat as a dense source of digestible energy.
These formulas are not suitable for pets with sedentary lifestyles. The high caloric content may lead to weight gain in these animals.
Victor Canned Food
This company also offers canned formulas for pups who prefer wet food. Victor highly recommends their canned recipes for seniors and dogs with digestive issues. I have a senior dog who does better on a wet diet due to sensitive teeth.
The canned product line offers all of the same benefits as dry formulas. These recipes also don’t contain any artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. So they are an excellent choice for pups with sensitive stomachs.
Unlike Victor’s dry dog food, the first ingredient in their wet food is not dried meat meals. These canned recipes feature real meat as the first ingredient. Other primary ingredients include beef broth, chicken broth, and chicken liver.
Organ meat offers a concentrated source of protein, vitamins, and minerals. The meaty texture of chunks in gravy is also appealing to picky dogs.
You can select from both grain-free and grain-inclusive recipes. But Victor does not recommend any of their canned formulas for growing puppies.
Ingredient Quality
Over 80% of the ingredients used in Victor dog food recipes come from within a 200-mile radius of their manufacturing facility.
Every raw ingredient undergoes testing during the manufacturing process by a food safety team as part of Victor’s quality assurance program.
Real meat from local ranches is the first ingredient in every Victor dog food formula. This meat is generally a beef meal or chicken meal. Generally, meat meals are considered lower quality than fresh meat. But beef meal has several advantages.
Mid America Pet Food believes that dried protein meals offer superior nutrition because they offer more concentrated sources of protein than fresh meat. Protein meals are also better for food safety because dried products have a lower risk of bacterial contamination.
Some Victor dog food reviews from concerned pet parents question the inclusion of blood meal in some Victor recipes.
Blood meal is a blood concentrate by-product of slaughter. The FDA regulates the use of blood products in animal foods because blood can carry mad cow disease.
However, blood sourced from healthy livestock can be safely used in dog food. This meal contains 300% more protein than fresh meat.
So Victor uses the ingredient to boost protein content while creating formulas compatible with ancestral canine diets based on animal protein.
The nutritional content of every Victor formula begins with their unique VPRO blend. A team of animal nutritionists developed this blend of supplements, vitamins, and minerals to provide optimal nutrition for every dog.
Victor is one of the few dog food companies that use Zinpro mineral complexes. Zinpro Corporation developed a renowned blend of organic trace minerals that offer enhanced digestibility compared to common inorganic minerals used in most popular pet food brands.
The VPRO blend also contains selenium yeast. This ingredient is a bioavailable source of selenium that is easily absorbed. Selenium is an essential antioxidant that helps protect your dog’s tissues from oxidative stress.
All Victor formulas also contain prebiotics and probiotics. Prebiotics from yeast culture help enhance immune function. Probiotics support digestive health by introducing good bacteria into your dog’s gut.
Victor Dog Food Recalls
Victor has not issued any recalls of their dog food products in the past. This small company only began in 2007 and has a short history. I would be concerned if they had already experienced several recalls as such a young company.
Victor’s in-house food safety team and quality assurance procedures help limit the risk of potential future recalls. Smaller companies with greater control over ingredient sourcing and manufacturing are also less likely to experience a recall.
You can learn more about any dog food product recalls on the FDA website.
Legal Issues and Controversies
I did not find any history of dog food recalls or other legal controversies involving Victor dog food. Victor Super Premium Pet Foods is a small brand with a short history. I would be concerned if I discovered recall problems in a company that has only been around since 2007.
Victor dog food has also never been the subject of a lawsuit. Manufacturing their products in-house with local ingredients helps reduce the risks of potential quality problems.
Mid America Pet Food has a dedicated food safety team that performs testing of every raw material used in their formulas. The team also tests all final product batches to check that the formulas contain the correct nutrient content listed on their labels.
Like many dog food brands, Victor does use some controversial ingredients. But the majority of ingredients used in Victor recipes are high quality.
Our Verdict
Victor Super Premium Pet Food is a small company that has created a loyal customer base by creating affordable formulas with responsible sourcing.
I highly recommend these high-protein dog foods for working pups with active lifestyles. Most Victor dog food reviews also recommend Victor for the high-energy needs of active dogs.
Local sourcing and in-house production ensure the highest quality of dog food at the lowest price possible.
If you are looking for a small brand with an excellent reputation for safety and quality, consider Victor Pet Food. If you’re looking for dog food similar to Victor, check out Victor alternatives.
