Updated for 2024: 
Is your dog food cutting the mustard?
We all want to make sure our dogs are getting healthy, safe foods. (To keep abreast of the latest pet food recalls, go to DogFoodAdviser.com. You can even sign up for alerts.) It can be hard to sift through all the advertising and positioning. Should we go with Dry? Wet? Raw? Freeze-dried? Some combo? Too many options!
I offer the following lists, chart and quiz to help you sort the wheat from the chaff, literally.
The following Dog Food Advisor links go to the full information on each dog food include:
- First 5 ingredients: type of protein, vegetables, if grains are included, and anything else
- Type: Grain-free,
- Design: All life stages. senior, puppy. etc.
- Best for: All puppies including large breeds, dogs including small breeds, etc
- Price: $-$$$
Best Dog Food Brands
Best Top 10 Puppy Foods
- Wellness Complete Health Puppy Food
- Ollie Fresh Dog Food
- Blue Buffalo Life Protection Puppy
- The Farmer’s Dog Fresh
- Purina Pro Plan Puppy Food
- Victor Purpose Nutra Pro Dog and Puppy
- Hill’s Science Diet Puppy Food
- Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Puppy
- Orijen Puppy
- Chicken Soup for the Soul Puppy Food
Click on any of the following links to go to the list for each category:
- Best Dry Puppy Foods
- Best Wet Puppy Foods
- Best Large Breed Puppy Foods
- Best Small Breed Puppy Foods
- Best Dry Dog Foods
- Best Wet Dog Foods
- Best Raw Dog Foods
- Best Fresh Dog Foods
- Best Senior Dog Foods
- Best Natural Dog Foods
- Best Grain-Free Dog Foods
- Best Dog Food with Grain
- Best High Protein Dog Food
- Best Dog Food for Picky Eaters
- Best Dog Food for Sensitive Stomach
- Best Dog Food for Small Dogs
- Best Dog Food for Large Breed Adults
- Best Budget-Friendly Dog Foods
- Best Dog Foods for Allergies
- Best Dog Food for Weight Loss
- Best Organic Dog Foods
- Best Freeze-Dried Dog Foods
- Best Low Fat Dog Foods
Best Dog Food for Specific Breeds
January 2023
- Best Dog Foods for Specific Breeds
- Best Dog Food for Australian Shepherds
- Best Dog Food for Boxers
- Best Dog Food for Chihuahuas
- Best Dog Food for Dachshunds
- Best Dog Food for French Bulldogs
- Best Dog Food for German Shepherds
- Best Dog Food for Golden Retrievers
- Best Dog Food for Goldendoodles
- Best Dog Food for Labrador Retrievers
- Best Dog Food for Pitbulls
- Best Dog Food for Shih Tzus
- Best Dog Food for Siberian Huskies
- Best Dog Food for Yorkies
Here are some foods that have already been scored.
If your dog food is not listed in this chart, keep reading. There is a quiz at the end to help you calculate its score.
|
Brand/Formula |
Score |
Grade |
|
Merrick Wilderness Blend |
127 |
A+ |
|
Nature’s Variety Raw Instinct |
122 |
A+ |
|
Innova Large Breed Puppy |
122 |
A+ |
|
Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Ultra Premium |
122 |
A+ |
|
Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural Dry |
120 |
A+ |
|
Nature’s Recipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice |
116 |
A+ |
|
Authority Harvest Baked |
116 |
A+ |
|
Chicken Soup Senior |
115 |
A+ |
|
Innova Evo |
114 |
A+ |
|
Innova Dog |
114 |
A+ |
|
Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy |
114 |
A+ |
|
Canidae |
112 |
A+ |
|
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken |
110 |
A+ |
|
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables |
110 |
A+ |
|
Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry |
109 |
A+ |
|
Burns Chicken and Brown Rice |
107 |
A+ |
|
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult |
106 |
A+ |
|
Foundations |
106 |
A+ |
|
Dick Van Patten’s Duck and Potato |
106 |
A+ |
|
Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice |
106 |
A+ |
|
Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice |
106 |
A+ |
|
Nutro Ultra Adult |
104 |
A+ |
|
Royal Canin Boxer |
103 |
A+ |
|
ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley |
103 |
A+ |
|
EaglePack Holistic |
102 |
A+ |
|
Nutro Natural Choice Oatmeal |
101 |
A+ |
|
Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy |
101 |
A+ |
|
Flint River Senior |
101 |
A+ |
|
Beowulf Back to Basics |
101 |
A+ |
|
Royal Canin Bulldog |
100 |
A+ |
|
Nature’s Recipe |
100 |
A |
|
Summit |
99 |
A |
|
Solid Gold |
99 |
A |
|
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula |
99 |
A |
|
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Lamb and Rice Puppy |
98 |
A |
|
Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice |
98 |
A |
|
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold |
97 |
A |
|
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice |
97 |
A |
|
Nutro Natural Choice Senior |
95 |
A |
|
Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach |
94 |
A |
|
Nutro Max Adult |
93 |
B |
|
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold |
93 |
B |
|
Authority Harvest Baked Less Active |
93 |
B |
|
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice |
92 |
B |
|
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy |
87 |
B |
|
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice |
87 |
B |
|
Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free |
86 |
B |
|
Diamond Performance |
85 |
C |
|
Member’Mark Chicken and Rice |
84 |
C |
|
Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice |
83 |
C |
|
Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice |
81 |
C |
|
Eukanuba Adult |
81 |
C |
|
Alpo Prime Cuts |
81 |
C |
|
Pro Nature Puppy |
80 |
C |
|
Eukanuba Puppy |
79 |
C |
|
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium |
73 |
D |
|
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies |
69 |
F |
|
Bil-Jac Select |
68 |
F |
|
Diamond Maintenance |
64 |
F |
|
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ |
63 |
F |
|
Purina One Large Breed Puppy |
62 |
F |
|
Purina Dog |
62 |
F |
|
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice |
23 |
F |
|
Purina Beneful |
17 |
F |
|
Purina Come-n-Get It |
16 |
F |
*How to grade your dog’s kibble (dry food): Start with a grade of 100, then:
- For every listing of “by-product“, subtract 10 points
- For every non-specific animal source (“meat” or “poultry”, meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points
- If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
- For every grain “mill run” or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points
- If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. “ground brown rice”, “brewers rice”, “rice flour” are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
- If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
- If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
- If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3points
- If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
- If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points
- If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
- If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
- If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points
- If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to beef), subtract 1 point
- If it contains salt (sodium chloride), subtract 1 point
Extra Credit:
- If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
- If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points
- If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
- If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
- If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
- If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
- If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
- If the food contains barley, add 2 points
- If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
- If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
- If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
- For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count “chicken” and “chicken meal” as only one protein source, but “chicken” and “” as 2 different sources), add 1 point
- If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
- If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point
Scoring:
- 94-100+ = A
- 86-93 = B
- 78-85 = C
- 70-77 = D
- 69 and below = F
[*I am not able to give proper credit because the original author has been lost. If you know who came up with it, or if you have scores to add, please let me know.]
Wow, 103%, 104%, and 106% or my dogs foods! They are on different kibbles due to different nutritional needs. Very happy to see that my previous research paid off!
Just to compare, I looked up the most popular cheap food sold at Tractor Supply, the rating was 51% (food was Retriever mini chunks).
Like you, I find there’s something very satisfying about being confident in the quality of my dogs’food. :)
Can you tell me the grade for ‘Fromm Zealambder’ recipe?
Hi Janae, according to DogFoodAdvisor.com, it gets an A. You can read their full review here: https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/fromm-dog-food-four-star-nutritionals-dry/
We use Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken for our two 3-year-old dogs. A year and a half ago we took on our friend’s dog, a yellow lab/pit bull mix. He was being fed el cheapo dry dog food before he came to us. Within 3 months he lost the fatty folds and layers and his coat became much softer, too. Not only that, he is much more alert, no longer lethargic, and we realize he is a much smarter dog than he seemed when we adopted him. Nutrition definitely makes a huge difference.
We also use Wellness along with some raw feeding. No doubt about it in my mind either that nutrition makes a huge difference.
Yay! Madison’s dinner gets an A+ – we do a mix of Canidae and Wellness Super5 Chicken. She is a nibbler, and needing to keep her weight up (a growing, very active Giant) so we sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Wolfgang Puck’s Organic Free-range Chicken Stock. That can’t hurt, right? She loves it.
Do you think that grading system applies to cat food?
Lynn, I believe it would. The idea is to look for protein as the main ingredient, and stay away from by-products and fillers.
That would be *spooked ;)
I was spooked when I saw this, but our food gets a great score.
Terrific post, people need to know what they are feeding…
Interesting article. I highly recommend the site
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/
Incredibly comprehensive, frequently updated, quite thoroughly checked. Uses a system of 6 stars , 5 stars, 4 stars, etc. For each kibble, all ingredients are listed, and most are reviewed (the easier part, just scroll down). The scoring system is explained thoroughly, as are good additives, noxious additives, and things which could contribute to bloat.
A great source is “So You Are Confused By Dog Food,”
This is a thread found on the Food and Nutrition Forum at Dogster:
You can read, post, or ask questions as an Anonymous Guest or join Dogster for free. I have found members of this Forum to be extremely helpful & friendly. They answered my questions about my brother’s overweight dog (who was on Beneful, ick!), appropriate amounts of protein for my 2 adult dogs, and considerations for feeding my puppy. There is information on how to feed better foods that are not terribly expensive, once you take in consideration that your dogs will eat less of a higher quality food. For the truly geeky, you can even calculate the kcal required. There are also fora for home-prepared food and recipes and raw food diets, as well as fun stuff. I even ended up providing food for some friends dogs who didn’t feel it was worth it (fortunately they were small breeds!).
I’m happy to have found your blog. I, too, have 3 dogs (a male 3-year-old Golden, a male 2-year-old Lab mix, an 8-month-old blue-eyed female English Setter/English Pointer/whatsit mix) & a doggish Maine Coon mix. Plus a bunch of Shetland sheep. Strange that I don’t have a herding dog, huh? But I don’t think I’m up to the training &
job requirements of such a dog. In fact, another dog or another cat would be too much until this pack is a little more mature!
Lori,
Thanks for the great information and links. I hear you on not wanting to add more… anything, until your pack gets a few years on them. I’m finally able to sit back and relax a little with the nice age spread my guys have. Kiera – 9, Graidy – 6, Finn – 3, and Wink who’s almost 1 already. Though, I gotta say I’m a little jealous of the Shetland sheep. I can keep dreaming though. Thanks for stopping by.
Looks like I need to switch brands.
You should have been around the day my neighbor was over when I was cooking for the dogs! One whiff and she wanted to know what we were having for dinner! Of course when I told her it was home cooked dog food she thought I was one of “those looney people” (said with much love) obsessed with their pets….oh wait, I AM one of those people, but the looney part I was born with, my dogs just brought it out of me to full bloom!
I can’t believe there was a time when I blindly went to the grocery store and bought the cheapest bag of dog food they had, and since I always had had multiple dogs I was looking to save money. I felt assured when the bag said “Nutritionally Complete”, thinking they wouldn’t, couldn’t possibly LIE about a thing like that, right there on the label now would they? HA! I saw the light a long time ago when a dear friend gently smacked me upside the head and made me READ the labels! (Thanks Jackie!). Now what I do is cook their food at home, putting in all sorts of lovely, healthy supplements that I carefully researched and throwing in a bag of organic, naturally produced dry food. I divide it up for the week in freezer bags and there you go….”fast food” dog food at home! Price wise I have saved money over time, but feeding my pets with the same care and attention I feed my family is what counts here, we don’t eat crap and neither should they. All the wicked bad dog food out there should be instantly vaporized…..poof! be gone!!! Thank you for listing all the wonderful A+ brands, Karen! Your information here is wonderful!
Someday, I hope I have the time and energy to go raw with my crew. Right now, it’s not feasible. Cindy, you are my hero.