My most trusted advocate when it comes to determining the quality of any dog food is Dog Food Advisor. This is a fantastic site that breaks down dog foods by ingredient, discusses the quality of each ingredient, and gives an overall rating of 1-5 stars. Nearly every U.S. brand and flavor of dog food is listed on this site! I keep a personal rule to never give my dogs any food under 3.5 stars. Ideally, I stick with 4 stars or higher.
I get asked a lot about what I feed my dogs. This seems to be one of the biggest concerns any responsible pet owner has, as we want our dogs to have long, healthy lives. The first step to accomplishing this is to make sure our dogs are on as good a diet as possible.
Over the years I have studied canine nutrition quite a bit. I’m not saying I’m an expert by any means, but I have learned quite a lot. One of the first things I discovered was, as sad as it is, you CAN’T always trust your vet when it comes to canine nutrition! If you’re curious why this is, check out my blog post, “Why Vets Don’t Know Everything About Nutrition.” When it comes to canine nutrition, you are likely going to have to find out the facts and do all of the research yourself, because the pet food companies are NOT going to tell you - or your vet - the truth!
Over the years I have studied canine nutrition quite a bit. I’m not saying I’m an expert by any means, but I have learned quite a lot. One of the first things I discovered was, as sad as it is, you CAN’T always trust your vet when it comes to canine nutrition! If you’re curious why this is, check out my blog post, “Why Vets Don’t Know Everything About Nutrition.” When it comes to canine nutrition, you are likely going to have to find out the facts and do all of the research yourself, because the pet food companies are NOT going to tell you - or your vet - the truth!
A Trusted Guide
Some General Rules
There are a lot of awesome homemade diets and raw diets that are super healthy and amazing to feed your dog. However, for the sake of time and since the majority of dog owners do in fact feed their dogs kibble, that is what I’m going to focus on. When it comes to finding a good kibble to feed your dog, there are several basic rules you want to stick by:
Protein First!
Make sure the first ingredient is some form of protein! If it isn’t then you can safely guess the majority of your dog’s food is just filler. But don't just look at the first ingredient - look at the next 5 as well. If the first ingredient is protein, but the next 5 are grains and/or vegetables, then this food is mostly filler. Ideally, you should see protein listed at least 2-3 times within the first 5-7 ingredients.
Avoid Corn!
Corn is nothing but filler and has no nutritional value to your dog whatsoever. Not only that, but it is one of the most common allergens found in dogs (my own dog, Suki, is allergic to corn). I could go on forever about all the reasons to avoid corn, but for the sake of saving time, here are some good resources:
Avoid Unknown Meat
Unnamed meat products can include “meat meal”, “bone meal”, “animal fat”, “animal digest”, “blood meal”, etc. If it doesn’t specifically state what animal these sources are coming from, don’t trust it. Chances are they are coming from road kill, euthanized live stock, or even possibly euthanized pets.
Avoid "Fruit Loops"
A Word From Dr. Karen Becker
Avoid foods with multiple shapes or colors in it. There is no reason for this. Dogs don’t care! That is solely for the owner’s benefit and often results in a lot of unhealthy and unnecessary food dyes in your dog’s food. I have also found that the only foods that really do this tend to be the lower quality ones. Basically if your dog’s food looks like Fruit Loops and Lucky Charms, that’s pretty much what it is!
While there is a lot more information on what to avoid and what not to avoid, these tend to be the biggest and easiest to remember. Here are some good clips from Dr. Karen Becker, a holistic veterinarian with a lot of good nutritional knowledge, on what goes into pet food, and what you should look out for:
- The Quality of Pet Food Ingredients, Part 1 - The 3 Best Pet Foods You Can Buy
- The Quality of Pet Food Ingredients, Part 2 - Exposing Manufacturer's Dirty Tricks
Finding the Right Food
There are a ton of different brands of dog food out there and while one is great for one dog, it may not agree with another. I feed my dogs the Kirkland brand from Costco, a 4 star food on Dog Food Advisor. It’s also one of the highest quality foods for the most affordable price that I’ve been able to find. It’s about $30 for a 40lb bag. My dogs do really well on it; however I know a few dogs that didn’t do well with it. Blue Buffalo is also one of the top quality foods out there, but I’ve met a lot of dogs that it is simply too rich for.
Sometimes finding the right dog food that works best for your dog can be a process in and of itself. There are several brands that I do really like: Wellness, Kirkland, Fromm, Blue Buffalo, Pure Balance, California Natural, and Innova, just to name a few. There are also several brands I always warn against: Iams, Pedigree, Purina, Science Diet, Beneful, Ol’ Roy, Kibbles & Bits, etc. Unfortunately there is really no one food I can recommend for every dog. As I’ve mentioned before, I highly recommend using Dog Food Advisor as a trusted resource to help you find the best food for your dog.
Sometimes finding the right dog food that works best for your dog can be a process in and of itself. There are several brands that I do really like: Wellness, Kirkland, Fromm, Blue Buffalo, Pure Balance, California Natural, and Innova, just to name a few. There are also several brands I always warn against: Iams, Pedigree, Purina, Science Diet, Beneful, Ol’ Roy, Kibbles & Bits, etc. Unfortunately there is really no one food I can recommend for every dog. As I’ve mentioned before, I highly recommend using Dog Food Advisor as a trusted resource to help you find the best food for your dog.
A Final Word
Most of the time, feeding a higher quality food also means spending more money up front. However, I have found you can usually feed less of a higher quality food than of a lower one. I had a dog in my home that was on a low-quality brand and was eating 4½ cups of food a day. I asked the owner if I could switch her to Kirkland and the dog went down to eating only 3½ cups of food a day. This can even out price-wise or can even save you money in the long run.
Overall, I feel like it ultimately comes down to health and quality of life. A person can live off Ramen Noodles, Mac & Cheese, and T.V. Dinners and be “just fine”, but that doesn’t mean they are healthy or going to live the longest life. The same goes for dogs. A dog can live off a cheaper, lower quality food and be “just fine”, but that doesn’t mean the dog is healthy or going to live very long. A less healthy dog often means more health problems to deal with and more money going to your vet, so you’re really not saving much money, if any, in the long run.
Overall, I feel like it ultimately comes down to health and quality of life. A person can live off Ramen Noodles, Mac & Cheese, and T.V. Dinners and be “just fine”, but that doesn’t mean they are healthy or going to live the longest life. The same goes for dogs. A dog can live off a cheaper, lower quality food and be “just fine”, but that doesn’t mean the dog is healthy or going to live very long. A less healthy dog often means more health problems to deal with and more money going to your vet, so you’re really not saving much money, if any, in the long run.
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