Out of all the brand name dog foods,which one do you think is better and healthier to feed to a dog?

Question

Wondering which brand name dog food I should feed to a dog.

Answer 1

I am so sorry that this is so long, but it it very useful info:

Here is kind of a guideline for grading dog foods. While I don't agree with everything on here I think it is a good starting point (sorry it is so long, I don't have the link any more)How to grade your dog's food:
Start with a grade of 100:
1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points
2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points
3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points
5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewerâ⬢?s rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points
9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points
11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isnâ⬢?t allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points
14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isnâ⬢?t allergic to beef), subtract 1 point
15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:
1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points
3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points
9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
12) 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
13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point 94-100+ = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D <70 = F
Here are some foods that have already been scored. If you don't see your dog's food here, ask and someone will score it for you. Dog Food scores: Alpo Prime Cuts / Score 81 C Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy / Score 114 A+ Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+ Authority Harvest Baked Less Active / Score 93 B Beowulf Back to Basics / Score 101 A+ Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice / Score 83 C Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice / Score 106 A+ Burns Chicken and Brown Rice / Score 107 A+ Canidae / Score 112 A+ Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+ Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A Diamond Performance / Score 85 C Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+ Dick Van PattenⳠNatural Balance Venison and Brown Rice / Score 106 A+ Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+ EaglePack Holistic / Score 102 A+ Eukanuba Adult / Score 81 C Eukanuba Puppy / Score 79 C Flint River Senior / Score 101 A+ Foundations / Score 106 A+ Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D Innova Dog / Score 114 A+ Innova Evo / Score 114 A+ Innova Large Breed Puppy / Score 122 A+ Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+ MemberⳠMark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C Merrick Wilderness Blend / Score 127 A+ NatureⳠRecipe / Score 100 A NatureⳠRecipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice / Score 116 A+ NatureⳠVariety Raw Instinct / Score 122 A+ Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice / Score 81 C Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy / Score 101 A+ Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B Nutro Max Adult / Score 93 B Nutro Natural Choice Oatmeal / Score 101 A+ Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Lamb and Rice Puppy / Score 98 A Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+ Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry / Score 109 A+ Pro Nature Puppy / Score 80 C Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach / Score 94 A Purina Benful / Score 17 F Purina Dog / Score 62 F Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F Purina One Large Breed Puppy / Score 62 F Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+ Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+ Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+ Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A Solid Gold / Score 99 A Summit / Score 99 A Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural Dry / Score 120 A+ Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+

Answer 2

I also feed Solid Gold...no corn, wheat, or soy which are the most common allergens for canines. I have a giant breed, so I also fed the Wolf Cub, but have now switched to half Wolf King and half Hund-n-Flocken :) I add the green tripe and the seameal to my dog's food.

Any dog food that is corn based (corn in the first five ingredients) is not easily digestible. That is why the recommended feeding amounts are so high. While corn is high in protein, it is not easily digestible, so a dog has to eat more...which also equals more poop to pick up LOL. This is not the case with a high quality food...a dog will eat less because he won't have to eat so much to get the daily nutrients needed.

Look into what goes into dog food and then make an educated decision...something that should be done again, particularly with the current recalls and contamination. :)

Answer 3

There are so many factors in what makes a good dog food that it's really impossible to say which is the best for one specific dog without knowing more about the dog. How old is your dog? Does it have food allergies? Is it a large breed dog? Is it a small dog? There are good foods out there. I suggest doing some research online. Just google "best dog food" and start reading the results. Look for foods with high quality ingredients and no animal by-products or fillers.

Great list Star. Happy to see my dogs' food getting an A+.

Answer 4

There are lots of good brands here:
www.naturapet.com

I feed Innova EVO to my dogs as they are performance dogs.

Wellness, Innova, and Soli Gold are good, safe foods. Karma is also a good food but way more expensive for the same product as the others.

www.dogfoodproject.com compares many dog foods.

If you have seen a commercial for it, DON'T buy it!!
If you can buy it at Wal-Mart, DON'T buy it!!
If you can buy it at the grocery store, DON'T buy it!!
If you can buy it at Petsmart (generally), DON'T buy it!!

General guidelines to follow!!

Beneful, Science Diet, Iams, Eukanuba, Kibbles n Bits, Purina, Pedigree, etc, etc are CRAP dog food. If you knew what the ingredients meant you would be very upset if you fed it to your dog(s)!!

If you go to www.dogfoodproject.com it will explain all the things in the dog food label. Do some research!!

Answer 5

There are many good dog foods to choose from. I'd suggest you look into getting samples of a few to see what your dog likes better. Some dogs are finicky about the food just like we are.

This article gives some good information on how to select a good food

http://www.peteducation.com/category_summary.cfm?cls=2&cat=1661

Answer 6

Solid Gold is a good food


Solid Gold Wolf Cub Large Breed Puppy Food(dry):

Bison, Salmon Meal, Brown Rice, Cracked Pearled Barley, Rice Bran, Canola Oil, Flaxseed Oil, Garlic, Amaranth, Blueberries, Yucca Schidegera Extract, Taurine, Carotene, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, (a chelated source of iron), Zinc Proteinate (a chelated source of zinc), Copper Proteinate (a chelated source of copper), Manganese Proteinate (a chelated source of manganese), Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid

-everything looks good to me
-alot of protien
-no by-products

P.s please in no means ever feed your dog pedigree. My poor dog Snoopy died last year from cancer from that brand.

Answer 7

I suggest visiting www.dogfoodanalysis.com they review pretty much every type of dog food. I wouldn't recommend Science Diet.

Answer 8

Science diet

Answer 9

Science diet is a very digestible food, my Rescues get strong , shiny coats, and they get healthy and stay healthy. That's all you can ask for.

Answer 10

me and my family give science diet dog food to all our dogs-large , small young and old. they make great -healthy foods for all kinds of dogs.