Dog Food Reviews

Ground Yellow Corn, Beef & Bone Meal, Soybean Meal, Digest of Chicken By-Products, Animal Fat (preserved with BHA), Poultry By-Product Meal, Brewer's Rice, Salt, Iron Oxide, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin A Acetate, Manganese Sulfate, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Potassium Iodine, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Biotin.

Review:

Alpo used to have a very large marketing campaign and was basically synonymous with dog food. Those days seem to be long gone, and while it'd be nice to say that it's a good thing for dogs, an equally bad food (Ol Roy) now stands as the most popular dog food brand in the USA.

Looking at the food, it's hard to understand just how this could be sold as real food for dogs. For instance, ground corn is the top ingredient, which is known to be difficult to digest and not nutritious for dogs. It's a filler. Beef & bone meal is the ground up stew of some of the most undesireable parts of the cow, along with some bone thrown in. It's one of the cheapest things a dog food company can use. Soybean meal is yet another filler with limited value for dogs. Then, we have "digest of chicken by-products". The 4 "D's" of (dead, diseased, dying, and disabled) are used to make any animal digest product. It's a stew of animal parts that would probably make most people vomit upon seeing or smelling it.

It just goes downhill from there. We have more by-products, and then brewers rice (another cheap addition with limited value). Also, salt is high on the list as flavoring, which is bad for the animals just like it's bad for you. It's only there b/c the food is otherwise too bad tasting and needs seasoning.

This food is such a total failure, I'm not happy about having to give it 1 star.

Chicken, Whole Ground Wheat, Whole Ground Barley, Chicken Meal, Canola Oil (Preserved mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Carrots, Salmon Meal, Dried Egg Product, Spinach, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Cranberries, Natural Flavor, Chicory Root Extract, Flaxseed, Minerals (Salt, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamin Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Glucosamine Hydrocholide, Chondroitin Sulfate, Carnitine.

Review:

Authority, which is PetSmart's brand of food, performs pretty well when compared to other foods of comparable price and of greater reputations. You can tell if a food is pretty good often times by seeing what is NOT in it. The lack of corn, by-products and animal digest is great to see. Those types of ingredients drive down a food's value very quickly.

Here, The meat sources are solid, and comprise 3 of the first 7 ingredients. There are a great many vegetables as well, with carrots in an unheard of 6th splot, and spinach, tomatoes, broccoli and cranberries following behnd. Flaxseed is present for the beneficial fatty acids.

However, the wheat as the 2nd ingredient is troubling. This is the number one cause of food allergies in dogs and isn't beneficial. Without that, this would be a terrific food. With it, it's still pretty good but not great.

Chicken Meal, Ground Whole Brown Rice, Ground Whole Rice, Oatmeal, Rice Bran, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Ascorbic Acid), Avocado Meal, Flax Seed, Dried Alfalfa Meal, Avocado Oil, Herring Meal, Lecithin, Natural Flavor, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Bromelain, Papain, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Product, Monosodium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Ferrous Sulfate, DL-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Source of Vitamin E), Zinc Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Manganous Oxide, Riboflavin Supplement (Source of Vitamin B Complex), Copper Sulfate, Zinc Methionine, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Niacin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Source of Vitamin B1), Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement.

Review:

Avoderm seems to be a better dog food than it is a cat food. Chicken meal is the first ingredient, and herring meal is found further down the list, to ensure that the meat proteins are of good quality. This food contains no by-products, corn, wheat, soy, or animal digest. The grain of choice for this food is rice, which is the best you can do for digestion, but rice bran is not a good form of rice to be feeding, nutritionally speaking.

The avocado is a very interesting ingredient, and I believe it to be pretty unique to this food. It provides many vitamins, beneficial fatty acids, and provides for a good coat. This is a quality ingredient. Flaxseed is included for a further good fat source, which is great to see.

Overall, it's a pretty good food. I'm impressed by this one.

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, salt, phosphoric acid, animal digest, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin B-12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, copper sulfate, biotin, garlic oil, thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.

Review:

Beneful has enjoyed quite the reputation in pet food circles among those who may not really know what's in pet foods. If a person is asked what food they feed their dog, and the response is "Beneful", it's probably a good bet that often the people will respond positively due to the ad campaign and the packaging. But does it hold up when the label is looked at?? Let's see....

Well, no. Actually it's downright terrible. Corn is an awful ingredient for dog foods, and yet it occupies the first and third places in the list. The main animal protein source is by-products, which are the lowest quality parts of the animal (heads, beaks, feathers, feet, etc) and wouldn't be fed by us directly to our animals ever. They use wheat, even though I am sure they are very aware that this is the top cause of food allergies in dogs and is NOT a nutritionally sound inclusion. They also attempt to rectify this by using rice, but they're using rice FLOUR, which takes away a lot of the value of it. If they'd used whole grain rice, credit would have been in order.

By the time they throw in "beef" as the 7th ingredient, it's too late. A real meat source should be FIRST for dogs, not SEVENTH. Not only that, note how high sugar is on the ingredient list. Sugar shouldn't even be listed on a label, but for it to make the top 10 is certainly a bad sign. Added salt coming right after it is a doubly bad sign. Your dog doesn't need the extra sodium (or sugar). They're only put in there b/c it wouldn't taste good enough otherwise.

So if you put it all together, it's just a disaster. I'd go as far as to say it's hardly even better than Dog Chow, and that's quite a statement. Save your money.

Chicken By-Products (Organs only, Including Chicken Liver), Chicken, Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Brewers Dried Yeast, Cane Molasses, Egg Product, Salt, Sodium Propionate (a preservative), DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Manganous Oxide, Inositol, BHA (a preservative), Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Cobalt Carbonate, Potassium Iodine, Sodium Selenite.

Review:

By-products seem to dominate this one, taking over the first and 4th places in the food. They say the first one isn't SO bad because it's only organs, but I really still don't want to see this food being made. I can't hold this by-product as much against them as "typical" by-products, but we'd still rather just see meat products.

The grain used in this food is not a good one (corn), but to their credit this isn't an overally grain loaded food and that's a plus for them.

On the other hand, sugar is scarily high and so is salt. This indicates that the food probably isn't that tasty on its own and has to be infused with sugar and salt to make the dogs want to eat it more. That's a disappointing duo of ingredients to find so high in a dog food.

I'd save your money on this one, it just has too little going for it and more going against it.

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Potato Starch, Turkey Meal, Whitefish Meal, Salmon Meal, Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Chicken Fat (preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Oatmeal, Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Flaxseed (natural source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids), Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Kelp Meal, Taurine, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Yucca Shidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Turmeric, Herring Oil (natural source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Fructooligosaccharides, Monooligosaccharides, Dried Chicory Root, Black Malted Barley, Oil of Rosemary, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin C, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Folic Acid, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Calcium Chloride, Zinc Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Zinc), Iron Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Iron), Copper Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Copper), Manganese Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Manganese), Potassium Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Potassium), Cobalt Proteinate (source of Chelated Cobalt), Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Selenite, Salt, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, Bifidobacterium longum, Enterococcus faecium.

Review:

Blue Wilderness, by the Blue Buffalo Company, is one of the best dog foods I've found thus far. Oddly enough, I can only seem to find it at Petsmart, which has a pretty bad track record of the food it carries. Perhaps they have some sort of contract with them.

Within the first 6 ingredients, we see 5 named meat ingredients, and 4 of those are meat "meals" which only adds to the amount of good protein in this food. They also use potatoes for their main carb, which is good to see. While this food is not entirely grainless, it's pretty close. The grain we do see is oatmeal, which is one of the better choices that can be made.

Not only is the meat content more than enough, but they include carrots, sweet potatoes, blueberries, and cranberries to give a great mix of fruits and vegetables. This only further gives this food credibility as one of the best foods you can give your dog. What's more, they are mindful to use flaxseed and herring oil as fat sources and for the Omega fatty acids that promote heart health. If that wasn't enough, the array of vitamins is plentiful.

This is very recommended if you shop at Petsmart, but just be prepared to pay.

Lamb meal, brown rice, cracked pearled barley, rice bran, peas, millet, canola oil, lamb, tomato pomace, natural flavor, flaxseed meal, potassium chloride, choline chloride, sun cured alfalfa meal, inulin (from chicory root), lecithin, sage extract, cranberries, beta carotene, rosemary extract, sunflower oil, yucca schidigera extract, dried enterococcus faecium, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, dried bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid, cobalt proteinate, organic selenium, papaya, pineapple.

Review:

The Canidae company makes good foods, there isn't any question about that. They will not use any ingredients that they don't determine to be human-grade, and they certainly won't put any fillers in their foods.

Lamb meal is the top ingredient, with extra lamb as the 8th. If that seems a bit on the light side for meat content, it is. Its protein % of 21% is lower than most foods you'll see on the market today, so I'm not entirely sure I would recommend this to a dog owner who has a super active dog.

Their choices of grain are pretty good all in all. Rice bran would be the exception, as it isn't a good way to include rice in the food. Tomato pumace and peas are used as top fiber providers, and that's definitely a good sign.

The inclusion of beta carotene as a stand alone ingredient is great as well. It's also good to see flaxseed placed in the food for heart health, as well as sunflower oil.

One of the best thing is that it tends to be pretty cheap compared to other premium foods, so if you're looking for a good food on a budget, this may be it.

Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, ocean fish meal, cracked pearled barley, whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, millet, white rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potatoes, egg product, tomato pomace, duck, salmon, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, choline chloride, dried chicory root, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus faecieum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevesiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Review:

The thing I love about the Chicken Soup foods are that they have their priorities in order (meat first) and that they throw an entire garden's worth of fruits and veggies into the food. It's quite the eclectic list of ingredients here...

First, they have 4 meat products to start the product, which is among the best you will see anywhere. The grains they use afterwards are the types we like to see, such as rice and oatmeal. There aren't any cheap fillers like corn, soy or wheat.

There are potatoes for a high-quality carb source, and eggs for further protein. Duck and salmon are somewhat far down the list, but they only add to the variety of meat sources in this food. Plus, look at the fruits and veggies: carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries and spinach. It's hard to beat that.

All of this in a food that is VERY reasonably priced!

Lamb, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Chicken Meal, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Egg Product, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid], Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Minerals [Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate], DL-Methionine, Rosemary Extract.

Review:

Eukanuba is pretty awful for cat food, but they clean it up a bit for dog food. It still doesn't mean it's worth the steep price, however. If you insist on buying dog food at a grocery store though, this is going to be one of the better choices. I still recommend you seek out some of the other foods on this list that are found at specialty pet stores, though. Anyhow, on to the analysis...

Lamb is the first ingredient and that's good. It'd be preferable if it were lamb meal, as weighing it before dehydration is a way of falsely inflating its standing in the food. Brewers rice and corn meal are just NOT indicitive of a good food though. They proudly state they have "NO FILLERS" in their food. Look on their website, it certainly says that. However, all pet food experts will tell you that brewers rice and corn are NOT good ingredients for a dog food. They are indeed filler, because they are taking up space in a food while really giving very little to the animal.

I will say that seeing fish and chicken meals as 5th and 6th is great to see. They should have been moved up a bit, but I'll take what I can get in a food produced by the Iams Corporation. They then decide to use barley, which is a better grain than corn, but they put little of it in this food. Egg product does supply some additional protein, but salt is far too high on the ingredient list and only serves to make the food taste better. Cut out the brewers yeast too!

Venison, Potato, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Brewers Rice, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken Meal, Fish Meal, Dried Egg Product, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp, Potassium Chloride, Chicken Flavor, Brewers Dried Yeast, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Calcium Carbonate, Rosemary Extract.

Review:

This is a new line from Eukanuba that features more "wild" flavors, and one of them is venison. You don't see a lot of venison dry dog foods out there, so this is an interesting food right from the get-go. I was interested to see how it would line up compared to regular Eukanuba.

I'd say it's better than Eukanuba, but not by light years. The good here is that they use meat as the very first ingredient, and potatos as their main carb source. These are solid ingredients. Also solid is the use of chicken meal & fish meal further down to further solidify the animal protein content. Eggs are thrown in for additional protein, though they are "egg product" instead of whole eggs.

However, the use of brewers rice is disappointing, as it's only a filler from the alcohol industry. If this would have been just "brown rice", it would have been an excellent choice. As it is, between this and sorghum, the grains are not of good quality in this food. However, as has been mentioned, they did get the animal sources right, and there are beneficial fish oils as well.

In summary, it's not a bad food. It's a bit better than regular Eukanuba, but it's still a 3 star food until it can clean up its grain sources.

Trout, Potato, Course Ground Millet, Herring Meal, Oatmeal, Sweet Potato, Canola Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Flax Seed, Oat Bran, Natural Flavors, Blueberries, Cranberries, Rosemary, Grape Seed Oil, Menhaden Fish Meal, Granola, Ground Oats, Alfalfa Meal, Brewer's Dried Yeast, Dried Eggs, Lecithin, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Selenium Supplement, Mixed Natural Tocopherols (Antioxidant), Niacin, Iron, Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Ascorbic Acid, Iron Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Magnanese Amino Acid Complex, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganous Oxide, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Copper Sulfate, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid Supplement, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, D-Biotin Supplement, Vitamin D-3, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Product.

Review:

Flint River Ranch is a food that could be on the cusp of being great, but has a few obstacles to overcome first. It's primarily, as far as I can tell, sold online and it tends to be VERY expensive. So it's very hard for any pet food to live up to what it should be when it is that expensive.

It starts out well enough, with trout being first and herring meal 4th. Despite this, the protein percentage is somewhat low for the food, so they could stand to include more protein sources in this food and cut out some of the millet. Millet isn't one of the best grains to use anyway, and could stand to be made more scarce. The inclusions of potatoes are great for carbs and taste.

Cranberries and blueberries provide a couple of fruits. Grapeseed oil is a great fat source, and the fish meal will help provide Omega fatty acids.

This food is pretty average in the scheme of things. Better than most of what you'll find in your local grocery store or Petsmart, though. For the price though?? Egads no!

Salmon, Duck Meal, Potatoes, Pea Flour, Sweet Potatoes, Duck, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Dried Tomato Pomace, Salmon Meal, Whole Dried Egg, Pea Protein, Chicken, Flaxseed, Cheese, Salmon Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Chicken Broth, Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Apples, Green Beans, Lecithin, Chicken Cartilage, Potassium Chloride, Cranberries, Blueberries, Salt, Chicory Root Extract, Alfalfa Sprouts, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Folic Acid, Parsley, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Longum, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcous Faecium, Vitamin A, D3, E, B12 Supplements, Choline Bitartrate, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Cobalt Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Sorbic Acid, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite.

Review:

Fromm's Surf & Turf is a completely grain-free food, which means that the food will have upped amounts of animal protein, and probably increased amounts of fruits and vegetables as well to help offset what space the grain used to take. Often times, they use potatoes to help hold the food together, like this one.

This food really has no faults, The meat sources are quality and plentiful. That's one part of the equation, and arguably the largest. However, the sheer amount of fruits and vegetables that are used to provide vitamins and fiber can't be ignored. These are ingredients that are among the most expensive, which is why cheaper foods don't hvae them. They are very good for your dog though, and these are a nice touch. Whole eggs are used for additional protein as well.

This is a food you can't go wrong with if you can foot the bill.

GROUND CORN, CHICKEN-BY-PRODUCT MEAL, CORN GLUTEN MEAL (SOURCE OF LUTEIN*), BEEF, WHOLE GRAIN BROWN RICE, ANIMAL FAT, RICE, NATURAL POULTRY FLAVOR, WHEAT FLOUR, DRIED PEAS, DRIED BEET PULP, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SALT, VEGETABLE OIL (SOURCE OF LINOLEIC ACID), CARAMEL COLOR, CALCIUM CARBONATE, TAURINE, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, VITAMINS (dl-ALPHA TOCOPHEROL ACETATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN E], L-ASCORBYL-2-POLYPHOSPHATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN C*], VITAMIN A ACETATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, d-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT [VITAMIN B2], BIOTIN, CHOLINE CHLORIDE), IRON OXIDE, DRIED CARROTS, DRIED SPINACH, DRIED TOMATOES, MINERALS (ZINC SULFATE, COPPER SULFATE, POTASSIUM IODIDE), CHLOROPHYLL, MARIGOLD MEAL, NATURALLY PRESERVED WITH MIXED TOCOPHEROLS.

Review:

I like the name of the food, but that's probably about it. It was moderately better for cats, enough to get 2 stars, but it can't muster that here.

First, corn occupies the 1st and 3rd slots, which means that most of the food is probably filler. That is certainly not a good sign, especially when that filler isn't very nutritious for the dog. The main animal source is a by-product, which means your dog is eating some of the most disgusting parts of the animal that humans won't go near. It's nice to see that rice is used as a grain in this food because of how digestible it is, but it's sandwiched between corn and wheat, which is awful.

The Goodlife Recipe is pretty cheap, which is good because the ingredients are also pretty cheap.

Lamb Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Corn Grits, Chicken By-Product Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Ground Whole Grain Barley, Dried Beet Pulp, Fish Meal, Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Caramel, Choline Chloride, Flax Meal, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Monosodium Phosphate, Rosemary Extract.

Review:

Iams starts off right by putting a meat "meal" as the top ingredient. That's the way to begin, and it should be the primary ingredient. After that, it sort of falls apart with brewers rice (alcohol by-product bought cheaply) and corn meal (worthless to dogs). Sorghum is thought of as a middle of the road grain. More corn follows it up, and then a by-product which I was really hoping NOT to see in a food that costs as much as Iams does. They can afford to use quality parts of the chicken without resorting to disgusting by-products.

They pick up a bit at the end with using fish meal, as well as eggs. Whole grain barley is a solid grain as well, but it's way too late in the list for it to make up for all of the corn in this food.

The verdict is that it's better than Science Diet, but far inferior to the premium foods out there that won't comprimise quality. Giving it 3 stars just didn't seem to add up here, so it gets 2.

Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Beta-Carotene, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Flax Meal, Apple Pomace, Dried Carrots, Dried Peas, Choline Chloride, Dried Spinach, Dried Tomato, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), L-Carnitine, Rosemary Extract.

Review:

Iams Healthy Naturals really looks quite a bit like the regular Iams, and I'm struggling to see the difference here. They use chicken as the top ingredient, which is good, but would be even better if it were chicken "meal", so that the post-dehydration weight would be used and it would be more protein-loaded.

There just isn't a lot to get excited about from there on. This food is heavy on the by-products and is high on the alcohol side products (both brewers rice and brewers yeast). Not only that, but they include corn in the food, which we know by now isn't good for digestion in the least. It's really as if they put chicken first so they could advertise it as such on the bag and mailed it in from there.

Chicken By-Product Meal (Natural source of Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine), Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Fish Meal, Chicken, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement,Beta-Carotene, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Fructooligosaccharides, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Flax Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Dried Chicken Cartilage (Natural source of Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine), DL-Methionine, Marigold, L-Carnitine, Rosemary Extract.

Review:

As I mentioned in the cat food review of this food, they have a good marketing strategy here. There are big displays, with a doctor on the display, as if to tell you that since this person in a lab coat says it's good, so should you. THere are also fake vials showing how many great ingredients there are in it. And there should be, considering how expensive this food is.

But the problem is, it's just loaded with cheap ingredients and ones that aren't good for your pet. First, see that by-products are your top ingredient. That is never the mark of a good food, ever. Using beaks, heads and feet as your main ingredient won't instill any confidence. It gets worse with corn being the top grain, despite how difficult it is for dogs to digest and the allergy problems many have. The only place it looks up is when they list barley as a good grain, and fish meal (which should have been a top ingredient). Other than that, it's another underwhelming effort from Iams. THey threw in brewers yeast as a final insult as well, which is an alcohol-making sideproduct bought in bulk by pet food companies as filler. Yummy.

Turkey, chicken, turkey meal, chicken meal, potatoes, herring meal, chicken fat, natural flavors, egg, apples, tomatoes, potassium chloride, carrots, vitamins, garlic, cottage cheese, minerals, alfalfa sprouts, ascorbic acid, dried chicory root, direct-fed microbials, vitamin E supplement, lecithin, rosemary extract.

Review:

Evo is part of Innova's line of products, and is their high-protein, no grain food. This is especially good for their cat counterparts, but isn't bad for dogs either. Besides, most of the grains used by pet food companies today are cheap and nearly worthless anyhow.

The first 4, and 5 of the first 6 ingredients are named animal meat products. No by-products or "animal digest". They use potatoes as a main carb source, which is good. Chicken fat is used instead of beef tallow, which is good to see. They use eggs for additional proteins and a good number of fruits and veggies (apples, tomatoes and carrots) to supplement the animal products. They even use cottage cheese, which is unique to Evo as far as I'v seen.

The ingredient list is also pretty short, which is usually a good thing, as longer lists tend to have more chemicals and additives.

It's no more expensive than Science Diet and 10 times better. Highly recommended.

Corn, soybean meal, beef and bone meal, ground wheat flour, animal fat (bha used as preservative), corn syrup, wheat middlings, water sufficient for processing, animal digest (source of chicken flavor), propylene glycol, salt, hydrochloric acid, potassium chloride, caramel color, sorbic acid (used as a preservative), sodium carbonate, minerals (ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), choline chloride, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, vitamin A supplement, niacin supplement, D-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), calcium sulfate, titanium dioxide, yellow 5, yellow 6, red 40, BHA (used as a preservative), dl methionine.

Review:

Kibbles 'n Bits is to dogs what Meow Mix is to cats. It's colorful, they have a catchy line of commercials, and it seems to taste decent to them, much like Happy Meals taste good to children. I've often said it on other reviews, but I REALLY mean it when I say that this food is absolutely atrocious.

Three of the first four ingredients are cheap grains that aren't needed by your dog. Is it any wonder why the protein percentage (19%) is extremely low in this food? When your food is comprised mostly of grains your dog would do better without, there isn't much guesswork. The main animal protein source comes from the extremely cheap and disgusting "beef and bone meal". At least they tell you it's beef and not "meat".

However, corn syrup is the 6th ingredient. Sugar is absolutely unnecessary and is only included to improve teh taste of an otherwise crappy food. It's not there for their health, but only to make your dog agree to eat it. What's more, "wheat middlings", also known as "floor sweepings" comes in next. The yummy "animal digest" (check the glossary) comes in 9th, further sending this food into the gutter. Also, the loads of artificial colors are just not a good addition at all.

Heinz should stick to making ketchup, not pet foods.

Chicken Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Oat Groats, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp, Brewers Dried Yeast, Flaxseed Meal, Natural Flavors, Dried Egg Product, Catfish Meal, Potassium Chloride, Salt, L-Lysine, Canola Oil, DL-Methionine, Calcium Carbonate, Monosodium Phosphate, Dried Carrots, Dried Celery, Dried Beets, Dried Parsley, Dried Lettuce, Dried Watercress, Dried Blueberries, Dried Broccoli, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium thermophilum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Pomegranate Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin E Supplement, Inositol, Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Citric Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Proteinate, Selenium Yeast, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide.

Review:

Life's Abundance, which appears comes from the same company as Flint River Ranch, looks to be primarily a food ordered off of the internet. For this reason, I had not been aware of it until it was brought to my attention recently. Now that I've looked it over, let's see what's in it...

Having chicken meal first is a good indicator that this food will have solid animal protein sources, and it does. Both chicken meal and catfish meal are included in this food, as well as eggs to give it a decent protein content.

The primary grain is rice, which is always nice to see due to its digestibility, but the use of brewers yeast is a disappointment since it is a filler with limited to no real value to the dog.

Flaxseed helps provide Omega fatty acids, and canola oil is a decent (if not top of the line) fat source.

Beet pulp is questionable as a fiber, as many that I've read say that it isn't a very digestible source of fiber, and that there are many better ways to give your pet fiber in his food...this is a matter I typically leave alone b/c there really isn't a consensus.

Lastly, the fruits and vegetables are well represented here, and that's usually the mark of a good food. All in all, since I'm a stickler for convenience I probably wouldn't buy it online, but I can't fault those who do.

Beef, Oatmeal, Barley, Beef Meal, Whole Brown Rice, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols – a source of Natural Vitamin E and Ascorbic Acid, a source of Vitamin C), Flaxseed, Freeze Dried Sweet Potatoes, Freeze Dried Carrots, Freeze Dried Peas, Dried Chicken Liver, Freeze Dried Apples, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Lysine, Guar Gum, Sea Salt, Choline Chloride, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Whole Blueberries, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Whole Garlic, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Dried Beef Broth, Chicory Root, Marigold Extract, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Natural Celery Flavor, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Natural Caramel Color, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Lecithin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

Review:

Merrick is known for putting together a pretty good product in quite a few interesting varieties. Check out their selection next time you're at the store and you'll probably see what I mean by that. Here, we see the "Cowboy Cookout" selection, and let's see how it stacks up.

They start with beef, which is fine, but what they really should do is swap the more protein-packed "beef meal" that's in 4th and put it first so that it is a more true representation of how much of the food is really comprised of that beef. Just saying "beef" means it is weighed before dehydration, which skews how much is REALLY in the food.

Oatmeal, barley and rice are all good grains to include in a dog food. They don't cause many allergies and are higher quality than corn, wheat or soy. However, the concern here is that the amount of meat may be a little low as compared to other foods. It's only 22% protein, and I'd like to see more than that.

That isn't to say the ingredients aren't solid, though. They definitely are. There are quite a few fruits and veggies (apples, sweet potatoes, carrots, and peas), and they do use flaxseed for the Omega fatty acids.

It's a good product, but I'd use it mainly for animals who aren't too active, because the meat portion is a little lower than most quality foods.

Chicken, Brown Rice, Lamb Meal, Oatmeal, Barley, Duck Meal, Potatoes, Carrots, Chicken Fat (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols), Tomato Pomace, Natural Flavor, Canola Oil, Brewers Yeast, Salmon Meal, Salmon Oil, Whole Ground Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Spinach, Parsley Flakes, Cranberries, L-Lysine, L-Carnitine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid.

Review:

Natural Balance, the only food that I know of tied to an actor's name (Dick Van Patton) is a very good choice for the money and isn't difficult to find. It can even be found in major pet food stores, which is a huge accessibility advantage.

There are 4 meats present in the food: chicken, lamb meal, duck meal and salmon meal. Overall, this is a very solid foundation for quality animal proteins. There are no by-products to be found. They also use some of the best grains that can be used, with brown rice as the highest. Again, this is another huge plus. There is no shortage of vegetables in this food, and the fiber sources (tomato pumace, carrots) are excellent.

Still, why the use of brewers yeast?? Just puzzles me why they'd use excellent ingredients otherwise, then use an alcohol-making side-product. Hmmm.

Duck Meal, Turkey Meal, Salmon Meal, Canola Oil (naturally preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Tapioca, Tomato Pomace, Pumpkinseeds, Herring Meal, Sun-Cured Alfalfa Meal, Montmorillonite Clay, Natural Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Yeast, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Niacin Supplement, Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Iodine Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Carotene, Folic Acid), Peas, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite), Sea Salt, Dried Kelp, Cranberries, Blueberries, Inulin, Freeze Dried Turkey, Freeze Dried Turkey Liver, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract, Freeze Dried Turkey Hearts, Freeze Dried Ground Turkey Bone.

Review:

I hadn't heard of this food until I was notified that I should include it in this listing. While that may mean it is difficult to find in my area, it may be more accessible in others. Always call your local specialty pet stores and ask about foods like these.

Nature's Variety has 2 main lines of food, with Instinct being its grain-free formula, which I'll focus on here. As expected, the protein % is pretty high (35%) and it's loaded with quality meat meals (4 of them). Notice they are meat "meals" and not just labelled as "chicken" or "duck". Because they're weighing them post-dehydration, it's an accurate statement as to just how much meat is in the product.

Tapioca is an interesting ingredient, but it serves the purpose of what potatoes typically do, which is to provide a starch and help bind the food together so it doesn't fall apart. IT's a fine ingredient. Also, pumpkinseeds may seem off to some, but they are actually quite a good fiber source and help provide lineolic acid for skin & coat.

What's more, the line-up of fruits and veggies is present to help suppliment the vitamin count. All in all, this is a very solid food and I'm glad to now be aware of it.

Beef Meal, Ground Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Rice Bran, Ground Whole Wheat, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Wheat Flour, Natural Flavors, Sodium Bicarbonate, Calcium Carbonate, Monosodium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Potassium Carbonate, Yeast Culture, L-Lysine, Salt, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Oxide, Dried Kelp, Lecithin, Garlic Flavor, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Riboflavin (source of Vitamin B2), Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity).

Review:

This food from Nutro seems so very basic to me. They've incorporated a sole meat source, with a few grain ingredients behind it, and that seems to be it. No healthy oils for Omega fatty acids or lineolic acid, no alternative meat sources, no fruits or vegetables. It's actually one of the simplest foods I've seen, save for the loads of ingredients most of us can't even pronounce.

Nutro has two main lines: Natural Choice and Max. In the case of both cats and dogs, Max is the weaker of the two. Due to the high use of corn gluten, wheat and lack of other nutrients/ingredients that should be basic in a supposed "premium" food, I would recommend against Nutro Max.

Chicken, Ground Rice, Rice Flour, Rice Bran, Chicken Meal, Whole Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Natural Flavors, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Potato Protein, Potassium Chloride, L-Lysine, Salt, Choline Chloride, Egg Product, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Copper Proteinate, Biotin, Niacin Supplement, Garlic Flavor, Potassium Iodide, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement.

Review:

This food is actually pretty good on the whole. Compared to their Nutro Max, it's REALLY good. They have totally excluded corn and wheat (unlike Max), and also not included any low quality meat ingredients like by-products or digest. This is really good to see, and it gives me confidence that the company is putting forth an effort at least, unlike so many other big companies.

One thing I'd like to see from Nutro is the inclusion of fruits and vegetables as a natural vitamin and fiber source. They don't seem to do that. They do, however, include sunflower oil for lineolic acid (helps w/ skin and coat), and that's a solid ingredient. The use of rice as the sole grain is excellent too.

If you are shopping at a Petsmart or Walmart for your pet food, this is around the best you'll do.

Top 10 Ingredients: Chicken meal, whole brown rice, ground rice, lamb meal, rice bran, soybean oil, sunflower oil, poultry fat, salmon meal, flaxseed.

Review:

If Nutro Max is sub-par, and Nutro Natural Choice is decent, then this is very good. I'm actually impressed by this food, and I didn't figure I would be. As far as I can tell, this is better than anything that Iams, Science Diet, or Eukanuba puts out. In short, if you're a fan of Nutro foods and don't want to switch your brand, go for this line of foods.

I could only get the top 10 ingredients, because I couldn't copy and paste this list from their site. However, we see 3 named meat meals in the top 9 ingredients. These are protein-packed animal proteins from good sources. We also see that rice is the lone grain used, which is an excellent grain for digestibility and fiber. It's the top grain recommended. Also, flaxseed and sunflower oil are top notch choices for fatty acids that help both the heart and nervous systems. The only quibble is with the soybean oil, which isn't of the highest quality. Also, "poultry fat" isn't as good as if they were to actually name the animal the fat came from. It's always suspect when they refuse to name it. All in all though, a very good food.

Unavailable.

Review:

I can't imagine why Walmart doesn't make this "food"'s ingredient list available online. I've looked at it in the store and it's absolutely laughable, though. I've read so many testimonials online about this food has wrecked the health of dogs that it's sickening. Their foods have tested positive a few times for the chemical that puts pets to sleep at the vet's office. Does that make you wonder?

Deboned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, russet potato, lake whitefish, chicken fat, sweet potato, whole eggs, turkey, salmon meal, salmon and anchovy oils, salmon, natural chicken flavour, sunflower oil, sun-cured alfalfa, dried brown kelp, carrots, spinach, peas, tomatoes, apples, psyllium, dulse, glucosamine Hcl, cranberries, black currants, rosemary extract, chondroitin sulfate, sea salt.

Review:

Orijen is my "best in class" for cat foods, and isn't far behind for dogs either. As was mentioned in the cat food review, this company (based in Canada) really places an emphasis on fresh ingredients. They raise their own chickens and have fishermen employed to catch fish and deliver them fresh to the company. The result is what you see above, and it's about the best you can do for your pet.

The first 3 ingredients are all named meat products, and two of them are protein-packed "meals", which is better yet. Next, potatoes are used for a high quality carb source. Then it's back to meat, as whitefish are included.

This food is a delight of proteins. They use whole eggs, not "dried egg product", for extra protein. There's more meat in the form of turkey and salmon meal. Salmon and anchovy oils are used for fat sources and Omega fatty acids. Not only that, sunflower oil is used to include lineolic acid, which aids in coat and skin health.

As if that isn't enough, carrots, spinach, peas, tomatoes and apples give a strong fruit and vegetable presence in this food. There is absolutely nothing you can fault this food for.

Ground Whole Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Wheat, Meat And Bone Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved With Bha/Bht), Wheat Flour, Lamb, Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Natural Flavor, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Vegetable Oil (Source Of Linoleic Acid), Caramel Color, Dried Beet Pulp, Titanium Dioxide, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate [Source Of Vitamin E], L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate [Source Of Vitamin C*], Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement [Vitamin B2], Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Potassium Iodide), Added FD&C And Lake Colors (Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 2, Red 40).

Review:

No matter what, nobody can take away from Pedigree that they have an awesome marketing campaign. First, the name just sounds distinguished, and it should, with what being a "pedigree" means in the dog world. Plus, they have that cute slogan of "Dogs rule". I'm sure dog owners eat that one up. But should their dogs eat this food up?? Hmmm....

I expected a lot out of Pedigree, and I suppose it was just out of my own predispositions to what this food would be, much like anybody else's. Notice I'm reviewing the "Lamb & Rice" variety of this food. In what rank are the lamb and rice here?? You'd think top 3 or 5 right?? Nope, lamb and rice are 7th and 8th respectively. Due to loose regulations by the pet food industry as to what percentage of an ingredient a product needs to contain to be advertised, they can actually put it that low and still say that it really us a lamb and rice food.

What's before it? Well, we have corn, which dogs couldn't care less about and their insides don't like. We have chicken by-products, ensuring your dog gets the proper number of beaks, heads and feet in his or her diet. Some wheat, since they apparently couldn't spring for a a good grain like rice. And, of course, we have corn gluten meal....which I've covered extensively in other reviews.

The blue ribbon on the bag certainly doesn't stand for first place in quality.

Chicken, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, oat groats, pearled barley, vegetable oil preserved with mixed-tocopherols, egg product, soy flour, dicalcium phosphate, natural flavor, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, salt, vitamins [Vitamin E supplement, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity)], choline chloride, minerals [zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], ascorbic acid [source of Vitamin C].

Review:

For some reason, from the name of the food, I was convinced this was going to be a pretty good food. This proves that reading the labels and not trusting your gut can prove to be very valuable, because this just isn't very good.

It starts off well, which chicken being the top ingredient. Not chicken "meal" though, just "chicken", which means it was weighed pre-dehydration....meaning its value in the food may be overrated. From there though, we have a disaster. First, there's brewers rice which has little value because most of the value of the rice was taken out when it went through the alcohol brewing process. Also, corn gluten is a terrible ingredient for both digestibility and for allergies. Soy flour is from soybeans, which are another major cause of allergies and from a cheap grain. Salt also appears to be higher on this list than in most other foods, which isn't a good sign.

This food, which is actually pretty cheap when I saw it, just isn't very good. You get what you pay for often times, and this is just one example.

Duck Meal, Potatoes, Oatmeal, Duck, Oat Flour, Potato Fiber, Canola Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Toasted Oats, Flax Seed, Quinoa, Grapeseed Oil, Lecithin, Rosemary, Sage, Papain, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Bifidum Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus Licheniformis Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Lactis Fermentation Product, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Zinc Oxide, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Sulfate, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3, Manganous Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Riboflavin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Biotin, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Carbonate.

Review:

Pinnacle is a quality food, albeit I've always found it to be difficult to locate. A look at what's in it doesn't reveal any by-products or fillers. Also, duck meal is the first ingredient, with duck being the 4th ingredient to ensure that the meat content is adequate. As mentioned above, the protein % is a little lower here than some other foods, which probably only matters to dogs that are super active.

The grains are top notch, with the use of oats as a very digestible grain for dogs. Potatoes are a prominent source of carbs and fiber, and flaxseed is around for great fatty acids, as is grapeseed oil. All in all, it's a quality food that you'll definitely pay a price for.

Whole grain corn, poultry by-product meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), corn gluten meal, meat and bone meal, brewers rice, soybean meal, barley, whole grain wheat, animal digest, calcium carbonate, salt, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, added color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2, Yellow 6), DL-Methionine, manganese sulfate, manganese proteinate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, copper proteinate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, Vitamin D-3 supplement, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.

Review:

I find their website of "longliveyourdog.com" to be quite laughable, because it's foods like this that will contribute to a shorter lifespan due to just how bad the nutritional content is. Dog Chow just doesn't SOUND very deluxe, does it?? Well, the name fits the ingredients.

It's actually pretty close to Beneful, which isn't a compliment. They start with corn as the top ingredient, which we know by now is a worthless filler and used as a cheap ingredient. It shouldn't even be in a dog food, much less at the top. They use by-products as the top protein, which means your dog is getting most of his protein out of eating heads, feet, beaks and feathers of birds (in this case). They stuff more corn in as the 4th ingredient, then use "meat and bone meal" as the next protein source. Meat and bone meal is basically a mash of all the parts of the animal that you would NOT feed your dog directly. Not only that, nobody knows exactly WHAT meats are in this...notice that they don't specify. There's a reason for this. Many companies are known to use rats and roadkill for ingredients like this.

There's brewers rice, which is rice left over from the alcohol making process. Soybean meal is another cheap grain. Wheat is a terrible ingredient due to food allergies, and Purina knows it. "Animal digest" is a soup that you would probably tackle your dog from eating if he tried to, due to the nasty ingredients in it.

Plus, look at all the artificial colors. Seriously, is that really necessary in a dog food?

Lamb (natural source of glucosamine), brewers rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), oat meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), lamb meal, animal digest, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, salt, caramel color, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.

Review:

Purina One for dogs avoids the dubious distinction of a 1 star rating because they did manage to put lamb as their first ingredient, and to also include lamb meal as well further on down the list. The inclusion of oatmeal as a high-quality grain is appreciated, but it's way too far down the line from where it should be.

Now, let's get into where it goes wrong. Purina must have a deal with Budweiser because they seem to love using brewers rice in their foods. If they were using whole grain rice that was NOT an alcohol side-product, I'd be raving. HOwever, they insist on going the cheap and non-nutritional way. Then, there are two corn products in a row. Trust me when I say that two corn products in a row or even 2 corn products in the same food is never, ever a good thing.

Besides the lamb, the other ways animals are used here are pretty much disgusting. This includes "Poultry by-product meal", which tells us they don't want to let us know exactly what bird's feathers and beaks they put into this food. They also use the infamous "animal digest", which I pray you never have to watch being made. Oh, and caramel color, let's not forget about that.

Chicken meal, brown rice, rice, oat, chicken fat, corn gluten meal, natural chicken flavor, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), dried brewers yeast, soya oil, potassium chloride, salt, calcium carbonate, dried brewers yeast extract (source of mannan-oligosaccharides), dried egg product, choline chloride, vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), biotin, D-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A acetate, niacin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], Trace Minerals [zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], L-carnitine, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols (source of Vitamin E) and citric acid, rosemary extract.

Review:

I am very happy to say that I've finally found a brand of food that's easy to find at a store like Petsmart or Petco that's actually a pretty decent food. This is the only food I've seen that most people have heard of that actually seems to have a solid lineup of ingredients, and it honestly surprises me. This is better than Iams or Science Diet. Let's look....

Chicken meal is first, and as I've said before, leading off with a meat "meal" product is the best way to start. It means it's from the good part of the animal and is rich in protein. The next three grains are all good choices, and they haven't lessened standards by using brewers rice or rice flour, which is great to see. Chicken fat is way better than beef tallow, so that's a welcome addition to add fat to the food.

Then....sigh...we have corn gluten meal. It's further down here than in most foods, so it's more forgiveable, but we still don't like to see it. The good news is, other than brewers yeast in the 10th slot, those are the only cheap and not so good ingredients I see here. They have used no by-products, very few fillers, and a quality meat source. They've also used a fish (anchovy) oil for the Omega fatty acids, which is awesome.

It misses out on 4 stars, but still earns a respectable 3. However, for the price, it's very possible to do better.

Lamb Meal, Brewers Rice, Rice Flour, Ground Whole Grain Wheat, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Corn Gluten Meal, Cracked Pearled Barley, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, Chicken Liver Flavor, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

Review:

Science Diet for cats is an absolute disaster, but luckily for dogs it isn't quite as bad. This still doesn't mean it is worth the outrageous price, though, as many better foods can be found for the same or less price.

They use lamb meal as the top ingredient and that's great. A "meal" at the top is the best thing to see. Brewers rice, however, is not a good 2nd fiddle, and neither is rice flour at 3rd. Rice is a good grain, if the company uses it as such. When they use a byproduct of the alcohol industry (brewers rice) or rice flour, much of the benefit is lost, and they use it because it's cheaper. Shame on them. The inclusion of corn gluten meal and wheat is also shameful, because Science Diet knows very well that the benefits of these ingredients are slim to none, while the drawbacks can be great.

To their credit, they do use barley and soybean oil, which are pretty good ingredients. Flaxseed is also very welcome as a source for Omega fatty acids. This will not even come close to trumping the fact that they only have one meat source alongside tons of grains, however. For the money, you can do so much better it's really not even funny.

Lamb , Lamb Meal , Brown Rice , Cracked Pearled Barley , Millet , Rice Bran , Oatmeal , Ocean Fish Meal , Canola Oil , Tomato Pomace , Flaxseed , Natural Flavor , Salmon Oil (source of DHA) , Choline Chloride , Taurine , Dried Chicory Root , Parsley Flakes , Pumpkin Meal , Almond Oil , Sesame Oil , Yucca Schidigera Extract , Thyme , Blueberries , Cranberries , Carrots , Broccoli , Vitamin E Supplement , Iron Proteinate , Zinc Proteinate , Copper Proteinate , Ferrous Sulfate , Zinc Sulfate , Copper Sulfate , Potassium Iodide , Thiamine Mononitrate , Manganese Proteinate , Manganous Oxide , Ascorbic Acid , Vitamin A Supplement , Biotin , Calcium Panthothenate , Manganese Sulfate , Sodium Selenite , Pyridoxine Hydrochloride , Vitamin B12 Supplement , Riboflavin Supplement , Vitamin D Supplement , Folic Acid.

Review:

Hund-n-Flocken is the base Solid Gold dog food, and is meant, as the label will tell you, for moderately active dogs. The protein percentage here isn't quite as high as their "Bark at the Moon" variety, so I'd recommend that one if you have a very active dog.

As it stands though, this is a quality food. The animal proteins included are all of good quality with no by-products. Their grains are alright, but not quite as good as they could be because of the inclusion of rice bran and millet. Neither of which is really bad like corn or wheat, but they aren't as beneficial as they could be if replaced with really good grains.

The other thing here is that they do have a good variety of fruits and vegetables for vitamins and fiber. Also, both flaxseed and salmon oil are present for heart healthy fatty acids. That's great to see as well.

This is a food that's worth the money, and thankfully it isn't all that expensive for what you get.

Ocean Fish Meal, Beef, Potatoes, Potato Protein, Canola Oil, Tomato Pomace, Natural Flavoring, Salmon Oil (source of DHA), Choline Chloride, Taurine, Dried Chicory Root, Parsley Flakes, Pumpkin Meal, Almond Oil, Sesame Oil, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Thyme, Blueberries, Cranberries, Carrots, Broccoli, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Calcium Panthothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin), Riboflavin, Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid.

Review:

This is Solid Gold's grain-free food, which is more expensive than their other varieties simply because it's more expensive to make with all of the proteins packed in and the grains are left out.

In the grain-free dog food world, I wouldn't say this would be my top choice. It's nothing to sneeze at for sure, as it does have a pretty high protein percentage (41%) and they do have quite a few quality oils for heart healthy Omega fatty acids and fat content. However, I do wonder why natural flavoring has to be so high on the list. That isn't typical at all, and either is having choline chloride in the top 10 ingredients.

There's nothing bad in this food, let me say that. The ingredients are quality, and the makers of this food do care about pet nutrition. This is a food to try if you're looking to go grain-free (something I support), along with Wellness Core and Orijen.

Bison, venison, lamb meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, canola oil, roasted bison, roasted venison, natural flavor, tomato pomace, ocean fish meal, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevesiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Review:

Taste of the Wild is another grain-free entry into the dog food market, and their idea is a simple one: return your dog's diet to how it is naturally supposed to be. In other words, have your dog eat how it should, not how humans have bastardized dog foods today.

Interesting concept, and it really works here. First, look at the top two ingredients. Bison and venison?? Those are certainly not commonly found in pet foods, but they are EXCELLENT lean meat, high protein meat sources. They certainly aren't the cheapest either. They also use chicken and ocean fish meals to help prop up the protein percentage, which is very high.

For fruits and vegetables, this is one of the best. These are not only great sources for vitamins, but for fiber and carbs as well. It beats the heck out of relying on corn or wheat for these things. My only disappointment was that they didn't throw in a fish oil or flaxseed for a fat source, but they do have a fish meal ingredient here and that should help with those Omega fatty acids.

This is highly recommended.

Deboned Turkey, Deboned Chicken, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Dried Ground Potato, Tomato Pomace, Natural Chicken Flavor, Canola Oil, Chicken Liver, Salmon Oil, Flaxseed, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Broccoli, Spinach, Parsley, Apples, Blueberries, Vitamins & Minerals, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Products, Rosemary Extract.

Review:

Wellness has made quality pet foods for quite a while, but their Core line is the grain-free formula. Here, we look at the "Original" kind of Wellness Core...

This is basically what you'd expect out of a top notch company. Tons of animal sources, high protein percentage, and all quality ingredients. No fillers, no by-products, nothing you wouldn't feed your dog personally. Not only that, but it is rich in vegetables and fruits, provides for high levels of Omega fatty acids, and has a lower carb level than most foods.

It's expensive however, and it's for a reason. When grain is cut out, price of production goes up. Putting this much meat in a product isn't cheap, but rest assured knowing your dog will eat less of this per serving than "normal" food because of how packed it is.