First Menu

Sponsor Ad



Nutrition


Health & Grooming


Training & Behavior


General Articles


Google Search


Stats

Total Visits
Users Online

Grading Dog Food

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that one food is as good as the other, and it's usually out of simply not being aware of the drastic differences in foods and how they affect the health of your dogs. The right or wrong dog food can have a difference in terms of years in your dogs lifespan, not to mention wellbeing of the digestive system and other vital organs, health and maintenance of your dogs teeth, as well as odor and the condition of your dogs coat.

Here is a simple way to find out how good or bad your dogs food is.

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", "brewer'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 isn't allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points.
  14. If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn'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.

Scores

94 - 100+ = A
86 - 93 = B
78 - 85 = C
70 - 77 = D
69 and below = F

Here are some foods that have already been scored, in alphabetical order and by grade. The results may surprise you.

A Foods

Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy / Score 114 A+
Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+
Beowulf Back to Basics / Score 101 A+
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 Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice / Score 106 A+
Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+
EaglePack Holistic / Score 102 A+
Flint River Senior / Score 101 A+
Foundations / Score 106 A+
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+
Merrick Wilderness Blend / Score 127 A+
Nature's Recipe / Score 100 A
Nature's Recipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice / Score 116 A+
Nature's Variety Raw Instinct / Score 122 A+
Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy / Score 101 A+
Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A
Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A
Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+
Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry / Score 109 A+
Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach / Score 94 A
Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+
Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+
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+
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

B Foods

Authority Harvest Baked Less Active / Score 93 B
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Max Adult / Score 93 B
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B

C Foods

Alpo Prime Cuts / Score 81 C
Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice / Score 83 C
Diamond Performance / Score 85 C
Eukanuba Adult / Score 81 C
Eukanuba Puppy / Score 79 C
Member's Mark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C
Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice / Score 81 C
Pro Nature Puppy / Score 80 C

D Foods

Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D

F Foods

Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
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
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F