Best Dry Dog Food

Top-rated dry dog food

In the dry food category, we found a number of high quality dog foods that earn great grades from pet food advocates. Innova Evo, including Innova Evo Turkey and Chicken Formula (*Est. $30 per 13.2 lb. bag), from Natura Pet Products is notable for its high-quality content. DogFoodAnalysis.com calls Innova Evo an "outstanding" product. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that there are no grains; carbohydrate comes from potatoes. In addition, the four top ingredients are meat products (turkey, chicken, turkey meal, chicken meal). Christopher Eng at PetFoodRatings.net is equally complimentary. Some owners aren't as sure, however; among rave reviews at RateItAll.com and OnlyNaturalPet.com we saw some comments about dogs who suffered stomach upset, possibly because of the high meat content.

However, as noted elsewhere, Natura has been acquired by Proctor & Gamble, which has caused much consternation among fans of the food. In light of the poor evaluations that other Proctor & Gamble foods (Iams and Eukanuba) typically receive because of their ingredients, many say they fear that that Innova Evo (and other Natura brands) may decline in quality. For now, Innova Evo remains a top brand, but the advice from most quarters is to watch the ingredient list carefully going forward.

Orijen (*Est. $40 per 15.4 lb. bag) is another grain-free dog food that draws kudos from top reviewers. As noted by DogFoodAnalysis.com, the food contains tons of meat products, and chicken meal and turkey meal are among the top three ingredients (the third is deboned chicken). "This is a far more natural food concept and combined with a complete lack of any low quality or controversial ingredients is the reason this food is placed in a class above the more conventional form dry dog foods," the editors say. Christopher Eng at PetFoodRatings.net agrees, and he also compliments the food for the high quality of its nonmeat ingredients. "There is absolutely nothing you can fault this food for," Eng concludes. Orijen is also does exceptionally well among users weighing in at RateItAll.com. On the downside, the food is expensive and a bit hard to find.

Blue Buffalo Wilderness also rates highly with Eng, and he calls it "one of the best dog foods I've found thus far." Despite a couple of minor quibbles, DogFoodAdvisor.com gives Blue Buffalo Wilderness Duck Recipe (*Est. $30 per 11 lb. bag) its highest rating for its top-quality ingredients, high protein content, inclusion of probiotics and use of chelated minerals, which are easier to absorb. The top ingredients are deboned duck, chicken meal, potato starch, turkey meal, peas, chicken fat and potatoes.

Taste of the Wild High Prairie (*Est. $40 for a 15- -lb bag) draws good ratings from a number of pet-food advocates, though not every one gives it an unequivocal recommendation. One thing that's a bit unusual is the inclusion of "exotic" protein sources. The top ingredient is bison meat, and roasted bison and roasted venison appear farther down in the listings. Many note that these would be higher cost protein sources than typically found in dog foods, but Mary Straus at DogAware.com says its use could pose a complication for dogs with food allergies. "Remember that it's a good idea to reserve at least some exotic proteins for future use in case needed for an elimination diet or to treat severe food allergies," she writes.

Mike Sagman at PetFoodAdvisor.com says the generic term "fish meal" doesn't adequately address that ingredient, adding that it's always preferable to see a named fish species. One positive, however, is that Susan Thixton of TruthAboutPetFood.com says the fish meal is preserved with natural tocopherols, which means that Taste of the Wild is free of hidden ethoxyquin (something that's also true of the other dog foods named above). One additional negative is that Taste of the Wild can be hard to find, though it is available at specialty independent pet stores and online.

Several other grain-free dry dog foods have earned the respect of experts. Examples include Wellness Core (*Est. $30 per 12 lb. bag) and Solid Gold Barking at the Moon (*Est. $35 per 15 lb. bag). If you are looking for a grain-free dry food, either would make good substitutes for the foods named above if availability, cost and your dog's preferences dictate.

Natural Balance Ultra Premium (*Est. $30 per 15 lb. bag) is a little less expensive, and many pet food advocates consider it to be a pretty good value in light of its use of all-natural dog food ingredients, quality meats and lack of byproducts. Natural Balance Ultra Premium does contain grains, but they are higher quality grains such as brown rice, oatmeal and barley. Other top ingredients are protein sources such as chicken, duck meal and lamb meal. Fishmeals are preserved with Naturox, and the food is ethoxyquin-free.

Professional reviewers give Natural Balance good to great grades. It's on the list of recommended foods at DogAware.com and The Whole Dog Journal, and earns 4 out of 5 stars at sites like PetFoodRatings.net and DogFoodAdvisor.com. Among users posting at the Zootoo.com website, where it attracts more than 100 ratings, the vast majority recommend Natural Balance Ultra Premium. Ratings are even more impressive at Petco.com, where more than 95 percent of reviewers recommend it to others. Most owners comment on their dogs' overall health, energy, shiny coat and lack of digestive problems with this food, though a few owners say their pet's coat seemed too dry while on Natural Balance.

Some of Natural Balance's products were affected by a rice gluten recall in 2007, but Natural Balance Ultra Premium dry dog food was not. However, in response to that, and to other recalls, Natural Balance has instituted an extensive product-testing program. Each date-code batch of the company's foods is tested for a variety of contaminants -- testing for E. coli and salmonella was added to the program in September 2008 -- and the results posted for pet owners to see. One small point of concern is a voluntary recall of the company's Sweet Potato & Chicken dry dog food variety over possible salmonella contamination despite the batch in question passing muster for that during testing. The company issued a letter to its customers about the situation, which can be on their website.

Whether they include grains, any of the dry foods discussed above are a far better choice than most supermarket dry foods. Premium brands lead off with meat and have additional meat high in the ingredient list. Contrast that with a popular supermarket choice such as Purina Dog Chow Complete and Balanced (*Est. $18 per 20 lb. bag). Its top ingredient is whole grain corn, and things actually go downhill from there as the following ingredients are poultry byproduct meal, corn gluten meal, animal fat, meat and bone meal, brewers rice and soybean meal. Although we use Purina Dog Chow here as an example, its ingredients are typical of those found in many mainstream dry dog foods.

Some brands with a premium profile that can be found in supermarkets and large pet stores don't fare that much better. Iams Healthy Naturals (*Est. $25 per 17.5 lb. bag) lists its top ingredients as chicken, chicken byproduct meal, brewers rice, corn meal, ground whole grain sorghum and ground whole grain barley. Science Diet Adult Advanced Fitness Original (*Est. $30 for a 20 lb. Bag) is much the same, because its ingredient list leads off with chicken, ground whole-grain corn, ground whole-grain sorghum, ground whole-grain wheat, chicken by-product meal, soybean meal and corn gluten meal. Although both are better than typical supermarket foods, they are as or more expensive than some higher-quality choices.