Orijen

February 2009. Experts say Orijen is as good as dry dog food gets. Orijen has great meat content, with deboned chicken, chicken meal and turkey meal listed as the first three ingredients, and lots of other name meats and meat meals listed just a little further back. Carbohydrates -- needed in a dog's diet, most experts say -- comes from high-quality sources such as russet potatoes. All ingredients are of very high quality, and meats and other proteins are certified as fit for human consumption by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (the company is based in Canada). The biggest negatives we've seen is that Orijen is harder to find than some other quality foods and that it's relatively expensive. Innova EVO Dry Dog Food (*est. $25 per 13.2-pound bag) is another high-quality food with high meat content -- so much so that we've seen some scattered reports that some dogs don't tolerate it as well, at least at first. Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul Dog Food (*est. $23 for an 18-pound bag) is a strong lower-priced alternative. It has less meat, but the ingredients are all regarded as excellent.

Experts say that while palatability is important, the true gauge in judging dog foods is the quality of the ingredients they use. DogFoodAnalysis.com has the most comprehensive listing, dividing foods into quality classes from one star to six. PetFoodRatings.com isn't as comprehensive, but does a similarly strong job looking at ratings and adds a bit more personal insight from its author. Ask Susan Peters (a blog) also evaluates ingredients, but the site is hard to use and contradictory as both a good and bad review of Orijen currently appear. Whole Dog Journal establishes criteria for "approved" foods and publishes a list of those that qualify, but the information is only available to paid subscribers. Pet Food Review includes ingredient-based ratings from the site editors as well as lots of user opinions. Additional user feedback can be read at Zootoo.com and RateItAll.com.