Dog Food Reviews

The reviews below are assigned ratings by ConsumerSearch. These ratings are based on credibility in testing, evaluating and identifying the best Dog Food. See our ratings criteria

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Dog Food Reviews Reviewed
Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Dog Food Ratings Comments on Reviews
1. DogFoodAnalysis.com	Dog Food Analysis Editors of Dog Food Analysis As of June 2007		According to the editors, DogFoodAnalysis.com was created to assess the quality of the many commercial dog foods available. While the site does not do any testing, it looks at the ingredient information to provide an opinion about the quality of what goes into a particular food, and how appropriate those ingredients are for dogs. The site also clearly describes its rating methodology, what it looks for in pet food and what it looks to avoid. Canned and dry foods are rated from 1 to 6 stars, and many of the ratings, particularly for dry foods, are accompanied by fairly extensive discussion.
2. AnimalArk.com	How Does Your Pet Food Rate? Dr. Linda Wolf, DVM, and editors of AnimalArk.com As of June 2007		This site belongs to a no-kill animal shelter in Minnesota, and is clearly driven by a love of animals. With the help of Dr. Linda Wolf, DVM, the publishers of this website evaluate various dog and cat foods based mainly on ingredients. Foods with a meat-based protein source as the first ingredient, plus at least some organic ingredients, are rated highest. Negative points are given for the presence of chemical preservatives, unidentified animal products and ingredient splitting. The editors note that the original research was done in 2001 and that formulas may have changed since then. Although some rare updates are being done, readers are urged to use this list as a starting point for their own research.
3. DogAware.com	Dog Feeding Info Mary Straus As of June 2007		Mary Straus, as she explains in her site's biographical information, is a "dogaholic" who has studied to become knowledgeable about dog health and nutrition. Included on the site is a lengthy and informative discussion about feeding needs. Commercial food, raw food and other fresh food is covered. Contact information for manufacturers along with specific food and brand recommendations are included. Recommendations include a couple of dozen high-end and natural canned and dry foods, but there are no overall ratings. Straus recommends alternating between three or four foods your dog likes. Brands and varieties that have been affected by the pet food recalls are identified.
4. The Animal Protection Institute	What's Really in Pet Food? Editors of the Animal Protection Institute May 2007		This is the website of the Animal Protection Institute, and the article focuses on by-products, chemicals, molds, bacteria and other toxins present in dog foods. The article goes into great detail about how pet food is manufactured. Ingredients are discussed in depth, and recommendations are made regarding what to look for (and what to avoid) in commercial food. No products are specifically rated or recommended, but the information found here is excellent.

Dog Food Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Dog Food Ratings Comments on Reviews

5. Ask Susan Peters	Dog Food Reviews - Dog Food Ratings Susan Peters As of June 2007		This website lists lots of different varieties and brands of dog food, and provides a rating based on ingredients. While it is still useful, we don't rate this site as highly as some similar ones because discussion is generally brief, and a few of the reviews don't use a consistent rating scale, though the author says she is working to correct that. In general, premium brands get the highest ratings, but a few brands found in large pet stores offer some varieties that score well.
6. NJBoxers.com	B.A.R.F. for Beginners Bree Prive Not Dated		BARF is an acronym for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (sometimes referred to as Bones and Raw Food), and this site is one of the most complete sources of information we found. A must for anyone interested in learning about raw food diets for dogs, it's clearly been researched and written by experts who are passionate about raw food. The site has an excellent question-and-answer page and covers everything from vegetarian raw food diets to the myth about feeding raw food causing a dog to develop "blood lust" and start stalking other animals for food.
7. Dogma	Choosing a Healthy Dog or Cat Food Editors of Dogma Not Dated		This site is owned by a pet store with two locations in Orange County, California. The owner, Jerry Carter, is a die-hard dog lover who opened these stores to provide consumers with better choices of food and supplies. The site has all the usual sales links, such as toys, bowls and treats, but it also has one page devoted to nutrition, which is well researched and in agreement with other sources. There are no ratings or recommendations, but there's a list of foods to avoid since they contain by-products, corn meal and added animal fat.
8. NewsTarget.com	The True Horrors of Pet Food Revealed: Prepare To Be Shocked By What Goes Into Dog Food And Cat Food Jessica Smith Oct. 21, 2005		Jessica Smith points out that by-products can include zoo animals, roadkill and 4-D (dead, diseased, disabled, dying) livestock -- and even euthanized dogs and cats. She also addresses chemical additives, herbicides and other substances in pet food. Her article contains numerous references, links and research sources and is a good place to start doing serious research on this topic. Smith recommends choosing a pet food with as few of these ingredients as possible, but no recommendations or pet food ratings are included.
9. U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicin	Interpreting Pet Food Labels David A. Dzanis, DVM, Ph.D., DACVN Not Dated		This government site goes into great detail about labeling regulations and AAFCO standards. A great resource for devout label-readers, the article gives guidelines for spotting label trickery, for example, the "95% rule," which states that products that use meat, poultry or fish in their names (such as "Tuna Cat Food") must contain at least 95 percent of the named ingredient. Another example is the "25%" or "dinner" rule. If the named ingredients comprise at least 25 percent of the product but less than 95 percent, the name must include a qualifying descriptive term, such as "Beef Dinner for Dogs." No pet food guidelines or ratings are found here, however.

Dog Food Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Dog Food Ratings Comments on Reviews

10. National Academy of Sciences	Nutrient Requirements for Cats and Dogs Donald C. Beitz, Ph.D., et al. 2006		This site offers a downloadable pamphlet based on a 600-page report on dog and cat nutrition (available to purchase for $265). It provides useful information such as the calories needed per day by type of dog and weight, daily recommended allowances for vitamins and minerals, the different supplements found in dog food, feeding practices and more. No dog food ratings are included, however.
11. U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA Consumer magazine	Pet Food: The Lowdown on Labels Linda Bren May/June 2001		This interesting article covers ingredients and other labeling issues. Linda Bren explains that pet food packaging may carry descriptive words like "senior," "premium," "super-premium," "gourmet," and "natural," but that these terms have no standard definition or regulatory meaning. No recommendations or ratings of specific foods are included, however.
12. PetLovers.com	Dog and Cat Nutrition – "Some Basics" Laurencia Bourget Mar. 2004		This article looks at the differences between premium brands and lower-priced brands. The author's writing style is rambling and difficult to read, but the article is quite thorough in terms of how pet food is made. Among the author's revelations is a rule of thumb that states the higher the protein the higher the cost, and the higher the fat the better the taste. The author discloses that the article is based on an interview with a representative from a premium pet food company, so the information may be skewed toward premium food. She advises readers to check with their veterinarians and make informed choices based on their own research.
13. Woodhaven Labradors	Dog Foods: Help in making the choice easier Owner of Woodhaven Labradors Not Dated		This site belongs to a Labrador retriever breeder. This article looks at gimmicks and labeling with a critical eye. The author's position is a little different than other writers' in that some by-products are considered fine. The rationale is that in the wild, dogs certainly eat organs and other parts considered unpalatable by humans. What's important is to look for a named by-product rather than an unidentified by-product. The author states that her dogs do best on mid-range dog food -- neither the most expensive nor the least -- but no recommendations are made.
14. Good Dog Magazine	Food/Nutrition Editors of Good Dog Magazine As of June 2007		This online magazine was a print publication for 13 years. Visitors are required to register in order to read the articles, but the free registration gives you a six-month subscription. The site reviews dog foods and other dog products, and the magazine staff actually does their own testing on their in-house "test dogs." Food articles cover new product reviews, news updates from manufacturers, and product test reports covering everything from palatability to stool consistency. Although the articles are thorough, there are no side-by-side comparison charts, and reviews are almost entirely positive. Many of these reviews seem very old, and articles are not dated.
15. About.com	Why Worry About Dog Food? Krista Mifflin As of June 2007		This site is recommended for its enormous dog food database listing ingredients and other important details. The downside is that the site doesn't have much text or many articles, but if you're looking for information on a specific brand of food, this is the place to go. There are no dog food ratings, and no particular foods are specifically recommended. (Note that ConsumerSearch.com is owned by About.com/The New York Times.)
16. RateItAll.com	Dog Food Brands Contributors to RateItAll.com As of June 2007		This site features consumer ratings of a wide range of dog food types and offers an at-a-glance overview of high- vs. low-rated foods. Like most such websites, the quality of the reviews varies greatly, but many are interesting to read and several varieties get lots of feedback. While premium and supermarket brands can be found here, premium brands top the ratings.

Dog Food Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Dog Food Ratings Comments on Reviews

17. Petco.com	Top Rated Dog Products Contributors to Petco.com As of June 2007		Petco is a large pet supply company that lets customers provide reviews and ratings of dog food and other products. Unfortunately, upon closer scrutiny, many of these "top rated" foods have been rated by only one reader.