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- Your dog deserves high-quality food that's nutritious and healthy.
- Orijen makes the best dog food you can buy with the freshest regional ingredients.
- Every recipe is packed with protein, limited in carbohydrates, and loaded with natural flavor.
Though it may seem like dog food is dog food, not all dog foods are created equal. The quality of pet food products varies greatly from one manufacturer to another, and you can’t always trust what you see on the label. While there are many high-quality dog food brands on the market, there are also those that cut corners by bulking up their products with low-quality fillers and artificial additives. Pet foods are not regulated to the degree that human foods are, so if you want to find a quality product for your dog, you’ll have to do some digging.
The quality of your dog’s diet is directly related to his health, so don’t settle for a mediocre dog food. All dogs have the same basic nutritional needs, so it is possible to evaluate the quality of one product compared to another in terms of how well each one meets those nutritional needs. In order to make such a comparison, however, you need to have an understanding of your dog’s nutritional requirements and some knowledge of how to read a pet food label.
These things can take time and practice but, luckily for you, we’ve done all the dirty work. We have scoured the reviews and compared dozens of products to find the top dog food brands in different categories.
Here are the best kinds of dog food you can buy:
Editor's Note: The FDA is currently investigating a possible link between certain dog food ingredients and heart disease. We will keep tabs on the study's conclusion and update our picks as needed.
Updated on 03/15/2019 by Malarie Gokey: Updated prices, added links to Chewy and Petco, and updated formatting.
Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.
The best dog food overall
Orijen
Why you'll love it: Orijen's dog food is naturally grain-free and designed to mimic the natural biological diet your dog is evolved to follow.
Though all dogs have the same basic nutritional requirements, what makes a certain product the best choice for your dog may vary according to his age, activity level, and specific dietary needs. For a brand that offers premium dog food designed to suit your dog’s natural biological needs, our top choice is Orijen. This brand creates pet foods that nourish your dog’s body just as nature intended, and it uses only the freshest regional ingredients in an assortment of formulas catered to dogs in all life stages from puppy to senior.
Named one of the top picks for dog food by Reviews.com, Orijen follows a “biologically appropriate” approach to pet nutrition. Each of its dog foods is designed to mirror the type of natural diet your dog should follow based on his wild ancestry. Orijen dog foods are rich in meat and proteins. Each product contains up to 90% meat, which is is more than three times the amount used in conventional dog food. Furthermore, each recipe contains a guaranteed minimum of 38% crude protein by volume.
While a dog’s diet should consist primarily of animal products, dogs do have a limited ability to digest plant materials, so digestible grain-free carbohydrates like fresh fruits and vegetables can be a valuable addition. Orijen dog foods contain no more than 20% carbohydrates and only low-glycemic, highly digestible carbs like lentils, pumpkin, leafy greens, and fresh fruits. Plus, all of the formulas are naturally grain-free.
Dog Food Advisor notes that Orijen's dog food is above-average and that none of its foods have been subject to recall. The brand also receives rave reviews from Dog Food Guru and Dog Food Insider.
Orijen only sells dry dog foods at this time, but it offers an assortment of kibbles and freeze-dried dog foods for puppies, adults, and senior dogs as well as a selection of treats made with 100% fresh meat ingredients.
Pros: Made in the United States, biologically appropriate diets, high-protein formulas, carbohydrate-limited and low-glycemic, formulated for different life stages, minimum 38% crude protein, traditional kibble and freeze-dried options, all grain-free recipes
Cons: No wet food products currently available, some recipes may contain plant proteins like peas and dried alfalfa, many recipes contain common proteins and other ingredients that may trigger allergies in some dogs (like chicken, beef, and fish)
Buy the 25-pound Orijen Original Recipe Dry Dog Food on Jet for $82.99
Buy the 25-pound Orijen Original Recipe Dry Dog Food at Petco for $90.99
The best dry dog food
Canidae
Why you'll love it: Canidae uses premium proteins and digestible carbohydrates in each of its formulas to suit dogs in all life stages and those with unique dietary needs.
If you’re looking for a premium brand of dry dog food that offers a wide selection of high-quality recipes, our top choice is Canidae. An independent and family-owned company, Canidae sources its ingredients from other family-owned businesses throughout the US, and the company produces every one of its nutritionally dense formulas in company-owned-and-operated facilities. This brand offers traditional life stages formulas as well as grain-free and limited-ingredient recipes.
As a whole, the Canidae dog food brand receives excellent reviews from Top Dog Tips and Petsho as a US-based company that offers a variety of formulas for dogs with different nutritional needs. The Life Stages line of products features seven unique recipes made with premium proteins and digestible carbohydrates. In addition to three “all life stages” formulas, there are recipes for senior dogs, puppies, and large-breed dogs.
The Canidae Grain-Free PURE lineup includes nine grain-free formulas made with premium proteins such as duck, wild boar, and fresh lamb. Each of these recipes is made with a limited number of ingredients to reduce the risk for food allergies. There are also three recipes specially formulated for small breed dogs.
Another thing that makes Canidae our top choice for dry dog food is the fact that it has an entirely separate brand that is designed to be affordable. The Under the Sun brand is still made by Canidae with its farm-fresh ingredients, but it is available at a more affordable price point for dog owners on a budget. Under the Sun appears on Dog Food Advisor’s list of 4-star brands.
In the company’s twenty-year history, Canidae has had only had one recall and it was a voluntary recall issued due to a concern for potential salmonella contamination.
Pros: US-based company, independent and family-owned, company-owned manufacturing facilities, fresh regional ingredients, wide variety of high-quality recipes, life stages formulas for puppies through senior dogs, grain-free and limited ingredient formulas for dogs with food allergies, separate brand for dog owners on a budget, recipes for small breed dogs
Cons: Company has had one recall affecting four products, many recipes contain common proteins and other ingredients that may trigger allergies in some dogs (like chicken, rice, and fish)
Buy the 44-pound Canidae Life Stages Dry Dog Food on Amazon for $64.99 (plus shipping costs)
Buy the 44-pound Canidae Life Stages Dry Dog Food at Petco for $64.99
Buy the 44-pound Canidae Life Stages Dry Dog Food at Chewy for $64.99
The best wet dog food
Blue
Why you'll love it: Blue Buffalo offers tons of great recipes for both wet and dry dog food, and its formulas are full of natural ingredients.
If you are looking for a high-quality wet dog food, we heartily recommend the Blue Buffalo brand. Not only is Blue Buffalo one of the top manufacturers of natural dog food in general, but it offers four distinct product lines so you can choose the wet food formula that best suits your dog’s needs and preferences. According to DogHealth.com, wet dog food may be more expensive than dry food, but it tends to be lower in carbohydrates, higher in moisture, and more palatable for some dogs.
The Blue Buffalo company believes that pets are members of the family and that they should be treated as such. This is why the company uses only the highest-quality natural ingredients in each of its recipes. Blue Buffalo follows a holistic approach to pet nutrition, choosing each of its ingredients carefully to ensure complete and balanced nutrition without the use of any by-products, fillers, or artificial additives. Every recipe goes above and beyond your dog’s minimum nutritional requirements.
In addition to being rated among Dog Food Advisor’s 5-star wet food brands, Blue Buffalo is also a top choice for HerePup.com and DogFood.Guru. In terms of variety, few brands offer as many choices as Blue Buffalo. The Freedom line of grain-free formulas contains ten recipes and the Basics line of limited ingredient formulas contains nine. There are more than thirty recipes in the Wilderness line of meat-rich formulas and forty-five in the Life Protection Formula lineup.
One thing you should be aware of with the Blue Buffalo brand is that it has several product recalls in its history. This isn’t terribly surprising, however, for a brand that was founded more than two decades ago and that manufactures hundreds of products. It is worth noting that, according to Petful.com, many of the brand’s recalls were issued voluntarily as a precautionary measure.
Pros: US-based company, wide variety of product choices, every recipe starts with high-quality animal protein, all-natural ingredients with no artificial additives, recipes designed with a holistic approach to nutrition, every formula contains LifeSource Bits for a boost of nutrition and flavor
Cons: Numerous recalls in brand history, many recipes contain common proteins and other ingredients that may trigger allergies in some dogs (like chicken, rice, and fish), recent changes in recipe may cause digestive upset in some dogs
Buy the 12-pack of Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Wet Food at Petco for $25.99
Buy the 12-pack of Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Wet Food at Chewy for $23.88
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