Evaluating Dog Food

Some one posted a series of questions enabling one evaluate how good - or not - the various dog foods are. Could you please repost?
Thanks,
Barb

How to grade your dog's food:
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

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

Here are some foods that have already been scored. If you don't see your dog's food here, ask and someone will score it for you.
Dog Food scores:

Alpo Prime Cuts / Score 81 C

Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy / Score 114 A+

Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+

Authority Harvest Baked Less Active / Score 93 B

Beowulf Back to Basics / Score 101 A+

Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F

Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice / Score 83 C

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 Maintenance / Score 64 F

Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B

Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A

Diamond Performance / Score 85 C

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+

Eukanuba Adult / Score 81 C

Eukanuba Puppy / Score 79 C

Flint River Senior / Score 101 A+

Foundations / Score 106 A+

Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B

Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D

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+

Member’s Mark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C

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+

Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice / Score 81 C

Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy / Score 101 A+

Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B

Nutro Max Adult / Score 93 B

Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B

Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B

Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A

Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+

Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F

Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry / Score 109 A+

Pro Nature Puppy / Score 80 C

Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach / Score 94 A

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

Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+

Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+

Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+

Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F

Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F

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


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If your feeding a cheaper food, reconsider the quality and the amount you are spending in the long run:

All the health concerns completely aside, have you ever considered how much money you are really spending on a product that appears to be fairly inexpensive at first sight? How much money do you spend on dog food every year? Do you compare just by looking at the price tag on the bag?

Below is a calculation that compares one grocery store brand, one popular brand sold at pet stores and one high quality brand. The comparison is based on the requirements of a hypothetical, adult, moderately active dog of 50 pounds. I am aware that each animal is different and for individual feeding amounts other factors have to be taken into consideration, but for the sake of a comparison in regards to ingredient quality and price, let's just keep it simple and stick with the manufacturer's recommendation.

Food Type Grocery Store Brand Popular Pet Store Brand High Quality Brand
Guaranteed Analysis 25 / 10 / 4 / 14 21.5 / 13 / 3 / 10 24 / 14.5 / 4 / 10
Kcal content per lb 1674 1683 1864
Kcal content per cup 360 365 466
Largest bag unit 35.2 lbs 40 lbs 40 lbs
Cups per bag 163.7 184.4 160
Cups per lb 4.65 4.61 4
Cost per bag $25 $32 $35
Cost per lb $0.71 $0.80 $0.87
Cost per cup $0.153 $0.173 $0.219


Recommended
daily amount 3.25 cups 3.63 cups 2 cups
Daily feeding cost $0.497 $0.628 $0.438
Days bag will last 50 50 80
Bags needed / year 7.3 7.3 4.6
Monthly feeding cost $15.21 $19.47 $13.42
Yearly feeding cost $182.50 $233.60 $161.00

The examples were calculated using actual, existing brands but I have left out the names since they are not required to make a point. The initial cost for each brand was based on the biggest bag size and price average calculated from several sources (online as well as local stores), and the manufacturer recommended feeding amount. The amount of cups per bag and pound were calculated from the manufacturer's statement on caloric content per cup and per pound or kilogram of food (e.g. if you know a kibble contains 1,683 kcal per pound and 365 kcal per cup, you can easily deduct that a 40 pound bag of kibble contains 40 x 1,683 kcal = 67,320 kcal. If you divide that by the amount of kcal per cup, you get the amount of cups in a bag: 67,320 kcal/365 = 184.4).

As you see, the price tag on the bag should not be the deciding factor. A quality brand convinces not only with superior ingredients but also economically.

(courtesy http://www.easttexashogdoggers.com/foru … opic=904.0)

what score would pedigree adult complete nutrition and ol' roy get?

Yeah! Everything I feed is over 100! A+ for my critters!

Using the ingredient list for Ol' Roy shown below and the above chart:

Ol' Roy scores a 26. Can I say YIKES!!!

That is like an F- - - - -.

~Ingredients~
Ground yellow corn, soybean meal, ground whole wheat, corn syrup, poultry fat, Meat and bone meal (Animal Fat Preserved with BHA and Citric Acid), Chicken by-product Meal, Rice, Animal Digest, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Vitamin D and E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulafate, Manganous Oxide, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Meadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex Source of Vitamin K, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Cobalt Carbonate, Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid

yuk!!! we all know what " F " means...........

For the Pedigree Adult Complete Nutrition ingredient listed below, I get:

12 points...OMG! This stuff is worse than ol' Roy. Double yikes!

Ground whole corn, meat and bone meal, ground wheat, corn gluten meal, animal fat (preserved with bha/bht), wheat mill run, wheat flour, natural flavor, salt, potassium chloride, caramel color, chicken by-product meal, rice, vegetable oil (source of linoleic acid), vitamins (choline chloride, dl-alpha tocopherol acetate [source of vitamin e], l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate [source of vitamin c*], vitamin a supplement, thiamine mononitrate [vitamin b1], biotin, d-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement [vitamin b2], vitamin d3 supplement, vitamin b12 supplement), minerals (zinc sulfate, zinc proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, potassium iodide), added FD&C and lake colors (yellow 6, yellow 5, blue 2, red 40).

oh my .....this is what I have been feeding my babies for years....It cost so much in the stores too!!!! $21.00 a 40lb bag at walmart. Are we sure about this system??????

I was thinking "Failed my babies" but I like your meaning better.....I hate fixed income!!!!!