Here is some helpful info on dog food

16 years ago

Grading Dog Food

This method of grading dog food was developed by Sarah Irick. It is

not to be considered exact science but a starting point for people who

need help with how to read labels and choose a good food. You can read

about Sarah here. She has provided, with permission to Naper Doodles

to include on our website, the Grading Scheme, foods that have already

been graded in Alphabetical Order, and dog foods that have been graded

In Order of Score.

How to grade your dog's food

Start with a grade of 100 points

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 "fish" 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

69 = F

Following are some foods that have already been scored (alphabetical

order then ordered by score):

ALPHABETICAL ORDER:

Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+

Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F

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

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+

Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+

Eagle Pack Holistic / Score 119 A+

Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken / Score 114 A+

Eagle Pack Large and Giant Breed Puppy / Score 94 A

Eagle Pack Natural / Score 94 A

Eukanuba Large Breed Adult / Score 83 C

Eukanuba Natural Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B

Flint River Ranch / Score 92 B (non-specific fat source)

Foundations / Score 106 A+

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

Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D

Iams Large Breed / Score 83 C

Innova Dog / Score 114 A+

Innova Evo / Score 114 A+

Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+

Kirkland Signature Puppy Chicken, Rice and Vegetable / Score 108 A+

Natural Balance Duck and Potato / Score 114 A+

Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B

Nutro Chicken, Rice, & Oatmeal / Score 85 C (non-specific fat source)

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B

Nutro Natural choice Lamb and Rice / Score 85 C

Ol Roy / Score 9 F

Pedigree Complete Nutrition / Score 42 F

Pedigree Adult Complete / Score 14 F

Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F

Pro Plan All Breed / Score 68 F

Pro Plan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+

Purina Benful / Score 17 F

Purina Dog / Score 62 F

Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F

Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+

Royal Canin Dachshund 28 Formula / Score 97 A

Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+

Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A

Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F

Science Diet chicken adult maintenance / Score 45 F

Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F

Solid Gold Bison / Score 123 A+

Timberwolf Organics Lamb and Venison / Score 136 A+

Wellness Just for Puppy / Score 117 A+

Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+

Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

NUMERICAL ORDER (BY SCORE):

Grade A

Timberwolf Organics Lamb and Venison / Score 136 A+

Solid Gold Bison / Score 123 A+

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+

Eagle Pack Holistic / Score 119 A+

Wellness Just for Puppy / Score 117 A+

Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+

Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+

Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken / Score 114 A+

Innova Dog / Score 114 A+

Innova Evo / Score 114 A+

Natural Balance Duck and Potato / Score 114 A+

Canidae / Score 112 A+

Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+

Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+

Kirkland Signature Puppy Chicken, Rice and Vegetable / Score 108 A+

Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+

Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+

Foundations / Score 106 A+

ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+

Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+

Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A

Royal Canin Dachshund 28 Formula / Score 97 A

Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A

Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

Eagle Pack Large and Giant Breed Puppy / Score 94 A

Eagle Pack Natural / Score 94 A

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

Grade B

Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B

Flint River Ranch / Score 92 B (non-specific fat source)

Eukanuba Natural Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B

Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B

Grades C and D

Nutro Chicken, Rice, & Oatmeal / Score 85 C (non-specific fat source)

Nutro Natural choice Lamb and Rice / Score 85 C

Eukanuba Large Breed Adult / Score 83 C

Iams Large Breed / Score 83 C

Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D

Grade F

Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F

Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F

Pro Plan All Breed / Score 68 F

Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F

Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F

Purina Dog / Score 62 F

Science Diet chicken adult maintenance / Score 45 F

Pedigree Complete Nutrition / Score 42 F

Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F

Purina Benful / Score 17 F

Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F

Pedigree Adult Complete / Score 14 F

Ol Roy / Score 9 F

About the Author of this Food Grading Method:

My name is Sarah Irick and I am a Great Dane owner and rescue

volunteer. I am a Civil/Industrial Engineer, not a veterinarian or

animal nutritionist by education or employment. I do not work for a

pet food manufacturer nor am I affiliated with one. I am just an

individual who is concerned about what I feed my dogs and wants to

help others decide what to feed their own. I cannot remember the exact

date I designed this system, though I know it's been more than a year

(probably 2-3 years ago). I was concerned with the way people

sometimes throw out names of "good" dog foods that maybe aren't so

good, and others take their words for it. Foods that maybe used to be

good before their ingredients were changed for the worse or before

better options became available are still being touted by some as

being super-premium and I disagree. Since many pet owners do not have

the time or inclination to do as many hours of research into pet

(specifically dog) nutrition as I and many of you have, I wanted an

*easier* way for them to compare labels. Unfortunately it is still a

bit cumbersome (sometimes 2 people calculate the same food and get

different scores even) but it's better than nothing in my opinion.

Is it exact science? No. I don't claim for it to be. In fact I've had

to make a couple of changes over time (which the above don't reflect)

for new circumstances I've run across, such as the food that contained

NO MEAT (not a special diet just one that was so cheap it didn't

contain any meat at all) and needs a steep penalty IMO but still

scored a decent grade on the original or the newer kibbles that

contain no grain and IMO if it still has sufficient fiber and carbs

then it deserves extra credit that wasn't previously reflected. Also

I've gotten comments and opinions that I take seriously and

incorporate if it seems appropriate.

I don't have a permanent site host for this although seeing how hugely

popular it is and how widely spread without accreditation it has

become perhaps I should do so. It isn't that I care so much about

credit but many people will ask the questions that your posters have

about my affiliations and biases, etc.

I don't officially support any one food; anywhere that I personally

posted grades on specific foods it was to give an idea of where these

foods fell so people didn't always have to do the math. If you want to

e-mail me with questions or comments, you can at fredirick@hotmail.com

. This is my "spam" address, so put "Dog Food Grading" in the subject

line or I'll probably delete it mistakenly. ~ Sarah Irick

__._,_.___

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Comments (10)

mazer415
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
all great information - One must take into consideration, that you can buy the best food in the world but if fuzzy wont eat it - that is always as issue, which is why it is aways better to start a dog on high quality food without a lot of sugars (corn etc) and fat, which is like junk food for pets. Thankjs for the information
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
That is amazingly interesting info.
I am very happy with the Wellness Super 5 I feed but I wouldn't mind switching if I could find another food as good that was cheaper. I think the Solid Gold here is a lot cheaper so I need to go look at it more closely to see the exact variety.

And, although the food is very important, you can't give dogs snacks that are bad for them either. I'm not to sure about using hotdog bits for treats and such.
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Thank you for recognizing that your dog is most likely in need of a food with better nutrition. You didn't say what breed of dog you have, how old it is or how long it's been on the cheap food but if it's been a while, you may want to supplement his diet with some good probiotics as well. When choosing a food, there are some things you want to watch for and/or avoid. The first is avoid foods made in China or asian countries. Try to focus on foods that are made in the USA with ingredients sourced locally as well. This information is typically available on the bag. There are a couple of really high end foods I've used from Canada, like Acana that are also very good, pricey but good. Another is the ingredients and the brand's recall status. As mentioned above, the website dogfoodadvisor.com is a great resource. It lists the ingredients along with a rating system based on those ingredients for most all of the foods available. Fromm's, Taste of the Wild and Canidae (the brand we use for our dog) are all high quality grain free brands that are locally sourced and produced in the USA. They've also never experienced a recall. You really can't go wrong with any of them. Blue Buffalo is not a brand I would use, I don't think it's grain free, but it's also not sourced in the USA. Unfortunately, it has also experienced several recalls. It's a popular brand, but IMO it doesn't offer the quality of the others. If you've been buying the cheap stuff, I'm sure the price of these better foods will give you sticker shock HOWEVER please keep in mind that because these food are not made with cheap fillers and empty calories, you will not be feeding your dog even close to as much as you are probably feeding it now. At the same time, on the new food, you'll see your dog's coat become soft and shiney, it's energy will increase and it's eyes will be clear and alert. We have a 75lb Lab; we only feed her 1 1/3 cups of kibble in the morning and another 1 1/3 cups at night. A 24lb bag of her Canidae Pure is 55.00 but it lasts a month and she's in top form. You can't really put a price on your best friend's well being right? So for us it's well worth it. Chewy.com is the bomb, and as you can see a popular site to buy from, good prices and good reviews the different foods as well. Lastly, once you've decided on a food, please take care to ease your dog into the transition. Give it a few pieces as treats to start and after a few days slowly start to mix it in with the old food adding less and less of the old as you go. It usually takes us 7-10 days to change from one food to another. You'll know if your dog is doing well on the new food when it does it's business outside. It's stools will let you know. If you need help figuring out the correct portion size, talk to your vet but try not to over feed it. Good luck! I sure hope you come back to let us know how it goes and how your dog is doing.
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holligator
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Wow--I've seen this cross-posted so many places over the years, but this is the first time I've seen it credited back to Sarah (aka Fredalina) since I saw her original post about it a few years ago at a Great Dane site. Thanks for posting the whole thing. Sarah/Fredalina is an extremely dedicated Dane owner and is very thorough in everything she does, so there was clearly a lot of thought put into developing the scale.

I do like the grading scale as a quick way to get an idea of how good or bad a food is. On the other hand, there are some flaws to the system, as Sabine/Mordana over at the Dog Food Project points out (see link below). The biggest flaw she mentions is the way the "extra credit" points are awarded allows a mediocre food to get a high grade by doing some "extras" without doing the basics well.

I have found that getting to know a little more about the pros and cons of specific ingredients in a food is more helpful than trying to "grade" it simply. Most people won't take the time to really learn about what they are feeding their dog, so the scale is especially helpful for those folks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dog Food Project
sally2_gw
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
What a bright idea. It sure makes it easier to figure out what to look for in a pet food.

I wonder if the same system can be applied to cat food? I bet it can, and the brands would score similarly.

Sally
quirkyquercus
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
We had to switch from solid gold hund-n-flocken to the wellness super 5 mix. *I* loved the solid gold... it wasn't greasy or crummy, it didn't smell like dog food and it came in these vacuum packed mylar bags that were virtually indestructible. The wellness paper bags get ripped very easily. Unfortunately one of the dogs didn't do to well on it, wasn't absorbing it. The other did fine just seems to like to wellness better. If it's greasy and smelly then why wouldn't they, right. Best of all it was always in stock at the nearby petco where i can go it at convenient hours.
I wish I could go back to it though. They have so much more energy on the wellness too.

I was paying $38.99 at petco for the big bag of solid gold
and although I'm paying $56 for the big bag of super 5 at a boutique, pet supermarket has the big bags for $43.99
And the solid gold is a bigger bag!

Thanks to the person that posted this though. This is the best report card type summary I've seen for pet food. I do think stuff should earn extra points by having better distribution at national chain stores and reasonable prices.
novita
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for this very useful scale. I have read a bit about dog food, just becoming more confused until I did this test. Our dog's kibble, HAPPY PAWS came out at 112. It is only available in British Columbia so far but has the added advantage of being locally made, which fits into my "local food" philosophy. The dog is very healthy and keeps trim, a constant concern with Labs.
piper101
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I love Solid Gold and am glad to know that it's as good as I was lead to believe!! Thanks for your time and effort.
ines_99
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I am surprised to not see Nature's Variety Prairie dog food on the list, I have been told it's one of the best, I will have to sit down and figure out how it rates. I switched over to it after reading about how good it was on a chihuahua website. Also, I read about how alot of pet food companies buy a mash mix from "rendering plants". These plants take just about everything leftover from the slaughterhouses AND from animals that have been put to sleep at the pound, picked up on the side of the road etc..and they grind it all down into a supposedly edible goop that is used as a base for dog and cat food (and alot of products that we humans use too) It is really disgusting, for example, I read that people went in undercover and they found out that in the case of euthanized pound animals, they are thrown into the mix still wearing flea collars, to be ground up with the rest of the mix. And I am feeding this to my pets? NO WAY!!

Anyway, my little guy loves his Natures Variety, and I switched my cat over to California Naturals. Both are approx $10 for a 5 lb bag, which is only a few dollars more than a 5lb bag of the dog food I see at the grocery. Also, if you email Natures Variety and say you want to try it, they will send you a coupon for a free 5 lb bag!!
katsmah
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
That grading list has been around for a few years and I think that Nature's Variety is either fairly new or just not well known.

I feed my GSD Nature's Variety Instinct and she is doing very well with it. I tried both Core and EVO and have been happiest with Instinct. The Nature's Variety foods are excellent.
Meghane
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I disagree with several of these points.

1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points

This is the industry's definition of by-products:
The non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals. It includes, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low temperature fatty tissue, and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth and hoofs. It shall be suitable for use in animal food. If it bears name descriptive of its kind, it must correspond thereto.

None of these things are bad for an animal to eat. In fact brain tissue contains taurine, an important amino acid that is not found in other body parts. Liver is an excellent source of iron. Bone and cartilage contains calcium, phosphorus, glucosamine, and chondroitin sulfate and other important trace minerals. How do you think wolves survive 20 years without someone sprinkling vitamins and minerals onto their food? They eat the WHOLE animal, and therefore don't need extra stuff. Vitamins and minerals are only added to pet food because much of the healthy stuff has been removed. The only reason people don't eat by-products is because we think they are yucky tasting (well, some people eat by-products, they just call them tripe, menudo, liver, etc). Wolves don't eat the meat and leave the rest of the animal laying around, they eat the whole animal, and since dogs and wolves are genetically identical, dogs should eat the whole animal too. The "evil" of by-products was invented by a very clever marketing firm, not based in fact or science of animal nutrition.

2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat,
meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points

This isn't a problem unless your dog has allergies.

3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points

Actually, if the food contains these preservatives, subtract all 100 points. NEVER feed a dog or cat a food containing these items. EVER.

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

Corn is not a bad thing to be in dog food, unless your dog happens to be allergic to it. However I agree it should not be a top 5 ingredient.

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

There is nothing wrong with lamb, soy, wheat, or beef unless your dog happens to be allergic to any of these items. The soy and wheat should not be in the top 5 ingredients since they are not animals, and dogs are by nature, mostly carnivores.

13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point

Actually don't bother adding a point because the amount added is never enough to have any benefit.

The other points are good. I personally would add a lot more points for raw diets though.

Here is some helpful info on dog food

Comments (10)

mazer415

Bumblebeez SC Zone 7

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