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Whole Dog Journal's

Food List

2008 Approved Foods - Dry

WDJ’s Selection Criteria for DRY Food

• New addition for 2008 is transparency. For the first time, this year we required each company who, in the past, had a product on our "approved dry dog food" list to divulge, for publication, information about their manufacturing sites. Nine companies either refused to tell us or there was no response to our inquiry. Those 9 have been REMOVED from our current approved list of dry foods.

Dry Food REMOVED from Approved List

• Addiction Foods NZ Ltd (Bayu of Plenty, NZ) - refused to discuss maker of foods

• Azmira Holistic Animal Care (Tucson, AZ) - Refused to discuss maker of food

• The Blue Buffalo Company (Wilton, CT) - No response to our inquiry

• Cloud Star Corporation (San Luis Obispo, CA) - Refused to disclose manufacturing location.

• Newman's Own Organics(Aptos, CA) - Refused to disclose manufacturing location

• Owen & Mandeville Pet Products (Oxford, CT) - No response to either phone or e-mails

• Royal Canin USA, Inc. (St. Charles, MO) - No response to our inquiry

• Timberwolf Organics, Inc. (Winderwere, FL) - No response to our inquiry

• (Evolve) Triumph Pet Industries, Inc. (Warwick, NY) - No response to our inquiry

• We look for foods that contain a lot of high-quality animal proteins. We’d love manufacturers to disclose the percentage of meat, poultry, or fish in their food, but they rarely do, so we look for foods that appear to have lots of animal protein. Ingredients are listed by weight, so ideally a food will have one or two animal proteins in the first few ingredients.

Understand that whole meat (chicken, beef, lamb, etc.) contains a lot of water weight. If a food list starts out with chicken (rather than chicken meal), and there is no other animal protein listed until 7th or 8th on the list, the food does not actually contain a lot of animal protein. But if it starts out with chicken, and chicken meal (or another named animal meal, such as lamb meal) is number two or three on the list, chances are the product contains an admirable amount of animal protein. Animal proteins tend to be more palatable and bioavailable than plant proteins and offer a wider array of essential and nonessential amino acids.

• We reject any food containing meat by-products or poultry by-products. It’s just about impossible to ascertain the quality of by-products used by a food manufacturer. We’ve spoken to representatives who swore they used only the finest sources of by-products, but when asked, they all say that! The fact is, there is a much wider range of quality in the by-products available for pet food manufacturing than there is for whole meats. Whole meats are expensive, and because they are expensive, dog food makers insist on their quality to an extent that is unreasonable when buying bargain-basement by-products. So we advise that you just avoid foods that contain by-products.

• We reject foods containing fat or protein not identified by species. “Animal fat” is a euphemism for a low-quality, low-priced mix of fats of uncertain origin. “Meat meal” could be practically anything.

• We look for whole grains and vegetables. That said, some grains and vegetables have valuable constituents that accomplish specific tasks in a dog food formula. We don’t get too excited about one vegetable fragment and one grain byproduct on the ingredients panel. Our tolerance diminishes in direct proportion to the number of fragments and by-products contained in a food and the prominence on a label; the more there are, and/or the higher they appear on the ingredients list, the lower-quality the food.

• We eliminate all foods with artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives listed on their ingredients panels. A healthy product full of top-quality ingredients shouldn’t need non-nutritive additives to make it look or taste better. And plenty of good natural preservatives (such as rosemary, and vitamins A and C) can be used instead.

• We eliminate all foods with added sweeteners. Dogs, like people, enjoy sweet foods. Like people, they can develop a taste for these nutritionally empty calories.

• We look for products containing organic ingredients. That’s a no-brainer.

Artemis Pet Foods ~ North Hollywood, CA

• Fresh Mix made by Diamond Pet Products, Lathrop, CA

• Natural 6 Mix made by Eagle Pack Pet Products, Mishawaka, IN

Bench and Field Pet Foods ~ Mishawaka, IN

• Bench & Field dog foods made by Eagle Pack Pet Products, Mishawaka, IN

Beowulf Natural Foods ~ Syracuse, NY

• Back to Basics dog foods made by Chenango Valley Pet Foods, Sherburne, NY

Breeder's Choice Pet Food ~ Irwindale, CA

• Pinnacle Holistic Chicken & Oats made at Breeder's Choice plant in Irwindale, CA

NOTE: All Breeder's Choice formulas are made at their plant in Irwindale, CA

Burns Pet Nutrition ~ Valparaiso, IN

• Chicken and Brown Rice Formula made by CJ Foods in Kansas

By Nature ~ Division of Blue Seal Feeds, Inc, Londonderry, NH

• Nature BrightLife made by Blue Seal in Arcade, NY

• Nature Organics made by Chenango Valley Pet Foods, Sherburne, NY

Canidae Corp ~ San Luis Obispo, CA

• Canidae dog foods made at Western Pet food Company/Canidae Division, Hamlin, TX

Castor & Pollux Pet Works ~ Clackamas, OR

• Organix Adult made by CJ Foods, Bern, KS

Canine Caviar Pet Foods ~ Costa Mesa, CA

• Canine Caviar dog foods made by Pied Piper Pet Food, Hamlin, TX

Della Natura Commodities ~ Bayside, NY

• Wenaewe made in Uruguay by Erro S.A.

Diamond Pet Products ~ Meta, MO

• Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul made at each of their 3 facilities: Lathrop, CA - Meta, MO - Gaston, SC

• Premium Edge made at each of their 3 facilities - see above

NOTE: All of Diamond Pet dry dog foods are made at the above plants

Drs. Foster & Smith ~ Rhinelander, WI

• Drs Foster & Smith dry dog foods made by Chenango Valley Pet Foods, Sherburne, NY

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance ~ Pacoima, CA

• Natual Balance Organic made by Chenango Valley Pet Foods, Sherburne, NY

NOTE: Natural Balance other dry formulas made by Diamond Pet foods, Meta, MO

Eagle Pack Pet Products, Inc. ~ Mishawaka, IN

• Eagle Pack Holistic Select made by Eagle Pack's plant in Mishawaka, IN

NOTE: All Eagle Pack varieties of dog food made at their own plant in Mishawaka, IN

Evanger's Dog & Cat Food Co. ~ Wheeling, ILL

• Evanger's Pheasant & Brown Rice made by Fromm Family foods, Mequon, WI

• Evanger's Chicken & Brown Rice made by Ohio Pet foods, Lisbon, OH

Fromm Family Foods ~ Mequon, WI

NOTE: All Fromm's dry foods made at their own plant in Mequon, WI

Healthy Pet Foods, Inc. ~ West Chester, PA

• Showbound Naturals Chicken/Brown Rice made by Chenango Valley Pet Foods, Sherburne, NY

KLN Enterprises ~ Perham, MN

• NutriSource made by Tuffy's Pet Foods/KLN Enterprises, Perham, MN

• Natural Planet Organics made by Tuffy's Pet Foods/KLN Enterprises, Perham, MN

Life4K9 Pet food Corp ~ Dawsonville, GA

• Oven-Baked Chicken & Barley made by Mountain Country foods, Okeene, OK

NOTE: Life4K9 states it will own and operate it's own plant in 2008 - Dalonega, GA

Lincoln Biotech ~ East Bend, NC

• Zinpro made by Chenango Valley Pet Foods, Sherburne, NY

Merrick Pet Care ~ Amarillo, TX

NOTE: All Merrick dog foods made at their plant in Hereford, TX

Natura Pet Products ~ Santa Clara, CA

• Innova made at their own plant in Fremont, NE

• California Natural made at their own plant in Fremont, NE

• Karma Organic made at their own plant in Fremont, NE

Nature's Variety ~ Lincoln, NE

• Prairie made by Pied Piper Mills, Hamlin, TX

Nutro Products, Inc. ~ City of Industry, CA

• Nutro Ultra Holistic made at their own plants in Victorville, CA and Lebanon, TN

Old Mother Hubbard ~ Tewksbury, MA

• Wellness dry foods made at 3 plants: Hagen Pet Foods, Waverly, NY; CJ Foods, Bern, KS; American Nutrition, Inc, Ogden, UT

• Wellness Simple Food Solutions dry foods made at 3 plants: Hagen Pet Foods, Waverly, NY; CJ Foods, Bern, KS; American Nutrition, Inc, Ogden, UT

Petcurean Pet Nutrition ~ Chilliwack, British Columbia

• Go! Natural made by Elmira Pet Products, Elmira, Ontario

Perfect Health Diet Products ~ Elmsford, NY

• PHD Viand made by Chenango Valley Pet Foods, Sherburne, NY

Pet Chief Express, Inc ~ New Westminster, BC

• Pet Chef Express Salmon & Potato Dry foods made by Champion Pet Foods, Ltd, Morinville, Alberta, Canada

Peton Distributors ~ Langhorne, PA

• Performatrin Ultra made by Chenango Valley Pet Foods, Sherburne, NY

Precise Pet Products ~ Nacogdoches, TX

• Precise Plus made by Texas Farm Products, Nacogdoches, TX

NOTE: Food made on production lines dedicated to Precise products.

SmartPak ~ Plymouth, MA

• LiveSmart foods made by Chenango Valley Pet foods, Sherburne, NY

Solid Gold Health Products ~ El Cajon, CA

• MMillennia Beef and Barley foods made by Diamond Pet Products, Lathrop, CA and Meta, MO

• Hund-n-Flocken foods made by Diamond Pet Products, Lathrop, CA and Meta, MO

• Holistique Blendz foods made by Diamond Pet Products, Lathrop, CA and Meta, MO

• Just a Wee Bit foods made by Diamond Pet Products, Lathrop, CA and Meta, MO

• WolfKing foods made by Diamond Pet Products, Lathrop, CA and Meta, MO

Taplow Feeds ~ North Vancouver, BC

• FirstMate made at their plant outside Vancouver, BC

VeRUS Pet Foods, Imc. ~ Abingdon, MD

• Life Advantage made by Texas Farm Products, Nacogdoches, TX & Eagle Pack Pet Foods, Mishawaka, IN.

NOTE: All VeRUS dog foods made at the above plants.

Wysong Corp. ~ Midland, MI

• Anergen made at their own plant in Lake Mills, WI

NOTE: All Wysong dog foods made at their above plant.

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