Grade Your Dog Food

It’s hard to know what the best food for your pup is. There are a lot of factors involved — ingredients, your dog’s age, your dog’s general health and weight, and what you can afford!

Below is a method to grade your dog food that was posted on one of the online dog communities I belong to. It seems like a lot of effort, but it yields some interesting results.

Start with a grade of 100:

1. For every listing of “by-product”, subtract 10 points for being sketchy!
2. For every non-specific animal source (“meat” or “poultry”, meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points for being sketchy!
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 for being sketchy!
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 “beef” 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

Grading:

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