Choosing Top Breed Pet Food A Decision That Makes a Difference in Your Dog s Life

By Isabella Storyclaire

last updated November 18, 2024

Contributions sourced from

Pet Food Decisions: How Do You Pick Your Pets Food?

When talking to pet owners, Ive been struck by how passionate they are about their dog or cats diet and the choices theyve made whether its a homecooked or raw meat diet, treats or supplements, or the many other pet food trends and practices Ive seen over the years. Its no surprise that we love our pets and spend lots of money on them (more than $75 billion estimated for 2019, with $31.68 billion spent on pet food).¹ Persuasive marketing claims about nutrition, diets, and ingredients have made it challenging for even the best-intentioned pet owners to make good decisions. In one study, dog owners reported that choosing the right food for their dog was the most difficult part of pet ownership.² There are now pet foods with every buzzword: ancient grains, grass-fed, holistic, superfoods, free-range, no byproducts, and no peas or lentils. The confusing and often conflicting information has caused pet owners to make decisions not on facts, but on marketing, with results that can be harmful to the pets themselves (in addition to stressing out the owners!)

Ive been a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionistfor more than 20 years and have always been fascinated by peoples decisions and beliefs about pet food and nutrition. Ive done multiple studies to better understand why pet owners make the decisions they do about their pets food. We published our latest study earlier this year.³ My colleagues, including an applied economist who researches the economics and policy of food and nutrition, and I conducted a study to gather information from pet owners on the factors that affect their dog and cat food purchasing decisions.

We had more than 2100 responses (which should have told me something about how enthusiastic pet owners are). For me, the most interesting finding from the whole study was that many more than 40% of the people we surveyed indicated that buying healthy food for their pets was even more important than buying healthy food for themselves! And almost every respondent put buying their pets healthy food on at least equal footing as seeking it for themselves. This emphasized to me how devoted people are to their pets and how this gives us a tremendous opportunity to put this passion to effective use by providing evidence-based information to help pet owners buy the best and healthiest food for their pets. We want pet owners to be able to select what is truly the best food for their pet not just the food with the best marketing and the most buzzwords.

Common Mistakes in Selecting Pet Food

Do you do base your decision on any of the following?

The ingredient list. Many pet owners select diets based on ingredients in the ingredient list that sound good to them, rather than on the diets that are most nutritious and made with the best nutritional expertise and quality control. Remember that pets need nutrients, not ingredients. You can learn more about information in the ingredient list that is helpful and what can cause more confusion from our past Petfoodology posts.
The most persuasive labels. Most of the information on the pet food label is marketing, rather than factual information. Just because diets contain ancient grains or superfoods doesnt make them the best options for your pet.
Ratings websites. Current ratings websites base their ratings on marketing information (or myths), not on which diet has the best nutrition or quality.
Recommendations from the pet supply store: Your veterinarian can help you select the best food for your pet. Pet supply store employees may be promoting the food that has the highest profit margin, the stores private label brand, or the ones with the best marketing, rather than what is really the best food for your pet.

If any of these are part of your decision-making process, you might be falling victim to pet food myths and misinformation and not really selecting the optimal diet.

Making Good Decisions for your Best Friend

You love your pet, youre passionate about her nutrition, and want to feed her the best diet possible. What can you do to ensure youre buying what is really the best food for her?

Talk to your veterinarian. In our study, veterinarians were the most common primary source for nutrition information and were also rated as the most important source. Not every veterinarian likes discussing nutrition as much as we do, so if its not your veterinarians favorite topic, schedule an appointment with a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist(some will even do remote consultations with owners) .
Ask important questions about your pet food most of the important factual information you need is not on the label, such as whether they employ qualified nutritionists or use rigorous quality control practices, but this information should be available from the manufacturer. Some of the important criteria from the World Small Animal Veterinary Association have been compiled in a tool from the Pet Nutrition Alliance (updated annually).
Be a skeptic about nutrition on the internet. The internet can be a tremendous resource but also can be an unreliable source of myths, misinformation, or even completely false information. Learn to be a more objective user of the internet, especially for pet nutrition topics. Researching the sites author and sources of information, as well as discussing the information with your veterinarian can help you to avoid common pitfalls with nutrition on the internet.

At Petfoodology, we understand your love and passion for your pets we feel the same way! And we want you to feed the healthiest and most nutritious food possible. But we want you to use your passion responsibly so you can make better decisions about your pets health and nutrition. Its important to make your decision on facts, not on emotion and marketing. We hope youll continue to read Petfoodology well help to keep you aware, educated, and or armed to make good decisions.

¹American Pet Products Association. Pet industry market size and ownership statistics. Available at: https://www.americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp. Accessed December 16, 2019.

²PetFood News. Dog owners have difficulty choosing pet food (October 8, 2015). Available at: http://www.petfoodindustry.com/articles/5407-survey-dog-owners-have-difficulty-choosing-pet-food. Accessed December 16, 2019.

³Schleicher M, Cash SB, Freeman LM. Determinants of pet food purchasing decisions. Canadian Veterinary Journal 2019;60:644-650.

Dr. Freeman is a veterinary nutritionist and a professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. She is on the cutting-edge of science, with hundreds of articles in prestigious journals, speaking engagements at national and international conferences, and awards for her scientific achievements. However, she also is passionate about providing objective and accurate information on pet nutrition to veterinarians, pet owners, and other animal enthusiasts.

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An Insiders Guide to Finding Superior Dog Food Brands

These days, there are lots of dog foods on the market. So, finding a good one can be overwhelming.

After all, on The Dog Food Advisor website alone, there are now:

Over 950 dog food reviews
Hundreds of product lines
More than 4,100 recipes

So, how can you find a good brand? Here are 9 tips to help you find a superior food for your dog.

Tip #1Check the Label

Pet food labels are loaded with lots of valuable information. Yet they can also be difficult to read. So, save yourself a lot of time and effort and

Favor dog food brands that include multiple product lines with higher ratings.

Thats because lower rated recipes are more likely to contain:

Less meat
More by-products
Controversial preservatives
Anonymous meat ingredients

Tip #2:Consider the Company

Many dog owners tend to distrust larger pet food companies. They mistakenly believe smaller brands are more likely to make better and safer products.

However, the facts tell a different story.

Consider this: 93% of all pet foods sold in the U.S. are produced by just 3 companies Big Heart, Mars and Purina.¹

Yet 73 of the 88 recall events documented on this website during a recent 5-year period² are linked to products of smaller brands.³

In other words

Even though smaller companies account for just 7% of the pet food and treats sold theyre responsible for an eye-popping 83% of the recalls.

In addition, after conducting hundreds of interviews, its become apparent that

A significant number of dog foods are not likely to meet the claims of nutritional adequacy printed on their labels.

Thats because many smaller companies have willingly admitted to us that they make no effort to verify the nutrient content or the safety of the foods they sell.

And theres no law requiring any pet food company to do so, either.

The truth is, the smaller the brand, the less likely the company has the financial ability to perform all the steps needed to ensure the quality of its products.

So, although there are always exceptions, its important to keep in mind that larger companies are far more likely to:

Employ real food scientists, animal nutritionists and other veterinary professionals to design their products
Test raw materials for impurities and nutrient content
Conduct regular safety and quality control procedures
Own and operate their own manufacturing facilities
Verify finished goods before they are shipped
Maintain in-house testing laboratories

So, what should you do? Are dog foods made by larger companies better?

No, larger companies may or may not be better. However

The smaller the dog food brand, the more critical it is for you to look beyond its label.

Tip #3Identify the Manufacturer

Most dog owners assume their pet food company actually makes the products they sell.

However, today, many companies use third-party co-packers to manufacture some or all of their foods.

Yet others make their own.

In any case, whether or not a company makes its own dog food is neither good or bad. Whats more important is to

Know the identity of the manufacturer of any brand you feed your pet.

Otherwise youll never be able to track its recall history or judge the safety of its products.

Tip #4Question Product Design

What may surprise you is that theres no legal requirement that a pet food be formulated by an animal nutritionist or any other veterinary professional.

In fact, over the years, weve uncovered a shocking number of dog foods that have been designed by amateurs.

So, to ensure the nutritional health of your pet, you should

Contact each brand youre considering and determine who actually designs its products.

By the way, just knowing who formulates a product is not enough. Youll also want to know what qualifies that person to do so.

Tip #5Confirm Nutrient Testing

Its also important to know how the company can be certain each formulation is nutritionally complete and balanced.

And how often nutritional content testing is actually performed.

Does the company conduct laboratory analysis? Or do they run feeding trials?

Surprisingly, we have found many (mostly smaller) companies that never do any testing at all. Thats why its so important to

Find out what a company does to test each product to be sure it actually meets AAFCO nutritional guidelines.

Tip #6Investigate Ingredient Sources

No dog food can ever be magically better than the ingredients that were used to make it. Yet labels reveal little about the quality of the raw materials actually used to make the food.

Some ingredients are purchased from commodity brokers on the open market from the cheapest bidder. Others can come from countries known to have inferior food quality standards.

However, superior companies tend to source their ingredients only from established local or regional suppliers they do business with on a recurring basis.

Whats more, Federal law does not currently require any pet food company to disclose country of origin or any other sourcing information on its label.

Thats why its so important to

Know the source of all ingredients that are used to make any dog food you buy. Avoid brands that will not share this information with you.

By the way, imported ingredients arent necessarily bad. In fact, many can be of exceptional quality. For example, some vitamin and mineral supplements are pharmaceutical grade and can actually be superior to those sourced from the U.S. or Canada.

Tip #7Demand Transparency

Some pet food companies work hard to conceal critical information about their products.

For example, weve actually stumbled upon a number of companies that attempt to create an artificial sense of customer support by using voice mail to take messages. Yet no one ever returns the calls.

Some brands dont even maintain a product website.

And others resist being questioned by independent websites like The Dog Food Advisor.

These companies make it difficult (or impossible) for us to get important answers while blaming their own unwillingness to cooperate on the fact we are not veterinarians.

Think about it. Are there any questions presented in this article that would require the knowledge of a veterinarian to answer?

Obviously, hostile or defensive companies like these are the ones that most likely have something to hide and should not be trusted.

For all these reasons

Never buy any dog food made by any company that is not transparent about its products or its manufacturing practices.

After all, you have a right to know.

Tip #8Verify Quality Control

At the time of purchase, all pet foods are at risk for containing:

Disease-causing pathogens (Salmonella, Listeria)
Mold toxins (aflatoxin, vomitoxin)
Environmental pollutants
Unsafe nutrient levels

And although many pathogens can be killed (pasteurized) during cooking, deadly toxins can remain in the food throughout the manufacturing process.

Whats worse, re-contamination can occur anytime living germs from uncooked food accidentally come in contact with a finished food product.

Thats why you must

Never buy a pet food from any company that ships finished goods before obtaining negative test results for any form of contamination.

Some companies are more diligent about this safety measure than others. A few test every batch while others test only randomly. And yet some never test anything at all.

In any case, even for us, it can be extremely difficult to determine just how carefully any brand administers its own quality control program.

Tip #9Study the Recall History

Dog food recalls can provide some valuable clues about a brands manufacturing habits.

Pet owners tend to misunderstand and overreact to dog food recalls. And theyre inclined to overvalue the real significance of these events whenever they occur.

They forget that when it comes to any process involving human beings, errors are inevitable. Accidents are going to happen.

And thats what makes dog food recalls so unpredictable. In fact, trying to forecast any pet (or human) food recall has proved to be impossible.

Just the same, even though no pet food company can completely prevent a recall, it can control how it responds to such an event when it does occur.

Unfortunately, while some companies work hard to prevent a recall, others work even harder at covering them up.

For example, some misguided brands have been known to conduct silent recalls informing only their distributors about an event. And not the public.

Or they withhold the news about a recall and only release that information at the very end of the business week just so they wont have to deal with consumer questions.

Avoid buying dog food made by any brand that makes any attempt to hide recall events from the public when they occur.

Remember, most recalls typically involve only a limited number of product runs and batches. Just because a particular recipe has been recalled doesnt mean the entire brand is defective.

So, please dont make the same mistake made by so many other well-meaning pet owners. Dont overreact and exclude a quality food just because of a few isolated events.

In the end, your dog could be missing out on some of the very best canine diets out there.

The Bottom Line

Of course, no system can possibly guarantee your dogs food will never be recalled or that your pet will approve of your choice.

However, any time you find a product that meets the majority of these guidelines, you can feel confident youre likely to have found a superior dog food brand.