Dog Food Grading Chart

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", "brewerâ⬢?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 isnâ⬢?t allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points

14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isnâ⬢?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 Hi-Energy/ Score 77 D

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 PattenⳠNatural 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+

MemberⳠMark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C

Merrick Wilderness Blend / Score 127 A+

NatureⳠRecipe / Score 100 A

NatureⳠRecipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice / Score 116 A+

NatureⳠVariety 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 Oatmeal / Score 101 A+

Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Lamb and Rice Puppy / Score 98 A

Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B

Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A

Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+

Ol' Roy High Performance / Score 27 F

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


Some of these scores may not be accurate so be sure to score it for your self and get a few others to score it as well. (just to be sure)

*bump*

Yikes!!!! I went from ol roy to purina one to diamond. Thank goodness for this site that gave me the advice on the diamond!!!

i use nutro dog food its seems to work very good my dog always looks really good for the shows

this is verry interesting. BTW you fed olroy. That is just a filler dog food with no nuteranional value to the dog.

Trust me ol roy was not by choice.. it was that or nothing...

^ well, at least now you know.
i would like to add a link that has some REALLY good info regarding dog food. it's a bit lengthy but imo, WELL worth the read.

http://dogfoods.angelfire.com/

Wow I didn't know, I have been giving my dogs Diamond Hi-Energy, I will change to Diamond Large Breed - Thanks for the Valuable Tip
I have heard lots of good stuff about Timerwolf but that is some expensive food.

oh I forgot to ask,
and this info is true?? How did they know how to do this- or better yet who?

apbtproud wrote:

oh I forgot to ask,
and this info is true?? How did they know how to do this- or better yet who?

It's a way to grade the quality of the food and what goes into it...but all dogs react differently to different foods anyways.

I use Purina Dog Chow because its something they like and its good quality at a reasonable price. Or so i thought. I guess i should have been more interested in what i was feeding them.

Nutro's good stuff....keeps their coat nice and shiny/soft, and from what I understand has a lot of natural ingredients and isn't processed like some of the cheaper stuff. My boy loves it.

I have been giving my dog diamond dog food (puppy food) since i shopped around and found it to be very high in protein and now im glad i see it scored high on the list:) I think i will stick with that brand.

I FEED VETS CHOICE WITH WHITE OX FAT