Grade Your Dog Food

C.L. Beck (215) 15 Apr 2006 02:21 PM

Wow, thanks. This is a great article. I've always wondered about the actual 'nutritional worth' of the food we feed our dogs.

Napi21 (6) 06 May 2006 06:37 PM

I found this guide on a blog site I visit all the time, and they also had a list of dog foods that have already been rated using this guide. The results are astounding! The one dog food that many people recommend "Iams" was rated "D"! It certainly surprised ME!

lyndaburgiss (10) 22 May 2006 09:08 AM

I would like to know the SOURCE of this information -- did the poster in the "online dog community" give a source? Thanks, Lynda

Aimee Amodio (11497) 22 May 2006 09:25 AM

Hi Lynda!

I've seen this grading system in a few different places: a Dogster community I belong to, a pit bulls community on LiveJournal, and at www.petoftheday.com. Nobody seems to know the original source, it seems to be one of those things that is just getting passed around -- I also found a few rating systems put out by dog food makers... kind of biased! I don't know if this one came from a dog food maker or not. However, I felt it was important to share because it does make some important points about dog food and what's in your dog's food! The same way we should read labels on what we feed our families, we should know and understand what we're giving our pets, because we want them to be as healthy as possible.

lyndaburgiss (10) 22 May 2006 10:49 AM

Whenever I can, I make it a point to find the source and date of anything I'm interested in on the 'net -- there's a lot of junk out there, as well as good stuff. And if I'm unsure of the source and date, I don't post it. Once it's "out there" -- good information or not -- it spreads like wildfire.

Does anyone know of a good independent source (not affiliated with dog food manufacturers) of dog food ratings?

I noticed the manufacturer of the dog food that caused liver failure/death in a number of dogs in the country last year is on the list. It's a personal thing, but I wouldn't even want to put that company's name in front of someone who had otherwise never heard of it.

Thanks! Lynda

Aimee Amodio (11497) 22 May 2006 07:54 PM

As far as I can tell, Lynda, this checklist is NOT affiliated with any dog food manufacturer. It takes or awards points based on ingredients that are known to be good or bad. Sad to say, most veterinarians are encouraged to reccommend certain foods by the companies that make those foods. There doesn't seem to be much of an "independent" source for dog food rating out there. If you happen to find a good one, please pass it along!

And as far as what "list" you are referring to -- I guess you're talking about something not posted here. The only dog food I graded was the one I give my own dogs -- Purina One Healthy Weight Management -- which as far as I know hasn't harmed any dogs. The dangerous food your referring to is (I'm guessing) Diamond Pet Foods, which were recalled last December-ish?

fredalina (5) 29 Jun 2006 02:33 PM

Hi, i've never actually posted here or even visited this site before, but i thought i'd step in and say that *i* am the original poster of this dog food grading system.

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.

Sarah Irick aka fredalina 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.

Aimee Amodio (11497) 30 Jun 2006 10:10 AM

Sarah, thank you for coming forward! I saw your food grading system in several pet communities I belong to and wanted to try it out on my own dogs' food. (A later article goes through the checklist and rates Purina ONE Healthy Weight Management formula.)

I really admire the work you've put into this... most other food grading systems that I found were affiliated with a particular dog food and were obviously biased. I will definitely be getting in touch with you!

NJPoodles (5) 08 Mar 2008 08:38 AM

As a breeder of Curly Coat Hunting Retrievers, I fell that there are two critical characteristics that are missing from the list. There shoul be a line - Has your dog food company ever recalled a pet food product. The second should be does your dog food contain ingredients from outside the US. It's great that some of these dog foods rate so highly, I'm sure the people who fed their dogs these fods or food from these companies don't take any comfort when their pet's internal organs have been destroyed and their pet is on drugs, had to be put down, or died. If the dog food companies didn't have ethics before a recall, they surely haven't had the "Jail house conversion" afterwards.