Buyer Beware: 2020’s 10-Worst Rated Dry Dog Food Brands

Go into just about any grocery store and you will find at least one whole aisle dedicated to different types of dog food. Dry, wet, cheap, expensive, holistic, limited ingredients… How are we owners supposed to choose the right one for our beloved dog(s)?

A high-quality dog food brand can make a big difference in a dog’s development from puppy to adulthood, their overall energy and playfulness, and for maintaining their health as the years go by.

Unfortunately, pet food in the US is a $24 billion-dollar industry and upon close inspection many of the leading pet food companies clearly put profits ahead of dogs’ health.

And I don’t know about you but I have two cats, a Winter White Hamster and a dog and that’s a worrying trend!

Here are the top 10 worst dog food brands and why, as an owner, you should avoid feeding these brands to your dog(s) at all costs. If you’re in doubt what to feed your pup, the #1 best seller dog food brand sold on Amazon in 2018 was Taste of the Wild – voted by dog owners like you and me.

1. Twin Pet

Top 5 Ingredients:

1. 1. • Ground yellow corn
      • Wheat middlings
      • Meat and bone meal
      • Animal fat
      • Salt

Twin Pet is an adult dog food that is made for older dogs and claims to be high quality. A quick look at the list of ingredients tells a different story.

There are NO whole fruits or vegetables included in this kibble, and no specific meat protein in this recipe. The top ingredients in this dog food are cheap and controversial fillers. Wheat middlings, for example, are a by-product of cereal grain processing.

2. Simply Right Dog Food

Top 5 Ingredients:

1. 1. • Whole grain corn
      • Poultry by-product meal
      • Meat and bone meal
      • Corn gluten meal
      • Poultry fat

Simply Right Dog Food is another brand that has unnamed meat ingredients, which can make it hard for owners to identify potential allergens in their dog’s food.

Based on the contents of this dog food, the Simply Right brand also uses cheap fillers with low nutritional content as its main ingredients and lists no whole foods.

3. Purina Dog Chow

Top 5 Ingredients:

1. 1. • Whole grain corn
      • Meat and bone meal
      • Corn gluten meal
      • Animal fat
      • Soybean meal

Although Purina is a relatively well-known and popular dog food brand, their main ingredients include controversial fillers that have little nutritional value and meat by-products that can be hard for dogs to digest.

In addition to sub-par ingredients, Purina has had a couple of recalls of its dog food between 2013 and 2016.

4. Pedigree Large Dog Food Complete Nutrition Chicken

Top 5 Ingredients:

1. 1. • Ground whole grain corn
      • Poultry by-product meal
      • Corn gluten meal
      • Animal fat
      • Meat and bone meal

Pedigree is another household name in dog food brands that is less healthy than most owners might think. Pedigree’s top ingredients are made up of inexpensive fillers and by-products.

Like Purina, Pedigree has also had several recalls of their dry dog food over the last few years, which puts into question not only the quality of ingredients they use but also quality control in general.

5. Ol’ Roy Dog Food (Dry)

Top 5 Ingredients:

1. 1. • Ground yellow corn
      • Meat and bone meal
      • Soybean meal
      • Animal fat
      • Corn gluten meal

Ol’ Roy Dog Food is found in most grocery stores but is not very good for dogs based on its main ingredients.

Ol’ Roy uses controversial fillers and unnamed animal protein as main ingredients in its dry dog food, which can easily trigger allergies. Since the protein is unspecified, it can also be very hard for owners to pinpoint the source of their dogs’ allergies.

6. Kibbles ‘n Bits (Dry)

Top 5 Ingredients:

1. 1. • Corn
      • Soybean meal
      • Beef and bone meal
      • Ground wheat
      • Animal fat

Kibbles ‘n Bits is an affordable dog food brand that is well known but not good for dogs. That’s because like most other common dog food brands they use cheap ingredients without very much nutritional value.

7. Kal Kan Dog Food (Dry)

Top 5 Ingredients:

1. 1. • Ground yellow corn
      • Meat and bone meal
      • Soybean meal
      • Ground wheat
      • Chicken by-product meal

Kal Kan dry dog food uses a lot of the same culprits as other low quality dog foods, but at the very least this one specifies that the meat by-products included are chicken. Corn is used as a filler and source of carbohydrates, while soybean meal is a cheap ingredient that is high in protein.

These high protein substitutes can be misleading to owners who think their dog is getting more actual meat protein in their kibble.

 

8. Gravy Train Dog Food

Top 5 Ingredients:

1. 1. • Corn
      • Soybean meal
      • Meat and bone meal
      • Wheat middlings
      • Animal fat

Gravy Train is a dry dog food with little nutritional value or animal protein that dogs need to support their energy and healthy growth. The main ingredients in this dog food are inexpensive alternatives to healthier options.

 

9. Dad’s Dog Food (Dry)

Top 5 Ingredients:

1. 1. • Ground yellow corn
      • Soybean meal
      • Wheat middlings
      • Beef meal
      • Animal fat

Dad’s Dog Food is not a recommended dry dog food option because corn is the first ingredient, and although it is high in carbohydrates it doesn’t provide much nutrition to dogs. Beef meal is the best ingredient included here, since it is very high in protein.

10. Alpo Dog Food (Dry)

Top 5 Ingredients:

1. • Ground yellow corn
   • Corn germ meal
   • Beef and bone meal
   • Soybean meal
   • Animal fat

Like the rest of the worst dog foods available, Alpo uses a lot of fillers and by-products with little to no nutritional value for dogs. Many of these ingredients, like beef and bone meal and soybean meal, are high in protein but still not recommended as the main ingredients in a dry kibble.

 In a Nutshell

It’s a little shocking to see how similar the main ingredients are for all ten of the worst dog food brands available today. Almost all these brands are household names, because these companies spend more money marketing their dog food than they do on ingredients that put dogs’ health first.

To buy truly high-quality, holistic dog food you may need to go right to a vet or specialty pet store. You will probably pay a little more but a quick glance at the ingredients will show you the difference between the brands in this list and more responsible dog food manufacturers.

Trusted brands like Blue Buffalo, Nutro, and Taste of the Wild are just a few examples that use real meat protein and quality carbohydrates as the first ingredients in their dry dog food recipes. These foods are more natural and don’t include unnecessary ingredients like food coloring or harmful preservatives like BPA, which are found in most of the dog food brands listed above.

Be sure you stop by and read our other product reviews!

Tell us your thoughts about your own doggie’s diet below!