Grade Your Dog Food

went to a dog store today and found out about this… the different dog food brands differ from no grains, to some grains (brown rice, barley, oats) and regular supermarket brands (wheat, by products and you don’t want to know what else is in them)…

so I thought it would be useful to post this way to find out if your dog food is up to snuff and good enough to eat … if you would not eat it, why are you feeding it to your pup?

Cici loves Dr. Harvey’s, Evo, Honest kitchen’s, the raw and dehydrated (Thrive, Force, Embark, Preference, etc), as well as the tripe, California Natural and others…

Force dog food is made from 100% human food grade chicken, organic flaxseed, potatoes, celery, cabbage, sweet potatoes, zucchini, green beans, apples, honey, alfalfa, kelp, yogurt, bananas, papayas, basil, garlic, vitamins and minerals…

I’ve heard this is a good brand but have not tried it…

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/Vegetarian.html

Below is a method to grade your dog food that was posted online…

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