# Unquestionably BEST dog food?



## Werebadger (Jul 16, 2015)

Dry food, I mean. Of course raw would be the absolute best, but there's many reasons one might not be able to feed raw -- price, etc. 

So, where's in your opinion, the very best dry dog food available in the market? Price is irrelevant here. Of course, lots of brands I can not afford, but I'm just curious. 

Jake is currently eating Tails food (from this website: http://tails.com) and although he seems to be doing okay with it, I'm growing increasingly disillusioned with his kibble's formula and don't seem to be able to change it either on the site. <W< It's not super expensive, but it's definitely medium range price around here.

Here's the ingredients:

Total meat content 45%; wheat, chicken 19.2% (including 12.8% from dehydrated chicken), beef 16%, meat meal 8.6%, wheat feed, maize, maize gluten, beet pulp, peas, maize gluten feed, brown rice, fish meal 0.8%, gravy (digest) 0.4%, yeast, linseed, brewer's yeast, glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate, barley

So I'm looking for something else. I'm in the UK, btw!


----------



## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

If there was truly one best dog food for all dogs, and all owners in all markets, the others would cease to exist.

You'll get lots of recommendations - I feed Taste of the Wild, for example - but different dogs have different needs and there is, unfortunately, some trial-and-error involved. One of my three seems to need grain-free. Another seems to thrive on almost anything. A third is prone to pancreatitus and needs a low-fat diet. 

There will always be cheap, grocery store brands out there doing lots of national advertising. But even among premium brands, there is a tremendous variety and there is a reason for that.


----------



## Werebadger (Jul 16, 2015)

That's a very good point, that's why I pointed out that I meant in everyone's opinions, since it's pretty subjective and depends on the dog's moreso than the owners.

By the way, I've been looking at some UK brand and how does this seen in terms of quality? I ask because I honestly don't know very well. I'm reading reviews (dogfoodadvisor) but they don't include any of the brands that I know from over here, other than the huge commercial ones.

Ingredients: Freshly Prepared Chicken 22%, Dehydrated Chicken 15%, Dehydrated Herring 10%, Potato 9%, Sweet Potato 7%, Dehydrated Turkey 7%, Freshly Prepared Chicken Liver 7%, Dehydrated Salmon 6%, Chicken Fat 4%, Freshly Prepared Free-Range Egg 3%, Freshly Prepared Salmon 3%, Chicken Stock 2%, Pea Fibre (2%), Salmon Oil 1%, Chickpeas, Lentils, Alfalfa/Lucerne, Vitamins, Minerals, Prebiotic FOS (1900 mg/kg), Apple, Organic Peas, Organic Spinach, Organic Pumpkin, Organic Carrot, Camomile, Marigold Petals, Aniseed & Fenugreek, Peppermint, Joint Support [Glucosamine (170mg/kg), MSM (170mg/kg), Chondroitin Sulphate (120mg/kg)], Yucca Schidigera Extract, Seaweed, Cranberry, Dandelion, Pear, Blueberry, Fennel, Rosemary (0.04%), Burdock Root, Rosehips, Organic Honey (0.01%), Garlic (0.01%).

Analysis: Protein:39% Oils&Fats:18.5% Fibre:3% Ash:11% Calcium:2.4% Phosphorous:1.6% Omega 6:3.4% Omega 3:1.4% Moisture:8.5% NFE:20% Metabolisable Energy: 364Kcal/100g Copper Content:14.42mg/Kg


----------



## doodlebug124 (Oct 31, 2015)

On paper, I consider Orijen to be the best food around that is widely available. However, as RonE said, it may not be the best food for your dog. For some it's too rich and they get diarrhea.

But what I can tell you is that the food you are feeding is not a mid-range food (despite being priced as such). Any food with wheat as the first ingredient and also including several different corn ingredients and meat meal is a low end food.


----------



## Werebadger (Jul 16, 2015)

doodlebug124 said:


> On paper, I consider Orijen to be the best food around that is widely available. However, as RonE said, it may not be the best food for your dog. For some it's too rich and they get diarrhea.
> 
> But what I can tell you is that the food you are feeding is not a mid-range food (despite being priced as such). Any food with wheat as the first ingredient and also including several different corn ingredients and meat meal is a low end food.


Huh, I did not know that! I've already cancelled my next delivery of this food (it works like an ongoing delivery that you get every month).

Thank you for letting me know!


----------



## doodlebug124 (Oct 31, 2015)

Looks like we were posting at the same time...

The food you just posted looks like an excellent food assuming they start with human grade ingredients and are not sourcing from China. Far, far, far better than the Tails food you mentioned. However the ash is kind of high...


----------



## Werebadger (Jul 16, 2015)

doodlebug124 said:


> Looks like we were posting at the same time...
> 
> The food you just posted looks like an excellent food assuming they start with human grade ingredients and are not sourcing from China. Far, far, far better than the Tails food you mentioned. However the ash is kind of high...


It's from this website! http://www.wholeprey.com/

They source everything from the UK and human-grade sources, as far as I can tell. They mostly do working dog food, but the only difference between their regular and the working version is the fact that the working dog is VAT free. I went and asked if I could feed it to my non-working dog and was told it was perfectly fine and to just adjust the quantity (they have an online chat, super helpful!)


----------



## Hiraeth (Aug 4, 2015)

The other thing you want to watch for, besides grains as the first ingredient, is what type of protein is listed as the first ingredient. Protein percentages are listed by weight BEFORE cooking. So, in this food:

Freshly Prepared Chicken 22%, Dehydrated Chicken 15%, Dehydrated Herring 10%, Potato 9%

The "freshly prepared chicken" is about 90-something percent water weight, and will therefore be only a fraction of what is actually in the dried kibble. 

Not sure if it's available where you are, but I feed Earthborn. I pay attention to parent companies and will not support large corporations like Mars or Nestle or P&G. Earthborn is a family owned company. It is made in the United States except for their lamb, which comes from New Zealand and Australia, and flaxseed, which comes from Canada. The bags are made from recycled materials. The carbon footprint of the company is tiny in comparison to other dog food brands. 

I noticed an immediate change for the better as far as coat quality, skin health and nail health when I switched my dogs to this brand from another. 

The ONLY problem I have with Earthborn, as a whole, is that they put chicken flavor in their 'natural ingredients' section, so anyone whose dog has a chicken allergy may, on first glance, think this food looks great and doesn't contain chicken when it actually does.


----------



## Werebadger (Jul 16, 2015)

Hiraeth said:


> The other thing you want to watch for, besides grains as the first ingredient, is what type of protein is listed as the first ingredient. Protein percentages are listed by weight BEFORE cooking. So, in this food:
> 
> Freshly Prepared Chicken 22%, Dehydrated Chicken 15%, Dehydrated Herring 10%, Potato 9%
> 
> ...


I might or not be looking at this thread like a hawk... 

I looked at the Earthborn website (it's this one, right? http://www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com/ ) and unfortunately, I can't see any retailer in the United Kingdom. It's kinda odd because they have one in Ireland according to their Where to Buy page, but not in the UK? I could probably buy somewhere else and just ship it here but honestly, that's a bit too much hassle for me. Especially since I'm looking at the big bags (10kg+) and it'd cost too much to be shipped.

I'm thinking I'm gonna go with the Akela (www.wholeprey.com) food. Maybe it's not perfect, of course, but it's seriously up there. And it's grain free and affordable, especially the VAT free "working dog" version (seriously £34 for 10kg, that's about $48 for a still very good quality food as far as I can tell).

They also have some cat food /unrelated to these forums/ that I'm going to try.


----------



## Hiraeth (Aug 4, 2015)

Have you checked out Chewy.com? Do they ship to the UK?


----------



## Werebadger (Jul 16, 2015)

Hiraeth said:


> Have you checked out Chewy.com? Do they ship to the UK?


I checked this out and.. "Sorry, we only ship within the contiguous US at this time. "

-_______________________- It is kinda difficult/annoying sometimes. Seriously! 

Okay. I found some Earthborn for sale on amazon.co.uk but mostly 1) biggest bag I found was 6kg 2) prohibitely expensive for the quantity. 6kg for £50, without shipping. That's versus the Akela 10kg for £34

Is Akela that bad? :0 I'm on the verge of just ordering a 10kg bag but I don't want anyone to feel like I'm disregarding their opinion. I'm not!

EDIT: Found one bag of 6k for £40, a bit cheaper but still.


----------



## Hiraeth (Aug 4, 2015)

No, Akela doesn't look bad. Since it's working dog food, be careful to watch feeding amounts and kcals ratios to your old food. It's likely higher in fat that what you were feeding previously.


----------



## parus (Apr 10, 2014)

The best food is the available one your dogs do best on.

My dogs show all signs of good health and have happy digestive systems on some of the formulations of Taste of the Wild. They also are good on the senior large dog formulation of Nutro, which is not a highly-ranked food.

We sampled some higher-end products and as far as I can tell I'd be paying more money for more barfing.


----------



## MarieLovesChis (Mar 21, 2014)

For my dog, the best is Acana. My dog loves the taste and her poop is always small and has almost no smell to it. I know her stomach doesn't agree with a food when her poop smells like something dead and rotting lol. Acana also keeps her skin issues away.


----------



## doodlebug124 (Oct 31, 2015)

Hiraeth said:


> The other thing you want to watch for, besides grains as the first ingredient, is what type of protein is listed as the first ingredient. Protein percentages are listed by weight BEFORE cooking. So, in this food:
> 
> Freshly Prepared Chicken 22%, Dehydrated Chicken 15%, Dehydrated Herring 10%, Potato 9%
> 
> The "freshly prepared chicken" is about 90-something percent water weight, and will therefore be only a fraction of what is actually in the dried kibble.


While this is nearly true (fresh chicken is about 75% water), the fact that the fresh chicken is followed immediately by dehydrated chicken and a whole bunch more fresh and dehydrated meats and eggs means when all added together there is significant meat protein in this food. The fresh potato and sweet potato have a high water content and are not contributing a lot of vegetable protein to this food. Other sources of plant protein (chick peas, lentils) are so far down on the list that they're negligible.

Of the Earthborn selections, the only one I would consider to be on par with this food is the Primitive Natural. The fish, bison and lamb all have lower protein content to begin with and have significant amounts of pea protein (80% protein) and peas in the first 5 ingredients. Pea protein has a lower biological value than meat protein and there is some talk about peas being linked to digestive inflammation (I haven't done enough research on that to have an opinion one way or another, but do get a fair number of customers with dogs that have a hard time with peas). 

I'm not saying Earthborn is a bad food, it's far superior to 98%+(?) of what's on the market. Most dogs will do well on it and it's certainly great for the price. But if I were ranking it, Akela would get 5 stars and the Earthborn formulas with pea protein would get 4, Primitive Natural would get 5 stars.


----------



## mad (Sep 2, 2014)

I highly recommend this site if you're looking for a food in the UK http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/the-dog-food-directory

You can add different filters for how much you want to spend, avoid certain ingredients etc, its a really good site

If you want a UK food I recommend Simpsons, if youre not bothered about it being a UK food Orijen is what I feed, the cheapest place I've found for dog food is http://www.zooplus.co.uk/

Simpsons 80/20 (12KG £47.99)
Deboned Chicken(27%), Dried Chicken(16%), Deboned Salmon(13%), Sweet Potato, Potato, Dried White Fish(7%), Dried Salmon(5%), Dried Turkey(4%), Chicken Fat(2%), Chicken Gravy(2%), Dried Whole Egg(2%), Deboned White Fish(2%), Pea Fibre, Lucerne, Minerals, Vitamins, Dried Apple, Dried Carrot, Spinach, Dried Seaweed, Dried Cranberry, Prebiotic FOS, Aniseed, Fenugreek, Glucosamine, MSM, Chondroitin, Thyme, Marjoram, Oregano, Parsley, Sage.
Naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols. 

Simpsons also have a slightly cheaper but still grain-free range in a few different meat formulas, heres the chicken one
Simpsons sensitive chicken and potato (12KG £37.99)
Chicken (min 45% -Dried Chicken, Deboned Chicken, Chicken Fat), Potato (min 26%), Beet Pulp, Brewers Yeast, Chicken Gravy, Dried Egg, Salmon Oil, Minerals, Linseeds, Vitamins, Yucca Extract, Cranberries, Nucleotides, Mannanoligosaccharides (MOS), ructooligosaccharides (FOS), Glucosamine, MSM, Chondroitin.

Hope this helps


----------



## MarieLovesChis (Mar 21, 2014)

One thing to keep in mind about the Primitive Natural formula is the ash percentage. Last time I asked them for this info they said it was 12%. Personally, that's too high for my comfort level.


----------



## doodlebug124 (Oct 31, 2015)

That is a high ash content...indicative of the quality of the meals they are using. My one concern about the Akela food. Better to see it around 8%.


----------



## OwnedbyACDs (Jun 22, 2013)

I dont know what is available in the UK, but there is a way to do raw that is very cost effective if you wanted to, and it's feeding freeze dried or dehydrated raw, like I do. I feed grandma Lucy's with nutrisca salmon and chickpea kibble, I think you can buy both Nutrisca and Lucy's on amazon but IDK if amazon ships to the UK or not. The best way to find out is to go to the food's parent website and click on their "where to buy" and see if the company ships to the UK or not.

Other generally good kibble foods are:
Acana
Orijin (though I cant feed either because they are too rich I guess, I have never had a dog do well on them)
earthborn
Nature's variety (though they are a bit high in their ash content)
Victor
taste of the wild (my dogs dont like it but I know a lot of folks who have fed it with great luck)

If you wanted to do raw there are some freeze dried and dehydrated options out there here are some (there are MANY more)
Grandma Lucy's
the honest kitchen
^^^ these are the most cost- effective

vvv This is where it gets a little more expensive:
primal
Nature's variety
stella and chewy's
I and love and you

Like I said there are MANY MANY more, too many to list, though even though chewy doesnt ship to you, you could still use that site to read up on the different foods and read reviews.

ETA also www.dogfoodadvisor.com is another good "jumping off" point for research.


----------



## Foxes&Hounds (Jun 7, 2014)

Hello 
I'm in the UK too and feed my dogs all sorts!
They don't always get the highest meat content, top of the range stuff, but I feel comfortable feeding most things with a relatively high meat content, natural ingredients and a clear ingredients list.
At the mo, we are rotating through Wellness Core, Wainwrights Grain Free, Fishmongers Finest, Evolution Naturally, Bosch Soft, Barking Heads Grain Free, Wolf of Wilderness, Lily's Kitchen, Purizon and Acana.
Have a look at Millies Wolfheart too.

Pets at Home have a pretty good range of foods that aren't too bad - I get half of our food from there since I work there lol. The other stuff comes from here: http://www.zooplus.co.uk/

Do you have a budget at all?


----------



## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

Absolute best dog food is whatever your dog does well on and you're ok to spend on. If you have a dog and are on a very limited budget and can't afford $3.00/lb then even if it was the best for your dog it isn't logical to feed it; you would need a food that's best within your means. And going back to that $3.00/lb if it was "THE BEST" out there, you can afford it and your dog doesn't do well on it no sense buying it.

There is no best for every dog.


----------



## CorgiKarma (Feb 10, 2009)

I feel Ziwipeak is the best pet food available. Their "dry" food is actually more of a jerky consistency. I don't know how anyone could afford it, though. My next favorite is Orijen or Acana. My husband and I eat local as much as possible and I appreciate this about Champion foods. My girls love the new Acana and do great on it! Orijen was too rich for Bailey. I've been mixing in PetKind kibble as well.
I would love to put my cats on Orijen but since Boo blocked they have been on C/D prescription food. I hate it, I hate buying it, but I'm terrified to change it and have another issue that could potentially be fatal for him because I was too stubborn to buy Hill's food.


----------



## Terriermon (Mar 19, 2016)

For me Acana is the best. I have tried Orijen and Fromm and they gave Chase loose stools and seemed to make him more hyper. He always seemed desperate to eat grass, leaves, etc. outside so I think he was telling me he needed more fibre. We switched to Acana and it has been great. Firm, small poops with very little odour, great coat, and he loves it. The grazing stopped too.


----------



## wel (Mar 3, 2020)

I know this is slightly off topic...we tried all the best dry foods we could Top 10 Best Grain Free Dog Food For Small Breeds 2020 - Dog-Advisors after switching to raw..their coats improved..less stools and drank normal amounts of water...and gas reduced to almost nil.


----------

