10 Best Dog Food 1.
Orijen
Champion Pet Foods is a family owned Canadian company manufacturing two brands of dog foods; Orijen and Acana. Orijen has received many awards and was recently voted Pet Food Of The Year 2010-2011 by The Glycemic Research Institute, Washington,D.C.
Based upon concept, ingredients, food preparation and the manufacturing of their own products, we feel that they are well deserved to make our our 10 best dog food list. Orijen goes back to the very basics that dogs need foods that are appropriate for them as a species in order to excel. This means the ingredients that they use imitate the ingredients that mother nature intended for dogs to eat.
Ingredients: Their all natural dog food is high in protein, low in carbohydrates and grain free. Meats are free range and fish is fresh not frozen. Orijen includes a minimum of 25% fruits and veggies such as russet potatoes, apples, berries, alphalfa, sweet potatoes, squash and organic sea kelp to name a few.
Manufacturing/Preparation: Champion owns their own pet food processing facilities located in Alberta where they produce both Orijen and Acana pet foods. Ash levels are low due to using fresh boneless meats and the chicken meal is deboned before the cooking process ever takes place. Ash levels are important because high levels of ash result in higher minerals and calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Controlling ash levels are critical for long-term feeding and are extremely important in any dog food. Having such low ash levels in a high protein food is not easy, but Champion Pet Foods has done an excellent job in accomplishing this.
Bottom line: Orijen uses the concept of the dog's actual needs based upon anatomy and what the dog would eat if he/she were hunting in the wild. The ingredients in Orijen are superior and the food is prepared with long term feeding in mind. They receive the highest rating on several 10 best dog food lists because of their high standards and according to those that feed Orijen; it shows in the finished product. For anyone worrying about the amount of protein in Orijen, check out their sister product "Acana" which has 33% protein vs 38% protein in Orijen.
Contact: 1-877-939-0006 Purchase Orijen Here
10 Best Dog Food 2.
Acana
Also owned by Champion Pet Foods located in Alberta, Canada. Acana received 5 stars out of 6 from dogfoodanalysis.com for one of the top best quality dog food choices.
Acana is #2 on our list of the top 10 dog foods:
Champion Pet Foods uses the same concept for their Acana line of dog food. "Biologically appropriate foods" applies to their Acana brand as well.
Ingredients: The Acana line is not much different in concept or quality, except that it contains less total meat content and less protein than Orijen. It is slightly higher in carbs and while Orijen contains 5 meat sources, Acana contains 3. The Acana line currently offers 3 grain free formulas and 3 recipes that include grains such as steel cut oats. It is one of the best quality dog foods available. Here's a look at the first five ingredients in the "Wild Prairie" formula: chicken meal, russet potato, boneless chicken, boneless walleye and whitefish meal.
Manufacturing/Preparation: Same applies as Orijen
Bottom line: #2 on our 10 best dog food list; the same applies as Acana's sister food "Orijen".
Contact: 1-877-939-0006 Purchase Acana Here
10 Best Dog Food 3.
The Honest Kitchen
A privately owned company based in San Diego, CA. The HK uses dehydration which gently processes the food while leaving the natural nutrients intact. According to The HK, dehydration keeps the necessary nutrients including enzymes and vitamins undamaged. The concept behind The Honest Kitchen is to provide a healthy, convenient and economical alternative to a raw diet.
Ingredients: The HK uses only free range sustainably farmed and humanely raised meats, certified organic all natural ingredients. Here's a look at some of their ingredients: free range chicken, alfalfa, sweet potatoes, cabbage, celery, apples, spinach, organic kelp, coconut, bananas, zucchini, honey, green beans, papayas and many more. *Please note: The Honest Kitchen no longer gets any ingredients from China at all. Their purchasing contracts are with the USA & Europe.
Manufacturing/Preparation: The Honest Kitchen does not manufacture their products themselves, but their product line is manufactured in a local facility that produces human foods that must meet strict regulations.
Bottom line: #3 on my 10 best dog food list; the Honest Kitchen has developed a great line of raw, whole, organic, dehydrated foods for dogs. Recipes include traditional foods using organic grains as well as grain free formulas. Minimal processing, superior ingredients, consumer convenience, light weight shipping (save on shipping) and convenient storage. While we love their entire line of dog foods, "Preference" is one of our favorites due to allowing the consumer to make a home-made grain free dog food right in their own kitchen just by adding any source of meat. However, you can add meat or other ingredients to any of their product lines. We feed our three year old yellow lab Maggie The HK "Thrive". Labs are notorius for having skin and yeast problems. The Honest Kitchen has worked well for our lab in regards to a dog food for skin allergies. Their Force does well for dogs with a sensitive stomach. Well deserved on any 10 best dog food list.
Contact: 1-866-437-9729 Purchase The Honest Kitchen Here
10 Best Dog Food 4.
GO! Natural Dog Food
Privately owned by Petcurean Pet Nutrition located in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. While the company does not manufacture their own product line; they closely monitor quality control. Go! Natural dog food is in concentrated form meaning your dog gets much more from much less. This formula is an "all life stages" formula meaning your dog can eat it from puppyhood through adulthood. The company states that you feed up to 40% less because each kibble includes up to 50% more concentrated meat protein, concentrated energy and metabolized energy. "Go" has several selections to choose from including excellent allergy formulas that include one carb, one protein and one oil. They also have an excellent endurance food that consists of 34% protein and 16% fat.
Ingredients: The ingredients in Go! Natural and their other formulas are all fresh and never frozen. PPN uses local hormone-free meats and farm grown fruits/vegetables and stable unaltered oils in all of their products. Their meats are deboned prior to cooking.
Manufacturing/Preparation: Elmira Pet Products located in Elmira, Ontario, Canada produces all of PPN's product line. Elmira is a privately owned company formerly known as Martin Pet Foods. Petcurean products are cooked slowly at a low temperature to assure that all nutrients remain absolute.
Bottom line: Petcurean Pet Nutrition sets their own standards very high in delivering nothing less than superior products. Their exceptional ingredients along with their triple check safety program meet the requirements for a cut above line of dog food choices.
Update: It has come to our attention that there was a minor violation in 2003 on GO! Petcurean had a market withdrawl on their GO! product. A market withdrawl involves a minor violation in which the company voluntarily removes the product from the market. Please read more on Petcurean's market withdrawl here.
Contact: 1-866-864-6112 Purchase Go! Natural Here
10 Best Dog Food 5.
NOW!
Also owned by Petcurean Pet Nutrition, British Columbia, Canada. The NOW! pet line is 100% grain free food while maintaining a moderate level of protein and fat. It also includes coconut oil which makes it an excellent choice for dogs with IBD and Pancreatitis. While it can be difficult for manufacturers to keep the phosphorus levels low in grain free dog foods, NOW! has managed to do so which makes it (according to the company) a good choice of food for dogs with Chronic Renal Failure. The NOW! formula offers products for the different life stages of your dog.
Ingredients: NOW! is made with unrendered fresh meats in kibble form and does not include meals or by-products. Same applies for NOW! as it does for the GO Natural product line.
Manufacturing/Preparation: Same applies as the GO Natural product line!
Bottom line: Although we haven't used this food ourselves, we certainly understand how difficult it can be to manage a dog with Irritable Bowel Disease, Pancreatitis and Chronic Renal Failure. #5 on our 10 best dog food list; NOW! seems to be a great choice for those trying to manage these problems. In "NOW", PPN has developed a grain free dog food with a moderate level of protein using superior ingredients making this product line exceptional.
Contact: 1-866-864-6112 Purchase NOW! Here
10 Best Dog Food 6.
Precise
Texas Farm Products is the parent company of the Precise Pet Product line. Located in Nacogdoches, TX, this family owned company has been producing their quality pet foods for more than thirty years. The company has a USDA lab on its grounds. They pride themselves on never having a recall and in fact their manufacturing plant was recently awarded (2010) a SUPERIOR rating from the American Institute of Baking (AIB) which is a human grade standard. AIB is a non-profit organization conducting safety food inspections as well as audits. This rating is the highest they give. Precise should be very proud.
Precise offers three lines of dog foods including Precise, Precise Plus and Precise Holistic Complete. They offer a nice line up which includes formulas for the different sizes including large and giant as well as senior and sensitive formulas. All three lines are free of corn, wheat, soy, dairy and grain sorghum.
Ingredients: All ingredients are USA sourced except for the salmon and lamb. The salmon comes from Norway and the lamb comes from New Zealand. Precise uses real muscle meat from chicken, duck, turkey, salmon & lamb. Depending on the formula, fruits and veggies such as peas, apples, blueberries, kelp, carrots, cranberries and potatoes may be included.
Manufacturing/Preparation: Precise Pet Products manufactures and packages all of their own products except their canned product line which is packaged ONLY by Menu Foods.
Bottom line: #6 on our 10 best dog food list, the standards that Precise sets for themselves to deliver safe high quality pet foods, might be unmatched in the industry.
Contact: 1-800-446-7148 Purchase Precise Here
10 Best Dog Food 7.
Steve's Real Food For Pets
A small U.S. based company located in Eugene, Oregon with a complete line of completely balanced raw frozen and freeze dried raw dog foods. Although Steve's Real Food For Pets does not produce their product line themselves, their manufacturer is close to home in Aumsville, Oregon allowing for closely monitored quality control. Steve's Real Food For Pets has been in business since 1999. While raw foods are often debated; by staying small and adhering to their own strict standards; according to the company, they have never had a recall.
Ingredients: The company uses local and regional suppliers. They guarentee their poultry to be hormone and antibiotic free, but not free range. They do not guarentee their red meats to meet the same criteria of hormone/antibiotic free. All their venison comes from New Zealand and also has no guarentees regarding the absence of hormones and antibiotics.
Steve's uses the highest human grade ingredients possible in their product line; inspected and certified by the USDA and guaranteed suitable for human consumption. Free range, hormone free (red meats not guarenteed), gluten free and antibiotic free (red meats not guarenteed) meats. 38% of their dog foods are fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, apples, dried kelp, romaine lettuce and cantaloupe to name a few.
Manufacturing/Preparation: Steve's Real Food is produced by JDJ Manufacturing. According to Steve's, they are a production plant designed to manufacture raw/frozen pet foods. They follow strict USDA guidelines including sterilization following each product run along with lab testing to check for salmonella, camphobacter, e-coli and pesticides.
Bottom line: #7 on our 10 best dog food list; Steve's Real Food For Pets offers a nice finished product for raw feeding. Products come in patties or nuggets which are 3/4" allowing for easy thaw with no cutting involved on the part of the owner. Fully prepared and easy to serve makes this a wonderful option.
Contact: 1-888-526-1900 Purchase Steve's Real Food For Pets Here
10 Best Dog Food 8.
Grandma Lucy's Artisan
Established in 1999, a small family business located in Irvine, CA with a complete line of grain free freeze dried foods including chicken, lamb and venison. The company's philosophy is to only use high quality ingredients from local restaurant suppliers then manufacture their own high quality products .
Ingredients: Grandma Lucy's uses the highest human grade ingredients and their meats are guaranteed antibiotic and hormone free as well as human grade. They use local USA suppliers and their ingredients include potatoes, sweet potatoe, flax, carrots, celery, blueberry, apple, pumpkin, garlic and cranberries.
Manufacturing/Preparation: Grandma Lucy's produces and packages all of their own products in the Irvine,CA facility. Their skilled staff adheres to strict quality control guidelines on all inbound and outbound products.
Bottom line: #8 on our list of 10 best dog food selections; Grandma Lucy's is a great alternative for those that what want to feed their dog as close to home cooked as you can get. Just add warm water. I feed my doberman this brand and add a can of Wellness 95% meat to it for additional protein (this isn't necessary, but my dog needs a higher protein diet).
Contact: 1-800-906-5829 Purchase Grandma Lucys Here
10 Best Dog Food 9.
Pinnacle
Breeders Choice is located in Irwindale, CA and Central Garden and Pet Company is their parent company. Pinnacle is Breeder's Choice' all natural holistic line of pet products.
Ingredients: The Pinnacle product line includes limited ingredients while adding select choices of protein such as chicken, chicken meal, trout, duck and organic quinoa. All of their ingredients are from local and national sources except for the organic quinoa which comes from South America. Their poultry is hormone and antibiotic free. They use farm raised fresh water trout from Colorado which is frozen. The vegetables in Pinnacle are dehydrated.
Manufacturing/Preparation: Breeder's Choice Pet Foods manufactures their dry food themselves and contracts Menu Foods to produce their canned foods.
Bottom line: #9 On our top 10 dog food list, Pinnacle is another good choice of holistic dog food. Breeder's Choice takes great care to ensure that Pinnacle is completely free of allergens making it another nice option for dogs with sensitive stomaches. The product line includes a nice variety including a grain free formula.
Contact: 1-800-392-7898 Purchase Pinnacle Here
10 Best Dog Food 10.
Fromm
Since 1904, Fromm Family Foods has been a family owned and operated company located in Mequon, Wisconsin. They offer three holistic product lines including a grain free formula which is higher in protein. The company is small and the owner who is also the head chef is hands on staying involved in the manufacturing and formulation processes at all times. All of their products are produced in small batches allowing for excellent quality control.
Ingredients: While some ingredients are purchased nationally, Fromm purchases most of their ingredients locally but all are from the U.S. Their meat sources are guaranteed to be steriod, antibiotic and hormone free. Their products are not free range, but human grade. The company uses fresh meats (not frozen) in their product lines.
Manufacturing/Preparation: Fromm Family Foods manufactures their dry dog foods themselves while abiding by their own strict quality control standards as well as USDA guidelines. The meat is hand-trimmed/deboned and all ingredients are inspected before adding to any of their dry food formulas. Fromm's canned line of foods are now manufactured by Performance Pet Products located in South Dakota.
Bottom line: #10 on our 10 Best Dog Food list, Fromm "Four-Star Nutritionals" provides a nice variety especially when rotating the different foods like the company suggests. Just remember to include the Surf-n-Turf grain free formula as well.
Contact: 262-242-2200 Purchase Fromm Four Star Nutritional Here
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