July 7th, 2010
K9Cuisine.com, the sponsor of this and other blogs, developed an online Dog Food Rating Tool. Have you taken the test yet? It’s VERY enlightening.
Be sure to have your dog food label right in front of you before you start because the tool asks some detailed questions that can only be found on the dog food label.
K9Cuisine Dog Food Rating Tool
You’ll find a total of 31 questions. Below each one is a little info box that explains why that particular question is important, when it comes to evaluating the ingredients of your dog’s food.
Please go take the test when you have time and report back your results.
My Own Failing Grade
I’m mortified to tell you that the dog food I feed my two canine pals scored an F.
Yep, an F.
Truth be told, it kind of hurt my feelings because I like to think I’m a pretty savvy consumer and a well-informed guide in this maze that is the world of dog food. The first ingredient is chicken, real chicken, and the grains (which my dogs have no issues with) are rice and oatmeal. Good, yes?
BUT, what did the food in, it seems, are the inclusion of these icky things such as:
- Corn gluten meal
- Chicken & fish meal
- Flaxseed, as just seed, not flax oil or ground flax
- Salt
What this Dog Food Rating Tool taught me is that just a handful of less-than-ideal ingredients can sink a food’s quality.
I still think an F is pretty harsh since only 5 of the 40 or so ingredients come from the “bad” category. That’s an 87.5%, which in my life has always been a solid B, not an F.
So, the other lesson I learned from this Dog Food Rating Tool is that what’s missing from the ingredient list is just as important as what’s there. Perhaps that’s what really killed my grade.
So, there you have it. I’m no savant when it comes to dog food. I’m just a girl, trying to do her best, like the rest of you.
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Tags: dog food, Dog Food Dish Blog, dog food rating tool, K9Cuisine.com, online tool, premium dog food, premium ingredients
Posted in Dog Food Basics, K9 Nutrition | 22 Comments »
22 Responses to “Dog Food Rating Tool”
A professional writer based in Colorado, Roxanne Hawn doesn't just love dogs. She deep-down requires them in life. Something inside her genes, perhaps? That's why it's such a joy to write about all things canine. Roxanne began writing about pets in 1995, when she worked for the American Animal Hospital Association and later for the American Humane Association. During this period in her career, Roxanne served on the board of directors for the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (a coalition of animal welfare groups). Roxanne also volunteered for many years at an animal shelter, where she witnessed firsthand what happens when the human-animal bond breaks or never forms.
Good for you for not only acquainting readers with this quiz, but also serving up your own score. We’re all trying to do the best we can here, and we all have a lot to learn. Thanks for helping us do some of that learning!
I feed my dogs Pure Woof Gold and am happy to say it scored an A+.
The test was fun thanks for including it on your site.
I feed my Chihuahua Blue Buffalo Small Breed Puppy Food. Got a A-
My dog’s food also rated an A. I didn’t see his freeze-dried raw listed though and I like that much better than kibble. So does his vet.
Happy to see that we got an A+ for Wellness Core and Orjen Red.
Now how handy is this tool? I’m sure that it will open a lot of eyes!!I’ve been making my own food for years. Just boiled meat and honest kitchen preference, the dog loves it and looks great!!
Thanks for passing on the details on this tool, I’ve emailed details to my brother so he can test his dog, it’ll be interesting to see the score.
My dog food (Zinpro) has fish meal and flaxseed in it, but it has done wonders for my dogs’ allergies and skin problems, so maybe not the healthiest but certainly the most effective we’ve fed them thus far.
Woo, hoo. My food scored an A+!
I now feed raw, but ran my last food through this to see how the rating worked. While my food scored A-, I question some of the logic in the survey questions. First, it doesn’t seem to factor in that the main protein source may be fish, so the fish oil and omega questions don’t apply correctly. Also, I disagree with the idea that having several different animal sources in one food makes it better – if anything, it reduces the ability to do an elimination diet if your dog experiences allergies. I seek out food with single protein sources – that’s a good thing, not a negative. Overall, I agree with the essence of the questions and the ratings, but would like to see the questions tweaked as more people find that the questions don’t necessarily fit.
Mine got a 96/A for Honest Kitchen Thrive.
In my opinion foods like HK should score well above any kibbled food.
I scored 104 (A+) and am confident that my 3 dogs are being fed nothing but the best! By the way how is it possible to score 104 out of 100 …. smile.
My dog food is Organix Adult from Castor and Pollux and it scored a 101 A+. My dog does very well on this food, but she gets tired of any dog food very easily. I have to switch flavors and add canned food frequently.
Orijen Adult, score 110 with an A+. We have two Yorkies that love Orijen and have been eating it for over a year. Our youngest has pancreatitis and after 2 very severe episodes of it, we knew it was time to find a better food. (Our vet recommended the food they were eating.) A friend told me about Orijen and since our girls have been eating it we have had no issues with tummy problems.
Thanks for making this tool available!
Canidae, Grain Free ALS Formula, scored a 112. We feed the three younger dogs (ages 10, 8, 3) that, but the old guy (14) couldn’t digest it so well (loose stools), so he gets the Canidae Platinum (elderly dog food) which scored an 85. I loved this rating tool because it taught me what to look for! Kudos! I’m forwarding it on to other dog moms.
I love this tool – I gave Anthony Tashi’s four paws and my two thumbs up at first release – smartest thing I’d seen in helping people get a quick answer since I don’t know when. What a fantastic way to educate! And I give you huge props, Roxanne, for making your dog’s food grade public and going into the whys of it and what was missing!
Nothing easy about nutrition labels and the regular consumer’s eyes must cross. Thanks for the post!
Thanks, Mary. I thought about revealing my F for awhile, but I decided that it was a good thing to share. Because I consider myself pretty well informed about these things, and still … the F.
)
Summit Holistic large breed got 95/A.
Good to see that decent foods are arriving in this country (Israel), and not just ProPlan/Eukonoba that ruled here for years.
I’m glad to hear it. Sounds like there is a real opportunity in the pet market there.
A lot of education is needed too. I get comments from other owner on why I feed my dog these newfangled foods “that who knows if they are any good”or “my dog ate Bone-zo* all his life and he was fine”
And on the other hand, some importers are in to make a quick buck by importing cheap junkey food and selling it for high prices claiming that it’s the best in Europe/USA.
—-
*Bone-zo is a locally manufactured food which is pure junk (and it’s name is used as a generic word for “kibble”, like “Frigidaire” in the US for a fridge). Sold in gas stations, and has *huge* feeding quantities (my dog eats about 260-270 grams daily of his current food. If he ate Bone-zo, he would have needed to eat 600-700 grams daily).
A friend of mine joked recently that if you heated it up, one would get dog-food flavored pop corn
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