What Are the Best Dog Food Brands?
A dog isn’t just a pet – they’re a central member of your family, one who’s health and everyday care is just as important as every other family member. And one of the most important choices you make about your dog’s care is which dog food brand you buy.
With countless options and different ingredients, deciding which dog food brand is best for your pet is tough. But if you know what quality dog food is made of, and which brands are the best of the bunch, you can easily choose the right product for your pup.
What Makes a Dog Food Brand One of the Best?
Before you choose any brand of dog food, it’s important to know what separate the best dog food brands from the rest of the pack.
First and foremost, the top dog food brands create foods – dry or wet – that meet dogs’ nutritional needs. According to the American Kennel Club, most commercial dog food brands are specially formulated to meet minimum nutritional requirements for dogs. However, this doesn’t mean that every brand can offer the same nutritional value.
Dogs need different nutrients at different ages and stages of life. So, before you choose a dog food brand, check that its ingredients and nutritional information meet the recommended nutrient standards for your pup created by Merck Veterinary Manual. Whether you’re looking for food for a puppy or a senior dog, these guidelines can help you determine which brands offer the best nutritional value.
The best dog food brands will include ingredients that meet these nutrient standards for different dog ages. Additionally, quality dog food will list its ingredients and be transparent about what’s included in wet and dry foods. Dogs are carnivores, meaning they thrive on meat-based diets. However, as the American Kennel Club notes, dogs can also get great nutrition from grains, fruits, and vegetables.
This means that quality dog food brands won’t contain meat alone. The best dog food options will include a variety of nutritious ingredients that offer vitamins, minerals, and fiber. And these great brands should also include high-quality ingredients above filler or ingredients that don’t offer much nutritional value.
The Best Brands for Every Dog
The following dog food brands are some of the very best available right now.
Orijen
There’s nothing better for your pup than food that’s designed for his or her unique biological needs, and that’s exactly what Orijen offers. Orijen, which makes a mix of dry and freeze-dried dog foods, offers a lineup of different food options that are all designed to mimic a dog’s natural biological diet.
Orijen is a top choice for dog owners because it offers a wide selection of different food products that are designed for puppies, adults, and senior dogs – and every one of those products is unique. Each Orijen food item is meant to nourish dogs’ bodies with fresh, regional ingredients that suit their specific age and lifestyle. According to Business Insider, Orijen dog food is high in meat and protein, giving dogs more than three times the amount of meat used in other dog foods and ensuring easy digestion.
Blue Buffalo
A fast-growing brand, Blue Buffalo is a relative newcomer in the world of dog food – but this brand has exploded onto the scene thanks to its delicious and nutritious foods for dogs. Blue Buffalo offers both wet and dry dog food options, and every food contains plenty of natural ingredients blended together into formulas that help dogs stay healthy and happy.
Blue Buffalo has become one of the very best manufacturers of natural dog food, and it’s highly ranked by many sites, including Business Insider. Reviewers and pet parents alike love that Blue Buffalo offers four different product lines with wet and dry food options, giving you and your dog plenty of choices in flavors and nutritional value. No matter which food you choose, this brand only uses high-quality natural ingredients to create balanced items designed around nutrition. And you won’t find fillers, by-products, or artificial additives in any Blue Buffalo foods.
Taste of the Wild
Dogs may have evolved over the centuries, but they still crave foods with natural meat. And that’s exactly what Taste of the Wild seeks to give every dog. Taste of the Wild creates dog foods that focus on natural flavors, filling every recipe with roasted meats like venison, bison, and lamb. With nine different dry foods and five wet foods to choose from, you’ll find this brand offers great protein-rich options for every dog’s taste buds.
There’s an added benefit to Taste of the Wild. If your dog is at all sensitive to different foods or ingredients, you won’t run into any issues with Taste of the Wild. This dog food brand focuses on grain-free dog foods with highly nutritional formulas – and these formulas are meant to reduce the risk of food allergies in dogs with food sensitivities. With real meat as the first ingredient in every recipe, Taste of the Wild foods focus on giving dogs energy, digestive support, and the most nutrients possible.