Figuring out where to start when it is time to pick out a dog food for your pooch can seem like an almost impossible task. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of dog foods to choose from! We've picked some of our top favorites to help you narrow down your search. Our dogs deserve more than just a junk food diet. They deserve to eat how we all want to eat. Who doesn't want a nutritious, healthy, and yummy meal? We know our dogs certainly do!
Against the Grain
Against the grain dog food is a grain-free and gluten-free dog food that strongly believes in the importance of proper protein in a dog's diet. All of their food is made up of at least 85% meat and contains no grain or G.M.O. ingredients whatsoever. The brand never uses meals, dehydrated, or rendered ingredients. Instead, they only use real, high-quality animal products for protein. Against the Grain manufactures their own food and never outsources because they believe in using only the minimum amount of processing required for the food. Best of all, it is yummy and delicious for your dog!
AvoDerm
AvoDerm is a dog food brand that focuses on incorporating the superfood avocado into its dog food. AvoDerm is perfectly safe for your pooch since it does not ever use the skin, pit, peel, or any part of the avocado besides the meat of the avocado itself and avocado oil. It also never contains wheat, corn, or artificial flavors. When given to pets appropriately, avocados can be an awesome source of good fats and nutritious antioxidants. Avocados are also rich in potassium, folate, vitamins A, C, E, B6, and riboflavin. Avocados are also considered a complete protein and are known to be rich in omega fatty acids that play an essential role in keeping your pooch's skin and fur looking shiny, healthy, and beautiful!
Canidae
With Canidae, you'll never have to worry if your dog is getting all of its nutritional needs met. The first ingredient always consists of a meat, whether it be beef, poultry, or fish. Then the second ingredient is a healthy and wholesome grain like oatmeal, sorghum, millet, or barley. These whole grains help provide dogs with energy. Canidae dog food is also rich in amino acids, as well as Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. Canidae never uses fillers like corn, wheat, or soy and never uses any animal byproduct meals. They offer grain-free, small breed recipes, large breed recipes, a recipe that is appropriate for all life stages, and three different versions of dog food for different levels of activity in dogs. Whether your pup is a couch potato or gearing up to run your next marathon with you, you'll find the perfect dog food for your pup with all of Canidae's options!
Evanger's dog food
Evanger's is the only family-owned and operated pet food cannery in the U.S. It started in 1935 when Fred Evanger knew he needed a more nutritious and wholesome dog food for his champion Great Danes. From there, Evanger's dog food was born! They use only the highest quality meats. Each can of dog food is actually hand-packed and not packed by a machine. This way, you can see the pure, whole foods like fresh meats and vegetables that are in the can rather than just a can of slop! The ingredients are packed into the cans with their own natural juices. From there, the ingredients are cooked inside the can itself to lock in the flavor and nutritional goodness! Best of all, the food is delicious for your pup! Even the pickiest eaters will be sure to love Evanger's.
Natural Balance
Natural Balance places a huge significance on creating nutritious recipes all while ensuring that their doggie consumers are safe. They test every single batch of food to ensure it is safe for your pet. This dog food helps strengthen the immune system and supports brain development. It also supports healthy bones and teeth. It even helps maintain the health of the heart and eyes and helps support strong, healthy muscles. Natural balance has options for every dog, including both small breed and large breed dogs. Plus, they never use artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. They have the L.I.D. or Limited Ingredient Diet for dogs, too. Which, as it sounds, is simply a limited ingredient diet. Natural Balance helps maintain a healthy skin and coat, aids in digestion, and helps with overall health and well-being. With all the different recipes Natural Balance offers, you and your pup will be sure to find the one that is perfect for you with Natural Balance.
Nulo
Nulo dog food is known for being a believer in using animal-based proteins, low carbohydrates, and low glycemic ingredients along with probiotics to aid in digestion. Nulo also has a high-protein dog food that is perfect for active dogs. Their high protein, low carb, and low glycemic ingredient diet helps to promote stable energy and healthy bodies. If it were the other way around, our pups would be far more likely to be fatigued, suffer from immunodeficiency, and develop obesity and diabetes. Nulo doesn't want to see that happen, and that is why they focus so heavily on the nutrition and quality of their dog food. And of course, we can't forget to mention all the amazing options Nulo has for meal enhancers, treats, broths, supplements, and even freeze-dried and raw food recipes.
Instinct
Instinct dog food focuses on providing a simple, pure, and as close to nature as possible diet for dogs. Instinct offers both raw diets and kibble for those who aren't quite ready to make the full jump into the raw diet world. They use a freeze-drying method on their raw ingredients to lock in moisture and nutrients. They offer 100% frozen raw meals, freeze-dried raw meals, raw meals with a mix of kibble, kibble with raw toppers, and raw-coated kibble. There are plenty of options for dogs in whatever life stage they may be or for dogs who need special attention paid to various health concerns. Because there is minimal processing in the packaging process and meals are never cooked, the real and natural ingredients in Instinct dog food are able to maintain their quality and their freshness.
Halo
Halo is a dog food that believes in using the whole animal as a protein source for their dog food. They don't use any rendered meal or fillers. Instead, they offer tons of different protein sources like chicken, red meat, salmon, and lamb. There are also quite a few different recipes to choose from, depending on a dog's life stage, whether it be a puppy or adult. There are also options that are formulated specifically for small or large breeds. They also have dry and wet food options for all of these recipes. All of their foods focus on the top 5 health needs of any pet: digestive health, heart and immunity support, strength and energy, healthy skin and coat, and hip and joint support. They have different recipes depending on a dog's life stage, like puppy or adult, and the dog's size, like small or large breeds. They also have dry and wet food!
Lotus
Lotus dog food is a small, family-owned, and operated company. Their kibble is oven-baked in small batches to assure quality, and cans of dog food are prepared and packaged in-house as well in Lotus's own micro-cannery. They offer so many different sources of protein, including rabbit, pork, chicken, duck, beef, venison, turkey, lamb, and fish. And because the kibble is oven-baked, instead of being cooked with heat and high pressure, it goes through even less processing than other brands and has less starch. Lotus dog food is also considered to be Grain inclusive in that the brand recognizes the health benefits some grains can have for dogs.
Merrick
Merrick focuses on making delicious and nutritious recipes for our pups. They only ever use whole, real foods. And they never use preservatives, fillers, or anything artificial. In addition to their regular line of dog food, they also have a freeze-dried raw-coated kibble line for an extra nutritional boost and burst of flavor. The recipes contain Omega 6 and Omega 3 for improved skin and coat health and hearty levels of glucosamine and chondroitin for improved joint health. The original recipe was homemade in Texas for a special dog named Gracie. Now, thirty years later, all the recipes continue to be perfected to become the highest quality and most nutritious pet foods on the market.
Conclusion
There is an increasing amount of great dog foods on the market today as our knowledge of dogs and their nutritional needs continues to grow. Finding a dog food that keeps your pooch looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and feeling it's absolute best can sometimes feel like a challenge. This list of the ten best dog foods will help you feel confident knowing that you are picking from the absolute best when you are selecting a new food for your pup!
