Archives

Meta

Dog Food Grading

This method of grading dog food was developed by Sarah Irick. It is not to be considered exact science but a starting point.

With a quick search, I found a lot of variations on this method as well as a few critiques of this method. For the sake of completeness and truth, here are a few of the critiques and other commentaries on the results:

Sara Irick wishes to include the following statement about this method:

This food grading system is specifically to help those who have trouble deciphering dog food labels and the many articles about what ingredients are.

If you have a quality dog food and are not looking to make a change, or if you know about reading dog food labels and can choose a dog food on your own, then by all means continue as you are.

However if you are looking for a quality food and would like some guidance on choosing between seemingly equal brands in the store, and you’d like more to base your information on than a friend or store clerk’s recommendation, please feel free to use this handy guideline, but be aware that there may be other important information by breed type or size (i.e. in giant breed puppies you need a food with lower protein levels than is typically available in puppy foods, even “large breed” puppy foods), so you will need to research that as well).

How to grade your dog’s food

Start with a grade of 100 points

  1. For every listing of “by-product”, subtract 10 points
  2. For every non-specific animal source (”meat” or “poultry”, meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points
  3. If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
  4. For every grain “mill run” or non-specific grain source subtract 5 points
  5. If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. “ground brown rice”, “brewer’s rice”, “rice flour” are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
  6. If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
  7. If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
  8. If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points
  9. If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
  10. If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points
  11. If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
  12. If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
  13. If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points
  14. If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to beef), subtract 1 point
  15. If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit

  1. If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
  2. If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points
  3. If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
  4. If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
  5. If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
  6. If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
  7. If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
  8. If the food contains barley, add 2 points
  9. If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
  10. If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
  11. If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
  12. For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count “chicken” and “chicken meal” as only one protein source, but “chicken” and “fish” as 2 different sources), add 1 point
  13. If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
  14. If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

94-100+ = A
86-93 = B
78-85 = C
70-77 = D
69 = F

About the Author of this Food Grading Method

My name is Sarah Irick and I am a Great Dane owner and rescue volunteer. I am a Civil/Industrial Engineer, not a veterinarian or animal nutritionist by education or employment. I do not work for a pet food manufacturer nor am I affiliated with one. I am just an individual who is concerned about what I feed my dogs and wants to help others decide what to feed their own. I cannot remember the exact date I designed this system, though I know it’s been more than a year (probably 2-3 years ago). I was concerned with the way people sometimes throw out names of “good” dog foods that maybe aren’t so good, and others take their words for it. Foods that maybe used to be good before their ingredients were changed for the worse or before better options became available are still being touted by some as being super-premium and I disagree. Since many pet owners do not have the time or inclination to do as many hours of research into pet (specifically dog) nutrition as I and many of you have, I wanted an *easier* way for them to compare labels. Unfortunately it is still a bit cumbersome (sometimes 2 people calculate the same food and get different scores even) but it’s better than nothing in my opinion.

Is it exact science? No. I don’t claim for it to be. In fact I’ve had to make a couple of changes over time (which the above don’t reflect) for new circumstances I’ve run across, such as the food that contained NO MEAT (not a special diet just one that was so cheap it didn’t contain any meat at all) and needs a steep penalty in my opinion, but still scored a decent grade on the original. Another example is the newer kibbles that contain no grain but, in my opinion, if it still has sufficient fiber and carbs then it deserves extra credit that wasn’t previously reflected. Also I’ve gotten comments and opinions that I take seriously and incorporate if it seems appropriate.

I don’t have a permanent site host for this although seeing how hugely popular it is and how widely spread without accreditation it has become perhaps I should do so. It isn’t that I care so much about credit but many people will ask the questions that your posters have about my affiliations and biases, etc.

If you want to e-mail me with questions or comments, you can at fredirick@hotmail.com. This is my “spam” address, so put “Dog Food Grading” in the subject line or I’ll probably delete it mistakenly. ~ Sarah Irick