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This will be very helpful information if your dog has:
- Skin problems
- Joint problems
- Recurring ear infections
- Eye infections
- Cancers/tumors
- Fur discoloration
- Fur breakage
- etc etc etc
"The purpose of DFA remains that of providing an assessment of the various commercial foods available, based on the product information provided by the manufacturers."
Think that you're giving your dog the best just because the food is expensive? Well think again...
Lets start with a brand that everybody knows... ... ... Alpo!
Rating: 1 StarWhy? Read the editor's review:
~~"This food receives a 1 star rating simply because there is nothing lower.
The primary ingredient in the food is corn (it should be meat!). Corn is a problematic grain that is difficult for dogs to digest and thought to be the cause of a great many allergy and yeast infection problems. We prefer not to see this used in dog food.
The next ingredient is by-products. It is impossible to ascertain the quality of by-products and these are usually products that are of such low quality as to be rejected for use in the human food chain, or else are those parts that have so little value that they cannot be used elsewhere in either the human or pet food industries. The AAFCO definition of chicken by-product meal is “a meal consisting of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.” Digest is material from poultry by-products which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and undecomposed tissue.
The next ingredient if further by-products, this time poultry (unidentifiable source). The AAFCO definition of poultry by-product meal is “a meal consisting of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.”
Animal fat is a further low quality ingredient and is impossible to determine the source. Unidentified ingredients are usually very low quality. AAFCO define this as "obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial processes of rendering or extracting. It consists predominantly of glyceride esters of fatty acids and contains no additions of free fatty acids. If an antioxidant is used, the common name or names must be indicated, followed by the words "used as a preservative".
This food uses chemical preservatives (BHA) which is believed to be carcinogenic, and is banned from use in human food.
Lamb meal is the sole named meat ingredient in the food. At 5th on the ingredient list, this is insufficient to make any appreciable impact on the food.
Brewers rice is a waste product – a spent grain that is a by-product of the alcohol industry. The AAFCO definition is “the dried extracted residue of rice resulting from the manufacture of wort (liquid portion of malted grain) or beer and may contain pulverized dried spent hops in an amount not to exceed 3 percent.”
Soybean meal is a poor quality source of protein in dog food, and a common cause of allergy problems. Some believe that it is the number 1 cause of food allergies in dogs (outstripping even wheat).
Corn appears a second time as corn gluten meal. The AAFCO definition of corn gluten meal is “the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm”. In plain English, that which remains after all the nutritious bits have been removed."~~
The primary ingredient in the food is corn (it should be meat!). Corn is a problematic grain that is difficult for dogs to digest and thought to be the cause of a great many allergy and yeast infection problems. We prefer not to see this used in dog food.
The next ingredient is by-products. It is impossible to ascertain the quality of by-products and these are usually products that are of such low quality as to be rejected for use in the human food chain, or else are those parts that have so little value that they cannot be used elsewhere in either the human or pet food industries. The AAFCO definition of chicken by-product meal is “a meal consisting of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.” Digest is material from poultry by-products which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and undecomposed tissue.
The next ingredient if further by-products, this time poultry (unidentifiable source). The AAFCO definition of poultry by-product meal is “a meal consisting of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.”
Animal fat is a further low quality ingredient and is impossible to determine the source. Unidentified ingredients are usually very low quality. AAFCO define this as "obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial processes of rendering or extracting. It consists predominantly of glyceride esters of fatty acids and contains no additions of free fatty acids. If an antioxidant is used, the common name or names must be indicated, followed by the words "used as a preservative".
This food uses chemical preservatives (BHA) which is believed to be carcinogenic, and is banned from use in human food.
Lamb meal is the sole named meat ingredient in the food. At 5th on the ingredient list, this is insufficient to make any appreciable impact on the food.
Brewers rice is a waste product – a spent grain that is a by-product of the alcohol industry. The AAFCO definition is “the dried extracted residue of rice resulting from the manufacture of wort (liquid portion of malted grain) or beer and may contain pulverized dried spent hops in an amount not to exceed 3 percent.”
Soybean meal is a poor quality source of protein in dog food, and a common cause of allergy problems. Some believe that it is the number 1 cause of food allergies in dogs (outstripping even wheat).
Corn appears a second time as corn gluten meal. The AAFCO definition of corn gluten meal is “the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm”. In plain English, that which remains after all the nutritious bits have been removed."~~
Now, most of us have bought and are familiar with Alpo's quality... Let's see what other brands got the same 1 Star rating...
Bil Jac ... ... ... 
Eagle Pack ... ... ... 
Eukanuba
Science Diet ... 
Hills Prescription ... 
Iams
Pedigree ... ... .. 
Pro Plan ... ... ... .. 
Purina One
Royal Canin ... ... .. 
SupercoatOK... Shocking? So now we know some popular brands with the 1 Star rating...
Here are those with the 6 Star rating:
Innova EVO ... 
Instinct ... 
Orijen... And for the rest in between ...
5 Stars:
... 
... 
... 
4 Stars
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
3 Stars:
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
2 Stars:
... 
... 
... 
...
... 
... 
... 
Important to note:
- Each Brand has different categories for their product. Different line, with different ingredients. That's why you will see the same brand, but different products being rated differently. For example, Royal Canin is rated in 1 Star, 2 Stars and 3 Stars. Check your dog food and find it on Dog Food Analysis website for it's correct rating.
- Just because a product is given a 1 Star rating, doesn't mean you should switch product. I did this article so that you can be well informed, and make a choice that would best suit your dog & your wallet. If your dog is healthy and strong with a product that has been rated 1 Star, and you see no need to change, then carry on with that diet. If however, your dog is having some issues (i.e. skin / ear problems), then you might want to consider changing to a higher grade product.
- Products listed here are just some that I think would interest the readers (you). There are many more products rated, in detail, on Dog Food Analysis website.Please go through them and find the exact product you're interested in
- The rating system was done and taken from Dog Food Analysis: www.dogfoodanalysis.com
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this post is super helpful. Never knew there ars such ratings.
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