Top 10 Best Dog Food for Rat Terriers
The Rat Terrier is well-known for being tough and compact. They are smaller than most dogs, standing at only 13 inches tall. However, they are sturdy for their size. These dogs are also famed for their happy-go-lucky attitude. They are portable companions.
These dogs were bred to be exterminators, hence their name. Their active lifestyle means that they need high-quality food to thrive.
Choosing this food can be more challenging than it sounds. There is a lot that goes into excellent dog food, including the macronutrient content, ingredients, and even the brand. To help you choose the best food for your Rat Terrier, we ranked and reviewed eight different dog foods currently available. These are some of the most popular and widely available brands.
The 10 Best Dog Foods for Rat Terriers
Purina One Natural SmartBlend Dry Food – Best Value
| Main ingredients: | Chicken, rice flour, corn gluten meal |
| Protein content: | 26% |
| Fat content: | 16% |
| Calories: | 383 kcal per cup |
Our choice for the best dog food for Rat Terriers for the money is Purina One Natural SmartBlend Chicken & Rice Recipe. While it may not be as good as our top pick, for owners on a budget, this food is a decent choice. What we like is that chicken is the primary ingredient. You’ll also find that this food contains several antioxidants, omega fatty acids, and even glucosamine for your dog’s continued health.
Our biggest concern with this dog food is the protein content. Considering it is dry kibble, 26% protein is a bit low. You can supplement additional protein into your dog’s diet if this amount is too low for your standards.
The Farmer’s Dog Chicken Recipe – Best Overall
| Main ingredients: | Chicken, chicken liver, Brussel sprouts, bok choy, and broccoli |
| Protein content: | 11.50% |
| Fat content: | 8.50% |
| Calories: | 590 kcal |
Our choice for the best overall dog food for Rat Terriers in 2022 is The Farmer’s Dog Chicken Recipe. The Farmer’s Dog offers a subscription service where you have the opportunity to provide your pet with fresh, healthy foods without the worries involved in choosing one at your local pet store.
What we like most about The Farmer’s Dog is the customization it offers your dog. They gear each subscription to your dog’s weight and nutritional needs. By following the directions you can avoid issues with overfeeding, the tummy upset involved, and of course, potential obesity. Their chicken recipe uses USDA human-grade chicken as the number one ingredient. It also adds additional vitamins and nutrients including fish oil.
The only issue we see with The Farmer’s Dog Chicken Recipe is the potential for allergens. If your pet shows any signs of a possible poultry allergy, discontinue this food and reach out to The Farmer’s Dog about their Beef Recipe.
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Grain-Free Dog Food
| Main ingredients: | Deboned chicken, chicken meal, pea |
| Protein content: | 34% |
| Fat content: | 15% |
| Calories: | 409 kcal per cup |
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Recipe Grain-Free dog food is a great option for your Rat Terrier if you have the budget for it. This food is considered on the higher end when it comes to price but it is a well-rounded food for your pet. You’ll find that deboned chicken is the first ingredient helping make it high in protein. You’ll also find all the vitamins and nutrients you’d expect like omega-fatty acids. If your pet has sensitivities to grains in their diet, this food is an excellent option.
Our only true issue with this dog food is that peas are included and are high on the ingredient list. They are part of the reason this food is so high in protein content. Keep this in mind, if you choose the food, as peas may be linked to certain health concerns in dogs.
Merrick Healthy Grains Dry Dog Food – Vet’s Choice
| Main ingredients: | Deboned salmon, chicken meal, and brown rice |
| Protein content: | 25% |
| Fat content: | 16% |
| Calories: | 396 kcal |
Our vet’s choice option is Merrick Healthy Grains Real Salmon & Brown Rice Recipe with Ancient Grains. If your Rat Terrier is a fan of fish, this tasty salmon recipe is what they are looking for. Deboned salmon is the main source of protein and the primary ingredient. This ingredient will help your pooch build and retain healthy muscles. You’ll also find healthy grains inside such as quinoa to support a healthy digestive system.
The only true issue we saw with this dog food is the smell. If you or your pup aren’t fans of “fishy” smelling foods, this one may be off-putting. If you have no issues, we recommend giving it a try.
Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Puppy Food – Best for Puppies
| Main ingredients: | Deboned chicken, chicken meal, brown rice |
| Protein content: | 27% |
| Fat content: | 16% |
| Calories: | 400 kcal per cup |
Giving your Rat Terrier the right nutrition at an early age is crucial for their growth and development. This is why we like Blue Buffalo’s Life Protection puppy food. This food is formulated to help puppies of all sizes from an early age. The kibble itself is smaller and easier for young dogs to eat. You’ll also find phosphorus, calcium, and other nutrients essential to your dog’s development.
The only area where this puppy formula seems to be lacking is fat content. While we would like to see a bit more for a growing puppy, it isn’t what we would consider too low. Even with this issue in mind, we still feel it is the best puppy food we tested.
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Grain-Free Dog Food
| Main ingredients: | Water buffalo, lamb meal, and chicken meal |
| Protein content: | 32% |
| Fat content: | 18% |
| Calories: | 422 kcal per cup |
Taste of the Wild High Prairie is a grain-free dog food that focuses on providing your dog with novel proteins such as buffalo and bison. You’ll find healthy fruits inside to help provide your pup with the antioxidants they need along with fatty acids to promote healthier skin and coats. Taste of the Wild also includes a blend of probiotics designed to help your dog’s digestion and is free of artificial colors and preservatives.
While this is great dog food, you will find that it has the controversial ingredient, peas, inside. This ingredient may be linked with certain issues in dogs so this should be kept in mind when adding this food to your dog’s diet.
Victor Classic Hi-Pro Plus Dry Dog Food
| Main ingredients: | Beef meal, grain sorghum, and chicken fat |
| Protein content: | 30% |
| Fat content: | 20% |
| Calories: | 406 kcal per cup |
The Victor Classic Hi-Pro Plus Dry Dog Food is an expensive dog food that is promoted as being a high-quality food. Unfortunately, some ingredients make us question that assessment. What we do like though is the high protein content. Most of this protein comes from animal and animal ingredients such as beef, pork, and chicken meal. It also packs good fat content for your pooch.
One of our biggest issues is the price of this food. With what they want you to pay, it should contain a better list of ingredients. Real chicken, beef, or pork would make this food higher in quality considering the price tag.
Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Bites Dry Dog Food
| Main ingredients: | Chicken, cracked pearled barley, and whole grain wheat |
| Protein content: | 20% |
| Fat content: | 11.50% |
| Calories: | 363 kcal per cup |
Our final food on this list is Hill’s Science Diet Small Bites Chicken & Barley Recipe. This food is made with chicken as the main ingredient and is designed in small pieces so your pet can easily enjoy it. There are no artificial ingredients inside and the mix of vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and vitamin E is great for your pooch.
The issues we find with this dog food are similar to others on our list, low-quality ingredients, and low protein content. This food is quite high in carbs while not offering your pup the high amount of protein they need to stay healthy.
Iams Adult Mini Chunk Small Kibble High Protein Dog Food
| Main ingredients: | Chicken, ground whole grain corn, and ground whole grain sorghum |
| Protein content: | 25% |
| Fat content: | 14% |
| Calories: | 380 kcal per cup |
The next food on our list is Iams Adult Mini Chunk. This food is considerably more affordable than a few of the other options we’ve discussed but bear in mind that you will sacrifice a bit of quality for the savings. We just aren’t loving a lot of the ingredients. What we do like about this food is that farm-raised chicken is the first ingredient and main source of protein. You’ll also find it has a healthy amount of prebiotics, antioxidants, and fibers for your pooch.
What we really aren’t thrilled with when it comes to this dog food is the low protein and fat content inside the bag. Yes, chicken is the main ingredient, but healthy dogs need protein and fat in their diet.
Diamond Naturals All Life Stages Dry Dog Food
| Main ingredients: | Chicken, chicken meal, and whole grain brown rice |
| Protein content: | 26% |
| Fat content: | 16% |
| Calories: | 421 kcal per cup |
Next up is Diamond Naturals Chicken & Brown Rice Formula Dry Dog Food. This food is designed for all life stages and is made with real cage-free chicken as the first ingredient. You’ll also find a great assortment of vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and added omega fatty acids to keep your dog healthy and looking its best. They even include a probiotic blend to help your dog better digest this food and is ideal for those that suffer from sensitivities.
Our only concerns and reasons for this food being lower on our list are the protein amount found inside and the price. Like with our previous dog food, you would expect more bang for your buck. Unfortunately, the protein content is just too low for our liking.
Buyer’s Guide – Choosing the Best Dog Foods for Rat Terriers
As you can glean from our reviews, there is a lot that goes into choosing good dog food for your Rat Terrier. With a bit of background knowledge, however, you’ll soon be choosing dog foods like a pro. Below, we’ve discussed some of the essential guidelines for choosing the best dog food for your canine.
If you keep these in mind while shopping, you’ll be able to choose the perfect dog food.
Macronutrient Content
- The macronutrients are carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Different species need different ratios of these ingredients. Many studies have been done on what macronutrients domestic dogs thrive most on.
- One particular study allowed dogs to control their diet. Because animals tend to prefer the foods they need the most, this is an excellent way to tell what nutrients individual animals need. This study found that dogs need a high amount of fat and protein, but very few carbohydrates. Therefore, we can assume that our dogs would do best on a high-protein, high-fat dog food.
- Based on this information, we rated dog foods higher if they were high in protein and fat. The quality of the protein and fat mattered as well, though. We preferred animal-based protein and fat, as these are going to provide the nutrition our dogs need. All protein is made out of amino acids, for example. Our dogs need certain amino acids to thrive. Because they evolved to eat meat, meat products tend to have more of the amino acids they need. On the other hand, not all vegetable protein is complete.
- Most commercial foods contain way more carbohydrates than most dogs need, so you need to look hard to find one that is high in protein and fat. We did the work for you in our reviews section.
Peas and the FDA
- Recently, the FDA has started an investigation into an increased number of DCM in canines. This is a severe heart disease that can lead to death in severe cases. In their research, the FDA determined that the sudden increase was diet-related. However, they are still investigating what these dogs have been eating that has given them a weakened heart.
- Thus far, almost all of the affected dogs are eating grain-free foods. Furthermore, many of them seem to be eating foods that contain a lot of peas and sweet potatoes. Because of this, you may want to avoid foods that are high in these ingredients for this reason. While we have no sure answers yet, it is always better to be safe rather than sorry.
- Some brands seem to be significantly linked to this heart condition. These brands include Acana and Zignature.
Grain-Free vs. Grain-Inclusive
- Many dog food companies would like you to believe that grain-free foods are always better for your dog. However, this is not true. Studies have shown that dogs have evolved to eat grain. They can get quite a few of the nutrients they need from whole grain, though the same thing cannot be said for refined grains.
- Because of this, we do not necessarily recommend choosing a grain-free food for your canine. Suppose you find a food that is grain-free and high-quality. Then feed it to your dog by all means. However, don’t just purchase food because it is grain-free and assume that it is a good choice – some are less healthy than grain-inclusive foods.
Final Thoughts
For the best overall dog food for Rat Terriers in 2022, we suggest The Farmer’s Dog Chicken Recipe and its list of great ingredients. If you’re on a budget, Purina One is an affordable option you can trust. Blue Buffalo Chicken Grain-Free is a premium choice for dogs with sensitivities while their puppy formula is ideal for growing Rat Terriers and their health. Our vet’s choice, Merrick Healthy Grains with Salmon & Brown Rice rounds out our top 10 dog foods for Rat Terriers that we trust and recommend in 2022.
