Top 10 Best Healthy Dog Foods
Our team went out into the field looking for the best canine nutrition products in the world. Our winner for this year is Pupper, which topped our charts in terms of ingredient quality as well as science backed claims.
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We’ve all heard the phrase “you are what you eat.” This sentiment is not only true for humans, but canine companions as well. Feeding your pup a high quality diet is essential for his health and wellbeing. A quality diet reduces the risk of illness and disease, especially in their senior years.
But with so many dog foods available on the market today, it can be hard for pet owners to know whether the food they’re feeding their pup is quality or not. There are some basic things to look for when buying superior dog food, including whole meat, animal fat, fruits, vegetables, and low-glycemic grains.
High quality food should also be fortified with essential vitamins and minerals along with omega fatty acids and antioxidants. This way each meal your dog eats provides the nourishment he needs.
What Makes A Dog Food Healthy?
Generally speaking, here are some qualities that identify a nutritious dog food:
- It’s a good idea to know what type of meat is used in your dog’s food. Look for foods that clearly name the meat proteins used – “chicken”, “beef meal”, and “duck fat” are all superior choices. Vague titles like “animal”, “meat”, or “poultry” don’t tell you much about the health value of the food, which is especially dangerous for dogs with allergies.
- Free of any artificial flavors, preservatives, or pesticides.
- Made without fillers like corn, wheat, and soy – these offer minimal nutrition and may cause digestive issues.
- Minimally processed to maintain the natural nutritional value of the food.
What Sets A Great Healthy Dog Food Brand Apart From The Rest?
Great dog food brands are distinguished by the following qualities:
Dogs And People Love It
- Your Doberman’s food preferences likely differ from those of the pug next door. Any great dog food brand, nonetheless, offers food that is loved by most of the dogs who eat it. Besides that, people have to like it, too.
- A quick way to assess the quality of a dog food brand is by taking a look at real customer reviews. Be suspicious of any brand whose products are accompanied by a lot of reviews complaining about poor reactions to the food or bad customer service.
Expert Formulation And Testing
- Look for dog food brands that employ experts – veterinarians, animal nutritionists, and food scientists – to design their dog food formulas. Additionally, it’s important that the dog food brand utilizes regular and rigorous testing for quality control.
- These procedures help to guarantee that the food in your dog’s bowl is free of contaminants and that the food is always nutritionally complete.
Response To Recalls
- While every so often, even the best dog food brands will have to deal with an error that leads to a recall, the best dog food brands see a recall as an opportunity to demonstrate their transparency and to improve quality control and production processes.
- Bad dog food brands try to cover up recalls and don’t make an effort to do better in the future. This is why a recall is often the best test of a dog food brand’s integrity.
Sourcing And Regulation
The best dog food brands are open about the sourcing and manufacturing of their ingredients. You know where the food comes from and how it’s made. Products with ingredients sourced in China, for example, are less carefully-regulated than those sourced in the United States.
Multiple Formulas
- Ideally, dog food brands should offer a variety of formulas that suit different needs. While some brands specialize in dry, canned, or freeze-dried foods, others offer multiple types of food that appeal to different tastes and preferences.
- More importantly, the brand should have enough formulations to cover special dietary needs and life stages. For example, large-breed puppies like Labrador Retrievers have unique dietary needs to help prevent hip dysplasia.
Customer Service
Superior customer service is important. Good dog food brands have friendly, responsive customer service teams that make customers feel appreciated and heard.
Top 10 Healthiest Dog Food Brands
Solid Gold Barking at the Moon High-Protein
We’re big believers in feeding dogs high-protein diets, and it’s hard to find kibbles with more protein than Solid Gold Barking at the Moon.
Each serving has 41% protein due to ingredients like beef, fish meal, and eggs. There is plant protein in here as well, which isn’t processed as easily as meat-based protein, but that can be forgiven due to how high the overall number is.
It’s not just meat in each bag either. You’ll also find foods like carrots, peas, blueberries, cranberries, and salmon oil, ensuring that your dog gets all the nutrition they need.
There are probiotics in the recipe, and that should ensure that your dog’s digestive tract stays in fine working order. The whole formula is grain- and gluten-free, making it easy for sensitive dogs to tolerate.
It is high in salt, which is regrettable, but that’s hardly reason to reject the food out of hand.
It’s not quite up to the same standard as the personalized meal plans from The Farmer’s Dog, but if you want a food that you can serve straight out of a bag, Solid Gold Barking at the Moon is the best of the bunch.
- Uses plant protein
- High in sodium
- Grain- and gluten-free
- Packed with probiotics
- Absolutely loaded with protein
- Includes high-quality fruits and veggies as well
- Good for dogs with sensitive stomachs
The Farmer’s Dog – Best Overall
The Farmer’s Dog is an independent raw food company that sells customized meal plans for dogs. All its food is human-grade, and it uses real ingredients that you can recognize — no sketchy chemicals or low-grade meats involved.
You start by visiting their website and filling out info about your dog, such as breed, size, age, and activity level. The vet nutritionists will create a custom subscription meal plan for your pooch, and then they’ll package up your dog’s individual meals and ship them to you frozen. You simply have to thaw them out or heat them and serve them.
Since each meal plan is customized to your dog, you can rest assured that your pet is getting all the nutrition they need. The food is made with top-notch ingredients as well, so most dogs wolf it down immediately.
The meals are all prepackaged based on your dog’s nutritional needs, so you don’t have to worry about figuring out portion sizes. All you do is unwrap each portion and serve. This cuts down on the risk of obesity from overfeeding.
As you might expect, you’ll have to pay through the nose for all this high-end nutrition. Also, since the food has to be frozen or refrigerated, it can be a hassle to store.
If your only concern is feeding your dog the best possible diet, though, The Farmer’s Dog is nearly impossible to beat.
- Expensive
- Food has to be stored in fridge or freezer
- Food is prepackaged, so there’s no need to figure out portion sizes
- Dogs love the taste
- Meals are custom-made according to your dog’s needs
- Uses human-grade ingredients
- Easy to serve
NRG The Raw One Free Range Beef Dehydrated Raw Dog Food
Another raw-based food, NRG The Raw One is loaded with free-range beef. It incorporates all the most nutrient-dense portions of the cow, like muscle meat and the liver.
If that’s not enough, you’ll also find salmon filet inside. That boosts the omega fatty acid count while also padding the protein totals.
Despite that, the protein levels aren’t terribly impressive at just 26%. That’s certainly higher than most kibbles, but for a food at this exorbitant price point, you’d expect more.
The rest of the ingredients list is impressive, though. You’ll find squash, pumpkin, pineapple, broccoli, kale, cranberries, goat milk yogurt, and more inside, ensuring that your mutt gets a wide variety of nutrients from an equally wide variety of sources.
Perhaps our favorite thing about this food is the addition of turmeric, however. Known as an inflammation fighter, turmeric purportedly does everything from slow cancer growth to improve mobility. It’s a shame that more foods don’t use it — but their loss is NRG The Raw One’s gain.
- Average amount of protein inside
- Incredibly expensive
- Wide variety of impressive fruits and vegetables
- Contains goat milk yogurt for probiotic support
- Loaded with free-range beef
- Also includes salmon filet
- Includes turmeric, a known inflammation fighter
K9 Natural Beef Feast Raw Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Dog Food
K9 Natural Beef Feast food is ridiculously pricey — a small bag can cost a few hundred dollars. However, it’s hard to argue that it’s not worth it.
It’s made almost exclusively of beef. You’ll find just about every part of the cow in here, including the liver, heart, kidneys, tripe, bone, and blood. It’s as close as your dog can come to killing a cow themselves.
As a result, it’s high in protein — and fat too. That’s a good thing, as it gives dogs energy and helps them stay full for longer. The fiber levels are lower than we’d like, though.
In addition to all that beef, you’ll also find ingredients like flaxseed, cabbage, kelp, pumpkin, mussel, apples, and pears. Your dog will definitely get a well-rounded nutritional profile from this food.
K9 Natural Beef Feast is one of the best prepackaged raw foods that you’ll find anywhere. You may need to take out a second mortgage just to afford it, though.
- Incredibly expensive
- Less fiber than we’d like
- Will keep dogs feeling full for longer
- Offers well-rounded nutritional profile
- Filled with a wide variety of beef parts
- High in protein and fat
- Gives pups energy
Nature’s Logic Sardine Meal Feast All Life Stages
Another extremely high-protein option, Nature’s Logic Sardine Meal Feast has everything that your dog needs to grow up strong and healthy.
Since its primary protein source is fish-based, it’s full of omega fatty acids. These are vital for everything from brain development to boosting your dog’s immune system, so you want to give your pup as many of them as you can.
This food is designed to help your dog use the bathroom as painlessly as possible as well. It has pumpkin seed and montmorillonite clay for fiber, as well a variety of probiotics to keep your pup’s gut in top-notch shape.
Perhaps the most intriguing thing about this food, though, is the fact that it’s coated in spray-dried porcine plasma. While that sounds gross (and this food does stink), dogs love it, and it’s packed with important nutrients that you won’t often find in commercial kibbles.
The fruits and vegetables inside are all extremely nutritious, as they use foods like broccoli, kelp, apricots, blueberries, and spinach. However, the consistency of the food is somewhat lacking, as it tends to crumble out of the bag.
If you can stomach the smell, Nature’s Logic Sardine Meal Feast is loaded with important nutrients not often found in mass-produced dog foods.
- Has a strong odor
- Tends to crumble when handled
- Includes porcine plasma, which is full of important nutrients
- Uses high-quality fruits and veggies
- High in protein
- Loaded with omega fatty acids
- Recipe is focused on promoting gut health
Sojos Wild-Caught Salmon Recipe Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food
Sojos Wild-Caught Salmon Recipe is another pricey option, but there’s more here than meets the eye. You’re supposed to soak it in water before serving it, and it will swell to five times its original size after soaking.
Since it’s a fish-based formula, this food is extremely high in both protein and omega fatty acids. It’s also a good choice for dogs with food allergies, as salmon tends to be gentle on stomachs.
Don’t worry about the safety of feeding your dog “raw” fish either. This food is freeze-dried and dehydrated, which removes all the bacteria along with the water. You’ll still want to wash your hands after touching it, though.
In addition to the fish, you’ll find eggs, cranberries, carrots, coconut, peas, kelp, and more in here. Your pooch will certainly get all the vitamins and minerals that they need from this food.
Not all dogs care for the taste of salmon, though, so this food may be rejected. The pieces crumble to powder at the slightest touch, and you might have a mess on your hands while preparing it.
Overall, though, Sojos Wild-Caught Salmon Recipe is one of the best fish-based recipes around. Actually, it’s one of the best dog foods around, period.
- Many dogs don’t care for taste
- Can be messy to prepare
- Swells to five times its size when soaked in water
- Good for sensitive stomachs
- High in protein and omega fatty acids
- Freeze-drying process removes bacteria
- Includes high-quality fruits and veggies
CANIDAE PURE Ancestral Red Meat Formula Freeze-Dried Raw-Coated Dog Food
CANIDAE PURE Ancestral Red Meat Formula offers a nice compromise between traditional kibbles and raw food diets. It’s basically a regular kibble that’s been coated with freeze-dried raw meat, giving your dog the best of both worlds.
This food is certainly packed with meat — you’ll find lamb, pork, goat, bison, wild boar, and venison inside. Each of those meats brings something different to the table, nutritionally speaking, so your dog will get plenty of important nutrients.
Just in case the meats don’t cover the entire nutritional spectrum, the manufacturer has added a variety of important vitamins and minerals as well.
What you won’t find inside are cheap fillers, like corn, wheat, or soy, or low-quality meat, like animal by-products. It’s an excellent choice for dogs with food sensitivities.
We wish that it had more fat in it, and the pieces are too big for toy breeds to eat comfortably, but otherwise, there’s little to quibble about with CANIDAE PURE Ancestral Red Meat Formula.
- Low fat levels
- Pieces too big for toy breeds
- Includes added vitamins and minerals
- No cheap fillers or animal by-products
- Offers compromise between raw diet and regular kibble
- Wide variety of meat sources
- Good for dogs with food sensitivities
The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free Turkey Whole Food Clusters Dry Dog Food
If you’re just discovering raw food diets, The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free Turkey makes it easy to dip your toe into the learning process.
The pieces look like regular kibble chunks, which can be less intimidating for pets and owners alike. You still need to rehydrate them, so a little will go a long way when prepared correctly.
The kibble is small, even after being soaked, so dogs of all sizes can enjoy it without issue.
The recipe uses whole foods — you can actually see recognizable chunks of many of the foods used to make it. Ingredients like turkey, lentils, carrots, broccoli, kale, chia seed, and salmon oil ensure that this makes an incredibly healthy meal for your dog.
It uses more potatoes than we’d like, as potatoes are limited, nutritionally-speaking, and can cause upset stomachs in some dogs. Also, we’d prefer it if both the protein and fat levels were a bit higher, but they’re not low by any stretch of the imagination.
You may eventually want to transition to more hard-core raw diets after giving your dog The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free Turkey, but even if you don’t, it’s an incredibly healthy introduction to one of the hottest trends in canine nutrition.
- Relies heavily on potatoes
- Fat and protein levels could be higher
- Easy for dogs of all sizes to eat
- Uses recognizable chunks of whole foods
- Good introduction to raw food diets
- Pieces look like regular kibble
- Packed with nutrient-dense ingredients
VICTOR Hi-Pro Plus Formula Dog Food
VICTOR Hi-Pro Plus is loaded with animal meals. These are often overlooked in favor of leaner cuts of meat, but meals are packed with important nutrients from lesser-used parts of the animal. That said, it would be nice if the food had lean cuts of meat as well.
All told, it uses beef meal, pork meal, chicken meal, fish meal, and blood meal, ensuring that your dog will get an incredible array of nutrients in each serving.
The overall protein levels for this food are good at 30%, and there’s plenty of fat as well. The recipe uses low-glycemic grains like sorghum and millet, so your dog will stay full for longer and won’t suffer any blood sugar spikes.
Despite all the nutrition inside, this is one of the more reasonably-priced options on this list. It should be accessible to many pet owners, and feeding it doesn’t require learning brand-new preparation techniques.
Other than the fish meal, there isn’t really anything in here to provide omega fatty acids. We’d prefer to see a fish or flaxseed oil added to the ingredients list.
Still, that’s hardly worth condemning VICTOR Hi-Pro Plus over, especially when it offers such excellent nutrition at such a reasonable price.
- Lacks lean cuts of meat
- Few omega fatty acids inside
- Will keep dog feeling full for long time
- Reasonably priced
- Uses wide variety of animal meals
- Good fat and protein levels
- Won’t spike blood sugar
Farmina N&D Ancestral Grain Lamb & Blueberry Medium & Maxi Dog Food
Farmina N&D Ancestral Grain Lamb & Blueberry includes quite a few ingredients that you don’t often see in dog foods, like spelt, herring, and pomegranate. Each of these foods is tremendously healthy, though, so that’s hardly a complaint.
Every food on the ingredients list is low on the glycemic index, so you won’t have to worry about your mutt’s blood sugar spiking. That will give your pooch plenty of long-lasting energy, and it also makes this a great kibble for diabetic animals.
The kibble pieces have been specially coated in such a way that they retain most of their nutrients throughout the cooking process, ensuring that your dog gets all the dietary support they need. That’s especially valuable considering this food has ingredients like spinach, apples, blueberries, and oranges, all of which are nutrient-dense.
It’s high in glucosamine and chondroitin due to ingredients like chicken fat. That makes it an excellent choice for dogs with joint or mobility issues.
There’s not nearly as much fiber in here as we’d like to see, however. It’s also incredibly foul-smelling, although that seems to be a selling point for most dogs.
All in all, Farmina N&D Ancestral Grain Lamb & Blueberry is a fantastic food for dogs that need to watch their insulin levels or those that need enough energy to stay active all day long.
- Low in fiber
- Smells awful
- Good for diabetic dogs
- Plenty of glucosamine and chondroitin for joint support
- Uses rare but healthy ingredients like herring and pomegranate
- Low on the glycemic index
- Specially coated to retain nutrients through cooking process
What is the healthiest dry dog food?
Spot and Tango’s Unkibble is arguably the healthiest dry dog food, as it’s actually fresh food with real meat that’s been gently dried at super low temperatures to lock in as much nutrition and vitamins as possible.
What is the healthiest wet dog food?
We consider CANIDAE All Life Stages Canned Food one of the healthiest canned dog food options, as it contains hearty grains, unlike many other canned foods.
What is the healthiest dog food brand?
Ollie, The Farmer’s Dog, Merrick, Nature’s Logic, and Canidae are some of the healthiest and most reputable dog food brands.
What is the healthiest dog food?
There are many varieties of healthy dog food on the market, but we’d choose Ollie as our top pick for the healthiest dog food. They offer fresh, human-grade, vet-engineered dog food that’s minimally processed to be super easy to digest. They have several great meat-based recipes featuring whole proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, and fiber-packed vegetables.
