How We Analyze Dog Food
Every figure on this site is either printed on the manufacturer's label or worked out from it by the steps on this page. There is no score, grade or star rating. We publish the figures and the reasoning behind them, and leave the choice with you.
Where the figures come from
For each food we record the guaranteed analysis (protein, fat, fiber and moisture), the calorie statement and the full ingredient declaration, as the manufacturer publishes them. The brand's own product page is the first source; retailer listings and photos of the bag are used to confirm it, and where they disagree the brand's label wins.
Much of the reading and transcription is done by software agents, and their work is checked against the source before it is published. Where a figure was never published, we record it as missing rather than guess it, and any figure built on it is left blank. When a label figure looks implausible for its kind of food (a dry food listing 15% crude fiber, for example) the page says so until the label has been re-checked.
Dry matter: comparing foods without the water
A label states its nutrients as fed, water included. A kibble at 10% moisture and a wet food at 78% are quoting protein against very different amounts of actual food, so the printed numbers cannot be compared directly. We remove the water:
dry matter % = as-fed % ÷ (100 − moisture %) × 100
A wet food with 9% protein and 78% moisture is 9 ÷ 22 × 100 = about 41% protein on a dry matter basis, more than most kibble. Figures marked "dry matter" or "DM" have been converted this way; everything else is as printed.
Starch, estimated
No manufacturer prints a starch or carbohydrate figure, so we estimate it as what is left once everything else on the label is accounted for:
starch (estimated) = 100 − protein − fat − fiber − moisture − ash
Ash (the mineral content) is the one figure we assume, because it is not part of a guaranteed analysis: 6% for dry foods and 2% for foods above 40% moisture. The leftover is mostly starch but also holds sugars and the fiber a crude fiber test misses, so it is a close estimate, not a lab result. Product pages show it as fed, as a share of the food in the bowl; comparisons and filters can show it on a dry matter basis. Wherever it appears it is labeled estimated. Some pages call the same figure carbohydrate.
Because the estimate is built by subtraction, a wrong fiber or moisture figure moves it. That is why implausible label figures are flagged on the page rather than passed through quietly.
Calories and how much to feed
Calories come from the label's own statement, per kilogram and per cup, can or serving as printed. The feeding calculator on each food starts from the resting energy formula vets use, 70 × body weight in kg0.75, multiplies it by a factor for life stage, activity and whether the dog is spayed or neutered, and divides by the food's calorie density. It is a starting point to adjust from by watching your dog, not a prescription.
Ingredients
Ingredients are listed heaviest first, before cooking, so their order carries information. We show the full declaration, highlight the first five, and mark where salt appears: everything after salt is present in a very small amount.
We flag the following additives wherever they appear in a declaration:
- BHA, a preservative the US National Toxicology Program lists as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.
- BHT, a preservative restricted in food use in several countries.
- Ethoxyquin, a preservative not permitted in human food and limited by the FDA in pet food.
- Propylene glycol, banned from cat food by the FDA and used as a humectant.
- Menadione (vitamin K3), a synthetic form linked to toxicity at high doses and not permitted in human supplements.
- Red 40, an artificial color that exists for the owner rather than the dog.
- Yellow 5, an artificial color that exists for the owner rather than the dog.
- Yellow 6, an artificial color that exists for the owner rather than the dog.
- Blue 2, an artificial color that exists for the owner rather than the dog.
- Corn syrup, an added sugar with no nutritional role in a dog food.
- Sodium metabisulfite, a preservative that destroys thiamine.
A flag is information, not a verdict on the food. The evidence for each is on the flagged additives page.
Comparing like with like
Averages and benchmarks are taken within one format. A kibble is compared with other kibble, a wet food with other wet food, and a brand's headline figures cover one format at a time. Toppers and broths add to a meal rather than replacing one, so they are not set against complete foods.
Recalls
Our recall log holds U.S. Food and Drug Administration dog food recall notices from 2012 onward, checked daily. Each notice is matched to the brand it names, so it appears on that brand's foods. When a notice names the exact recipe on a page, that page says so. A recall is a record of an event, not a judgment of a food, and "no recall on record" means none is in the FDA notices we hold, not a guarantee that none exists.
Prices and retailer links
Where we can find a food at a retailer, the page lists the lowest price we found for each bag size and the price per pound. Some prices are read live from the store when the page is opened; others come from our regular checks and carry their date. Some links are affiliate links: Amazon links carry our Amazon Associates tag, and we may earn a commission. Prices and links are added after a food's figures are computed and never change them.
What these figures are not
They are not a health outcome and not veterinary advice. A label tells you what is in a food, not how a particular dog will do on it. Price, palatability, availability and any condition your vet is managing all matter, and none of them is on a label.
Corrections
If a figure on a page does not match the bag in your hand, please tell us through report a problem (there is a link on every food) or the contact page. We check the label and correct the page.