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Choosing a brand of dog food can be a very daunting task for all of us. We hope to give you enough information that you can make an informed, educated decision. Not all dog foods are created equal. In fact, very much to the contrary. While many dogs have survived on low-quality food such as Ol'Roy or other supermarket brand, it isn't the best choice for your dog. Low quality foods contain fillers like corn and while they do fill your dog up- they are not able to be digested easily, therefore, the more waste comes out. When you choose a high quality pet food, your dog is getting the nutrition they need. In other words, their body is using more of what it is ingesting-therefore- less waste! Less waste is always a good thing, especially when you are talking about a mastiff! It also means your pet is healthier because it is getting more of what it's body needs. Imagine if we ate corn for every meal?? The ingredient list is the major key in figuring out what is in your dogs food. Ingredients must be listed in descending order by weight. So the first two or three ingredients make up the majority of the food and is what you should look at when choosing your pets food. By-products: Byproducts are basically defined as "parts other than meat." These might include internal organs that are not commonly consumed by humans, like lungs, spleens or intestines of cows, or feet, beaks, and 'guts' of chicken. Feeding your Mastiffs -How to rate your dog's food
How to grade your dog's food: (Some brands are done at the very
bottom]
Start with a grade of 100:
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 "" 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
Here are some foods that have already been scored.
Dog Food scores:
Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Canidae / Score 112 A+
Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium /
Score 122 A+
Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+
Foundations / Score 106 A+
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score
93 B
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 C
Innova Dog / Score 114 A+
Innova Evo / Score 114 A+
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables /
Score 110 A+
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+
Purina Beneful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A
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