Which, in your opinion, is the healthiest / highest quality commercial kibble on the market?

Asking for my cousin (who feeds Purina) Raw is out of the question, he cannot be convinced.

Is there a cost factor?

There is no "best" because not every dog does well on any one kibble, no matter how good. But if cost is not an issue, there are many that I would give top marks to.

Dogswell, Castor and Pollux, Blue Buffalo, Solid Gold Barking at the Moon, Addiction,
Wysong .... just a few.

You'll get lots of answers, I'm sure.

BTW, as you probably know, Purina products (such as Purina Active Senior, Purina Be Happy, Purina Dog Chow and Puppy Chow, Healthy Morsels, Little Bits) have "proudly" hold their position among the very worst for many years, along with Bil-Jac, Alpo, Gravy Train, and others that consistently produce the worst we can buy.

JMO, of course.

No, cost isn't an issue. Just trying to talk him out of Purina, his dog is always having health issues. He didn't know it wasn't top quality.

Top priority is the ingredient list.

Here's the beginning of Purina Dog Chow's list:

Whole grain corn, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of vitamin E), meat and bone meal, brewers rice, soybean meal, whole grain wheat, egg and chicken flavor .....

Hard to think of a more inappropriate I.L. for a dog, who, while he is not an obligate carnivore (cats are), still is an omnivore waaay over on the carnivore end of the spectrum.

I want to see a named meat meal in the top three ingredients, and also either that named meat meal or a named meat as number one (if the named meat is number one, the meal could be number two). This is very basic, but it will probably eliminate all of the worst foods.

I don't want to see wheat, corn, or soy. I don't want to see grain fractions, including liquor industry waste (brewer's yeast, brewer's rice, etc.). No ethoxyquin.


This extremely basic walk-through will at the very least steer any reader far from Purina Dog Chow:

http://www.wikihow.com/Choose-Healthy-Dog-Food


ALl JMO! Just this much info put to use will improve the food choices immeasurably.

Whole Dog Journal does a list every year. Do you subscribe to that?

I do now. Thanks!

http://leerburg.com/all-natural%20kibble.htm

I use Chicken Soup as a primary kibble and mix in a different kibble as a secondary. Usually an 80/20 mix. I vary the secondary kibble but I make sure it's grain free. It has worked out wonderfully. Dogs are thin with shiny coats and a ton of energy. Don't forget salmon oil and Vit E.

As a kibble feeder myself, I think it is difficult to name THE one best food out there. (Personally, I switch between several brands.) People will have different opinions for a variety of reasons including your dogs' particular needs (allergies, perhaps), your own preference for grain versus grain-free (remember, grain-free usually means they have substituted some other carbohydrate such as potatoes), availability in different geographical areas, cost, etc.

I believe education is the best way to convince people to make better dog food choices, but I also realize it can be daunting and some people don't want to take the time or trouble. Also, I think, unfortunately, it's often the case that the companies that make the worst dog food have the cutest, most convincing, warm-your-heart advertisements out there.

Perhaps you can convince your cousin to start by studying a site such as this, which is full of general information about choosing good dog food and talks about what good ingredients are versus bad ingredients:

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main

And then perhaps look at a site such as this that actually rates different brands:

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

I also subscribe to "Whole Dog Journal," and I believe their annual list is very helpful and carefully researched.