2020 Review Update (Best Dry Dog Foods)

Picking top dog food brands is not simple, and here’s why: it depends on what kind of dog foods you’re looking for. As someone who’s been doing research on this for years, I’d like to first quickly introduce you to the right way of choosing best dog foods for your specific dog.

If you already know all about types of dog foods, then click here to jump to the list of top dog food brands (dry kibble). If you’re not sure, then I recommend you continue reading. As someone who has worked in the pet food industry, done the research and wrote about the best dog foods for years, my first concern is for pet owners to understand what makes top dog food brands best for your specific dog.

To make your job easier, I’ve gone through hundreds of best dog food brands, analyzed them and their reviews, and picked the top dog food brands 2020 based on their ingredients, dog food recalls, company reputation and several other factors. That said, I strongly recommend you do your research on choosing the best dog food for your own Fido.

Picking Best Dog Food Based on Type

We’ll discuss all of this further in the article. Here’s a quick summary.

Think what type of dog food you’ll feed your dog:

• Dry dog food kibble, or
• Wet canned dog food, or
• Freeze-dried, dehydrated dog food.

Now, you can pick two varieties of dog food:

• Well-balanced dog food, or
• Grain-free dog food.

Finally, age of your dog is also important:

• Are you feeding a puppy?
• Is your pet an adult dog?
• Or do you have a senior dog?

Here are the five top dog food brands that we’ll cover later in the article (among others):

What Is the Best Dog Food Brand?

Are these the absolute best dog food brands for our pets, then?

There’s no such thing. The correct answer is, it depends.

Anybody (and I mean tons of other dog food ratings and reviews websites online) that tell you otherwise, are lying.

With so many variables to account for, it’s impossible to pick the absolute best dog food brands that would be the optimal choice for all dogs. Instead, you have to (a) consider your personal situation, (b) several dog food criteria, and (c) several organizational requirements.

Here’s the formula I recommend using (more on this below):

Personalize + Critical Assessment + Requirements = Best Dog Food

I’ve already mentioned above how to pick the best dog food for your specific dog. Now, you also need to consider several criteria of good quality dog food (for critical assessment) that I’ll mentioned below.

Final ranking factors come off of FDA’s Pet Food guidelines and AAFCO requirements as well as using evidence from research and rational advice provided by veterinarians and nutritionists as a last step.

How to Pick Top Dog Food Brands

It’s very important to know how dog foods are chosen.

There are tons of criteria to consider in order to pick the absolute best dry dog food brand in any category (hence my ongoing research on this, even after years of working in, reading and studying about the pet food industry). The truth is, finding top rated dog food brand is not that easy.

But according to research, canine nutritionist and veterinarians, there are ten factors that will help you to determine the best dog food brand for your canine (ranked in the order of importance, from most to least).

Your ideal dog food:

1. Doesn’t contain suspicious or controversial ingredients
2. Doesn’t contain chemical and/or artificial preservatives
3. Doesn’t contain artificial flavorings or coloring agents
4. Doesn’t contain unknown or anonymous ingredients
5. Doesn’t contain foul ingredients and generic animal fats
6. Has ratio between fat and protein that’s 60-80% (or lower)
7. Has high protein percentage and high quality protein source
8. Has medium to low amount of carbohydrates and grains
9. Has met most of AAFCO and organizational requirements
10. Has a disclosure of manufacturing location and ingredient sources

Even though some other criteria can and should be considered, the above ten will usually bring up a handful of top dog food brands of good quality and safe for dogs to eat. Note that some of the top rated dog food brands do not fit all criteria, and for example, will have a different protein to fat ratio (but otherwise rank fairly well).

You can easily take the above list and try to find the best dog food brand yourself without my help.

But if you’re looking for a selection of top rated dog food brands in one place, after doing hundreds of dog food reviews, I’ve managed to make a list of fifteen top dog food brands, which you can find below. For more information on choosing the best dog food brand and how you should do so, continue reading.

I’ve used links to Amazon where you can see more information about the brand on their product page, and also read other pet owners’ dog food reviews, which I strongly encourage. These are best dog foods for adult dogs; you can find best puppy food rankings here.

15 Top Dog Food Brands in 2020
(Best Dry Dog Food)

This top dog food brands list has only dry dog foods (grain-free and well-balanced) varieties.

For these dog food reviews and ratings, we’ve used adult dog food recipes/formulas. If you’re feeding a puppy or senior dog, simply pick their puppy/senior formula, since they rank closely in rating.

1Merrick Chicken Sweet Potato Recipe
by Merrick

Rating: 
Variety: Grain-free
Value: $2.16 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($47.99)
Find it on Chewy ($47.99)

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 43%
• Fat: 19%
• Carbohydrates: 30%
• Fiber: 3.9%
• Calories: 381 kcal/cup

Description: Merrick Grain Free dog food ranks high on the list of top dog food brands as it fits most of our ranking criteria, with high quality ingredients and little to no controversial items on the list. Depending on the formula you pick, the first ingredient will always be real protein source (chicken, lamb, duck, buffalo, etc.) Some healthy additives like a balance of omega-3s and omega-6s with additional glucosamine and chondroitin makes this a decent choice.

Merrick Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

2 Nature’s Variety Instinct
by Nature’s Variety

Rating: 
Variety: Grain-free
Value: $2.17 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($59.99)
Find it on Chewy ($59.99)

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 39%
• Fat: 22%
• Carbohydrates: 31%
• Fiber: 3.9%
• Calories: 499 kcal/cup

Description: Nature’s Variety Instinct Grain Free dog food formula is yet another high quality brand that’s a popular choice among pet owners who understand the importance of using different criteria for vetting their top dog food brands. The company is known for producing great quality pet food always with added omega-3 and omega-6, vitamins and minerals and never artificial preservatives, colors or flavorings. The ratio of high amount of protein and ultra-low amount of carbohydrates makes this a perfect grain free choice.

Nature’s Variety Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

3Taste of the Wild High Prairie Canine
by Taste of the Wild

Rating: 
Variety: Grain-free
Value: $1.86 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($48.99)
Find it on Chewy ($48.99)

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 32%
• Fat: 17%
• Carbohydrates: 43%
• Fiber: 5.6%
• Calories: 370 kcal/cup

Description: Taste of the Wild dry dog food is arguably the most popular top dog food brand on the market today. They use a simple formula that closely follows (yet not to the extreme) the ancestral diet of dogs, and prioritize high protein and extremely low carbohydrate recipes. Their Bison and Venison formula is the most well-known that contains high quality protein source as the first ingredient, with the rest of the food supplemented with low calorie healthy additions such as vegetables and fruits.

Taste of the Wild Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

4Wellness Core Natural Grain Free
by Wellness Core

Rating: 
Variety: Grain-free
Value: $2.23 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($67.99)
Find it on Chewy ($67.99)

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 38%
• Fat: 13%
• Carbohydrates: 41%
• Fiber: 6.7%
• Calories: 421 kcal/cup

Description: Wellness Core Natural Grain Free dry dog food is another extremely popular brand that hasn’t been poisoned by the multinational corporations gobbling up natural dog food manufacturers that still care about producing high quality dog foods. It ranks high on our top dog food brands list due to its continued dedication and promise to provide reduced fat, low carbohydrate and high amount of good quality protein pet foods. Always made in the USA, this is never a bad choice as long as your dog loves the taste.

Wellness Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

5Canidae Grain Free PURE
by Canidae

Rating: 
Variety: Grain-free
Value: $2.37 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($64.99)
Find it on Chewy ($64.99)

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 33%
• Fat: 13%
• Carbohydrates: 45%
• Fiber: 4.4%
• Calories: 509 kcal/cup

Description: Canidae Grain Free Pure dry dog food formula has been around for a while but deserves a lot more attention that it has received to date. This company similar to the other top dog food brands I’ve mentioned above follows a very simplistic formula to manufacture pet food with high quality protein sources, no additives or unnecessary carbohydrate fillings, with an addition of vital vitamins and minerals. Their PURE recipe is especially great for dogs with sensitive stomachs and is one of the most popular choices.

Canidae Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

6Orijen Six Fish
by Orijen

Rating: 
Variety: Grain-free
Value: $4.70 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($106.99)
Unavailable on Chewy

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 42%
• Fat: 20%
• Carbohydrates: 30%
• Fiber: 5.7%
• Calories: 449 kcal/cup

Description: Orijen Grain Free dry dog food is arguably one of the highest quality foods, but it’s also one of the most expensive brands out there as well. It’s often ranked as the number one choice by veterinarians and canine nutritionist. The company haven’t changed much in all the years they’ve been in the industry, and their recipe is very simple (read: great). The most popular option is the Six Fish recipe that has been formulated to be biologically appropriate for dogs, but at the price, not every dog owner can afford it.

Orijen Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

7Castor and Pollux Organix
by Castor & Pollux

Rating: 
Variety: Well-balanced
Value: $2.08 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($73.67)
Find it on Chewy ($73.67)

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 30%
• Fat: 16%
• Carbohydrates: 46%
• Fiber: 5.6%
• Calories: 383 kcal/cup

Description: Castor & Pollux Organix dry dog food is one of the few organic top dog food brands among the popular, well-known companies that can still pride themselves for high quality. Their main ingredient is usually real chicken, followed by brown rice and the addition of flaxseed oil and other minerals, which is the most popular option in their line. They’re not grain-free, so if your canine has no problems with a few extra carbohydrates, this USA-made organic dog food brand is easily the best dog food of the non grain-free variety.

Castor & Pollux Organix Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

8Iams Proactive Health Adult Minichunks Dry Dog Food
by IAMS

Rating: 
Variety: Well-balanced
Value: $1.12 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($31.64)
Find it on Chewy ($31.64)

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 28%
• Fat: 18%
• Carbohydrates: 46%
• Fiber: 4.4%
• Calories: 485 kcal/cup

Description: Iams Grain Free Healthy Naturals dry dog food is quickly climbing up the ranks to join other popular top dog food brands and their companies as more pet owners are choosing this do good. You can find either grain-free or non grain-free formula, and they have an outstanding ratio of protein to fat to carbs. Some of their popular formulas will contain a rich blend of the most vital minerals and vitamins for dogs, and the company prides themselves for never including any wheat, soy or meat byproducts (a popular option for many others) in their recipes.

Iams Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

9Horizon Legacy
by Horizon

Rating: 
Variety: Grain-free
Value: $2.80 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($64.99)
Find it on Chewy ($64.99)

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 38%
• Fat: 17%
• Carbohydrates: 38%
• Fiber: 3.9%
• Calories: 420 kcal/cup

Description: Horizon Legacy dog food is one of the least popular top dog food brands on this list, and that’s very unfortunate. Their Salmon recipe in particular is made of extremely ultra healthy and natural ingredients, and 80% of which is simply high quality salmon (this is very rare among most dry dog foods). This is a non grain-free formula, but the little amount of included carbohydrates have all the necessary nutrients for the dogs with no useless fillings. The reason it’s not as popular as other dog foods is their price.

Horizon Legacy Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

10Victor Active Dog & Puppy
by Victor Dog Food

Rating: 
Variety: Grain-free
Value: $2.23 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($47.82)
Find it on Chewy ($47.82)

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 36%
• Fat: 18%
• Carbohydrates: 38%
• Fiber: 4.2%
• Calories: 397 kcal/cup

Description: Victor Dog Food Grain Free dry dog food is not yet popular among pet owners as the company hasn’t been around as some of the mentioned famous top dog food brands above, but their dedication to manufacturing high quality dog food can already be noticed. This formula specifically contains three protein sources as their main ingredients – beef, chicken and pork – with very little carbohydrate fillings. The rest of the food is complimented with everything else needed for dogs: omega-3 and omega-6, vitamins and minerals.

Victor Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

11Bully Max High Performance Super Premium
by Bully Max

Rating: 
Variety: Well-balanced
Value: $3.20 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($49.99)
Unavailable on Chewy

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 33%
• Fat: 22%
• Carbohydrates: 37%
• Fiber: 4.2%
• Calories: 535 per cup

Description: Bully Max High Performance dog food is the newest company of all those mentioned on top dog food brands list here. While we’re still monitoring them for how they will continue to perform as the company grows, so far they’ve been manufacturing high quality performance dog food usually marketed for pit bulls (although there’s no reason other dog breeds cannot use this). This best dry dog food doesn’t include any wheat, soy, corn and is primarily meat-based. It’s a high calorie dog food which is perfect for canine weight loss.

Video Analysis: Bully Max Dog Food Review
Bully Max Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

12 Pinnacle Brothibbles
 by Pinnacle

Rating: 
Variety: Grain-free
Value: $4 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($15.99)
Find it on Chewy ($15.99)

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 47%
• Fat: 24%
• Carbohydrates: 21%
• Fiber: 6.1%
• Calories: 373 kcal/cup

Description: Pinnacle Grain Free dog food is yet another unpopular option among out top dog food brands picks, and it’s mostly their cat foods that are known to pet owners. Nevertheless, the company manufactures a great recipe for dogs that contains no grains with their primary ingredient a high quality, natural, real turkey, salmon or duck. Their recipes also often include sweet potato, pumpkin or quinoa seeds for added nutrition and the necessary vitamins and minerals to complete the formula.

Pinnacle Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

13Crave Adult Dry Dog Food
by CRAVE

Rating: 
Variety: Grain-free
Value: $5.30 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($42.66)
Find it on Chewy ($42.66)

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 47%
• Fat: 24%
• Carbohydrates: 21%
• Fiber: 2.8%
• Calories: 516 kcal/cup

Description: Crave Grain Free dog food has been recently breaking into the market, and they have first done so successfully with their canned dog foods. Now bringing one of the best dry dog food brands, their recipes will not disappoint – no grains, extremely low levels of carbohydrates, high protein and great protein to fat ratio. More than 80% of their formula will usually contain high quality protein source, quickly following but a small amount of fruits and veggies to ensure an ample supply of vitamins and minerals.

Crave Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

14 Farmina Natural & Delicious
 by Farmina

Rating: 
Variety: Grain-free
Value: $6 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($35.99)
Find it on Chewy ($19.56)

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 41%
• Fat: 20%
• Carbohydrates: 31%
• Fiber: 2.9%
• Calories: 436 kcal/cup

Description: Farmina Natural & Delicious Grain Free dry dog food is mostly a popular choice of puppy food, but their adult dog food formula and/or all life stages recipe are just as great. However, their higher prices prevent the company from becoming more popular among pet owners. When it comes to ingredients, the company is mostly focused on grain free and gluten free formulas with high level of natural, good quality, fresh protein sources and a small amount of fiber and carbohydrates.

Farmina Dog Food Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

 

15Weruva Caloric Melody
by Weruva

Rating: 
Variety: Well-balanced
Value: $7.5 per pound

Find it on Amazon ($18.99)
Find it on Chewy ($18.99)

Dry matter content:

• Protein: 41%
• Fat: 15%
• Carbohydrates: 36%
• Fiber: 5.9%
• Calories: 360 kcal/cup

Description: Weruva Caloric Melody dry dog food is another young company that has broken onto the scene and into our list of top dog food brands as one of the best dry dog foods with high quality ingredients. They are not yet well-known but if they continue to include grass-fed lamb (extremely rare in dog foods) and focus on certified GMO-free ingredients (also rare), they should quickly gain more popularity. The company is very transparent and open about the sourcing of ingredients, but their prices are still very high.

Video: Weruva Dog Food Review
Weruva Caloric Melody Reviews: Read what dog owners say on Amazon

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Understanding Dog Nutrition and Top Dog Food Brands

When it comes to picking the best dog food for your specific canine, ideally, you want to be able to choose your own top dog food brands based on your dog’s age, breed (to an extent), health condition and other unique requirements that only you will know about.

In order to do that, you need to understand the basics of dog nutrition. Without you having some grasp of how to feed your specific dog, no top rated dog food lists will do you any good. That makes all dog food reviews, rankings and analysis like those on this list or Dog Food Advisor reviews only slightly helpful.

I have already mentioned above the criteria that is best to use when picking top dog food brands. On top of that, you can also further educate yourself on the topic of canine nutrition and use reputable resources. With this information, you’ll understand better why some top rated dog food brands rank higher or lower.

There’s a lot of misinformation on dog foods out there.

I’ve been in the pet food industry for several years now, and have been writing about dog foods for over a year. I’ve seen a lot of the advice about feeding dogs and all the top 10 dog food brands rankings out there. With so much misleading and false assumptions, and plainly wrong advice floating around the internet, it’s important to use the most accurate, up to date information, reputable resources and well-referenced data to pick the best dog food for your pet.

Unfortunately, it’s way beyond the scope of this article to delve deeper into understand top rated dog food brands at the very core, but I would suggest looking at research as your first point of reference. A few studies to assess nutritional adequacy of dog food brands:

If you’re able to pay for it, there’s another important paper on the topic (behind the paywall) called The Effect of Ingredients in Dry Dog Foods by Malathi Raghavan, DVM, PhD, et al. (google it).

A couple of good and short guides to understand dog nutrition and the way to distinguish top rated dog food brands from false advertising, which will ultimately help you choose your own top dog food brands for your specific dog, can be found here and here. The devil is in the details, so read carefully.

When collecting information about canine nutrition and picking out top rated dog food brands, make sure to only use reputable resources. Government sites may or may not be a good point of reference, because I’ve seen them provide wrong information at times. University veterinarian run sites are usually my favorite point of reference as well as veterinary and medical journals, which is what I used to come up with the above list of top dog food brands.

Just to be clear, in this article we have chosen the best dry dog food brands. All of the above mentioned top dog food brands are the leaders in the market not due to low price and mass production, but because they spend a lot of resources in formulating appropriate and healthy dog foods for general dog population.

If dry dog foods is not what you were looking for, here’s a list of other top rated dog food brands that are more specific to your situation and for individual cases:

If overall dry top dog food brands is not what you’re out for, then you’ll find more appropriate dog foods in the above articles. Dry kibble is the most popular choice among pet owners, so you can probably find the best dog food brand for your canine among the fifteen choices I’ve mentioned above. Alternatively, take a look at the vet recommended dog food brands article for some tips from Dr Debora Shores, DVM.

With all the above information at hand, you should easily distinguish between poor quality dog foods and top dog food brands that will best suit your specific dog at his stage of life (age) and condition. Remember to use some common sense and further research before picking out any of the top rated dog food brands, since it all depends on your individual dog. Use my suggested formulas or simply search for second and third opinion. I’m a firm believer in gathering a lot of reputable information and deducing from that.

READ NEXT: 16 Things You Didn’t Know About Prescription Dog Foods

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