As dog owners, we know that it can be a struggle to find the right diet. Whether you've raised dogs your whole life or are just starting out, your pet's needs can change constantly depending on their size, age, and medical history. It's important to get your dog's diet right. Dogs need a high-quality mix of protein, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals to thrive.
Below, we'll touch on some of the most vet-approved and customer-loved dog food brands of the year. Each brand has been selected for its long-term commitment to providing high-quality, affordable products.
Tailored for dogs with sensitive diets, Wellness Health offers a huge selection of natural, premium proteins to deliver a balanced diet. No matter your pet's nutritional needs, breed, or size, Wellness Health crafts each recipe with a full blend of antioxidants to bolster the immune system.
Among the most popular products offered by the company are Complete Health: Senior and Complete Health: Lamb & Barley. Each product is offered in sizes ranging from 5 to 30 pounds.
In particular, the Senior Blend contains fortified chicken, which contains high-quality protein and healthy fatty acids. Ground carrots protect against cataracts and heart disease, while tomatoes provide an excellent source of vitamin C and the essential antioxidant carotenoid lycopene.
Wellness Health goes above and beyond, offering third-party analyses of all the ingredients. Just one serving contains 22% crude protein, rich omega-3 fatty acids, glucosamine, and taurine for a balanced diet.
High in animal protein and usually grain-free, Instinct Original is touted by veterinarians and pet owners alike. The Instinct company is guided by a belief in providing high-quality food to some of our favorite family members.
Unlike other brands, Instinct always uses cage-free chicken as the primary ingredient. Each recipe is packed with protein that helps your dog develop strong, lean muscles.
One standard bag is packed with 70 percent real animal ingredients and nutritious oils, along with 30 percent veggies, fruits, and other wholesome ingredients. Most recipes are certified free of grain, potato, corn, wheat, soy, by-product meal, preservatives, and artificial coloring.
Better yet, Instinct dog food is certified to contain live, natural probiotics, omega fatty acids, and antioxidants that help support digestive health. Recurring customers comment that their dog's coat and immune system are healthier than ever after making the switch to Instinct.
Instinct products are offered in bag sizes ranging from 4 pounds to 22.5 pounds. The company was founded in Lincoln, Nebraska, and quickly grew to worldwide acclaim.
The Farmer's Dog was founded by pet-owners that wanted to deliver balanced, simple recipes guided by science. Regardless of the particular product, the Farmer's Dog always formulates their dog food with human-grade meat, vegetables, and vet-approved ingredients.
All Farmer's Dog recipes are free of "animal meal", preservatives, and processed kibble. Interestingly, the food is always tested on humans first - when the manufacturers say "human grade", they mean it!
Meals can even be customized through a vet-designed plan customized to your dog's particular health needs. Moreover, custom meals are pre-portioned to configure with your pet's caloric daily needs.
Within days of preparation, the food is delivered right to your door. It's never deep-frozen nor stored on a shelf for months. It's easier than ever to skip the stores and retail mark-ups through ordering directly with the Farmer's Dog.
Customers appreciate the brand's commitment to providing high-quality ingredients at a fair price. Meals are delivered in eco-friendly packaging, too, and you can make changes to your subscription at any time.
Once you make the switch, the brand promises fewer vet visits, increased vitality, and a clear coat. It's easy to create a customized plan online based on your dog's medical history, breed, and age.
Offering a wide array of wet and dry food, Freshpet offers virtually any food to fit your dog's unique needs. Freshpet believes that pets deserve fresh food that makes a real difference in their longevity, health, and well-being.
Freshpet promises to only use fresh, whole, high-quality ingredients delivered straight from their kitchen. Most meals contain 100 percent natural, farm-raised chicken, no preservatives, and no by-product meals.
Perhaps the most popular product offered by the company is Freshpet: Home-Cooked Chicken. Locally sourced from farm-raised chicken, this product contains a rich blend of antioxidants and essential vitamins from carrots, spinach, and cranberries.
Best of all, Freshpet never uses ingredients that you can't pronounce. One bag contains pure veggies and meat, along with a vitamin-enriched cocktail of vitamin E, vitamin A, niacin, calcium, biotin, riboflavin, and folic acid.
In contrast with other foods, most Freshpet products are enriched with essential minerals that dogs normally lack in their diets. Zinc, iron, copper proteinate, manganese, and calcium iodate are among the most popular.
The food bags are small, only available in sizes ranging from 1.75 to 4.5 pounds. Of course, Freshpet does this for good reason: They never want the ingredients to go bad.
Though it's a small company, Organix has quickly grown popular amongst dog owners. Crafted with certified USDA organic ingredients, each Organix dog food product contains absolutely no artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors.
Currently, the most popular product offered by the company is the Castor & Pollux Organix Grain-Free Dry Dog Food. Offered in 4 or 10 pounds, the food is sourced from high-quality chicken and sweet potato that's nutrient-packed with a proprietary blend of super-foods.
One scoop contains organic flaxseed, blueberries, coconut oil, and a blend of essential nutrients. Organix food is certified to not contain grains, corn, wheat, soy, or by-product meal.
Organix isn't just committed to providing dog food, either. Since its inception, Organix has locally sourced their ingredients from only the most sustainable sources. The company serves underrepresented agricultural communities by turning their product into locally marketable commodities.
Just because dogs are domesticated, doesn't mean they never originated from the wilderness. Taste of the Wild provides high-quality, affordable dog food formulated specifically for dogs.
Moreover, the company pays close attention to the diets of dog's ancient ancestors. In every formula, the first ingredient is real, cage-free meat, fish, or fowl. The company utilizes unique ingredients like wild boar, bison, smoked salmon, roasted duck, Angus beef, and venison to make for better-tasting food that dogs actually crave.
Taste of the Wild believes in using a simplified approach to pet food based wholly on protein sources. In the wild, dog diets were simpler and consisted primarily of the prey they hunted.
All Taste of the Wild products are made without GMOs, grains, artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. However, customers should keep in mind that the facility is shared with other food manufacturers, meaning trace amounts of grain or GMOs may be present.
Still, each product is based around four key ingredients: animal protein, lentils, tomato pomace, and sunflower oil. Perhaps the most popular product offered by the company is the Angus Beef Limited Ingredient dog food.
The food contains a blend of protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates, and essential nutrients. Moreover, the tomato pomace provides for an excellent source of soluble fiber and antioxidants, while the sunflower oil is rich in omega fatty acids.
Even among the most trusted brands, Orijen sets itself apart by relying on a full-fledged Biologically Appropriate Research Innovation Center. Focused on advancing the complex science of dog health, Orijen uses sophisticated lab techniques to test out each one of their specially curated recipes.
For over 30 years, Orijen has incorporated ingredients unrivaled in quality from local sources. Orijen only uses animal ingredients that are fresh, raw or meet their precise standards.
The brand offers dog food based on your dog's breed, size, and age. However, the company specializes in crafting puppy food, which is rich in protein and fat derived from whole animal ingredients to support continued development.
The Orijen Puppy blend is packed with free-range chicken, turkey, wild-caught fish, and cage-free eggs. The result is a nutrient-dense recipe that most dogs crave.
Orijen dog food is offered in bags sizes ranging from 340 grams to 2 kg, 6 kg, and 11.4 kg. The one issue customers encounter is that it's difficult to find Orijen in-store; most opt to buy the brand online directly from the manufacturer.
Yes, it may sound a little strange - dog food marketed by a former cook show host? Yet since the company launched, it's been committed to providing the best quality ingredients at a low price point.
Ultimately, the Nutrish dog food brand is for pet owners that treat their dogs like members of the family. All Nutrish recipes are crafted from fresh beef, bison, chicken, duck, lamb, pheasant, quail, or salmon.
The most customer-loved product offered by the brand is the SuperMedleys Wellness Blend Superfoods & Chicken recipe. Fortified with vitamins, minerals, and taurine, the product is meant to support your dog's whole-body wellness.
The carefully selected ingredients help support a healthy coat, promote optimal weight, and bolster the immune system. The blend of fiber-rich superfoods bolsters the digestive system, especially for pups with sensitive tummies.
Ingredients like sweet potato, barley, and dried chickpeas deliver an essential blend of vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants.
All Nutrish products are certified to be free of poultry by-products, fillers, artificial flavors, and artificial preservatives.
With so many excellent options out there, it can be difficult to make the right choice. Since every pet is unique, make sure to consider your dog's dietary needs and specialized before opting into any particular product.
If you're still struggling to get your dog's diet perfect, it may be time to contact your veterinarian to configure a more appropriate diet.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional consultation or advice related to your health or finances. No reference to an identifiable individual or company is intended as an endorsement thereof. Some or all of this article may have been generated using artificial intelligence, and it may contain certain inaccuracies or unreliable information. Readers should not rely on this article for information and should consult with professionals for personal advice.