Dry dog food is one of the most common types of food for dogs that people search for, and since there’s such an overwhelming amount of dry dog food available here in 2017, we’ve decided to make it into a narrowed down list of some of the best kinds for you to consider buying.
Top 5 Dry Dog Food
Food | Our Rating | |
|---|---|---|
Benefits of dry dog food
When looking at kibbles, you might be wondering what the big deal is surrounding kibbles and why it’s so special! We can begin to look at some of the differences between dry and wet dog food.
Let’s get down to business now, what are the differences between these two common types of pup meals?
- Wet dog food is excellent for dogs who don’t drink enough water. If you have a dog that’s outside a lot without water, or if you have a dog that just doesn’t like to drink water, then you might want to buy your dog some wet dog food so that he can stay hydrated and fed at the same time, without risking your dog from getting sick.
- Some wet dog food is supposed to be the healthiest type of food for your dog to eat. Dry dog food is usually created in a factory, wherein more cases than not, wet dog food is more natural than dry dog food.
- Dry dog food is much cheaper than wet dog food. The reason for this is simple: quality. Look at the quality of a large bag of dry dog food versus a group of cans for wet dog food. You can assume (and you’d be right) that wet dog food is generally healthier.
- Dry dog food is so much easier to have in your house. When you want to feed your dog, instead of cracking open a new expensive can, you can pour enough in your dog’s bowl so that he will be able to eat for a long time!
- Dry dog food is so much better for a dog’s teeth. The reason for this is simple. When you’re biting on hard things, it’s going to act as a type of “tooth-brush” to scrape away plaque, whereas wet dog food is more likely to get into your dog’s teeth and cause rot and cavities after long periods.
Now that we’ve talked about why you should get dry dog food, we can now begin to talk about which specific types of dry dog food are the best. When you’re looking at dry dog food, keep in mind that price might change regularly, but quality differs from product to product. Just because one type of dog food has a good name, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your dog will like it!
Use trial and error with your dog, and keep in mind the health benefits and figure out which one is the best for your dog!
5 Best/Top Dry Dog Food
Okay, now we can get started looking at the 5 best types of dry dog food for you to consider when shopping for your dog.
Here’s the list, starting with #1:
1. Taste of the Wild Canine Formula
Taste of the Wild is one of those types of dog foods that genuinely gives you a Taste of the Wild. When I say this, I’m talking about the kinds of flavors you’re able to get out of this brand alone!
Here’s a list of some of the flavors they offer:
- Lamb
- Salmon
- Wildfowl
- Bison and Vension
Just because you can choose from so many flavors, you should give this brand a shot. It also has been one of Amazon's best-seller for dry dog food! That's saying something.
Also, with over 4-star rating, you should be impressed by the track record of this product. Their canine formula is known as grain-free, which is perfect for anyone who has a dog with stomach issues from time to time (because this should fix a lot of them).
Everyone has bought their dog some bad dog food before, but with this kind, you're going to be able to choose as little as a 5-pound bag as a "sample" if you want to see how it pans out for your dog. If your dog ends up liking this dry dog food, then you can up the buy (and get a better deal) by buying the 30-pound bag.
Something to Consider
If your dog is small, then you might want to crunch this up! In most cases, when you buy this type of dog food, the pieces of food are pretty big! If you have a lap dog who’s 12 pounds, then you might want to crunch some of this up so that your dog will be able to eat it without it feeling like they’re about to choke.
2. Rachael Ray Nutrish Natural Dry Dog Food
If you’re someone who cooks in the kitchen a lot, then you might be wondering why Rachael Ray has dog food? That just sounds weird, doesn’t it? Well, you might be surprised to find out that Rachael Ray’s dog food is one of a kind, and has excellent reviews written for it.
While she doesn’t make the dog food, I’m sure she was able to hire some of the best people.
As you might be able to tell from the title of her dog food brand, “Nutrish,” you should know that her dog food is supposed to be one of the healthiest types of food for your dog to eat. With that being said, you shouldn’t automatically pick this food just because of that, because if your dog doesn’t like the taste, then it won’t matter anyway.
Here are some pros and cons for this potentially best dry dog food:
PROS
- It’s one of the healthiest types of dog food that you can buy.
- It’s great for digestion. Most of the items on our list are good for dog digestion (because they often have problems with that), but this one, in particular, was made so that your dog can have a healthy stomach!
- It appears to taste good with most dogs who’ve tried it.
- Rachael Ray’s Nutrish dog food is one of the best budget dry dog foods that you can get. The prices are phenomenal if you need a kind that’s going to save you money!
- This helps with your dog’s stomach (as mentioned earlier), but in a different way this time. If your dog has bad gas, then this product is perfect for you to get. Nothing is worse than a dog fart, and this product will get rid of that problem, or at least help most of it go away.
CONS
- Sadly, even with the high quality of being able to digest your food with this, your dog might be allergic to this kind of dog food due to the diversity of dog food ingredients found in this.
- If your dog can’t handle eating grains, then do not buy this product. If you need a product that’s going to be grain-free, then buy the #1 item on our list.
3. Purina Beneful Originals With Real Beef
Purina is one of the most dominant dog food companies in the world. With flavors and types of dog food ranging from dry to wet and duck flavored to beef-flavored, you’ll have a ton of variety to choose from. With this product, you’ll be able to get each pound for less than a dollar! This is one of the cheapest dry dog food selections, and this is why it made it to the list and is possibly the absolute best dry dog food for 2017.
Purina is one of those brands that dogs love to eat from. Most dogs think that the flavor from this type of dog food is full of pleasant taste, and this is one of the significant reasons you should think about getting this! We could also talk about some other major benefits from this:
- It’s the cheapest dry dog food on our list, and is also great quality!
- This food is easily digestible, and your dog could eat this type of food for years on end without having any issues.
- It’s a very healthy type of dog food, coming from a brand known for making some healthy options for your dog.
- You’re able to choose from many different types of sizes!
If you’re unsure about this product, give a sample size order and see how well your dog reacts to the flavor. If he likes it and you’re happy with the price (who wouldn’t be?), then you should start to use this as your primary brand!
Diamond Naturals is a lesser-known brand that makes dry dog food. Offering multiple flavors and different sizes along with a great price (once again at less than $1 per pound), this easily made it to the list for one of the best dry dog food choices.
With this type of dog food, you can expect to feed your dog some food that comes with no corn, wheat, or soy! This is very important for dogs that have allergies and can help your dog out with digestion if he has issues consuming wheat, soy or corn (which are some of the biggest problem causers in dogs).
When searching for this brand, you can choose from 3 different types of flavors for your dog, comprised of beef, lamb, and chicken. The good thing about these three flavors is that most dogs like at least one of these types of dry dog food!
Even veterinarians stand behind this brand due to the nutritional support that it can give your dog. Contrary to most other brands, Diamond dry dog food is something you would want your dog to eat if you knew what was in it.
Now, although there are so many good things about this dog food, we should talk about some things to watch out for so that we don’t appear too biased.
- With some dogs (not all), this dog food is too much to handle on the stomach. However, even with this rare complaint coming in at times, you have to understand that there will always be a dog somewhere that won’t be able to handle a certain type of dry dog food.
With only two real complaints about this brand, you should be able to trust them for the most part. If you want to get a high-quality bag of dry dog food, then you should give this a chance.
5. Blue Wilderness Dry Dog Food
This type of dog food is known for being one of the highest sources of protein that you can give your dog. If your dog is in a growing phase, or you want your dog to be able to consume some more protein, then you should give this competitor for the best dry dog food a chance.
Now that we’ve introduced this excellent dog food let’s talk about some of the pros and cons!
This isn’t our favorite on the list, but it’s still good enough to be considered a contender for the best dry dog food of 2017.
PROS
- All of the ingredients found in this dog food are found and made here in the USA. I realize some of you might be thinking that this isn’t a big deal, but to some it is!
- It may not be the most inexpensive brand, but it’s cheaper than most other dry dog food brands that you get in the store!
- This isn’t fattening food. Your dog won’t look like Garfield when he eats this type of dog food, but it will keep your dog healthy!
CONS
- This might make your dog feel extra tired. It's unsure why, but with some dogs, this side effect can be found!
- It’s a slightly expensive type of dry dog food, which might put a dent in your wallet over time.
Best Dry Dog Food Brands
While the brand isn’t the most important thing, it’s still something for you to think about when you’re looking to buy dog food. Branding is essential because it helps you understand the mission of the company you’re buying from, the reliability of the company, and what other products that the brand offers might be like.
Brands allow a lot of diversity at times when they’re making a lot of products, especially dog food brands. You might find a dog food by a brand that comes in salmon flavor and is cheap, but then find another product from the same company that comes in a very expensive and with many more flavors offered.
The best dog food brands are commonly regarded as follows:
- Rachael Ray dog food
- Purina dog food
- Puppy Chow
- Taste of the Wild
- Acana Regionals
When you’re shopping for your dog’s food, you shouldn’t just look at these though, because sometimes the big brands are the ones that screw you over time and time again! A lot of these brands only really care about the bottom line, and that’s why they’re constantly changing their prices and doing whatever they can to get ahead.
When you’re dealing with a dog randomly getting sick of the same food you’ve been using for a long time, understand that it could be something more. You should immediately switch foods if you think your dog doesn’t like that food anymore, but if the symptoms persist, then you should go to the vet to find out if something more is wrong with your animal.
There are some new option on the market that we are excited about. One is a new line of high-end kibbles from a new brand - Jinx dog food. Jinx's kibbles are based around a "modern dog" feeding theory, which is designed to help your furry buddy get the nutrition she needs to stay healthy. Another type of new option is fresh food subscriptions from some brands like Nom Nom and Ollie pet. These companies will ship fresh, healthy meals that you refrigerate.
HOW TO PICK THE PERFECT DRY DOG FOOD
If you’re going to be looking for the best dry dog food, then you should do the following when you’re trying to find the absolute perfect kind for your dog:
- Understand that not all dogs are the same, and even if a product is rated 5 stars, you shouldn’t just automatically assume your dog will react well to it. Every dog has a different DNA, and their stomachs might be sensitive to one thing and not sensitive to another.
For example: grain is something that a lot of dogs can’t handle, but if your dog can handle it, then your options will be much wider! - Try out your first dog food by buying the smallest size. You might be paying a lot of money for the small size (in terms of price per pound), but you can give your dog some sampling which will determine whether or not your dog will enjoy that kind of dog food.
The worst thing in the world would be buying a huge, expensive dog food package only to find out that your dog doesn’t like it. - If your dog doesn’t like that food, then you should immediately move onto the next. The first thing you should do if your dog doesn’t like the food is to note what the main features of that dog food are.
You should not buy from the same brand again, and if, for example, the kind you bought was full of corn, you shouldn’t buy a corn-based meal for your dog again. - Keep doing trial and error until you find the right kind for your dog. When you find the right kind of dog food for your dog, just continue to buy it until your dog gets sick of it.
Ideal Price For Dry Dog Food
Depending on the type of quality you’re aiming for, a good rule of thumb when buying dry dog food is to pay attention the price per pound of the dog food you’re buying. You should always try your best to pay less than $1 for each pound of dog food. This can save you a lot of money in the long run.
To keep things frugal, you can also do your best to try and find Amazon deals, specials, or exclusive coupons by always looking online. By doing this as well, you could end up paying a very low price to feed your dog over time.
PS: What kind of food are you feeding your dog? And If I missed anything you guys wanted me to cover, let me know in the comments below!
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