Best Dog Food

Taste of the Wild Grain Free High Protein Natural Dry Dog Food

BOTTOM LINE

Taste of the Wild makes this dog food in the United States and from natural ingredients. The formula features all the antioxidants and vitamins and minerals that growing dogs need.

PROS

Made from natural ingredients such as venison, this food will help dogs develop leaner muscles and provide them with antioxidants. It comes in both larger and smaller packages.

CONS

A small number of pet owners claimed that their dogs didn’t like or wouldn’t eat the food. Some wish that the price was lower too.

Natural Balance Ultra Premium Wet Dog Food

BOTTOM LINE

Both puppies and older dogs will like this Natural Balance dog food, which uses vegetables and good grains. It includes a good mix of fats, fibers and proteins for growing and older dogs.

PROS

Designed for dogs with sensitive stomachs, this wet dog food uses natural vegetables rather than meats. That blend of ingredients makes this product suitable for all dogs.

CONS

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Iams Proactive Health Adult Dry Dog Food

BOTTOM LINE

Made from real ingredients such as chicken and vegetables, this food is suitable for adult and older dogs. The chunks inside are small enough for most tiny breeds too.

PROS

Backed by scientific research and development, this dog food helps dogs stay healthier and live longer. It features real chicken and other ingredients to boost overall health.

CONS

Some dogs may not like the flavor of this food. It can also cause dogs to use the bathroom more often.

Hill’s Science Diet Wet Dog Food

BOTTOM LINE

This wet food is part of a healthy and balanced diet and can help your dog lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. The recipe uses chicken and barley with other natural ingredients.

PROS

Suitable for adult dogs up to six years in age, this wet food can help you maintain your dog’s weight. It comes packed with ingredients that help your dog fill up faster.

CONS

The product may arrive with some can dents or other damage. A few shoppers said that their dogs didn’t care for its taste.

Nutro Wholesome Essentials Puppy Dry Dog Food

BOTTOM LINE

Larger breed puppies will like the larger pellets and the great taste of this dog food. All the natural ingredients will help with bone growth and muscle development.

PROS

Featuring wholesome and natural ingredients such as chicken and sweet potatoes, this food aids in the development of a growing puppy. It features proteins and some healthy fats.

CONS

Some dogs may prefer one of the other recipes. A few reviewers claimed that the food pellets were a little too large for their dogs.

Shopping Guide for the Best Dog Food

When you treat your dogs like small members of your own family, you need to feed those animals the right type of food. The best dog food for 2023 is one that will extend the life of your pet. You’ll find a number of different options such as wet or dry food. Dry food features crunchy pellets, while wet food has a softer texture. When searching for the top dog food of 2023, you may want to consider the age of your pet too. Products designed for adult dogs do not give puppies all the nutrients that they need.

Our shopping guide to the best dog food is the ultimate resource for any new pet owner. You can also use our guide if you just brought home a new dog to keep your others company.

This guide goes into greater detail about the top five foods that you can see at the top of the page and includes great information on how to buy a new type of food. You’ll even get tips on how to feed your dog and when to cut back on feedings because your pet is overweight. We recommend that you start at the top of the page and work your way down to the bottom of the shopping guide.

Selection Criteria

It’s important that you exercise caution when buying dog food because you want to avoid recalled products. Online retailers are good about removing those products to keep shoppers and their pets safe. Recalls can occur because of contaminants found in the facility that processed and packaged the food. As we worked on our list of the best dog food for 2023, we made sure that all the products we included are readily available online. You can purchase larger bags and boxes that come with multiple cans and have the food delivered right to your home.

Our shopping guide to the best dog food includes products recommended by top pet experts and specialists. We took their recommendations and checked the product reviews and descriptions on Amazon to see if real pet owners loved those products as much as the experts did. Only the products with the highest average ratings and the lowest number of negative reviews appear on our list. We also looked at the cost per ounce as well as the overall cost of the product and the ingredients listed on the packaging. As you work your way through this shopping guide, you’ll learn how to buy the right food for your dog.

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Types of Dog Food

When it comes to picking a new dog food for your pet, you might think that it boils down to a simple choice between wet and dry food. Manufacturers today actually make a number of different options that are suitable for older dogs and puppies. We’ll go over both wet and dry food as well as all the other types that you can buy and the pros of each one.

Dry Dog Food

Also called kibble, dry dog food is a type of food made from hard pellets. Companies take ingredients and mix them together. They will then dry or bake the food until it forms crunchy pieces. As your dog eats and crunches down on the food, it will remove plaque and tartar from its teeth. Dry dog food is often the most affordable option and is easy to store. You can use the expiration date on the packaging to determine when you need to throw out the old food and replace it with a new batch. Dry foods can contain a large number of fillers and/or artificial ingredients.

Wet Dog Food

Wet dog food goes by a few different names, including canned food and moist food. It comes in both cans as well as pouches and trays. Pouches often contain a single serving. You can tear off the top and pour the food into your dog’s bowl. Trays have a foil or paper lid that peels off. You can let your dog eat right from the tray. With cans, you’ll need to store any leftovers in your refrigerator. Though some pet owners think that wet food is better for their pets, it may not contain as many nutrients as you thought. These foods can also make your dog have messy and loose stools.

Semi-Moist Dog Food

You might remember seeing commercials for semi-moist dog food in the past. While this type of food isn’t as popular today as it was during the 1980s, it’s still readily available online and in pet stores. Semi-moist food walks the line between wet and dry products. It comes in boxes that have a number of smaller plastic bags inside. You can divide one bag into multiple servings or feed a larger dog the whole bag at meal time. Semi-moist dog food looks like small pellets that are soft to the touch. Many of these products use a lot of artificial ingredients and do not provide dogs with the nutrients that they need.

Refrigerated Dog Food

The next time that you walk down the pet food aisle at your favorite grocery store, keep an eye out for the refrigerated section. This section will contain refrigerated foods that use natural ingredients. When you open one of these packages, you can clearly see fresh vegetables such as peas and carrots mixed with real cuts of beef and other meats. You may find that you prefer saving this type of food for special occasions rather than using it for every meal. Refrigerated dog foods are much more expensive than the other types and require that you keep the food at the right temperature between servings.

Refrigerated Dog Food

One of the more unique types of dog food sold today is a freeze-dried product. Manufacturers use this process to keep the food safe from bacteria. With freeze dried food, you must measure out a serving and mix it with water before feeding your dog. A similar product comes fully frozen. You’ll need to leave the food in your refrigerator for several days until it thaws before giving it to your dog. Both frozen and freeze-dried products are popular with pet owners who want to feed their dogs natural and organic ingredients. The products can cost up to four times as much as dry or wet food does.

Tips for Using Freeze Dried, Frozen and Refrigerated Dog Food

Benefits of Store-Bought Dog Food

Some pet owners assume that feeding their dogs a daily diet of home cooked meals is better than using store-bought food. You can choose all the fresh vegetables and other ingredients that you want to use such as meats and grains when making your own food. This is a lengthy process though and will cost more than you expected. The top benefits that store bought foods have over homemade foods include:

Less expensive: Depending on the size of your dog and its feeding schedule, the cost of making meals can easily hit $10 to $20 or more every day. You can spend the same amount on bagged or canned food that will last much longer.
More convenient: Unless you work from home or only work a few hours a week, you may not have the time that it takes to made homemade meals from scratch for your dog. Packaged foods let you measure the amount that you need in seconds.
Easier to store: Store bought dog foods are easier to store too. You can keep unused cans and bags in your pantry or garage. Canned foods go right into the fridge after serving, while bagged foods will fit into cabinets and storage containers.

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Finding a cordless vacuum that you can afford isn’t quite as difficult as you might think. Those on a budget will like the BLACK + DECKER model on our list, which sells for just $50. Many of the hand-held models that are smaller in size cost less than the stick vacuums that look like traditional cleaners.

Dyson makes a number of top of the line vacuums that are best for those who have more money to spend. While a full-size ball vacuum can easily cost $500 to $600 or more, the V7 stick retails for $400 and often sells for around $300. You’ll find other models like the V6 that cost a little less.

Three of the top vacuums that we found sell for between $100 and $200. These models have great features like a handle that you can lock in place to reduce discomfort in your hands and a warning light that indicates the battery life remaining. Hoover and Makita both sell cordless vacuums for around $100, while Eureka offers a cordless model that retails for closer to $200. Spending just a little more money than you expected will help you find a vacuum with more features.

Tips for Using Freeze Dried, Frozen and Refrigerated Dog Food

How Old is Your Dog?

One of the top things to consider before buying any type of dog food is the age of your pet. If you just adopted a new dog and aren’t sure of its age, you should talk to a veterinarian before implementing a feeding schedule and using a specific type of food.

Dog food typically comes in formulas designed for puppies, adult dogs and senior or mature dogs. Some manufacturers use the term older dog on their packages. Dogs grow at a rapid rate over the course of the first year or two. Those animals need a food that features more healthy fats and proteins. Those ingredients will help them develop better bones and muscles.

Senior formulas contain more proteins and fatty acids that help dogs maintain their current lifestyles. You can typically start feeding your dog this type of food once it hits the six-year mark. Some senior dog foods can also reduce the risk of your pet developing serious medical conditions, including arthritis and heart disease.

Many companies also make standard foods designed for adult dogs. They refer to these dogs as those who are at least one year old up to around five to seven years in age.

Dog Food and Dog Breeds

Have you ever eaten out at a restaurant before and got a burger or sandwich that was so big you worried whether it would fit in your mouth? Your dog might experience the same thing every time it sits down to eat because you bought the wrong size food. It’s important that you know the breed of your dog and its weight or size before you buy.

Small breeds are dogs that weight between 20 and 25 pounds or less, while toy and miniature breeds can weigh less than 10 pounds. These dogs have smaller mouths and jaws and require smaller pellets or pieces of dry food. If you give a small breed dog a larger type of food, it may have troubles both eating and swallowing.

Medium breeds can weigh as much as 55 or even 60 pounds. These dogs can handle both larger and smaller pieces of food.

The largest breeds weigh more than 60 pounds. Some manufacturers make foods designed for giant breeds that weight more than 100 pounds and even larger dogs. These foods feature different ingredients that will help your dog maintain its weight as it grows. The best foods can even keep your dog from developing painful conditions such as arthritis.

How Active is Your Dog?

Not all dogs are as active or as excitable as others. Depending on the age and breed of your dog, you may find that it only lifts its head off the floor when a stranger comes to the door or when it’s time to take a walk. When choosing a new type of dog food, you must consider how active your dog is right now. The problem with feeding a less active dog a food designed for more active dogs is that it will contain more fats and proteins. Active dogs have so much energy that they can burn off those calories in no time while playing outside or running through the house. If your dog is less active, you’ll likely find that it gains weight because it consumes more calories than it burns.

Certain breeds require much more physical exercise than others. A collie or any other type of herding dog, for example, may need up to two hours or more of physical activity every day. If your pet does not get the physical exercise that it needs, it will pack on the pounds. Foods that have fewer calories and fats are better for dogs who are less physical.