Any dog owners know that the type of food you feed your dog will have a direct effect to the health and well-being of your dog. It is therefore important for you to choose the right food for your dog. The right food for your canine friend should have healthy ingredients that provide your dog with the nutrients he need to remain strong and healthy. If you are a new dog owner, you may be confused about the right food for your dog. If you are planning to start feeding your dog with dry food; this article will be of great help to you. The market is flooded with a wide range of dry dog food brands; making it hard for a new dog owner to make the right decision of the ideal dry food for their dog. Consumer rating and review can be of great help for new dog owners when shopping for dry dog food. Below are top 5 worst consumer rated dry dog food brands for 2023.
Pedigree
Pedigree is a dry dog food brand by Mars PetCare which is a subsidiary of Mars, INC; a renowned private company in the US. The company is known to provide a range of both dry and wet dog foods as well as dog treats. You can get foods for puppies, adult dogs as well as senior dogs from this company. The company also provides you with recipe and products for dogs based on their sizes as well as health requirements. However; despite the wide range of foods offered by Pedigree, the ingredients found in most of their foods is a common allergen for dogs. This is the reason why this brand makes it in our list of top 5 worst consumer rated dry dog food brands. Most foods from Pedigree contain whole grain corn. Other than their foods having whole grain corn which is an allergen to dogs, the food also consist of heavy carb and poor-quality fillers which provide minimal nutritional value to your canine friend.
Pedigree has suffered numerous recalls in the past years. The most recent recall occurred on August 2014 and was about claims of metal rubbles in the food. In 2012, they also experienced a recall that involved claims of pieces of plastic in the food. The company has also had another recall about possible salmonella contamination. Due to these issues, it is advisable for you to keep off from Pedigree when looking for dry dog food. It is a popular dry dog food due to its affordability as well as availability but it is one of the worst dry dog foods for your dog.
Alpo
Alpo dog food is a dog food brand that has been around for about 80 years. According to their marketing, they claim to produce meat-rich dog foods. However; their foods are full or low-quality ingredients as well as artificial additives. The company mainly produces wet dog foods but also has a few dry dog food products. Their wet dog foods are available in different flavors which they claim to be cooked in savory juices together with other ingredients such as bacon and fillet mignon. The ingredients list of most of their products list meat by-products and some artificial flavors. The dry food option provided by Alpo consists of low-quality fillers such as ground yellow corn and plant proteins such as soybean meal.
Despite their 80 years of experience producing dog food, Alpo has faced many recalls affecting most of their products. The recalls were about possibility of melamine contamination. The unhealthy products found on Alpo dog foods are artificial preservatives, color and flavors; meat by-products; animal digest amongst other unsafe ingredients.
Purina Dog Chow
Purina Dog Chow is the oldest product from Nestle Purina PetCare Company. The company was launched in 1893 and was called Ralston Purina Company. The company has several different product lines. The product is available in diverse recipes for puppies, large dogs, small dogs, adult dogs, weight management recipes as well as natural formulations. Some of the recipe such as the classic Dog Chow contains whole grain corn, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, chicken by-products among other unfit ingredients. The product is characterized by non-nutritive ingredients that are also unhealthy for dogs. The only reason that most people tend to buy this product is due to its affordability.
The brand has also faced a number of recalls over the years but none of the recalls has directly targeted the Dog Chow product line. Watch out for other unhealthy ingredients such as animal digest, artificial preservatives, artificial colors and artificial flavors found in Purina Dog Chow.
Grreat Choice
Great Choice brand is by PetSmart; a leader retailer of pet products in the United State. The brand provides a range of dry dog food products for adult dogs, puppies, small breed dogs as well as large breed dogs. Their products are not only easy to get in PetSmart stores all over the country but they are also very affordable. Great Choice products contain wheat, soy, corn and other ingredients that are not listed such as poultry fat and bone meal. They describe their products as complete nutrition for health and vitality but that is not the case. Their products are filled with low-quality ingredients and artificial additives which are not only unhealthy but also unsafe for your dog to consume.
The brand has also experienced two recalls in the past years. The first recall was on 2007 and involved claims of possible melamine contamination in the food while the second recall was on 2009 and involved possibility of salmonella contamination in the food.
Royal Canin
Royal Canin is one of the largest pet food brands that have a wide range of products. It was founded in 1968. Their wide range of products is divided into different product lines based on health status, breed size, life stage of the dog, lifestyle and the breed size. The brand even provides breed-specific recipes. However, despite the different recipes for different dogs, the ingredients found in most of their products are similar. Their products mainly contain animal by-products, corn and wheat which make the products high in carbohydrates. There are no chelated minerals listed on their ingredient list but you can never be sure of the presence of other low-quality ingredients in their products.
Royal Canin brand has experienced several recalls in the recent history, mainly because of possible melamine contamination. The brand also experienced two recalls in 2007 and another recall in February as a result of high levels of vitamin D3 in the food.
Conclusion
The above are the top 5 worst consumer rated dry dog food brands for 2018 that you should avoid. The above brands use low-quality ingredients and additives to their dog food thus making their products unhealthy for your dog. You need to choose a dry dog food brand with healthy ingredients that provides your dog with the necessary nutrients it needs to remain healthy. Avoid food brands whose products contain corn, wheat or meat by-products. Most of the low-quality dry dog foods brands are very cheap. Always remember that the health and well-being of your dog should come first when choose dry dog food.