NATAKi

How to grade your dog's food:

Start with a grade of 100:

• For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points
• For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points
• If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
• For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points
• If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first fiveingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer's rice", "rice flour"are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
• If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
• If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
• If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points
• If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
• If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points
• If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
• If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
• If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points
• If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to beef), subtract 1 point
• If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

• If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
• If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points
• If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
• If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
• If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
• If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
• If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
• If the food contains barley, add 2 points
• If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
• If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
• If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
• For every different specific animal protein source (other than thefirst one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one proteinsource, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point
• If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
• If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

Categories:

94-100+ = A

86-93 = B

78-85 = C

70-77 = D

<70 = F

Here are some foods that have already been scored. If you don't see your dog's food here, ask and someone will score it for you.

Dog Food scores:

Alpo Prime Cuts / Score 81 C

Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy / Score 114 A+

Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+

Authority Harvest Baked Less Active / Score 93 B

Beowulf Back to Basics / Score 101 A+

Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F

Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice / Score 83 C

Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice / Score 106 A+

Burns Chicken and Brown Rice / Score 107 A+

Canidae / Score 112 A+

Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+

Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F

Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B

Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A

Diamond Performance / Score 85 C

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+

Dick Van Patten?s Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice / Score 106 A+

Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+

EaglePack Holistic / Score 107 A+

Eukanuba Adult / Score 81 C

Eukanuba Puppy / Score 79 C

Flint River Senior / Score 101 A+

Foundations / Score 106 A+

Halo Spot Stew Salmon Flavour / Score 109 A+

Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B

Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D

Innova Dog / Score 114 A+

Innova Evo / Score 114 A+

Innova Large Breed Puppy / Score 122 A+

Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+

Member's Mark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C

Merrick Wilderness Blend / Score 127 A+

Nature's Recipe / Score 100 A

Nature's Recipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice / Score 116 A+

Nature's Variety Raw Instinct / Score 122 A+

Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice / Score 81 C

Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy / Score 101 A+

Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B

Nutro Max Adult / Score 93 B

Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B

Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B

Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A

Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+

Orijen Adult 6 fish/ Score 118 A+

Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F

Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry / Score 109 A+

Pro Nature Puppy / Score 80 C

Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach / Score 94 A

Purina Benful / Score 17 F

Purina Dog / Score 62 F

Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F

Purina One Large Breed Puppy / Score 62 F

Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+

Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+

Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+

Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F

Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F

Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A

Solid Gold / Score 99 A

Summit / Score 99 A

Taste of the Wild High Prairie Canine / Scode 121 A+

Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural Dry / Score 120 A+

Wainwrights Turkey & Rice puppy / Score 112 A+

Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+

Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

Useful links:

Dog Food Analysis