WDJ’s 2025 Approved Dry Dog Foods: Search Over 1,100 Varieties

Check out Whole Dog Journal's 2025 list of approved dry dog foods, with more than 1,000 varieties! Did your dog's food make the list?

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We’re excited to now present information about every single one of the dry dog foods made by the companies on our “Approved Foods” list, including their complete ingredients lists. This feature is available only to our paid subscribers. Even more exciting: This is a searchable database. You can use filters to find foods that meet many specific needs for different dogs.
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Nancy Kerns
Nancy Kerns was the founding editor of Whole Dog Journal in 1998. She now devotes her time to teaching dog-training classes and training dogs for The Canine Connection in Chico, CA, and as a volunteer for her local animal shelter, the Northwest SPCA in Oroville, CA.

61 COMMENTS

  1. On past approved lists, Blue Buffalo Life Extension and Purina Bright Mind were highly rated. This list they are not mentioned at all. Why are they no longer recommended or even included? Or am I mistaken?

  2. I’m very disappointed to see numerous foods on here I would never feed to a dog of mine for reasons including multiple dogs have developed diet-related dilated cardiomyopathy while eating them (see info on the FDA looking into this) . I have friends whose dogs were affected. Some survived by changing diet as prescribed by board certified veterinary cardiologists. I have used some of these very same brands but won’t ever again. Another brand on this list has failed plant inspections (and I’ve used this brand as well–has very appealing advertising–unfortunately the food is not the quality represented). Some of the reports of what was found was really disgusting. I suggest that Whole Dog Journal move to only recommending specific formulas from brands that have conducted feeding trials. What the labels say is in these foods and how well dogs actually do on them (stay healthy as verified by blood and other diagnostic tests) can be very different.

  3. I’m wondering why you’ve categorized many products as ALS (all life stages) when they are clearly labeled/marketed by the manufacturer as either Puppy or Adult and some even more specifically labeled as Large Breed Adult or Large Breed Puppy. So are you saying, for instance, that Fromm Gold Large Breed Adult food is fine for puppies?

    • I know it’s confusing. — especially when companies name and label their foods with contradictory clues, like your example.

      There are two sets of nutritional standards: Adult maintenance and growth/reproduction. Foods that are formulated for “adult maintenance” meet one set of nutritional requirements. They are not suitable for puppies, or pregnant or nursing mothers. Products that meet the requirements for “growth/reproduction” may be labeled as “Puppy food” but it’s the AAFCO statement on the bag that matters. The statement on products that meet the AAFCO standards for “growth/reproduction” may say that they are formulated to meet the nutrient requirements for “growth” or “all life stages” (meaning they meet the standards for nutrition for adults AND puppies AND nursing or pregnant mothers).

      In our table, we included which set of AAFCO nutrient standards were met, according to the AAFCO statement on the label. The food you reference says this on the label: “Fromm Family Large Breed Adult Gold Food for Dogs is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for growth and maintenance, including growth of large size dogs (70 lb. or more as an adult).”

      Its name includes “Adult” — but it meets the nutritional standards for large breed puppies AND adults. Hope this helps!

  4. You haven’t considered Grand Cru, is this because it is manufactured solely in Quebec, Canada and may not be available in US? It is one of my favourite dry foods and my dogs have loved it, so I’m interested in your opinion.

  5. There is a printable version in the print magazine that lists a summary of information about each company on the list, including how many foods they make,how many grain-free, how many include meat,meal,or both,etc. … but, no, printing out the entire 1,200-food list is not something we imagined anyone would want to do. What, exactly, do you want to print?

  6. I just tried that search and did not get any of those in the results. To be clear, you have to add a separate filter for each, so you have four total filters: Ingredients does not contain chicken, ingredients does not contain peas, ingredients does not contain lentils, grain-free or inclusive is inclusive. Did you do that?

  7. Chicken is the number one allergen in pet foods.
    If you can start with excluding that from the diet, see if it helps.
    I have two mixes with full on poultry issues.
    Lamb is often used in sensitive stomach formulations. However you must read the full list of ingredients in any food you buy. Chicken fat or chicken protein can appear way down on the list of ingredients. Again, exclude this from your dogs diet. It’s a sensible place to start.