Below, we’ve listed more than 1,100 foods that meet our selection criteria for a high-quality food. They range from moderately priced to expensive foods (super cheap foods don’t meet our selection criteria). You’ll notice that certain store brands, with ingredients that meet our criteria for quality foods, do not appear on our list of “Approved Foods.”
Approved Dry Dog Foods
On this page, we have provided the following information about every individual product made by each of the companies on our Approved Foods list:
- Company information (city, state, phone, website)
- Line (if the company identifies a product as part of a certain product line)
- Name of the product
- Its complete ingredients list
- Whether the product is grain-free or grain-inclusive
- Whether the product is made with a named meat, a named meat meal, both, or none (in the case of vegetarian foods)
- Whether the product is formulated for adult maintenance or dogs of all life stages
- The minimum % of protein
- The minimum % of fat
- The price per pound (we used the largest size available of each product to calculate this; per-pound prices are higher for smaller bags)
- A link for purchasing the product. (Note: If you buy a product using the link, we may earn a commission. Whole Dog Journal is reader-supported and does not accept money for its food and product reviews.)
Note that if you don’t see the name of a company or product you were expecting to see, try the product name (or, conversely, the name of the company who makes it). We’ve listed each company’s products under the best-known name. So, for example, the foods made by Champion Pet Foods are listed under “Acana” and “Orijen.” But “Gather” and “Now Fresh” are listed under their maker’s name, Petcurean.
We’re excited to be able to use this online platform to present information about every single one of the dry dog foods made by the companies on our “Approved Foods” list in the form of a searchable database. You can use filters on the page below to find foods that meet the specific needs of any dog.
You can also have fun with ordering the data by clicking on the top of any of the columns. What are the most expensive foods on our list? Click the top of the “average price per pound” column! Click on it again to see the least expensive foods. Looking for especially high-protein or low-fat foods? Click on the top of those columns to order the 1,100-plus foods by the amount of these nutrients.
We’re excited about the possibilities of this searchable database, and hope you find it to be helpful for finding good foods for your dogs. Keeping your dog’s individual needs in mind, try some new products, switch frequently – and always watch your dog! Note the date that you start feeding any new food on a calendar and record your dog’s physical responses to the switch, good and bad. If you pay attention, he’ll let you know what works for him (and what doesn’t) with his appetite, energy, skin and coat, stool, and weight.
Click here to read more about our favorite dry dog foods in a number of different categories.
Searchable Dry Dog Food Database
Whole Dog Journal is reader-supported. If you purchase food through links on our site we may earn a commission. Whole Dog Journal does not accept money for its food and product reviews.



You can as many more filters as you need to further refine your list of candidate dog foods. For example, you can use the filters to find a grain-free food that contains no peas and is made with meat meal only. (Note: If you are trying to avoid a certain ingredient, add every iteration of that ingredient you can find. For example, if your dog can’t tolerate peas, look for a food with no peas, pea starch, pea fiber, or pea protein.)
Or, you can find grain-inclusive foods that contain beef, have less than 15% fat, and are formulated dogs of all life stages. Use as many filters as you like! 





SO ARE HAPPY WITH ACANA GO BEYOHD THE FIRST INGREDIENT FREE RUN POULTY RECIPE? OUR DOG IS 9 YEARS OLD A SHIH TZU. THANK YOU.
I feed mine mainly Acana Freshwater fish. She’s 11 years old and still looks like and plays like a puppy, she has zero health problems.
BTW, I also give her canned Mackerel 2-3 times a week
SO YOU ARE HAPPY WITH ACANA GO BEYOHD THE FIRST INGREDIENT FREE RUN POULTY RECIPE? OUR DOG IS 9 YEARS OLD A SHIH TZU. THANK YOU.
why isn’t the CARNA4 venison recipe not on the list anymore?
LOVE carna4!
I noticed there is not any Hills listed.
It is what my Vet recommended and of course sells.
I need to have my Westie on a low fat food due to borderline pancreatitis.
Would someone please investigate appropriate protein levels for healthy adult dogs? My veterinarian and my dog’s breeder both said 22% -26%, with a stretch to 28%. Even some trainers will tell you that high protein levels can affect a dog’s behavior. Why then are there so many approved foods well over 30%? Two dogs ago, I fed a food whose protein levels have skyrocketed to 32% – 36%. For now, I’m following the vet’s and breeder’s advice, feeding a food with a 24% protein level. But I’d like to have a definitive answer.
4Health (Tractor Supply). Search will not find
I too, am curious about Blue Buffalo. It was, at one time, on the WDJ list of approved foods but has been absent in recent editions of this list. Way back when, we made the switch to Blue Buffalo based on the WDJ recommendation. Is Blue Buffalo the company that Melissa Paul is referring (in terms of good advertising0? Now we are simply confused. This list of “approved” foods could be more concise. And what about hydrolized foods for dogs with allergies?
Are freeze dried raw foods a scam?
I’m concerned because I just re subscribed. I had stopped before for the reasons stated above. I worked in veterinary medicine for 40 years before retiring. I saw all the fad diets come and go. I went to a lecture recently by a veterinary geneticist who stresses that today’s dogs are NOT wolves. Our pet dogs have evolved and need healthy grains in their diets.
If the product package has a wolf I run the other way. I am looking for a dry dog food made of ingredients from the US and made in the US. No fly by night brands. I want to know the number of recalls the plant has had. And no raw food. Is anyone else looking for something like this? Or has found it?
Unfortunately I see there are many brands listed that may or do source ingredients (usually vitamin/mineral mixes) from China. With all of the issues and recalls due to ingredients from China, I find that piece of information to be very important when choosing a food for my dogs. It would be helpful for that information to be noted on the list.