Below, we’ve listed 265 freeze-dried, air-dried, or dehydrated dog foods that meet our selection criteria for a high-quality food. They appear in a searchable database that includes every bit of information you might need to know—and can search on or filter—about each product:
- Company name
- Product name
- Formulation type (which dogs the product is formulated for: adults only or “all life stages”)
- Growth of large-breed puppies (whether the product is appropriate for large-breed puppies or not)
- Nutrient profile (how the nutritional adequacy of the product was determined: by virtue of meeting AAFCO’s nutritional requirements or by feeding trials)
- Grain inclusivity (whether the product is grain-inclusive or grain-free)
- Drying method (freeze-dried, dehydrated, or a combination of the two)
- Guaranteed minimum amount of protein
- Guaranteed minimum amount of fat
- Ingredients (a list of all of each product’s ingredients)
- Price per ounce (calculated using the smallest price we found for the largest size of the product)
- A link for buying 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.)
The products in this database can be sorted by clicking on the top of each column, enabling you to find the products alphabetically by company, by their amounts of protein and fat, life stage or suitability for large-breed puppies, or price per ounce. Click on the top of the column a second time to see them in the opposite order (low to high, or high to low, for example).
You can also use filters to find or eliminate products based on their ingredients or protein or fat levels. Say you are looking for a food that contains beef, does not contain chicken, and has less than 25% fat. Just apply the appropriate filters and voila!
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.
Difficult for those of us who live in Canada as most of these brands are unavailable. Please could you review some Canadian brands? e.g., Grand Cru, manufactured in Quebec by CaniSource? Low temp dehydrated raw food. Crude minimum values: protein 28%, fat 16%, fibre 3%, moisture 8%. Several different protein source varieties and available in both grain and grain free formulas. ‘canisource.com/grandcru’
My girls (10 & 13 yo Labs) have been eating The Honest Kitchen Beef , grain free for years and am very happy with it…and so are they!
How has the criteria in 2023 changed from 2022? I couldn’t find any changes. What am I missing?
Unable to read on my iPad. I’m am disappointed text is too wide for viewing to review it. So far very disappointing to try reading anything.
why is Carna4 no longer on the list?
Christina, and Teresa I see Honest Kitchen Chicken and oatmeal both with and without grain whole food clusters gently dehydrated and baked
Christina, I had to hunt for The Honest Kitchen but found it. They only included the grain-free formulas (that I found). We’re feeding the Chicken with oatmeal with good results so far.
Hello, I am a new subscriber and for 12 years we fed Honest Kitchen Chicken (with oatmeal) dehydrated along with a grain-free Wellness Core kibble to our sweet girl Kiki, who we lost in February 2023 (at 15.5 years old). I hope that you will see my comment here, and let us know why Honest Kitchen did not make the cut in your list here. This is very timely for us, as tomorrow we are bringing home a 5.5 month old rescue pup. We want to make the best food choices (that we can *afford*) for her. Thank you.
Wondering why Nutra Complete is not on the list
I’ve been feeding a combination of Vital Essentials (a.m.) and Honest Kitchen (p.m.) for quite some time now. My dogs are 8 and 11 and see vet only for annual checkups, titer. (Dachshund and Beagle mix) NEVER had any digestive issues with either one of them. If one considers the amount one has to feed, it’s well worth investing in some food which is a bit pricier, but better quality. You have to feed less. 😉