Choosing Dog Food Wisely: Brands, Ingredients, and Transparency Matter

As dog pawrents, we want the best for our doggo family members. But with so many dog food brands on the market, deciding what to feed dogs can feel overwhelming. 

Beyond marketing claims and flashy packaging, there are critical factors that guide our choices, like ingredients quality, sourcing transparency, recalls and customer lawsuits.

Brands We Avoid and Why

Some of the largest commercial dog food brands are widely available, but they come with concerns that, for us, are hard to ignore:

1. Purina (including Pro Plan, Beyond, and other premium lines)

• Ingredient transparency: Often uses vague terms like “meat and bone meal” or “animal by-products” without specifying the source.

  
  

• Sourcing concerns: Ingredients may come from multiple global suppliers, making quality control inconsistent.

  
  

• Recalls: Purina has had multiple recalls, even in premium lines, showing that testing and ingredient control are not foolproof.

  
  

• Protein-first argument: Not all of Purina’s dog foods are protein-first. While some lines list protein first, digestibility and quality of ingredients remain questionable.

2. Hill’s Science Diet, Hill’s Prescription Diet

• By-products: Uses unspecified meat by-products and fillers, such as corn and wheat gluten.

  
  

• Recall history: Hill’s has experienced recalls due to vitamin imbalances and contamination.

  
  

• Veterinary endorsement limitation: While vets often recommend Hill’s, the endorsement only confirms “complete and balanced” nutrition, not ingredient quality or sourcing.

3. Iams, Eukanuba

• Ingredient vagueness: Like other large brands, uses meat by-products without clarity.

  
  

• Marketing vs. reality: Often promoted as premium, but the actual quality can vary significantly. 

4. Other Big Names: Royal Canin, Nutro, Pedigree

• Generic by-products and fillers: Corn, wheat, and soy fillers often take up a significant portion of the kibble.

  
  

• Recall patterns: Frequent recalls across multiple products for contamination, labeling errors, or nutrient imbalances.

  
  

• Veterinary certification: As with Hill’s, certification ensures minimum nutritional standards, not ingredient and sourcing integrity.

Why Recalls Don’t Equal Quality

Some consumers argue that frequent recalls indicate rigorous testing. In reality, recalls often happen because brands fail to consistently monitor ingredient quality. A brand with repeated recalls may reflect systemic quality control issues rather than responsible safety protocols.

Certification Doesn’t Mean Good

Most “certification” in pet food refers to meeting AAFCO nutrient profiles. That standard ensures a food is not deficient, but it doesn’t mean ingredient quality, sourcing transparency, or, potentially, long-term safety.

Industry-Funded Research

Research is often industry-funded. Companies like Purina, Mars, and Hill’s fund much of the published research in veterinary nutrition. While this research has value, it also creates conflicts of interest.

A vast amount of peer-reviewed research in pet nutrition comes from large corporations like Nestlé Purina, Mars Petcare (Royal Canin, Iams, Pedigree), and Hill’s.

Industry-funded research can still be rigorous, but we have to remember: it’s not neutral. The concern isn’t that the science is not real, but that other questions don’t get asked, what data is not published, and how data is used to support a company’s business goals.

We respect our veterinarians deeply, but we also believe in reading labels, looking at recall history, and asking tough questions about where ingredients come from. A brand should earn our trust through transparency and quality, not through marketing and the endorsement of veterinarians they pay. 

What We Look For 

When choosing dog food, we focus on:

• Specific ingredient labeling: Names of meats should be clear (e.g., “chicken,” “beef”) rather than animal by-products.

  
  

• Transparent sourcing: Brands that openly share ingredient origins demonstrate higher accountability.

  
  

• Consistency and digestibility: Observe how your dog responds to the food. Even a premium label won’t work if your dog does not fare well with it.

  
  

• Third-party quality testing: Independent certifications beyond veterinary endorsement can provide more confidence in dog food quality.

Brands We Love and Why

When we find brands that align with our values of transparency, quality, and dog health, they earn our trust and a spot in our home. These are some of the brands we love, and why they stand out:

Open Farm

Open Farm leads with ingredient integrity. Every recipe comes with traceable sourcing, meaning you can look up exactly where the ingredients came from. The team explicitly lists its ingredients, like wild-caught Pacific salmon.

Stella & Chewy’s

Founded with a mission to bring raw nutrition safely to more dogs, Stella & Chewy’s uses responsibly sourced proteins and focuses on minimally processed, freeze-dried and raw-coated foods. This is a Wisconsin-based company known for consistent quality and clear labeling, with ingredient lists that read like real food, not lab formulas.

Dr. Harvey’s

Dr. Harvey’s blends science and whole-food nutrition. Its mixes and base foods use recognizable ingredients like rolled oats, carrots, and sweet potatoes. The brand’s transparency about ingredients and preparation lets you fully customize meals based on your dog’s needs.

BIXBI

BIXBI’s Liberty and Rawbble lines are packed with real meat and are currently free from fillers, by-products, and artificial preservatives. We like that the brand is transparent about sourcing U.S.-raised meats and uses functional ingredients, like mushrooms, to support immune health. 

Fromm

A fifth-generation, family-owned Wisconsin brand, Fromm stands out for its consistency and rigorous quality control. All manufacturing happens in its own facilities, allowing complete oversight from sourcing to packaging. The team also maintains an excellent recall history. 

KOHA

We love KOHA for its devotion to clean, minimal-ingredient nutrition that aligns with our values of ingredient clarity and digestibility. KOHA’s dog food recipes consistently list a high-quality meat or novel protein as the first ingredient, with no corn, wheat, soy, or potato fillers. Many formulas are designed specifically for dogs with sensitive stomachs or food allergies.  KOHA holds a strong place in our trusted lineup.

Making an Informed Choice

Feeding your dog isn’t just about brand reputation or marketing claims. It’s about understanding where the ingredients come from, how they’re processed, and whether the product truly supports your dog’s health. Avoid brands with opaque ingredient sourcing, repeated recalls, and heavy reliance on by-products or fillers. Your dog deserves food that nourishes them fully and consistently.