Formula version 1.2Last updated: October 2026
Every food on this site is scored with the same published formula. The score is calculated from the label (guaranteed analysis, ingredient list and AAFCO statement) and public FDA recall records. No brand can pay for a rating, and affiliate commissions never change a score.
The score at a glance
Each food gets a quality score out of 100, shown as 0–5 stars in half-star steps:
- Protein (25 points): protein on a dry matter basis25
- Fat (10 points): fat on a dry matter basis10
- Carbohydrates (10 points): carbohydrates on a dry matter basis10
- Ingredient quality (35 points): named animal proteins, unnamed sources, artificial additives, plant protein concentrates35
- Nutritional adequacy (10 points): how the AAFCO statement shows the food is complete and balanced10
- Recall history (10 points): FDA recalls in the last 5 years10
Total100
Price is not part of the quality score, so a great food is never marked down just for being expensive. As we add prices, we’ll show cost per day separately so you can compare value.
Why “dry matter basis”?
Wet food is about 75–80% water and dry food about 10%, so label percentages can’t be compared directly. We remove the water first: dry matter % = label % ÷ (100 − moisture %) × 100. For example, a kibble with 26% protein and 10% moisture has 28.9% protein on a dry matter basis.
How much is water
The formula
dry matter % = label % ÷ (100 − moisture %) × 100
26 ÷ (100 − 10) × 100 = 28.9% protein
Labels don’t list carbohydrates the same way, so we use one of three methods, always on a dry matter basis:
- 1Older labels (crude fiber, no carbohydrate line): we work carbs out from the other values: 100 − protein − fat − fiber − moisture − ash. When ash isn’t listed, we use a typical value for that food type and say so on the product page.
- 2Newer labels with an exact fiber figure: total carbohydrate minus fiber.
- 3Newer labels where fiber is only a maximum: we don’t subtract the fiber maximum. Real fiber is usually lower than the maximum, so subtracting it would make carbs look lower than they are. We score the label’s total carbohydrate.
How each factor is scored
Protein (25 points). Foods must meet the AAFCO minimum: 18% (dry matter) for adult dogs, 22.5% for puppies and all-life-stage foods. A food at the minimum earns 5 points, rising to full points at 45%.
Fat (10 points). AAFCO minimums are 5.5% for adults and 8.5% for puppies and all life stages. Points rise from the minimum to full points at 14%.
Carbohydrates (10 points). Full points at 10% or less, falling to zero at 50% or more. Dogs can digest carbohydrates, but high-carb foods usually rely less on animal protein.
Ingredient quality (35 points):
- +10First main ingredient is a named animal protein (e.g. “chicken,” “salmon meal”): 10 points, or 5 for a named by-product. Water or broth listed first is skipped.
- +10Named animal proteins among the top 5 main ingredients: 2.5 points each, up to 10.
- +5No unnamed animal sources such as “meat meal,” “animal fat” or “poultry by-product meal”: 5 points.
- +3No artificial colors (e.g. Red 40, Yellow 5, caramel color): 3 points.
- +4No artificial preservatives (BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, TBHQ): 4 points.
- +3No added sugars or propylene glycol: 3 points.
Plant protein concentrates in the top 10 main ingredients cost 1.5 points each, up to 4, because they raise protein without adding meat: wheat gluten, corn gluten meal, corn protein meal, soy flour, soybean meal, soy protein (isolate or concentrate), pea protein, potato protein, rice protein, canola meal, and fava bean, lentil and chickpea protein. Whole peas, lentils, chickpeas and potatoes are not on this list.
Nutritional adequacy (10 points). Every food we rate must be complete and balanced under the AAFCO nutrient profiles. How the brand shows it matters:
- 10 pointsFeeding trialsAAFCO feeding trials: 10 points.
- 6 pointsFormulatedFormulated to meet the AAFCO nutrient profiles: 6 points.
- 6 pointsUnverifiedThe brand says it’s complete and balanced but doesn’t publish the official AAFCO statement online: 6 points, the same as formulated, and the page is marked “Unverified” until we check the statement on the bag. If the bag says feeding trials, the food moves up to 10.
Treats, toppers and foods for intermittent or supplemental feeding are listed but not rated.
Good to know: a feeding trial is stronger evidence than formulation, because real dogs ate the food. But the AAFCO trial is short (26 weeks) and small (as few as 8 dogs), so it can’t show long-term effects. Big companies run feeding trials more often than small brands, so a formulated food from a small brand isn’t necessarily worse.
Recall history (10 points). Minus 5 for each recall of that specific product and minus 2 for other recalls by the same brand, within the last 5 years, using FDA records.
−5each recall of this product−2each other recall by the brand
Compare foods of the same type
Wet and fresh foods are mostly water. Once the water is taken out (dry matter basis) they usually have more protein and fewer carbohydrates than kibble, so they tend to score higher. Compare a wet food with other wet foods and a dry food with other dry foods. Every list on DogFoodGrade ranks one food type at a time for this reason.
What we don’t do
- We don’t guess. If a label value is missing, the food shows “Not yet rated” until we have it.
- We don’t rank therapeutic diets for medical conditions. Prescription foods should be chosen with your vet.
- We don’t mark down grain-free foods. The FDA has investigated a possible link between some grain-free, legume-rich diets and canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Research is ongoing, so we show this as an information note on relevant foods rather than a score change.
- A score is not a feeding recommendation for your dog. Age, health, activity and allergies matter. Talk to your veterinarian about your dog’s specific needs.
Keeping ratings accurate
We check product labels regularly. When a recipe changes, the food is re-scored and the change is shown in its history. Nutrition values are read from each brand’s published label and automatically checked against the label text; we also spot-check foods by hand against the label before publishing. If you see a value that doesn’t match your bag, please tell us and we’ll correct it.
Changelog
Version 1.2October 2026Current
We recalculated every score with this version, and most scores went down, by about 5 points on average (none went up). What changed: plant protein concentrates (such as wheat gluten and soy flour) in the top 10 ingredients now cost 1.5 points each, up to 4, because they raise protein without adding meat. When a label gives fiber only as a maximum, carbohydrates are scored on the label’s total carbohydrate figure instead of subtracting the fiber maximum. The AAFCO statement is now graded: feeding trials earn 10 points and formulation 6, where every rated food used to get the full 10. Foods whose brand doesn’t publish the AAFCO statement online are marked “Unverified” and scored as formulated until we check the bag. We also fixed labels whose AAFCO statement had lost its first letter when it was collected. Caramel color now counts as an artificial color. Scores are most useful when compared within the same food type.
Version 1.1September 2026
Stricter thresholds (full protein points at 45% dry matter; full carbohydrate points at 10% or less, none at 50% or more). FDA dog food recalls from the last 5 years are now included (cat food recalls are not counted). Brand “complete and balanced” claims are accepted when the official AAFCO statement isn’t published online, and this is shown on the product page.
Version 1.0September 2026
Initial published formula.