Top Recommended 5-Star Dog Food Brands 2024

Sneak Peek : Best 5-Star Foods of 2024
Brand	Product	Price	Rating
Best Value	American Journey Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food  Buy Online  Product List  Brand Review	$1.49/lb	A+
Most Popular	Taste of the Wild High Prairie Grain-Free Dry  Buy Online  Product List  Brand Review	$1.55/lb	A+

What Does It Take for a Brand to Earn 5 Stars?

A 5-star dog food is one that is made with fresh, natural ingredients and processed in a way that preserves rather than destroys the nutritional content of those ingredients. There are many ways to evaluate the quality of a dog food brand, but most of the information you need will be right there on the package. The first place you want to look is the guaranteed analysis – this is a percentage breakdown of the protein, fat, moisture, and fiber content of the dog food. A 5-star dog food will contain at least 22% protein for puppies and at least 18% protein for adult dogs as well as at least 8% fat for puppies and at least 5% fat for adult dogs. The key words here are “at least” – a 5-star dog food will not just meet these minimum requirements, it will exceed them.

You can often tell the difference between a 5-star dog food and a 1-star dog food by looking at the first five ingredients. Dogs require a diet that is rich in animal protein, so a 5-star dog food will always list a high-quality source of meat, poultry, or fish as the first ingredient. Both fresh meats and meat meals are good examples, as long as they come from named sources (chicken meal, not poultry meal). If the first ingredient on the list is not meat, it immediately disqualifies the product as both a 5-star and a 4-star dog food. In fact, most 5-star dog foods will have more than one source of quality meat-based protein within the first five ingredients. This is not always the case, but very common. Some manufacturers use plant protein like pea protein to increase the protein content of their product without adding more meat – 5-star dog food brands do not.

Another factor that sets a 5-star dog food apart from the rest is the type of fat used in the product. In the same way that dogs need plenty of animal-based protein in their diet, they also need animal-based fats to provide energy and to help them absorb fat-soluble vitamins. Some high-quality sources of animal-based fat include salmon oil and chicken fat – again, look for named sources. Listing a source of plant-based fat does not automatically disqualify a dog food from earning 5 stars unless it is the primary or only source of fat. The amount of fat in the product will vary depending on the life stage and breed size the recipe is formulated for.

When evaluating a dog food brand, you also want to check to see what kind of carbohydrates are used as well as their digestibility. A dog’s body is more biologically adapted to digesting and deriving nutrition from animal products than plant products, so a 5-star dog food will be very meat-heavy. Quality carbohydrates you might find in a 5-star dog food include digestible whole grains like brown rice, whole grain oats, and cracked pearled barley. Gluten- and grain-free carbohydrates like sweet potato and tapioca are also acceptable. Any corn, wheat, or soy ingredients automatically disqualify a dog food for 5-star rating, as does an ingredients list that is too heavy in carbohydrates. A good value to look for is a crude fiber content less than 5%.

Finally, you also want to take a look at the length of the ingredients list as well as the items that appear toward the end of the list. As a general rule, shorter ingredients lists are better because it usually means that the nutrients in the food come from natural sources so a long list of synthetic supplements isn’t necessary. A 5-star dog food will not contain and artificial additives like colors, flavors, or preservatives and it won’t contain any non-nutritive or low-quality fillers. Natural sources for vitamins and minerals (like fresh fruits and vegetables) are always better than synthetic supplements but chelated minerals are always a valuable addition. These are minerals that have been bound to amino acids to make them more biologically valuable for your dog. Many 5-star dog foods also contain dried fermentation products for probiotic support.

Top Recommended 5-Star Dog Food Brands

If you value your dog’s long-term health and wellbeing, you should make the smart choice and feed him a 5-star dog food. Don’t just assume that because a dog food brand uses buzz words like “natural” or “premium” that it is a good brand – you also can’t assume that an expensive dog food is a good one. Fortunately, choosing a 5-star dog food is as easy as picking a brand from the list below. Here are some of the top-rated dog food brands on the market that get our 5-star rating:

The Scoop : Best 5-Star Foods of 2024
Brand	Product	Price	Rating
Best Value	American Journey Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food  Buy Online  Product List  Brand Review	$1.49/lb	A+
Most Popular	Taste of the Wild High Prairie Grain-Free Dry  Buy Online  Product List  Brand Review	$1.55/lb	A+
Blue	Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Adult Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry  Buy Online  Product List  Brand Review	$1.58/lb	A+
Castor and Pollux	Castor & Pollux Natural Ultramix Grain-Free Duck, Sweet Potatoes & Peas Entree Adult Dry  Buy Online  Product List  Brand Review	$1.97/lb	A+
Merrick	Merrick Grain-Free Real Texas Beef & Sweet Potato Recipe Dry  Buy Online  Product List  Brand Review	$2.27/lb	A+
Go!	Go! Sensitivity + Shine Limited Ingredient Diet Salmon Recipe Grain-Free Dry  Buy Online  Product List  Brand Review	$2.71/lb	A+
Halo	Halo Holistic Chicken & Chicken Liver Adult Dry  Buy Online  Product List  Brand Review	$2.46/lb	A+
Wellness	Wellness CORE Grain-Free Original Deboned Turkey, Turkey Meal & Chicken Meal Recipe Dry  Buy Online  Product List  Brand Review	$2.30/lb	A+
Solid Gold	Solid Gold Wolf King Bison & Brown Rice Recipe with Sweet Potatoes Adult Dry  Buy Online  Product List  Brand Review	$2.34/lb	A+

If you are feeding your dog one of the brands on this list, it is clear that you value his health and wellbeing. Even though it might be a little more expensive to buy one of the brands on this list, it is always worth it, for your dog’s sake.