Dog Food Grading Scale

Here's an interesting tidbit I received in my email and thought I'd share:

How to grade your dog’s food: Start with a grade of 100
1. For every listing of “by-product,” subtract 10 points
2. For every non-specific animal source (meat, poultry, meal, or fat) reference, subtract 10 points
3. If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
4. For every grain mill run or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points
5. If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients
(i.e. ground brown rice, brewers rice, rice flour are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
6. If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
7. If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
8. If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points
9. If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
10. If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points
11. If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
12. If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
13. If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points
14. If it contains beef (unless you know that you dog is not allergic to beef), subtract 1 point
15. If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:
1. If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
2. If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points
3. If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
4. If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
5. If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
6. If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
7. If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
8. If the food contains barley, add 2 points
9. If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
10. If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
11. If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
12. For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count chicken and chicken meal as only one protein source), add 1 point
13. If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
14. If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

Score:
94-100+ = A The best!
86-93 = B Still good!
78-85 = C May need to change or add additives.
70-77 = D Need to think about changing.
0-69 = F Awful! Make a change!


Some Dog Food Scores:
Alpo Prime Cuts. . . . . . . . 81 C
Artemis large/medium breed puppy. . . . . . . .114 A+
Authority Harvest Baked. . . . . . . .116 A+
Bil-Jac Select. . . . . . . .68 F
Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice. . . . . . . .83 C
Canidae. . . . . . . .112 A+
Chicken Soup Senior. . . . . . . .115 A+
Diamond Maintenance. . . . . . . .64 F
Diamond Lamp Meal and Rice. . . . . . . .92 B
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula. . . . . . . .99 A
Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Ultra Premium. . . . . . . .122 A+
Dick Van Patten’s Duck and Potato. . . . . . . .106 A+
Eukanuba Large Breed Adult. . . . . . . .83 C
Eukanuba Natural Lamb and Rice. . . . 87 B
Foundations. . . . . . . .106 A+
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold. . . . . . . .93 B
Iams Lamb Meal and Rice Formula Premium . . . . . . . .73 D
Innova Dog . . . . . . . .114 A+
Innova Evo . . . . . . . .114 A+
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables. . . . . . . .110 A+ COSTCO / Price Club
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice. . . . . . . .87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy. . . . . . . .87 B
Ol Roy. . . . . . . .9 F Wal-Mart
Pedigree Adult Complete. . . . . . . .14 F
Pedigree Complete Nutrition. . . . . . . .42 F
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb and Rice. . . . . . . .23 F
ProPlan Natural Turkey and Barley. . . . . . . .103 A+
Purina Beneful. . . . . . . .17 F ***
Purina Dog. . . . . . . .62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It. . . . . . . .16 F
Royal Canin Boxer. . . . . . . .103 A +
Royal Canin Bulldog. . . . . . . .100 A+
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult. . . . . . . .106 A+
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice. . . . . . . .97 A
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+. . . . . . . . 63 F PetsMart
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies. . . . . . . . 69 F
Solid Gold. . . . . . . .99 A
Timberwolf Organics Lamb and Venison. . . . . . . . 136 A+
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken. . . . . . . .110 A+
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold. . . . . . . .97 A

More info is available at Dog Food Analysis.
Some foods may have been reformulated since this initial evaluation and their values may have changed.