Learn · The skeptic’s library
How to read a dog food, honestly.
Most pet-food advice is marketing in disguise or confident opinion with no method. This is the other thing: how to evaluate a bag yourself, what the claims actually mean, and how PetScored scores. Start with the guide, keep the references handy.
Start here
How to choose a dog food
The whole method in eight steps - AAFCO statement first, read the back of the bag, do the calorie math, check the recall record, ignore the front. The single page to read if you read only one.
Read the guide ›References
Keep these open while you shop.
What marketing claims actually mean
Grain-free, human-grade, holistic, vet-recommended - our verdict on the words on the front of the bag: regulated, conditional, marketing, or contested.
Formats, by the evidence
Kibble, wet, fresh, freeze-dried, raw, air-dried - how much evidence stands behind each format's premium positioning, separate from how good any one bag is.
Glossary
Plain-English definitions for the terms PetScored uses - AAFCO, dry-matter basis, kcal/kg, guaranteed analysis, evidence tiers, source confidence.
How we score
The deterministic rubric: five sub-scores, one composite, visible source confidence. Same inputs, same score, every time.
Recall index
Plain-English recall status by brand, matched against FDA enforcement records, with a free recall-alert email signup.
Royal Canin alternatives
Where Royal Canin actually lands on the rubric, plus scored dog foods that match or beat it, including cheaper foods that rate higher.
The Farmer's Dog alternatives
Why we hold rather than score fresh subscription diets, plus the fresh-cooked and highest-scoring dog foods we do verify.
Blue Buffalo alternatives
Where Blue Buffalo's mainstream recipes land on the rubric, plus dog foods that match or beat them, including cheaper picks that score the same.
Hill's Science Diet alternatives
Where Hill's mainstream recipe lands, why price is its weak spot, and the dog foods that match or beat it for far less, including ones that score higher.
Purina Pro Plan alternatives
Where Pro Plan lands, why ingredient clarity holds it back, and the cleaner-label and cheaper picks that match or beat it, including Purina's own ONE line.
Fancy Feast alternatives
Why nearly all wet cat food scores in the 6s, the better canned options, and where the real score gains are if you will weigh the hydration tradeoff.
Friskies alternatives
Where the cheapest grocery can lands, the wet foods that edge it out, and the dry foods that score a lot higher if you weigh the hydration tradeoff.
ZIWI Peak alternatives
One of the highest Brand Trust marks we give, and a Value mark of 2. Air-dried runs about nine times the dog-food median per 1,000 kcal. What scores higher for a quarter of the price.
Stella & Chewy's alternatives
The highest protein in the dog catalog, and a 6.7. The bigger finding: not one freeze-dried or air-dried recipe we score clears 7.1, and every one lands at 2 or 4 on Value.
Acana alternatives
Meadowland scores 6.0, held down by an Ingredient Clarity mark of 4 of 10. The 54 dog recipes that reach the top clarity band, and the ones that also outscore it.
Eukanuba alternatives
Adult Large Breed scores 6.9 at about $1.52 per 1,000 kcal. Every large-breed recipe that beats it costs less, one of them for half the money.
Beneful alternatives
Better than its reputation at 6.6, and beatable without leaving the budget aisle: the same-shelf foods that outscore it, several of them cheaper.
Rachael Ray Nutrish alternatives
Real Beef scores 6.9 with an Ingredient Clarity of 3, the lowest we anchor a hub on. The clear-label foods that beat it, one of them for less.
Instinct alternatives
Instinct's own Be Natural scores 7.8 while its flagship Original scores 6.5. The in-brand upgrade, plus what outscores it elsewhere.
Weruva alternatives
Clean label, brutal invoice: about $34.21 per 1,000 kcal and a Value mark of 2. The cans that match or beat it for as little as a seventh of the cost.
Orijen alternatives
Why the most animal-forward label in the catalog scores 5.7, and the protein-forward recipes that outscore it for far less per 1,000 kcal.
Taste of the Wild alternatives
The famous High Prairie bag is the lowest scorer in its own lineup. The in-house ranking, plus chicken-flag-free picks that beat it.
Iams alternatives
Minichunks scores a solid 7.2 but prices above its shelf. Everything that scores at least as high for the same money or less, ranked.
Pedigree alternatives
Better than its reputation at 7.1, and still beatable for less: everything that outscores the dry adult bag, ranked cheapest first.
Wellness alternatives
Complete Health scores 7.7 with no weak leg, so the honest list of upgrades is short. Here it is, plus the in-brand switches that no longer pay.
Merrick alternatives
The signature Grain Free Salmon is strong at 7.5; the price is the soft spot. Fish-first recipes that match or beat it, ranked.
Nutro alternatives
Natural Choice scores 5.8 while Nutro's own Ultra line hits 7.3. The in-brand fix, plus the same-shelf recipes that outscore it.
Ollie alternatives
Every fresh-cooked food we score lands within half a point of Ollie's 6.7, and the top kibble clears them all. Both lists, ranked.
Meow Mix alternatives
The orange bag scores 6.6 almost entirely on price. The upgrade ladder, starting with a full point of score for about six cents a day.
Tiki Cat alternatives
An excellent protein label priced at the top of the wet aisle. The canned foods that match or beat it for roughly a third of the cost.
Tools
Do the math, then compare.
From the desk
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Does your dog need a multivitamin? Usually not.
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