Orijen
I'll let Champion Pet Foods do the talking about what they call Biologically Appropriate food:
The Biologically Appropriate concept is simple: Help cats & dogs achieve peak health by including the right ratio & quantity of fresh animal ingredients – the very protein-rich ingredients they’re anatomically evolved as carnivores to eat.
Then, be sure to exclude those high-carbohydrate ingredients, like cereal grains, that don’t belong in the natural diet of cats & dogs.. High-protein, low-carbohydrate & grain-free, ORIJEN features high inclusions of fresh regional ingredients in a Biologically Appropriate ratio of 70% meat, 30% fruit & vegetables… and no grains whatsoever.
By better matching the foods that dogs & cats are evolved to eat, ORIJEN ‘Nourishes as Nature Intended.’ The result is the peak health and happiness of your companion dog or cat.
Canine Caviar
There isn't a food on the market quite like this. For anyone who has ever considered feeding raw, but still desires the convenience of a dry kibble, Canine Caviar offers a solution. The carbohydrates (either grains or or grain-alternatives, depending on formula) are cooked separately from the meats--and the meats aren't cooked at all.
That's right, Canine Caviar is a dehydrated-raw kibble, leaving all the nutrient benefits of pro-biotics and good bacteria. This is as close as a dry kibble gets to reproducing a dog or cat's natural diet. The line includes Chicken & Pearl Millet, Lamb & Pearled Millet, Venison & Split Pea (grain-free), and also a Special Needs formula, which is a particularly effective to alternative to many prescription diets.
A portion of the proceeds from this product go to the Canine Caviar Cancer Research Foundation.
Merrick Before Grain (B.G.)
The brand new line of grain-free food from Merrick, the company that brought you Grammy’s Pot Pie, Cowboy Cookout, and other home-style favorites. With a lower protein and fat profile than most grainfree foods, and even freeze dried blueberries and acai (ah-SAH-ee) berries--a literal super-food from the Amazon full of antioxidants andanthocyanins--Before Grain screams ‘attention to detail’. There are three dry formulas, easily numbered for your convenience (who remembers what they buy anyway?): Chicken (#1), Salmon (#2) and Buffalo (#3).
Merrick
The “regular” Merrick line is anything but. The formulas that include chicken--i.e. Grammy’s Pot Pie and Turducken--use organic chicken. Freeze dried fruits and vegetables are added after the cooking process so as to preserve their maximum nutritional value. And this family-owned company, which makes all their stuff in Texas, doesn’t believe healthy food has to taste bad; instead, they add a special home-style gravy to every formula, which is activated with just a little water. The aforementioned formulas are accompanied by Cowboy Cookout and Wilderness Blend to round out a whole spectrum of flavors.
Prairie (Nature’s Variety)
When you want to put on muscle, or need more energy for a big race you’re running over the weekend, do you eat a steak artificially engineered with more protein and fat? That’s basically what so-called “puppy” foods do, and “senior/lite” foods are just the opposite--backing off the protein and fat to adjust for the lower activity level. Nature’s Variety does things differently--completely nutritious foods that can simply be adjusted in quantity to meet special needs (feed more to puppies, working dogs, etc.) Prairie is all-life-stages food with the highest quality ingredients, and even montmorillonite clay, which contains over fifty trace mineral compounds. And they’re not done there, after the kibble is produced (in the USA by the way), they add their own “Bio-Coating” of freeze dried raw meat and essential oils; this allows Prairie to deliver some of the benefits of raw food (a dog’s natural diet) in kibble form, and also lends to fantastic palatability. There are five formulas: Chicken, Beef, Lamb, Venison, and Salmon.
Instinct (Nature’s Variety)
The Nature’s Variety line wouldn’t be complete without a set of grain-free foods. The Instinct line carries all the benefits of Nature’s Variety’s Prairie foods (human grade, all life stages, “Bio Coating”, etc.)--but without any grains. Also unique to Instinct is the starch that it uses to bind the kibble. All dry dog foods must have a starch (usually grains) of some sort to “glue” the kibble together in processing; grain-free foods obviously must use something different, and typically the answer has been potatoes (white or sweet depending on the company). Nature’s Variety instead uses tapioca. The company tells us the risk of producing a carcinogen from processing potatoes at such a high heat is too great, and also that tapioca is so underexposed to dogs that very few, if any, are allergic to it. The dry kibble comes in three formulas: Chicken, Duck & Turkey, and Rabbit.
Canidae
It’s tough to find a better value in the entire pet food industry than the offerings from Canidae (cat lovers: see Felidae). It’s still hard to believe the price that Canidae allows us to offer these products for, but that doesn’t mean they do it by cutting back on quality; the “Canidae way” is just the way it should be: human-grade, meat free of antibiotics and hormones, and
made in the USA with care. It also includes ten skin and coat conditioners, including some which are incredibly high on the ingredient list: flax seed, for instance, comes fifth, right after the fat source. Canidae is probably the company most associated with the all-life-stages philosophy, with a complete line of varieties/flavors of foods tested and proven to meet the needs of all breeds and ages.
New! Canidae Grain-Free Formulas
In addition, to their original All Life Stages (chicken, turkey, lamb and fish), Chicken & Rice, and Lamb & Rice formulas, Canidae has added a new Grain Free All Life Stages, and Grain-Free Salmon Meal formula to their lineup. The same ingredient quality, packed with meat and tons of quality calories per/cup you expect from Canidae, now without any grains. Come check them out!
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul
It's a mouthful, and it may seem gimmicky, but don't be fooled; Chicken Soup is a great dog food, for a great price. Completely free of corn, wheat, soy, and by-products, for around $35 for a 35lb bag, this holistic food is one of the best values on the market.
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