| Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon & Rice Formula ★ #1 | Purina Pro Plan | $77 | 89 |
| Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley Recipe ★ #2 | Hill's | $87 | 87 |
| Size Health Nutrition Medium Adult ★ #3 | Royal Canin | $100 | 84 |
| Lamb & Rice Formula ★ #4 | Purina ONE | $55 | 83 |
| Fresh Dog Food Subscription ★ #5 | The Farmer's Dog | $6/day | 81 |
| N&D Ancestral Grain Chicken & Pomegranate Medium/Maxi ★ #6 | Farmina | $87 | 80 |
| Adult Gold ★ #7 | Fromm | $65 | 79 |
| ProActive Health Minichunks ★ #8 | Iams | $47 | 79 |
| Chicken & White Rice Recipe (Fresh Frozen) ★ #9 | JustFoodForDogs | $11 | 78 |
| Adult Medium Breed Chicken ★ #10 | Eukanuba | $75 | 78 |
| Grass-Fed Beef & Ancient Grains Merit cut. The best traceability in the category — every ingredient's origin is published and third-party certified, and there are no recalls on file — but the recipes are formulated rather than feeding-trial backed, no staff veterinary nutritionist is published, and at about $1.73 a day for a 30 lb dog it is the priciest dry food we screened. Three points below the #10 score. | Open Farm | $90 | 75 |
| Ollie Fresh Dog Food Subscription Merit cut. Fresh food formulated with veterinary nutritionists and priced like The Farmer's Dog (published estimates run about $5.60–$6 a day for a 30 lb dog), but without published AAFCO feeding trials behind the recipes — the evidence gap is exactly what separates it from the ranked fresh food. Price is an estimate; Ollie quotes per dog after its signup quiz. | Ollie | $6/day | 74 |
| Nom Nom Fresh Dog Food Subscription Merit cut. Fresh subscription food formulated by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist on staff, with strong owner satisfaction, but no published feeding-trial substantiation and quote-only pricing (published estimates around $7 a day for a mid-size dog) put it just under the line. | Nom Nom | $7/day | 73 |
| Wholesome Grains Red Meat Recipe Merit cut. High-animal-ingredient, grain-inclusive food from Champion's own US kitchens (now Mars-owned) with loyal owners, but formulated rather than trial-backed, premium-priced per day, and Acana was the brand named most often in the FDA's 2019 DCM report summary (67 reports — correlation only; causation was never established). | Acana | $84 | 72 |
| Life Protection Formula Chicken & Brown Rice Merit cut. Enormously popular and perfectly adequate nutrition, but formulated rather than feeding-trial backed, made through co-manufacturers, and carrying the heaviest recall file among mainstream brands (multiple recalls in 2016–17, including a lead-related canned recall and a thyroid-hormone topper recall). At grocery prices, the trial-backed Purina ONE at #4 offers more proof for less money. | Blue Buffalo | $68 | 72 |
| CORE Original Turkey & Chicken (Grain-Free) Merit cut. A well-made, high-protein grain-free kibble from a company with real QC investment, but formulated rather than trial-backed, priced at a premium per day, and the grain-free positioning keeps the unresolved DCM-era questions attached. A 2017 recall of a beef topper for potential thyroid hormone also sits in the brand's file. | Wellness | $80 | 71 |
| Grain-Free Chicken & Sweet Potato Merit cut. Texas-made (Nestlé Purina-owned since 2015) with strong palatability and owner loyalty, but formulated rather than trial-backed, grain-free in its flagship form, and its recall history runs through treat lines (2018 beef treats, salmonella). Merrick was also named in the FDA's 2019 DCM summary (16 reports; correlation only). | Merrick | $69 | 70 |
| High Prairie (Roasted Bison & Venison) Merit cut. Genuinely good value per bag and dogs love it, but it is made by Diamond Pet Foods, is formulated rather than trial-backed, is grain-free and legume-forward, and was named third-most-often in the FDA's 2019 DCM summary (53 reports; correlation only, causation never established). Diamond's own 2012 salmonella recall remains one of the largest in the industry's history. | Taste of the Wild | $59 | 68 |
| Hi-Pro Plus Held out on accountability. The food itself is a respected high-protein working-dog kibble at a fair price, but in late 2023 maker Mid America Pet Food recalled every brand it produces after a Salmonella outbreak strain was linked to Victor Hi-Pro Plus — seven human illnesses, six of them infants — and later settled the class action for $5.5 million. Under our accountability criterion, that record keeps Victor out of the ranking until time and clean production rebuild the file. | Victor | $55 | 66 |
| Adult Chicken, Rice & Vegetable (Costco) Merit cut with a scope note. The cheapest way to feed a dog in America (about $1 a pound online, less in the warehouse) and the food itself is a sound Diamond-made recipe — but it is formulated rather than trial-backed, the maker is a co-packer rather than the brand, published nutrition detail is thin, and buying requires a Costco membership. If budget is the whole decision, this is the pool's rational pick; on evidence it cannot displace the ranked foods. | Kirkland Signature | $25 | 65 |
