The Best Dog Food: Discover the Best Dog Food for Your Pets’ Health

Our Promise: After reading this article you will be better informed about the factors that go into determining the best dog food for your pet. Additionally, you will be able to use our research (because we have provided links to credible sources) to make a smart, informed decision on behalf of your pet.

Why Trust Us?

Our experience with pet rescue extends over 40 years. Due to the number of dogs and cats we have rescued and fostered, we have extensive experience in selecting the best nutritional profile for our rescues while also managing a tight budget.

In our history, we have spent over $500,000 on pet food and evaluated the results across a number of pets – who were sometimes in pretty bad shape. Additionally, we are not sponsored by any pet food company, so we are able to offer you our opinion with no conflicts of interest.

The Best Dog Food for your Pet – our overall pick:

Purina Pro Plan Dog Food

For everyday feeding, Warm Hearts for Cold Noses feeds our rescues Purina Pro Plan Complete Essentials Shredded Blend Beef and Rice Dog Food Dry Formula with Probiotics.

The best dog food is about more than nutrition—it’s about ensuring that your dog lives its happiest, healthiest life. Our criteria for determining the best dog food is based on a combination of our own personal experience over many years of rescuing dogs that were at the brink of starvation and nursing them back to health, along with research from credible sources – including our experience with veterinarians.

We pick Purina Pro Plan as the best overall brand of dog food. With its scientific formulation, high-quality ingredients, and variety of options tailored to individual needs, Purina Pro Plan has earned the trust of Warm Hearts for Cold Noses. It is the only brand of dog food we use for our rescues. Here’s why it’s our top choice for the best dog food in America:

1. Scientifically Backed Nutrition
2. Tailored to Meet Individual Needs
3. High-Quality, Real Ingredients
4. Supports Specialized Diets
5. Trusted by Veterinarians
6. Great Value for High Performance
7. Positive Feedback from Pet Owners

Purina has been making dog food since 1926, when they introduced Dog Chow, along with opening the first research center dedicated to canine nutrition. In 1956, they became the first company to introduce extrusion to the pet food industry, inventing the dry dog food as we know it today.

Purina has a long history of using science to develop the best possible product for our pets. They have invested over $100 million annually in research and development to improve their products, production, procurement and quality assurance processes.

All of this investment is, of course, to help their company compete as a profitable industry-leader in the dog and pet food industry – but in the end, the beneficiary of all of this investment is your dog because it helps Purina to make the best dog food on the market today!

Scientifically Backed Nutrition

Purina Pro Plan is developed by a team of expert veterinarians, animal nutritionists, and scientists. Every recipe is backed by extensive research to ensure it meets the highest standards of nutritional quality. It’s no surprise Purina invests heavily in pet health research, ensuring their food always supports pets’ overall well-being.

The single biggest factor in our determination to choose Purina Pro Plan as the best dog food is our own experience using the products. We have taken dogs that were at the brink of starvation, and with the proper veterinary care and Purina Pro Plan foods, we have successfully nursed them back to optimal health.

Now, our experience could be classified as anecdotal, so there’s another reason we choose Purina Pro Plan as our best overall dog food in America. Purina conducted a 14 year lifespan study of how body-mass affects your dog’s lifespan. Their research is fully available to the public, and has been subject to peer-review scrutiny. This is a properly-conducted study with the conclusions based on the data derived from the study.

Key findings of the Purina life-span study:

• A 14-year life span study in Labrador Retrievers showed that when fed to maintain a lean body condition from puppyhood, and throughout life, dogs live better, longer lives.
• The median life span of lean-fed Labrador Retrievers was extended an average of 1.8 years (15%).
• Maintaining optimal body condition throughout life can delay the onset, and reduce the severity, of osteoarthritis in dogs.
• Lean dogs also showed delayed onset of other chronic and age-related diseases.

This landmark study makes the case for feeding your dog less food to maintain a healthy body weight. It does not tell you to overfeed your dog, which would cause you to buy more Purina dog food. In our view, a company that encourages you to use less of their product is one that is committed to the overall health of your pets demonstrating a high level of integrity not commonly found today.

Not only does Purina Pro Plan Dog food meet all government requirements for basic nutrition, they exceed them using the highest quality ingredients with proven results over many decades of continuous improvement and high quality manufacturing. Purina Pro Plan dog food has earned its reputation as the best dog food available.

Tailored to Meet Individual Needs

No two pets are the same, and Purina Pro Plan understands that. Whether you’re raising a playful puppy and looking for the best dry puppy food, caring for a senior pet who needs the best wet or canned dog food, or managing your pet’s specific health concerns (like sensitive stomachs or weight issues), Purina Pro Plan offers targeted formulas designed to cater to these unique needs.

Purina Pro Plan also offers a complete line of specialized prescription-only dog food formulated to improve the health and well-being of pets with specific ailments.

Among the challenges facing our dogs as they age is the tendency to gain weight. One of the best dog foods for this problem is offered by Purina’s Pro Plan Veterinary Diets OM Select Blend Overweight Management With Chicken Canine Formula Dry Dog Food.

In fact, Purina’s entire line of veterinary prescription-only formulated dog food is now available at Amazon.

High-Quality, Real Ingredients

Purina Pro Plan further establishes its reputation as the best dog food by prioritizing real, wholesome ingredients. With high-quality proteins like chicken, beef, lamb, or salmon often featured as the first ingredient, their food provides essential nutrients while delivering delicious flavors pets adore. On top of that, every formula is packed with key vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to support immune health and energy levels.

The wide selection of Purina Pro Plan canned dog foods are also made with only the highest quality ingredients. If you have a senior dog, who needs the softer texture to assist in chewing and digestion, Purina Pro Plan has you covered with their wide selection of wet foods.

Additionally, Purina is committed to full transparency in their ingredient sourcing practices. Purina makes an effort to source as many of their ingredients as possible from the United States:

“One hundred percent of our beef is sourced in the U.S., along with 99 percent of our poultry. Additionally, we source 98 percent of our grain and 100 percent of our soy here, too.”

Strict quality control of their suppliers is another hallmark of the standards upheld by Purina. It is part of their commitment to being the best dog food in America.

“Before working with a supplier, our technical team conducts rigorous sampling to ensure the ingredient meets our standards. 

We inspect each ingredient for quality and safety as it arrives at our facilities. Our quality assurance team performs multiple checks throughout the manufacturing process, and our factory employees have the power to reject any ingredients that don’t meet our high standards.”

Supports Specialized Diets

For dogs with specific requirements, such as grain-free preferences, skin and coat sensitivities, or urinary health support, Purina Pro Plan offers specialized formulas that ensure your pet’s dietary preferences and health needs are prioritized.

A word about grain-free and raw diets for dogs – they are not the best dog food for your pet…

These fads are human creations by marketing companies to get your money. These diets are not optimal for your dog’s health.

There is mounting evidence that Dilated cardiomyopathy, a “potentially life-threatening condition in which the heart’s ability to pump blood decreases because the heart’s main chamber is enlarged or weakened” (Highlands-El Dorado Veterinary Hospital) is caused by your pet’s diet.

In July 2018, the United States Food and Drug Administration reported a link between grain-free diets and dilated cardiomyopathy:

“In July 2018, the FDA announced that it had begun investigating reports of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs eating certain pet foods, many labeled as “grain-free,” which contained a high proportion of peas, lentils, other legume seeds (pulses), and/or potatoes in various forms (whole, flour, protein, etc.) as main ingredients (listed within the first 10 ingredients in the ingredient list, before vitamins and minerals). Many of these case reports included breeds of dogs not previously known to have a genetic predisposition to the disease.”

Grain-free diets seem to lack taurine, which is thought to be the cause of the increase in cases of canine dilated cardiomyopathy.

This is why we are against the grain-free and raw feeding fads, and strongly urge all pet owners to follow the guidelines recommended by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), and why we choose Purina Pro Plan as the best dog food in America.

Trusted by Veterinarians

Many veterinarians recommend Purina Pro Plan due to its reliable quality and proven results. Knowing that experts trust the brand gives peace of mind that you’re making a safe and wise choice for your furry family member.

In our experience, after caring for hundreds of animals with dozens of veterinary visits, every veterinarian we have visited has always picked Purina Pro Plan as their #1 food choice for our rescues. On multiple occasions, we have asked, “What is your choice for the best dog food?”.

The consistent response from all of our veterinarians? Purina Pro Plan

In addition to our direct experience talking to vets, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) is very clear on their nutrition requirements for pets. In 2011, WSAVA released their Global Nutrition Guidelines along with a litany of free and public tools to help pet owners in their search for the best dog food for their pets.

A few select dog food brands meet the rigorous standards set by the WSAVA. Purina Pro Plan is one of them.

Great Value for High Performance

While pet nutrition can sometimes become pricey, Purina Pro Plan strikes a balance between premium-quality food and affordability, making it an accessible option for many pet parents without compromising on quality. Not only is Purina Pro Plan the best dog food in America, it offers a solid value, especially if purchased at Amazon using their Subscription option.

While the cost for Purina Pro Plan’s food may be higher than their standard line of dog and cat foods, the nutrition density (such as calories provided per ounce of food) is generally higher than a standard-grade dog or cat food. Additionally, by purchasing a larger bulk bag of food through Amazon’s subscription service, it’s possible to decrease the overall cost per day significantly.

Nutrient and caloric density are important factors that have to be considered when assessing value and determining the best dog food. Let’s compare 3 premium dog foods: Eukanuba, Hill’s Science Diet and Purina Pro Plan.

Because of Purina Pro Plan’s superior caloric density when compared with other premium dog foods, you save a considerable amount of money when you feed Purina Pro Plan to your dog. Compared apples-to-apples, Purina Pro Plan is 31% less expensive than Hill’s Science Diet and a whopping 47% less expensive than Eukanuba.

While Hill’s Science Diet and Eukanuba are fine dog foods that also meet the standards set forth by the WSAVA, Purina Pro Plan meets and exceeds those standards at a much lower cost. In our years of rescue efforts, Warm Hearts for Cold Noses has learned to maximize every dollar. That’s another reason we choose Purina Pro Plan as the best dog food on the market.

Positive Feedback from Pet Owners

Time and again, pet parents rave about how Purina Pro Plan has improved their pets’ health and energy levels. From shinier coats to better digestion and increased vitality, the proof is in the way their pets react to the food and their overall quality of life.

At the end of the day, choosing the right food for your pet is an act of love. Purina Pro Plan’s compassionate approach to understanding pet nutrition—and their commitment to providing premium-quality solutions—makes it a standout brand that pet parents can rely on, and further solidifies them as our choice for the best dog food.

Whether your pet is a champion athlete or a cherished companion (or a little of both), Purina Pro Plan has something to offer every cat and dog in need of balanced nutrition that supports their unique lifestyles and health requirements. With over 85 years of experience in crafting top-quality pet food, you can trust that Purina Pro Plan has researched and perfected each.

Purina Pro Plan is the only brand of dog food we feed our animals and our rescues. Based on over 25 years of experience saving, rescuing and nursing dogs back to health, Purina Pro Plan is our pick for the best dog food in America.