Instant Dog Food Review Generator
If you find a complete food that we're not yet listing, don't worry, you can still get an idea of how we would rate it with our handy Instant Review Generator. Scroll down for our guidelines.
Guidelines
In order to get the most out of the Review Generator, it's best to stick closely to the following guidelines:
In general, as long as the ingredient list is entered exactly as it appears on the packaging or on the manufacturer's website, the generator should provide a good idea of how we would rate it.
We are, however, still working on this tool and although we are confident that it can cope with almost all ingredient formats, some errors may still occur. If in doubt, please make sure the ingredients list follows these criteria:
- THE GENERATED RATINGS ARE ONLY APPLICABLE TO COMPLETE FOODS and should not be used to rate treats, complementary foods, mixers or individual ingredients.
- The generator is only suitable for UK ingredient lists. Since ingredient definitions vary from country to country, our interpretation of an ingredient list may not be applicable overseas.
- Ingredients must be separated by commas.
- Ensure you double check spelling as any errors may lead to an inaccurate rating.
- Ingredients must be listed in order from highest percentage to lowest. If you have taken the ingredients directly from the food's packaging or from the manufacturer's website, this will usually be the case but it's always worth double checking.
- Nested brackets (brackets within other brackets) may cause errors and should be removed. For example, "30% Chicken (Fresh Chicken (20%), Chicken Meal (10%))" should be replaced with "30% Chicken (Fresh Chicken 20%, Chicken Meal 10%)".
- Not all ingredients necessarily need to be declared on the ingredients list. Some additives, for example, can be listed elsewhere on the packaging like under 'nutritional additives' or 'technological additives'. If you spot any suspicious looking ingredients outside of the ingredients list, just add them in the Advanced options' section before clicking 'go'.
- Other ingredients including some fairly controversial additives don't need to be declared at all so the only way to get a full picture is to contact the manufacturer and ask for a full ingredient breakdown including any undeclared additives.
If you notice any errors at all, please let us know
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If you are unsure:
Tins, trays, pouches, (non-frozen) chubbs etc are all wet foods.
Raw complete foods come frozen.
Fresh foods are precooked and come chilled.
Dry foods can be harder to distinguish but as a general rule, if it doesn't say the dry food is something special on the packaging (baked, cold-pressed, freeze-dried, air-dried, semi-moist, muesli) it's probably extruded as these make up the vast majority of the market.
Although this information can affect a food's rating, they aren't absolutely essential for a quick overview so don't worry if you don't have it.
Wet, raw and fresh foods should declare their moisture content on the packaging in the 'typical analysis' (aka 'analytical constituents'). Dry foods, on the other hand, are not required to declare their moisture content so many don't. If in doubt, just leave it blank and we'll set it to the average moisture for the selected food type.
Manufacturers do not need to declare which selenium supplement they use but if they do you'll find it in the 'nutritional additives' section or, very occasionally, in the ingredients list (aka 'composition'). If in doubt, contact the manufacturer or just select 'not sure'.
Manufacturers do not need to declare which copper supplement they use but if they do you'll find it in the 'nutritional additives' section or, very occasionally, in the ingredients list (aka 'composition'). If in doubt, contact the manufacturer or just select 'not sure'.
Carrageenan is typically only used in wet foods but manufacturers are not required to declare its use. Where it is declared, you will either find it in the ingredients list (aka 'composition') or possibly under 'technological additives'. If in doubt, contact the manufacturer or just select 'not sure'.
Sometimes labelled as the 'composition'.
To get an accurate instant review, it's very important that the ingredients list is entered correctly. Scroll down for our guidelines.
Mixing bowl composition
This is the ingredients list as printed on the packaging or manufacturer's website.
Think of the 'mixing bowl' composition like a recipe - all the ingredients you would need to put in a 'mixing bowl' in order to make the food.
Ingredients have to be listed in descending order of their weight so the higher it appears, the more there is.
Highlighted ingredients
Ingredients that we believe to be controversial or inferior are highlighted in yellow with particularly low grade, highly contentious or excessively vague ingredients in red.
Information in italics is not usually avaialble on the ingredients list but has been provided to us by the manufacturer to help with our ratings.
As fed composition
While the 'mixing bowl' composition is useful for knowing what went into the food, it doesn't always reflect what your dog is actually eating. This is because the processes that turn the ingredients into the finished pet food can significantly alter the relative weights of the ingredients.
For this reason we've calculated the approximate 'as fed' percentages for the main ingredient categories in the finished product.
Please note that these figures are very approximate. They are estimates based on the information provided by the manufacturer in the ingredients list so the clearer the terminology and the more percentages they provide, the more accurate our estimates will be. Wherever information is lacking, we always assume the worst.
Ingredient categories
◉ Meat ingredients: includes all meat and fish ingredients except isolated fats/oils.
◉Added oils and fats: includes all isolated oil and fat ingredients.
◉ Carb-rich ingredients: includes all ingredients derived from grains, pseudo-grains, potatoes and other starchy root vegetables, sweet potato and legumes (except whole peas which are categorised under fruit and veg) except for isolated protein and extracted oils. Also includes fibre supplements.
◉ Fruit and veg: includes all whole vegetables and fruits.
◉ Other: all other ingredients. Mostly made up by nutritional supplements and additives.
For more information on any ingredient, please take a look at our Dog Food Ingredient Glossary
Approx ideal weight
% over/under weight
Approx daily calories
Suggested starting daily feeding amount
Heather H •one year ago
I’ve tried the Review Generator a number of times, followed the instructions and double checked spellings etc., not working, all that appears is a blank rectangular box when I hit the Go button.
Heather H
Heather H
•one year ago
Apologies! Now working, my error.
BeeBonnet •one year ago
The owners of this site seem oblivious to the reports that grain free foods using peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, lentils and other legumes are causing DCM heart valve problems in dogs. Dogs are actually dropping dead! Look it up! Grain free with potatoes and pease is MUCH WORSE than grains!
BuzzBee •2 years ago
HI, I’m getting so frustrated using this site. I just a LOW FAT wet food for my Border Terrier who suffers from reflux. PLEASE HELP?