DogExpress
Giving your pooch the best dog food is a priority for most of us pet parents, but sometimes you have to rely on packaged foods to ensure that your dogs are getting the right and optimum nutrients essential for their growth.
With the pet food industry seeing huge growth in the last 5 years, there are a plethora of dog food options now available to choose from in the market.
However, the most popular dog food brands that are available in the Indian market may not be the best dog food option for your pooch.
In the article, we have listed the top 10 dry dog food brands that are available in India.
We have listed the top 10 dry dog food brands under two categories:
- Not Recommended
- DogExpress Recommended
The products listed inside the “DogExpress Recommended” category are not chosen by us under any paid services contract or promotional advertising services. DogExpress being the best dog website in India makes the following recommendations purely based on facts and personal choices derived from experience.
Let’s start with the products that we DO NOT recommend and the reasons why you should avoid choosing them.
Not Recommended Dry Dog Food Brands In India
1. Pedigree
Shocked? Don’t be. Most of the highly advertised products are not the best products in the market. 5 years ago, Pedigree used to be the first choice for many dog owners. However, things have changed a lot in the past few years. The quality of the food isn’t up to the mark.
The main ingredients in Pedigree dry dog food are chicken or meat by-products, corn, and gluten meal. Using cheap fillers has caused degradation in their food quality. Also, many dogs are allergic to gluten. The meat byproducts and bone meal are taken from leftover carcasses that include animal bones, nails, feet, and feathers.
In fact, the kind of meat is not even specified in any of their formulae. If you don’t know what you are actually giving your dog, it can be harmful to them.
2. Eukanuba
Although it has fresh meat as its first ingredient, the nutrient value (protein) is reduced to one-fourth after being cooked. The main protein in the food is derived from corn, rice, and other byproducts that are not easily digestible by the dog. Some byproducts may cause severe food allergies in dogs as well.
3. Drools
Similar to Eukanuba dry dog foods, the fresh meat on its ingredient list is not as fresh in terms of its raw nutrient value. The rest of the food composition includes grains, byproducts, and unknown meat. The non-disclosure of what type of meat is being used in the food along with no breakdown of ingredients in the byproducts, makes this food highly unsafe for your pet dog.
The dog could get an allergic reaction and may not be able to digest the food properly. The nutrient value isn’t good enough to ensure the good growth of your dog as well.
4. Happy Dog
The reason this is on the “not recommended” list is due to the non-disclosure of the kind of meat used as the main ingredient in the food. Moreover, the total meat content is around 25-30% only. There are cheap fillers such as grains and gluten meal that is not at all healthy for a dog.
5. Nutra Nuggets
While this American dog food brand holds an AFFCO certification, the amount of meat in the total composition of dry food isn’t enough. However, the ingredient quality is assured by AFFCO. We give an average rating to this food product.
DogExpress Recommended Dry Dog Food Brands In India
1. Arden Grange
It is a European dog food brand that shows a complete breakdown of initial ingredients on its product label. It is rich in both fresh meat and meat meal. The composition includes only 30% grains and most of it is rice. We recommend this as rice is far better than corn or wheat.
The nutritional value is quite high in this food product with other healthy things added such as beetroot pulp, fish oils, eggs, etc. The fat content in the food is pretty low which makes it a healthy dry dog food option for your pooch.
2. Farmina’s N & D low grain (Highly Recommended)
This product has never been recalled for any kind of issue. It is one of the best dog food companies in the world. It is an Italian brand with a perfect breakdown of ingredients on the product label. It has only 20% of oats and other healthy options.
It has rice which is easier to digest as compared to corn. It has 60% fresh chicken meat, the best in nutritional value as compared to any other product on the list we have mentioned so far. It also has 35% crude protein, which is the highest of any dog food product available in India.
3. Taste of the Wild
It is the only grain-free food available in India. It introduces duck meat which is highly nutritious and has high protein essential for the dogs. It also includes various fish meat as well, high in protein and healthy fish oils.
One of their batches was recently recalled due to chances of salmonella, but overall the food quality is good and can be preferred based on the raw nutritional value of the food composition. The ingredient breakdown is easy to understand and the percentage-wise distribution of the food is appreciable.
4. Nutra Gold
This dog dry food product is certified by AFFCO. The main ingredients include turkey, chicken, and other premium-quality meats. The nutritional value of the food is high and good for most dogs. You should note that it also contains grain as well. We recommend this food for an adult dog. The formula for adult dog food is quite good.
5. Royal Canin
It is a widely marketed brand and has been gaining quite popularity in the Indian market. Their main ingredient is rice and it is present in all of their formulas. The second main ingredient is poultry protein which as per AFFCO is a result of clean meat.
The best thing about Royal Canin is that it ensures that its ingredients are of high quality and suitable as per their age-specific formulas. The thing to note here is that it also contains grains and lots of proteins that come from vegetables.
Dogs being natural carnivores have a hard time breaking down vegetable proteins. The dog may have digestive issues if put on a regular diet of Royal Canin.
Conclusion
It is not easy for a first-time pet owner to choose dog food. The vet recommendations maybe sometimes biased due to product affiliation or sponsored services.
It is why we listed our unbiased recommendations based on facts and it is up to you to choose the right dog food for your pooch. We just hope that we’ve helped you in your search for the best dog food for your dog and now you know what to exactly look for in a food product before buying.
Remember, it is not about the brands but the quality it contains.
in Chandigarh, India. 
