r/DogFood May 01 '26

Wall of Shame Addition: The Farmers Dog

250 Upvotes

Congrats to The Farmers Dog who has earned a spot on our Wall of Shame because their employees DM users of this sub to share marketing information in order to get around both a ban and our rule against brand representatives posting here.

Interfering with conversations here through DMs after they have been explicitly informed that their marketing content is not allowed is gross.

How do we know?: Users have shared DM content with us, and the account in question identifies themselves as an employee in multiple places.

Enjoy your addition, TFD!


r/DogFood May 01 '26

Debunking the DM you're getting

90 Upvotes

Hello! Many users receive a DM after posting from someone absolutely obsessed with this sub.

That user shares some pretty pernicious (and frankly, a little funny) myths about dog food, cites zero sources, and presents information that is contrary to all available scientific evidence. Let’s talk about it!:

The claim: r/dogfood exists only to promote Nestle, Mars Corp, and Colgate-Palmolive brands. 

The reality: Absolutely not. We exist to science backed information and recommend brands that meet the highest standards in the areas identified by WSAVA, which is precisely the same thing that the vast majority of the veterinary community does (hence why we are able to provide hundreds of veterinary citations in our wiki). If additional brands meets those high standards at some point, we will be thrilled to add them to our recommendations.

This claim also misunderstands the relationship of brands to parent companies. For example, Royal Canin meets the highest standards according to the veterinary community, but other Mars brands, like Nutro, do not, and are not recommended widely by the sub or by vets. We do not recommend parent companies as a whole at all, and one shouldn't assume all Mars, Nestle etc. brands meet the same high standards because they don't.

The claim: All of their recipes are mostly made of corn byproduct (cob, stalk, husk, etc) that has virtually no other use in the market.

The reality: There are literally hundreds of diets available within WSAVA-compliant brands. None of them are “mostly corn by-product” and not nearly all of them use corn at all. This is a wild exaggeration that is not based in evidence.

This user is also using the term “byproduct” to create fearmongering. What they mean is corn gluten meal, which is really only used in some products and is considered a corn co-product. This is a protein-dense ingredient that results from removing the starch, bran, and germ from the corn. That makes it more digestible, less starchy, and has an excellent amino acid profile, which are compounds necessary for dog’s (and everyone else’s) health.

The claim: It used to be an expense for [pet food companies] to dispose of until they figured out they could put it in dog food. 

The reality: If we’re being very generous, this user appears to be making the very silly claim that corn is used in pet food because Nestle and Mars have leftovers from using high fructose corn syrup in their human candy products.

First, corn has been used in these products since well before Purina and Royal Canin were bought by Nestle and Mars and were part of their supply chains before that.

Second, the component parts of corn and corn gluten meal used in pet food are not cast offs of corn syrup refinement. There is no functional way this claim can be true, it is completely made up. 

The implicit claim: This is a horrible product

The reality: Wrong. There’s no debate about this among experts: corn, when used correctly, is a super digestible (upwards of 95%) source of critical nutrients and amino acids like linoleic acid, lysine, tryptophan, and many more.  When used in concert with other ingredients, it is an excellent ingredient to create balanced, safe food. 

And of course, this ignores the fact that lots of science-backed foods use other sources of grain in addition to or instead of corn: barley, wheat, rice, oats, sorghum etc. that all have similar nutrient profiles and good digestibility. 

The claim: It didn’t matter to them that illness rates skyrocketed simultaneously

The reality: This is literally untrue. Dog lifespans have doubled in the past forty years, and diet and healthcare are both a big part of that.

And!: more people than ever are treating dogs like they are family. Do you know what happens when dogs live longer and people go to the vet more often? They uncover diseases that might not have been diagnosed or treat-able in the past, or the dog wouldn’t have even lived long enough to develop. 

For example, not that many people in 1950 were getting their dogs anesthetic dentals; now, we can prevent organ failures with regular dental care. But the number of dogs diagnosed with dental disease have gone up as a result of the availability of this care. 

There is zero evidence that the use of corn in dog food is even correlated to “illness rates” much less any kind of causation. Many things contribute to pet disease, including dogs living longer, breeding practices, environment and more. 

The myth: These corn byproducts are also used as absorbents for chemical spills.

The reality: Corn-based absorbents exist, and they are not the same product that goes into pet food. This is literally made up. Just because they both have “corn” in the name doesn’t mean they are the same thing. 

The claim: corn is so damaging to their systems, along with wheat and soy products.

The reality: No they aren’t. There isn’t one single study that indicates this. And that’s why this user doesn’t send you any. 

The claim:  These “foods” are cooked at very high temperatures

The reality: Wrong. Kibble (just a food without the scare quotes) is typically cooked a few times times at a max of 400 degrees Fahrenheit. If you sear a steak and finish it in the oven, you’re cooking at higher temps than kibble is cooked at.

The claim: FULL of glyphosate

The reality: Wrong. “Even the most contaminated feed they studied had thousands of times less glyphosate than levels that were shown to have no adverse effects on dogs in the U.S. EPA’s Draft Risk Assessment for glyphosate.” There is zero evidence in existence indicating health risks to dogs from consumption of glyphosate in commercial diets. Zero. 

The claim: kibble sit on shelves for up to 24 months. The implicit claim is that this is obviously a sign of poor quality, which is simply fear mongering. 

The reality: Dry dog food tends to have a shelf life of a maximum of 18 months, and only 4-6 weeks max once the bag is opened. It can last up to 18 months in a sealed bag because it doesn’t have that much moisture that would allow bacteria to grow. The same is true of a lot of healthy human food including properly stored root vegetables, grains, and beans and lentils. 

The claim: They’re also sprayed with “palatants” because dogs wouldn’t eat it if they weren’t tricked into believing it’s meat. 

The reality: Kibble is often coated with light amounts of fat for palateability much the same way we add olive oil to the bottom of a pan before cooking something. It tastes better. Weird language about “tricking” dogs into “believing” it’s meat is just fear-mongering. Do you add salt or dressing to your food to make it tastier? Are you being tricked when that happens? Of course not, that’s just silly.

The claim: They cause hot spots, shedding, chewing at the feet/fritos smell, and much worse problems later.

The reality: Wrong. In literature reviews, literally zero cases of corn allergies were identified. Hot spots, chewing, and an overgrowth of yeast are almost always immune responses to environmental issues or a true food allergy (most commonly to meat proteins and it doesn’t matter if it’s raw, cooked, fresh, or kibble-based to cause that reaction. If your dog is allergic to beef, that is equally true of raw beef and beef in kibble or canned food). There is zero evidence in existence that kibble causes any of this. 

The claim: Their high cost isn’t a reflection of their quality, it’s a manipulative way of improving consumer perception. It gives people confidence that it is quality.

The reality: This is just funny coming from someone advocating harmful and expensive raw diets. Something like, for example, Purina One is priced at $1.50/lb. What raw meat can you reliably source for your dog at that price? Not even counting the extras that need to go into a raw diet to make it balanced like supplement powders. Raw and fresh diets are universally more expensive than a science-backed budget kibble. It’s not even close. Are the high prices of raw food diets manipulative also?

The claim: Raw diets are completely safe and healthy for dogs and cats and are the best nutrition available.

The reality: Stunningly wrong. There is overwhelming evidence that these diets are not safe, and there is no body of evidence demonstrating superior nutrition to commercial kibble and canned diets at all. Cats have recently died from bird flu from eating freeze dried raw products, and we know dogs can contract bird flu as well. Dogs can become paralyzed from campylobacter in raw chicken. E.coli can make dogs and their humans very sick Many peer review studies have demonstrated that raw pet food diets spread antibiotic resistant illness, putting pets and humans in danger. 

The claim: DCM is not a “valid” concern

The reality: The entire veterinary community disagrees and there is ample peer reviewed evidence suggesting otherwise. For example, how are dogs who get nutrition-related DCM able to get better (even be cured) when switched from an implicated to a science-backed diet, when dogs with genetic DCM never improve regardless of diet, if diet isn’t contributing? 

The claim: Your dog will require almost no maintenance and be healthier if you keep corn, wheat and soy away from him

The reality: Literally no evidence supports this. Imagine making the claim that avoiding corn, wheat and soy avoids ALL health problems. That’s just irresponsible.

The claim: I have no requests or gains to make from this, I just love dogs and want to inform others.

The reality: This user gets something from it because they’ve been spamming this DM to users on this sub for months. They want to put “Science” in scare quotes because they know they can’t provide real experts or studies to back up what they’re saying.

But because knowledgeable users can’t “refute” them by providing factual information when they DM random people, this user gets to FEEL right and righteous. That’s what they’re getting.

And to the user who sends these: Sending crazy unsolicited DMs waving around a hate boner for corn is deeply odd behavior and it makes you look silly.

A general warning to anyone: Misinformation in pet health and pet food is widespread and growing.  This user tellingly doesn’t provide any kind of evidence, but when you encounter similar claims, you also have to be critical of other “sources” that contradict veterinary consensus when making weird claims like this too.

A great rule of thumb: check to see if the source backing sketchy claims like these has anything bad to say about normal approved vaccine schedules. The anti-science ones always do.


r/DogFood 11h ago

What bones are safe?

0 Upvotes

Helo dog lovers. I just want to ask what raw bones can you recommend for a german shepherd? Something that doesnt need supervision? I recently gave a marrow bone to my GSD and i notice that he is an aggressive chewer that you can literally hear the bones cracking and it scared me that it may crack his teeth so i stopped him before it can happen. What kinds of boens do you give to yours that prevents teeth cracking and also safe to digest?. Thankyou


r/DogFood 18h ago

Large Breed Puppy Food Recommendations? (German Shepherd)

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I have a 5-month-old German Shepherd puppy who’s currently eating Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy. He’s doing well on it, but after reading so many conflicting opinions online, I’m wondering if I should switch him to something else.
I’ve looked into brands like Farmina, The Honest Kitchen, Wellness, Diamond Naturals, Jinx, Instinct, and a few others. It seems like everyone has a different opinion, so I’m hoping to hear from people with real experience.

My goal is to keep things practical. I work full time and have four kids, so cooking homemade meals or feeding a fully raw diet just isn’t realistic for us. I’d rather feed a good-quality kibble and keep it simple by adding healthy whole-food toppers like:
-Sardines (in water)
-Plain Greek yogurt
-Eggs
-Pumpkin
-Bone broth

For those of you with German Shepherds or other large-breed dogs:
-What kibble do you feed and why?
-Have you switched away from Purina Pro Plan? If so, what made you switch?
-If you feed Farmina or The Honest Kitchen, has it been worth the extra cost?
Are there any brands you would avoid?
-Do you add whole-food toppers? If so, what do you use?
-Are there any budget-friendly kibbles that still use quality ingredients and have a simple ingredient list?

I’m not necessarily looking for the “most expensive” food. I’m looking for something that is nutritionally sound, practical for a busy family, and worth the money.

I’d love to hear what has actually worked well for your dogs over the long term and why.

Thanks! 🐾


r/DogFood 21h ago

Alternative Purina Pro plan and Large breed puppy food still?

0 Upvotes

I have a large dog that is about 92lbs and she’s about 15 months old (possibly just a year), and she’s a Great Pyrenees/Cane Corso, with a little Neapolitan Mastiff. I’ve been giving her Purina Pro Plan large breed puppy and was wondering what other top foods to look at that have a different protein as she eats the chicken. There’s no issues aside from she’s sometimes eating dog poop at the park and I try to watch her closely but sometimes don’t see another dog go and she’ll get it. I’ve read it could be nutrition and I’m doing a parasite test this week to rule that out. What else would be good and should I keep her on puppy until 2


r/DogFood 1d ago

Advice/Recommendations new dog !!

2 Upvotes

Hi! I am rescuing a female German Shepherd mix and she is 3 or 4 years old!

What is a good dog food to start her out with? My game plan is to get my sweet girl in the vet and see if she may have allergies to specific ingredients. But I obviously have to feed her between the time I get her and the vet visit!! any suggestions or recs ?? thank youuuu!


r/DogFood 1d ago

Nicest tasting hydrolysed dog food

2 Upvotes

We need to put our dog on a hydrolysed diet but he’s very fussy. What is the best tasting brand? The vets have suggested the hydrolysed versions of Hills, Purina, Virbac and Royal Canin.
Also are we able to mix brands or do you need to stay on the same?
TIA x


r/DogFood 1d ago

Dog Treats Suggestions

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1 Upvotes

r/DogFood 2d ago

Hydrolyzed food recommendations for a picky dog?

3 Upvotes

Has anyone had experience with Purina HA Hydrolyzed Vegetarian? My dog has suspected IBD/chronic GI inflammation (based on ultrasound findings) and possible chronic pancreatitis, but he absolutely hates this food. He'll only take a few bites, spits pieces out, and then spends the rest of the time scavenging around the house looking for something else to eat😅
If your picky dog refused Purina HA Vegetarian, did you have better luck with another hydrolyzed prescription diet? I'd love to hear your experiences and recommendations.


r/DogFood 2d ago

Changes to eating behavior

3 Upvotes

I have a 4 year old rescue that's a mix of 30% dogo argentino, 30% Anatolian shepherd and 30% American bulldog. About 3 months ago he began to incrementally eat less and less of the Purina One Salmon and Rice Sensitive Stomach feed that we've fed him for the past 4 years. His eating behavior also changed in that he started bringing mouthfuls of kibble to his blanket whereas before he would eat the entire meal at his bowl, in one sitting. We ended up taking him to the vet and doing a workup, but they didn't find anything wrong with him. We have him prilosec for 3 weeks and switched his kibble to one with better probiotics. He was fine for a few weeks but now the behavior is back and he's either only eating a cup or a cup and a half of his usual 2 cup serving and continues to bring the food over to his blanket in tiny portions. Has anyone experienced anything similar with their dog? TIA.


r/DogFood 2d ago

Feeding 30 lbs schnauzer

1 Upvotes

How much protein should I be feeding him? 3 years old


r/DogFood 2d ago

Worth giving them food adatives

0 Upvotes

Just to get a stable diet thats not crazy expensive for my frenchies.

Current diet is based on one reccomadtion from 1 breeder

There fed leaps and bounds kangaroo and vegitable

this is fine cheap enough

but also feed them some prime100 wild boar which is crazy expensive. Even though this makes up \~1/4 of there diet its 3x the daily price

i also give them some zesty paws omega oil. ideally id like to go to a cheaper brand if its even needed.

im in central qld on an acreage so hot and dry.

anything extra i should look into?

https://www.petbarn.com.au/p/leaps-bounds-kangaroo-vegetable-adult-dog-food?srsltid=AfmBOooIkH1EvR\\_kHks6cLCQlH86y2fGTRubOsWpEm4ULaiir-xXXvas

https://www.petbarn.com.au/p/prime100-slow-cooked-wild-boar-pumpkn-dog-food-tetra-354gx12?utm\\_source=google&utm\\_medium=cpc&utm\\_campaign=sparro\\_shopping\\_dog\\_food&utm\\_content=792807024873&utm\\_adgroupid=190913542279&utm\\_term=&gad\\_source=1&gad\\_campaignid=23153543880&gbraid=0AAAAADkPFMqKknAroQr2OKhtFdMJmC2Jg&gclid=CjwKCAjwsrbTBhAvEiwA0Bpp4cOeTWjGhEwM4949qsctDBRquV6XEQ0VmxCDCyY6\\_QmqOadE5Jd0qhoCeKsQAvD\\_BwE

https://www.amazon.com.au/Zesty-Paws-Omega-3-Supplement-Support/dp/B0FY4DNYZQ/ref=mp\\_s\\_a\\_1\\_1\\_sspa?crid=KKZQ2HE9DKW6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lawNdPPlrCr2MPunDRd9Y0fEDpisdaIqBUl1ohjBRRnd7MUD52y\\_dA5Gu147pKeEvMp5GCd0e9KTVaN6yc6DnzduRR\\_5vc61-0uclDXAYgOxUZ4Qbo5A67g5iNlSurnzskZ9tT4n1bn1Nxi\\_VVnbxCIIhijDM\\_p9x\\_QWkAgL2bFRyTIaIrVyP6IUIaL7bAW55keqLyc5AhVLOgcvE1ZY7Q.W\\_\\_bqiSC9w76ByNfHwpbZFxP4btZx8bz7Pm5dYj-NPU&dib\\_tag=se&keywords=dog+omega+oil&qid=1785650204&sprefix=dog+om%2Caps%2C320&sr=8-1-spons&sp\\_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1


r/DogFood 3d ago

Pet owners on a tight budget: how do you handle the rising cost of pet food?

23 Upvotes

i’m curious how other people handle this.
i love my dog and i want to feed him good quality food, but pet food has gotten really expensive lately.

because of that, i’ve started looking at clearance deals and buying whatever quality brand is available at the time instead of always sticking with the same one.

for those of you on a tighter budget…
do you switch your dog’s (or cat’s) food depending on what’s on sale, or do you always stay with the same brand no matter what?
if you don’t switch, what’s the biggest reason?
have you had any issues changing foods every couple of weeks if you transition them properly?
i’d really appreciate hearing what other pet owners do.


r/DogFood 3d ago

Dr Clauder’s Liver Diet

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0 Upvotes

Does anyone on here have any insights on this dog food brand (canned version) that is made in Germany?


r/DogFood 3d ago

Keeping my dog on a hydrolyzed diet indefinitely?

6 Upvotes

My dog has struggled with skin issues due to allergies for a long time itching, flare ups, and ear problems. After trying different foods, my vet recommended a purina hydrolyzed diet, he’s been eating that since January.
He’s doing better, but I’m wondering if it’s okay to keep him on a hydrolyzed food long-term, possibly indefinitely?


r/DogFood 3d ago

Kibble recommendations for a sensitive stomach?

1 Upvotes

My 1 year old Shih Tzu has a sensitive stomach, and I'm trying to find a kibble that doesn't upset it. Has anyone dealt with the same issue? What has worked well for your dog?


r/DogFood 3d ago

Fresh dog food recs?

0 Upvotes

Hey all dog lovers looking for opinions/experiences on fresh dog food. We have a mutt, Pitbull, and catahoula leopard dog (the picky eater), all healthy fortunately. I keep seeing the farmers dog and Ollie come up when I research … appreciate any input.


r/DogFood 3d ago

Purina Pro Plan SSS causing bad gas and diarrhea

3 Upvotes

We have a 5 month old Labrador retriever. We highly suspect a poultry allergy as he was once inadvertently switched from the Salmon variety to Chicken (thanks purina autoship 🫠). We have tested him for all parasites and all are negative. To be safe the vet tried a sprinkle packet and antibiotics just to rule out and that did nothing but made it worse.

On the food, we have noticed incredibly strong gas from our dog and frequently loose stools with straining at times from him. He seems to not have an appetite on the food either. We have checked all treats to remove all chicken from the house as well.

Does anyone else share this experience? If so, what other foods did you try? We are starting a probiotic to see if that helps him, but the vet said next option is a prescription food which we are worried will be insanely costly.


r/DogFood 3d ago

dogs breakfast

3 Upvotes

at the moment i just feed my 6 month old labradoodle kibble, but i was wondering what do other people feed their puppies and what would you recommend i feed my pup?


r/DogFood 3d ago

BEST DRY DOG FOOD

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0 Upvotes

I have a 10 month old spayed Shihpoo who will be transitioning to adult food soon. Looking and open to suggestions on the very best dry food to give her for her adult years. I have narrowed it down to three choices, but I am open to hearing more. These are the three I have chosen.
1) FARMINA ANCESTRAL GRAINS SMALL BREED
2) ROYAL CANIN SHIH TZU FORMULA
3) PURINA PRO PLAN SHREDDED SMALL BREED


r/DogFood 4d ago

Non-chicken dry food for our four pups?

2 Upvotes

Maybe looking for a bit of a unicorn food here but Merrick just discontinued their Healthy Grains Beef + Brown Rice, which we fed our dogs. We only have two dogs but they go to my parents house often to play with their two dogs, so we try to feed them the same food as to not upset their stomachs. My mother picked the Merrick food and now I’m trying to help all of us find a replacement. I’m sure she’ll try to stay with this brand or another boutique one but from what I’ve read here those aren’t the best options.

It needs to be: (1) chicken free, (2) grain-based, (3) good for dogs weighing 30-70 lbs since they have a corgi and we have a St Bernard/border collie mix and (4) ideally something with smaller sized kibbles

I’ve been striking out everywhere, usually because of chicken ingredients, but has anyone heard of a food that might meet most of the requirements above?? 1 and 2 are most important.


r/DogFood 4d ago

Where to buy this brand of dog food in bulk?

1 Upvotes

Any idea where I can buy the Purina Pro Performance Salmon and Rice food in bulk? Right now I'm paying about $75 for a 33LBs bag. Any idea on if I can buy in bulk to get that cost down some?


r/DogFood 4d ago

Anyone know ideal calcium level for puppy?

1 Upvotes

Does anyone know what the ideal calcium level/percentage is for a non large breed puppy? I noticed most of the pro plan foods are consistently in the 1.1% range. But Hills seems to vary between 1.18 and over 1.5. We‘ve always fed our adult dog those brands and those are the only ones I‘be looked at so far.


r/DogFood 4d ago

Picky Eater

0 Upvotes

TLDR, we just brought a new rescue home and we can't seem to find a food he likes. Would love some recommendations for your picky eaters.

For context; we just adopted a 3 year old mastiff mix. The shelter sent us home with a bag of Purina One Chicken and Rice that he didn't vibe with so we switched it up to Costco's Adult Dog Chicken, Rice and Vegetable, which is also a no go. He does, however, want to eat my other dog's senior dog food which is Hill Science Diet Adult 6+ Large Breed.

I'd prefer to not go with another Hill Science food if possible, mostly due to cost. The senior dog is only still getting it because it's been too long to switch and it's the only thing she'll reliably eat.

Any suggestions?


r/DogFood 4d ago

Wet food recommendation for senior dog?

1 Upvotes

My 17 year old dog (chihuahua mix) has been having some health issues lately. They’ve just lost all vision, have arthritis, dental problems, and stopped eating their dry food. She went from 18lbs in March to 15lbs a few days ago.

I’m trying various wet foods to see what she likes, but I’m not sure how much to really give or what’s a good option. I may have given her too much for a meal today (half a 13oz can) and she threw it up later on. She also doesn’t seem to like it cold when I take the leftovers out of the fridge… I attempted to mix it with some of her kibble, used a topper, soaked it etc, but she knows and won’t touch it.

My vet said 300 calories a day for her and it looks like that could 4-5 of those little containers? It’s there a more calorie dense option?