Best-scoring dog foods
Best-scoring dog foods without chicken or beef on the label for a medium adult dog, very active, losing weight
For a medium adult dog, very active and losing weight, leaving out every food that names chicken or beef on its label, the best-scoring food among the 265 dog foods BowlWise scores, all sold in Canada, is Performatrin Ultra Grain-Free Ocean Recipe, a kibble, at 90.2 out of 100. The best-scoring of each kind: kibble, Performatrin Ultra Grain-Free Ocean Recipe at 90.2; gently cooked, Tom & Sawyer Classic Pork Stew at 71.3; freeze-dried, Primal Freeze-Dried Raw Venison Nuggets at 74.5. 92 of the 265 foods fit this dog. The scores are BowlWise’s own, worked out from each food’s label on October 13, 2026.
Performatrin Ultra Grain-Free Ocean Recipe: On March 12, 2026 Pet Valu listed the 10.88 kg bag at $99.99 in Canadian dollars.
Open the form with this dog filled inKibble
61 kibble foods fit this dog.
90.2 of 100- High protein (32.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (32.0%) for this dog
- Excellent Omega-3 (1.2%) for this dog's joints and coat
87.2 of 1002nd of 61, level with another
Performatrin Ultra Grain-Free Prairie Recipe
- High protein (32.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (32.0%) for this dog
- Excellent Omega-3 (1.0%) for this dog's joints and coat
3 points under Performatrin Ultra Grain-Free Ocean Recipe:
- Nutritional quality, 21 against 24. Premium protein content (32.0%) for this dog. Excellent Omega-3 (1.0%) for this dog's joints and coat. Balanced fat content (15.0%) for this dog. DHA is 0.1% as fed. Full points for DHA start at 0.3%. Calories are 3,926 kcal per kg of dry matter. For kibble, full points are given between 4,000 and 5,000.
87.2 of 1002nd of 61, level with another
Performatrin Ultra Wholesome Grains Stream Recipe
- High protein (28.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- High protein content (28.0%) for this dog
- Excellent Omega-3 (0.8%) for this dog's joints and coat
86.2 of 1004th of 61, level with three others
Open Farm RawMix Wild Ocean Grain-Free
- High protein (31.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (31.0%) for this dog
- Optimal caloric density for this dog
1 point under Performatrin Ultra Wholesome Grains Stream Recipe:
- Price value, 3 against 5. Price per kilogram is in the most expensive quarter of kibble foods. Full points are given for the cheapest quarter.
86.2 of 1004th of 61, level with three others
Open Farm RawMix Wild Ocean Ancient Grains
- High protein (31.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (31.0%) for this dog
- Optimal caloric density for this dog
86.2 of 1004th of 61, level with three others
Performatrin Ultra Grain-Free Hillside Recipe
- High protein (35.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (35.0%) for this dog
- Balanced fat content (15.0%) for this dog
86.2 of 1004th of 61, level with three others
Performatrin Ultra Limited Ingredient Potato & Salmon Recipe Adult
- High protein (27.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- High protein content (27.0%) for this dog
- Excellent Omega-3 (1.0%) for this dog's joints and coat
Gently cooked
4 gently cooked foods fit this dog.
71.3 of 1001st of 4
Tom & Sawyer Classic Pork Stew
- High protein (10.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (10.0%) for this dog
- Balanced fat content (3.0%) for this dog
66.3 of 1002nd of 4
Tom & Sawyer Kangaroo
- High protein (10.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (10.0%) for this dog
- Formulated for this dog's adult life stage
5 points under Tom & Sawyer Classic Pork Stew:
- Nutritional quality, 10 against 15. Premium protein content (10.0%) for this dog. The label gives no omega-3 figure, so those points could not be given. The label gives no DHA figure, so those points could not be given. Calories are 3,832 kcal per kg of dry matter. For gently cooked food, full points are given between 4,500 and 5,800. Fat is 8.0% of dry matter. Full points for fat are given between 13.3% and 22.5%.
64 of 100- High protein (9.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (9.0%) for this dog
- Optimal caloric density for this dog
2.3 points under Tom & Sawyer Kangaroo:
- Activity and goal, 17.5 against 26.3. High protein (9.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss. Fat is 29.2% of dry matter and fibre is 2.0% as fed. For this dog, a very active dog losing weight, full points need fat under 13.5% with fibre of 5% or more.
Air-dried
4 air-dried foods fit this dog. No air-dried food scores 70 or more for this dog; the closest is Smack Prairie Harvest Pork at 68.
68 of 1001st of 4
Smack Prairie Harvest Pork
- High protein (48.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (48.0%) for this dog
- Optimal caloric density for this dog
64 of 1002nd of 4
Smack Lip Smacking Lamb
- High protein (40.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (40.0%) for this dog
- Optimal caloric density for this dog
4 points under Smack Prairie Harvest Pork:
- Nutritional quality, 15 against 18. Premium protein content (40.0%) for this dog. Optimal caloric density for this dog. The label gives no omega-3 figure, so those points could not be given. The label gives no DHA figure, so those points could not be given. Fat is 30.2% of dry matter. Full points for fat are given between 13.3% and 22.5%.
- Price value, 4 against 5. Good value for this dog. Price per kilogram is in the cheaper half of air-dried foods, above the cheapest quarter. Full points are given for the cheapest quarter.
63.5 of 1003rd of 4, level with another
Ziwi Peak Original Air-Dried Lamb Recipe
- High protein (38.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (38.0%) for this dog
- Optimal caloric density for this dog
0.5 points under Smack Lip Smacking Lamb:
- Price value, 3.5 against 4. Price per kilogram is above the middle of air-dried foods. Full points are given for the cheapest quarter.
63.5 of 1003rd of 4, level with another
Ziwi Peak Original Air-Dried Mackerel & Lamb Recipe
- High protein (44.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (44.0%) for this dog
- Optimal caloric density for this dog
Freeze-dried
17 freeze-dried foods fit this dog.
74.5 of 100- High protein (57.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (57.0%) for this dog
- Excellent Omega-3 (1.13%) for this dog's joints and coat
71.8 of 1002nd of 17, level with another
Vital Essentials Rabbit Entree Freeze-Dried Mini Patties
- High protein (55.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (55.0%) for this dog
- Balanced fat content (15.0%) for this dog
2.7 points under Primal Freeze-Dried Raw Venison Nuggets:
- Nutritional quality, 15 against 23. Premium protein content (55.0%) for this dog. Balanced fat content (15.0%) for this dog. The label gives no omega-3 figure, so those points could not be given. The label gives no DHA figure, so those points could not be given. Calories are 4,459 kcal per kg of dry matter. For freeze-dried food, full points are given between 5,000 and 6,200.
- Life stage, 11.5 against 15. Formulated for this dog's adult life stage. The label gives no omega-3 figure, so those points could not be given.
71.8 of 1002nd of 17, level with another
Vital Essentials Duck Entree Freeze-Dried Soft Nibs
- High protein (45.0%) preserves this dog's muscle during weight loss
- Premium protein content (45.0%) for this dog
- Balanced fat content (15.0%) for this dog
Toppers
A topper is added to a meal, not fed as one, and is scored on other parts than a meal. Each topper’s score here is for a dog whose food must not name chicken or beef. A topper earns more points for such a dog, so its score here can be higher than on its own page, which is worked out for a dog with no allergy. These are not ranked against the foods above. 6 toppers fit this dog; each number is a topper’s score out of 100:
- Stella & Chewy's Dandy Lamb Meal Mixers70.3
- Stella & Chewy's Duck Duck Goose Meal Mixers77.3
- Stella & Chewy's Tantalizing Turkey Meal Mixers70.3
- Vital Essentials Turkey Entree Freeze-Dried Mini Nibs72.3
- Vital Essentials Duck Entree Freeze-Dried Mini Nibs75.3
- Vital Essentials Rabbit Entree Freeze-Dried Mini Nibs81.1
Left out here because the label names chicken or beef
- Orijen Fit & Trim Adult Recipe2nd among kibbles without the allergy, at 89.2. Its label names chicken.
- Acana Light & Fit Recipe3rd among kibbles without the allergy, at 88. Its label names chicken.
- Open Farm RawMix Tide & Terrain Grain-Free4th among kibbles without the allergy, at 87.2. Its label names beef.
- Open Farm RawMix Tide & Terrain Ancient Grains4th among kibbles without the allergy, at 87.2. Its label names beef.
- Performatrin Ultra Grain-Free Foothills Recipe4th among kibbles without the allergy, at 87.2. Its label names beef.
- Performatrin Culinary Gently Cooked Turkey Dinner1st among gently cooked foods without the allergy, at 75.8. Its label names chicken.
- Tom & Sawyer Beef & Broccoli3rd among gently cooked foods without the allergy, at 70.8. Its label names beef.
- Smack Chunky Chicken2nd among air-dried foods without the allergy, at 65. Its label names chicken.
- Open Farm Harvest Chicken Air-Dried Recipe3rd among air-dried foods without the allergy, at 64. Its label names chicken.
- Open Farm Pollock & Lamb Air-Dried Recipe3rd among air-dried foods without the allergy, at 64. Its label names beef.
- Stella & Chewy's Stella's Super Beef Meal MixersA topper without the allergy, at 65.3 as a topper. Its label names beef.
- Stella & Chewy's Chewy's Chicken Meal MixersA topper without the allergy, at 63.3 as a topper. Its label names chicken.
- Vital Essentials Chicken Entree Freeze-Dried Mini NibsA topper without the allergy, at 65.3 as a topper. Its label names chicken.
- Vital Essentials Beef Entree Freeze-Dried Crunchy Mini NibsA topper without the allergy, at 67.3 as a topper. Its label names beef.
What was left out, and why
92 of the 265 foods fit this dog. The others:
- 28 foodsMade for the puppy life stage, not adult.
- 11 foodsMade for the senior life stage, not adult.
- 9 foodsKibble size not suitable for medium breed.
- 2 foodsNot a complete diet.
- 2 foodsScored under 50, so it is not offered.
- 121 foodsName chicken or beef on their label.
BowlWise reads the ingredients printed on each label. It cannot see what a label does not say, such as traces from other foods made in the same place. Check the bag itself before you buy.
A dog a little different
The same dog with every food counted: a medium adult dog, very active and losing weight.
How to read this
These scores are BowlWise’s own, worked out from each food’s label for one kind of dog at a time. They are not veterinary advice. How a score is worked out: How we score.
Worked out on October 13, 2026.
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