10 Best Dry Dog Foods in the UK in 2022 – Reviews & Top Picks

Dry dog food is convenient, has a long storage life, and can provide your dog with all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals it needs to have a long and healthy life.

But there are a lot of dog food products out there with questionable and low-quality ingredients. Some include allergens and ingredients that are not best suited to dogs with sensitivities, and some foods are targeted towards owners of working dogs, puppies, seniors, and a host of other canine categories.

Read on for reviews of ten of the best dry dog foods in the UK, making it easier for you to sort the low quality from the high, and to help ensure you get the best food for your furry companion.

A Quick Look At Our Favourites (2022)

The 10 Best Dry Dog Foods in the UK

1. Skinners Field & Trial Dry Adult Dog Food – Best Overall

Skinners Field & Trial Complete Dry Adult Working Dog Food is meant for energetic dogs and those that regularly work the fields. It is free from artificial ingredients and is considered hypoallergenic because it is free from ingredients that are thought to trigger sensitivities and allergies in dogs. It is a complete food, which means that it has everything a dog needs nutritionally.

Its main ingredients are rice, duck meal, and oats, and it has a 22% protein ratio which is slightly below average. The food is very high in carbs, which means that it isn’t ideal for dogs that get limited or no exercise. This moderately priced food is aimed at working and active dogs, and it is nutritionally sound, but it is not suitable for less active dogs.

All in all, we think this is the overall best dry dog food available in the UK.

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2. Wagg Complete Chicken and Veg Dry Dog Food – Best Value

Wagg Complete Chicken and Veg Dry Food is a cheap, complete dog food. It is designed for adult dogs and is suitable for any breed. It is a complete food, so it provides all the vitamins and minerals that your dog needs on a daily basis. It has 20% protein, which could be higher, but it is low in fat and contains average fibre levels. It is high in carbs, however, and its ingredient list is very vague with regards to the exact source and type of ingredients. For example, the ingredient list states that it contains cereals, meat and animal derivatives, and oils and fats as its main ingredients.

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3. Lily’s Kitchen Grain-Free Adult Dry Dog Food – Premium Choice

Lily’s Kitchen Grain-Free Adult Dry Dog Food is a premium food with a premium price tag. But its primary ingredients are fresh chicken, freshly prepared duck, and chicken liver, which means that the food gets a lot of protein from meat sources and it does not rely on vague and difficult ingredients.

The recipe is free from artificial ingredients, is hypoallergenic so should be suitable for sensitive stomachs, and is nutritionally complete dog food. It has a protein ratio of 23.5% which could still be a little higher but is around average for this type of food.

While the ingredients are mostly high quality, there are still some cheap fillers to be found, such as pea protein and potato protein, which would be better replaced with a meat protein source.

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4. James Wellbeloved Complete Dry Puppy Food – Best for Puppies

Puppies need more protein and calories than adult dogs. They also need a good, quality source of food that is free from potentially damaging ingredients.

James Wellbeloved Complete Puppy Food is a premium food designed for dogs under the age of 12 months. Its primary ingredients are rice, turkey meat meal, and oats. It is free from artificial ingredients and is hypoallergenic as it is free from foods known to cause sensitivities. It has a 29% protein ratio, which is good and helps ensure that your puppy has the protein to grow and develop.

It does contain additional salt, as well as pea protein, with the latter being especially unfortunate in a premium, quality food.

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5. Burns Pet Original Complete Adult and Senior Dry Dog Food

Burns Pet Original Complete Adult and Senior Dry Dog Food is targeted at senior dogs, as well as adult dogs that do not get a lot of exercise. As such, it has a relatively low 19% protein and low 8% fat. However, it does have high 62% carbs, which is much higher than the average.

The main ingredients of this food are brown rice, chicken meal, and oats, and as well as being free from artificial preservatives, Burns Pet Original is hypoallergenic.

It also has very clear ingredients and does not rely on vague or misleading ingredient names, which is beneficial for owners that are looking to avoid specific ingredients or types of ingredients. Its limited ingredients mean that you know exactly what is in the food.

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6. Harringtons Complete Lamb and Rice Dry Dog Food

Harringtons Complete Lamb and Rice Dry Dog Food is a modestly priced complete dog food that offers a full range of vitamins and minerals as required by your adult dog. Its ingredients consist of 26% meat meal, which could not only benefit from being a little higher but would also benefit from a more precise itemized list of the ingredients.

The ingredient list also contains maize, which is considered an allergen, but the ingredients are free from artificial additives. Apart from carbs, which at 54% are higher than average for this type of food, the dry kibble has low nutritional values with 21% protein and only 2% fibre.

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7. Wellness CORE Original Dry Dog Food

Wellness CORE Original Dog Food is a premium food that has no artificial ingredients or allergens. It is a nutritionally complete food, which means it doesn’t need mixing with wet food or toppers, and looking at the ingredients, it gets the majority of its protein from meat sources, making it bioavailable and beneficial for dogs.

However, it is very expensive food, and with 37% protein, it could prove too rich for some dogs, and you will have to be careful not to overfeed less active canines. It also boasts 4% fibre, has average carbs for the food type, and its fat is around average, too.

It is a good quality food but more expensive than most. It also uses lignocellulose as its dietary fibre. This is powdered cellulose, of which there are better and more natural alternatives.

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8. Lily’s Kitchen Puppy Recipe Complete Dry Dog Food

Lily’s Kitchen Puppy Recipe Complete Dry Dog Food is a premium puppy food. Its main ingredients are chicken, salmon, and chicken liver, giving the food a good basis of meat-based protein to help your puppy thrive and grow. Its 29% protein is a little above average, and suitable for puppies. 3.3% fibre could be a little higher, but the 40% carb ratio is considered a healthy and beneficial level for your puppy’s diet.

The food’s quality ingredients mean that this is very expensive food, and the rich ingredients can cause puppies to suffer diarrhoea and other GI complaints so you will have to introduce it gradually to your puppy’s day.

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9. Solimo Complete Adult Dry Dog Food

Solimo is Amazon’s dog food brand, and this is a competitively priced food. It can be difficult to get hold of, with some customers having to wait weeks or months for their delivery. It does have 30% protein, at the higher end of average for this kind of food, so is better suited to dogs with an active lifestyle.

The primary ingredient in this food is chicken, which is good quality but once prepared will account for a much smaller percentage of the ingredient list. Chicken by-product meal, which is the third most common ingredient by weight, is not good quality.

By-products of meat are the sections left over after the animal has been slaughtered and prepared for human food. Although the food is reasonably priced, its ingredients are not of great quality, and it is difficult to get hold of.

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10. Bakers Adult Dry Dog Food

Bakers Adult Dry Dog Food is a well-known dog food brand. It is inexpensive, but it uses low-quality and very vaguely labelled ingredients, including the primary ingredients of unspecified cereals and derivatives of meat, animal, and vegetables. The food also uses propylene glycol.

This has been certified as safe for use in dog food, but there are some links between this synthetic compound used to maintain the moisture level of the food, and asthma, so some owners prefer to avoid this ingredient.

The food is reasonably priced but has some low-quality ingredients as well as some seriously questionable ingredients that might be best avoided.

 

Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Dry Dog Food

We all want what is best for our dogs. This means providing them with a roof over their head, giving them the daily exercise they require and ensuring that they have a diet that meets the specific nutritional requirements of their breed. Feeding a low-quality food, or one that your dog is allergic or sensitive to, can cause illness and it can degrade the quality of your dog’s coat, eyes, and immune system. Feeding good quality food will help ensure that they have plenty of energy and that they lead a healthy life.

Is Dry Food Best For Dogs?

Dry dog food is only one option when it comes to choosing the type of food that is best for your dog. It is convenient because an open bag can last for weeks without spoiling, and it can be left down for several hours so that your dog can graze feed on it over the curse of the day, although not all dogs will eat slowly or over time. The hard kibble can also help reduce and eliminate tartar and plaque build-up, and dry food tends to be less expensive than wet food and certainly raw food.

Can You Mix Food Types?

You can feed a combination of dry and wet food. This gives your dog a mealtime treat while leaving dry food down to graze on. It can encourage them to eat more and ensure that their diet meets all of their daily vitamin and mineral requirements.

Complete Dog Food

Most dry foods are labelled as being complete foods. This means that they meet the recommended nutritional requirements for your dog and the dry kibble does not need to be mixed with any other food or food type to ensure that your dog gets everything it requires. If a food is not nutritionally complete, you will have to find additional foods to ensure that your dog is having its requirements met.

Choosing A Dry Dog Food

When choosing a dry food, consider the following factors:

Life Stage

Puppy food is designed for dogs from the age of around two months to approximately 12 months. Adult food is for dogs 12 months and over, and you can switch to senior food when your dog slows down and has more specific dietary requirements. Generally, you should avoid feeding the wrong life stage to your dog, although it won’t cause harm as a one-off.

Breed Size

Different sizes and types of breeds have different nutritional requirements, and some foods are designed to help meet the very specific needs of certain sizes of dogs. As well as nutritional differences, smaller dogs can struggle with large dry kibble so small breed dry food is usually smaller in size than other brands.

Primary Ingredients

Read the primary ingredients of any food you are buying and make sure that the ingredients are not too vague or non-specific. Vague ingredients are usually lower quality than specified ingredients. Meat sources should be at or near the top of the ingredient list, although dogs are omnivores so they can benefit from some plant-based ingredients, too.

Protein Ratio

Protein ratio is described as a percentage of the total food content and you will usually see dry food that contains between 18% right up to 40%, although these high numbers are more commonly found on raw food and those that are high in meat ingredients. Look for a food that is at least 20% protein, ideally more like 25%.

How To Change Dog Foods

If you decide to move your dog to a new food brand, transition them slowly. Start by feeding 75% of their old food and 25% of the new food for a couple of days and gradually reduce the amount of their old food. Within two weeks, your dog should be on its new food.

Conclusion

Getting the right dry dog food can ensure that your dog is well cared for and that you are meeting all his nutritional requirements. Look for food that is suitable for your dog’s stage of life, the size of the breed, and that contains good quality ingredients.

You don’t have to spend huge sums to get good quality food.

Despite being really inexpensive, Wagg Complete Chicken and Vegetables is a nutritionally complete food that is suitable for most adult dogs and is our pick for overall best dry dog food in the UK. If you do have a bit more budget, Skinners Adult Dog Food is worth the little extra money it costs and while it is targeted at working dogs, it is suitable for any active, adult dog.

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Featured Image Credit: Mat Coulton, Pixabay