How We Compare Dog Foods

The Dog Food Comparison Tool lets you set up to four dog foods side by side on ingredients, guaranteed analysis, calories and price. This page explains how that tool is built: where the numbers come from, what the score on each card actually measures, what the tool does not attempt to do, and how to tell us if something looks wrong.

Where every number comes from

Every food in the comparison tool has a full spec sheet in the Dog Food Library, one article per food, also browsable by brand from the library index. Each ingredient list, guaranteed analysis figure, AAFCO statement, calorie count and sourcing note on a spec sheet is transcribed from the manufacturer's own product page for that specific recipe, not from a retailer listing, a review site or a database compiled from memory. Every spec sheet links directly to the manufacturer page it was read from, so a figure can be checked against its source in one click. Price and customer review score are the two exceptions: when a manufacturer does not sell direct, those two figures may come from a retailer page instead, and the spec sheet says so and names the retailer.

What the score means, and what it does not

Every card in the comparison tool carries a Data Snapshot Score from 0 to 10. It is a tally of how much a manufacturer discloses on its own product page, not a judgment of the food itself. Two points for naming a specific animal protein as the first ingredient, two for publishing an AAFCO nutrient adequacy statement, two for protein at 26 percent or more on a dry matter basis, one for fat at 12 percent or more on a dry matter basis, one for publishing a sourcing statement, one for disclosing the country of manufacture, and one for publishing calorie content. Add those up and that is the score. A low score usually means the manufacturer's page publishes less, not that the food is worse, and a high score does not mean a food is healthier, safer or more suitable for any particular dog. The full arithmetic behind each score is printed on that food's own spec sheet, so the tally can be checked line by line.

What this page does not do

Sniff and Shift has not tested, verified or evaluated any food, ingredient or nutritional claim shown in the tool or the library, and nothing here passes judgment on any product or brand. We do not publish a ranking of foods, we do not rank foods by quality, and we do not accept paid placement: a food's position in search results, its score or its presence in the library is not for sale. Ingredient lists and guaranteed analysis figures are transcribed rather than interpreted, and we do not add health, safety or nutrition claims of our own anywhere in the library. None of this is veterinary or nutritional advice, and a veterinarian is the right person to weigh a label against a specific dog.

Why a food might be missing

The tool and the library only include foods for which a manufacturer publishes enough on its own product page to transcribe honestly. A recipe is left out, or left out for now, when the manufacturer's page carries no AAFCO nutrient adequacy statement, when the guaranteed analysis is missing or shown only as an image rather than page text, or when the manufacturer's site blocks automated reading. We do not route around a block to get a number anyway. When a figure simply is not published, the spec sheet leaves that field blank rather than estimating it, because a blank is honest and an estimated number next to a source link is not.

How often the library gets rechecked

Manufacturer pages change: a recipe gets renamed, a line gets discontinued, a page gets restructured and drops the numbers it used to carry. On a quarterly cycle we go back through foods that were skipped for a fixable reason and try them again, and we refresh spec sheets when a manufacturer has renamed or restructured a recipe already in the library. A working link at the time of a recheck proves the manufacturer's page still loads, not that every number on it is unchanged since our last visit, so treat the manufacturer's current page, linked from every spec sheet, as the final word over our transcription.

Who maintains this

Sniff and Shift is a single ingredient freeze dried dog treat maker based in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The founder is Asher Price. We build and maintain the comparison tool and the Dog Food Library ourselves. Nobody on staff is a veterinarian or a nutritionist, and we do not claim otherwise anywhere on this page or in the library. If you came here looking for our own treats rather than a food comparison, that is a separate thing we actually make: freeze dried dog treats.

Last reviewed September 23, 2026.

If you find an error

Email marketing@sniffandshift.com with the food's name and what looks wrong, and mention whether the manufacturer's page has changed since it was read, or use the contact page. We would rather fix or remove one line than leave a wrong number sitting next to its own source link.

Questions

Does a higher score mean a better dog food?
No. The score only tallies what a manufacturer discloses on its product page: a named first protein, an AAFCO statement, two nutrient thresholds, a sourcing statement, country of manufacture and calorie content. A manufacturer that publishes less gets a lower score even when the food itself is fine, and a manufacturer that publishes more gets a higher score even when the recipe is unremarkable. It is a disclosure tally, not a quality rating, and it never affects whether or how a food appears in the tool.

Where does the ingredient and nutrient information come from?
From the manufacturer's own product page for that specific recipe, read and transcribed directly, with a link back to that page from the food's spec sheet in the Dog Food Library. Price and review score are the only figures we will take from a retailer page instead, and only when we say so and name the retailer.

Why isn't every dog food in the tool?
A food is included only when its manufacturer publishes enough on its own product page: an AAFCO statement and a full guaranteed analysis, both as page text rather than an image. A recipe is left out when that information is not published, or when the manufacturer's site blocks automated reading, since we do not work around a block to get a number anyway.