The Dog Food Project: Whole Dog Journal approved Products *updated 01/25/05*

Until very recently, I have added a comment to every dog food product that was approved by the Whole Dog Journal (WDJ) to make it a little easier for people who were looking for that "seal of approval". I have removed all those references and I'd like to clarify why:

From 1998 to 2002, I was impressed with almost all of the choices. In 2003, I didn't agree with half of that year's picks, especially considering that far better products had entered the market but they were not reviewed. 2004 was a little better again, mainly thanks to new brands with a good amount of organic ingredients. In 2005, the standard dropped quite a bit, with foods listed that don't even really conform to the guidelines WDJ claims to have based its selections on.

Two examples for 2005:

WDJ states "We reject foods containing fat or protein not identified by species,
yet Nutro Natural Choice Ultra, which contains "poultry fat", was one of the picks.

WDJ states "We look for foods that contain a lot of high-quality animal proteins",
yet Wellness' Simple Food Solutions Venison Formula, which does not have a
meat source at the top of the ingredient list and only one non-concentrated
meat ingredient in the entire formulation, also made the list.

In my personal opinion, about a third of the products currently approved by the WDJ do not truly make the cut and it is unfair to put them in the same category as the true high quality foods on the market. Anyone who has taken some time to read through the details here will have enough of an understanding to make informed choices and will not have to rely on somewhat arbitrary magazine reviews.