Rating: 
Buckeye Dog Food receives the Advisor’s lowest rating of one star.
The Buckeye Dog Food product line includes nine dry kibbles… five designed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for adult maintenance, two for puppies and two for all life stages.
- Buckeye ProBits
- Buckeye Chunks
- Buckeye Hunters
- Buckeye Gold ‘n Bits
- Buckeye Hi-Performance
- Buckeye ProKennel Puppy
- Buckeye ProKennel Inactive
- Buckeye ProKennel Premium
- Buckeye ProKennel SuperBits
Buckeye Hi-Performance Dog Food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Buckeye Hi-Performance
Dry Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Ground yellow corn, pork meal, ground wheat, wheat middlings, animal fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, citric acid and rosemary extract), corn gluten meal, poultry by-product meal, brewers rice, potassium chloride, salt, manganous oxide, ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, zinc sulfate, ethylenediamine dihydriodide, sodium selenite, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, riboflavin supplement, niacin, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin B12 supplement, folic acid, biotin, choline chloride
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.4%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient in this dog food is corn. Corn is an inexpensive and controversial cereal grain of only modest nutritional value to a dog.
For this reason, we do not consider corn a preferred component in any dog food.
The second ingredient is pork meal. Pork meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh pork.
The third ingredient is wheat. Wheat is another problematic grain and subject to the same issues as corn (previously discussed).
The fourth ingredient lists wheat middlings, commonly known as “wheat mill run”. Though it may sound wholesome, wheat mill run is actually an inexpensive by-product of cereal grain processing.
In reality, middlings are nothing more than milling dust and floor sweepings.
The fifth ingredient is animal fat. Animal fat is a generic by-product of rendering… the same high-temperature process used to make meat meals.
Since there’s no mention of a specific animal, this item could come from almost anywhere — restaurant grease, slaughterhouse waste, diseased cattle — even euthanized pets.
We do not consider generic animal fat a quality ingredient.
The sixth item is corn gluten meal. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once corn has had most of its starchy carbohydrate (the good stuff) washed out of it.
Compared to meat, glutens are inferior grain-based proteins lower in many of the essential amino acids dogs need for life.
This inexpensive plant-based ingredient can significantly boost the total protein content reported in this dog food.
The seventh ingredient lists poultry by-product meal… a dry rendered product of slaughterhouse waste. It’s made from what’s left of slaughtered poultry after all the prime cuts have been removed.
In a nutshell, poultry by-products are those unsavory and inedible leftovers deemed “unfit for human consumption”.
This stuff can contain almost anything… feet, beaks, undeveloped eggs… you name it.
We consider poultry by-products slightly lower in quality than a single-species ingredient (like chicken by-products).
On the brighter side, by-product meals are meat concentrates and contain nearly 300% more protein than fresh poultry.
The eighth ingredient is brewers rice. Brewers rice represents the small grain fragments left over after milling whole rice.
This is an inexpensive cereal grain by-product and not considered a quality ingredient.
From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.
But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.
With two notable exceptions…
First, we find no mention of probiotics, friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing.
And lastly, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.
Buckeye Dog Food — The Bottom Line
What a dreadful concoction of agricultural waste. Simply judging by its ingredients alone, Buckeye Dog Food certainly looks like a below-average kibble.
But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 24%, a fat level of 17% and estimated carbohydrates of about 51%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 27% and a mean fat level of 16%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 49% for the overall product line.
Average protein. Average fat. And average carbohydrates when compared to a typical dry dog food.
When you consider the plant-based protein-boosting effect of the corn gluten meal, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing only a moderate amount of meat.
What’s more, it’s difficult to ignore the presence of so many Red Flag items and the notably inferior nature of its ingredients.
Bottom line?
Buckeye Dog Food is a plant-based kibble using only a moderate amount of chicken by-product or pork meal as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand one star.
Not recommended.
A Final Word
This review is designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in specific health benefits for your pet.
For a better understanding of how we analyzed this product, please be sure to read our article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews”
Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.
Have an opinion about this dog food… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
04/24/2010 Original review
11/24/2010 Review updated
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.