Dad’s Dog Food (Dry)

by Mike Sagman
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Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Dad’s Dog Food earns the Advisor’s lowest rating of 1 star.

The Dad’s Dog Food product line includes four dry kibbles, each meeting AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages.

  • Dad’s Trail Mix Dog Food
  • Dad’s Bite Size Meal Dog Food
  • Dad’s Healthy Homestyle Dog Food
  • Dad’s Natural Big Dog Chunx Dog Food

Dad’s Healthy Homestyle Dog Food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.

Dad's Trail Mix

Dry Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 24% | Fat = 11% | Carbs = 57%

Ingredients: Ground yellow corn, soybean meal, beef meal, animal fat (preserved with BHA), chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, natural flavor (source of liver flavor), dicalcium phosphate, dried beet pulp, salt, calcium carbonate, dried cheese powder, iron oxide, artificial color (red #40, yellow #5 & #6, blue #2), vitamin E supplement, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin, manganese sulfate, natural flavor (source of bacon flavor), copper sulfate, d-calcium pantothenate, biotin, sodium selenite, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), vitamin B12 supplement, potassium iodide, cobalt sulfate, folic acid

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.5%

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 soybean meal. Soybean meal is actually a useful by-product. It’s what remains of soybeans after all the oil has been removed.

Soybean meal contains 48% protein. However, compared to meat, this item is considered an inferior plant-based protein providing a lower biological value.

The third ingredient includes beef meal. Beef meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh beef.

The fourth item 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.

And to make matters yet worse, this fat is preserved with BHA… a suspected carcinogen (cancer-causing agent).

We do not consider generic animal fat (especially when preserved in this way) a quality ingredient.

The fifth ingredient is chicken by-product meal… a dry rendered product of slaughterhouse waste. It’s made from what’s left of a slaughtered chicken after all the prime cuts have been removed.

In a nutshell, chicken by-products are those unsavory leftovers usually considered “unfit for human consumption”.

This stuff can contain almost anything — feet, beaks, undeveloped eggs — anything (that is) but skeletal muscle (real meat).

On the brighter side, by-product meals are meat concentrates with protein content similar to the beef meal previously mentioned.

The sixth ingredient is corn gluten meal. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once corn has had most of its starchy carbohydrate 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.

After the natural flavor, we find dicalcium phosphate, likely used here as a dietary calcium supplement.

The ninth ingredient lists beet pulp. Beet pulp is a controversial ingredient, a high fiber by-product of sugar beet processing.

Some denounce beet pulp as an inexpensive filler while others cite its outstanding intestinal health and blood sugar benefits.

We only call your attention here to the controversy and believe the inclusion of beet pulp in reasonable amounts in most dog foods is entirely acceptable.

We’re always disappointed to find artificial coloring in any dog food.

Coloring is used to make the product more appealing to you… not your dog. After all, do you really think your dog cares what color his food is?

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 three notable exceptions…

First, we find no mention of probiotics, friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing.

Next, the minerals 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.

And lastly, this Dad’s dog food recipe also contains menadione, a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.

Dad’s Dog Food
The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, Dad’s Dog Food looks to be 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 11% and estimated carbohydrates of about 57%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 25% and a mean fat level of 11%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 56% for the overall product line.

Below-average protein. Below-average fat. And above-average carbohydrates when compared to a typical dry dog food.

In addition, when you consider the plant-based protein-boosting effect of the soy and corn gluten meals, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing only a limited amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Dad’s Dog Food is a plant-based dry kibble using only a modest amount of chicken by-product meal or beef meal as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 1 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 benfits 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

03/24/2010 Original review
10/24/2010 Review updated

Dog Food Advisor IconThe Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.


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  • Bob K

    PCmedic – Did you read the detailed report above?  Quality dog foods are available for a daily cost less than half you pay for a McDonalds meal, TacoBell, Wendys meal or large Lattee at your Starbucks or a gallon of gas.    I do not understand how people can buy a pure breed dog, spend all sorts of money on training, gun clubs, shot guns, eCollars, gps systems, trucks and feed the dog a marginal meal. 

  • PCmedic

    I don’t know about you but my chocolate lab loves the trail mix and has the energy to go hunting and not get as many birds as she would like to retrieve. I don’t the problem and the price seems right.

  • Toxed2loss

    Marie,
    GFETE but only on ornamentals!!!

  • Marie

    Now, now, Dad’s Dog Food isn’t all that bad. It looks like it would make a fine fertilizer. So would Ol’ Roy and Kibbles N’ Bits for that matter.

  • Toxed2loss

    Bob K,
    I’ve read those post you refered to, and in theory, I agree with you! GFETE ‘Cept I wouldn’t feed ‘em to a pig or goat, if I had one!!! LOL

    & you’re welcome. :-)

  • Bob K

    Toxed2loss – Thanks for the more detailed explanation and time to write it up.  I wish there was a 0 star rating of dog formulas that should not be fed to animals.  You have probably heard me call some of the marginal dog formulas goat or pig food previously.  Of course whats even more difficult to determine is long term use or exposure to the toxins and what levels are acceptable if any. 

    While I hate to group all 1 star foods together, they are 1 star for a reason.   Your approach to answering the question of food differences that effect behavior is different than Glycemic index.    Thanks for the details.  

  • Toxed2loss

    Bob K,
    I understand your concern, and it is a good point. However, I am a recognized expert in my field. I have 28 years of research in dietary and environmental toxins. While I Admittedly don’t know everything about diet, I do admit what I don’t know! If I say something, it’s often accumulative knowledge from reading tens of thousands of research articles. That makes it a little difficult to pin down, the exact research paper with one bit of knowledge from one study that, taken with other bits of knowledge from other studies that adds up to irrefutably establish facts. But in the area of Toxic Injury, thats what I do. I write “White papers.”

    Bob, I’m going to start by apologizing, cause I can’t come up with a kinder way to say this…”you are missing the message.” I need you to read my statement more closely. In it I state why..”the preponderance of toxic ingredients in 1 star foods.” in Dads, all of the red ingredients + natural flavor and dried cheese powder are toxic and like the point you were trying to make in another thread, meat meals can have toxins by process. As we look over the foods that Dr. Mike has rated, as we move t’word the 5 star foods, you’ll see fewer red items and fewer toxins, that Dr. Mike hasn’t flagged, yet. Dr. Mike hasn’t flagged them yet because it takes time to manage and get to everything on the site. Then before he’d write anything, he’d be obligated to do his own research… He also states that he doesn’t know it all and learns from the forum… So let’s grace him and give him time…

    I’m not trying to be rude here but, the little words are important…. Like “fewer, and “less.” Few processed foods are completely without toxins. So while they have “some”, they have “less.” and that’s important. And I’m talking about ALL toxins, synergistically, not just excitotoxins. The more toxins you remove from the diet, (and environment) the more dramatic the difference. If an owner went from a 1 star rated food to a 5 star rated food, they’d notice a difference. If you’ll reread my statement carefully, you’ll notice that I also stated that individual susceptibility plays a role… You can’t subtract any one part of my statement, or you’re no longer stating what I did. There are a lot of variables. There will always be dogs that are anomalies, but by in large, what I stated is true. In those dogs that didn’t improve I’d be looking at environmental toxins….

  • Bob K

    Toxed2loss – I just want to make sure there is something to back up claim of behavior possibilities due to low quality dog foods.  The evidence you are pointing to is ingredients that may cause issues in any dog food, not just 1 star foods.  To make a blanket statement that 1 star foods cause behavior issues still seems a stretch to me.  Maybe I am missing something.  I do not remember mention of Dr. Mike dog food evaluations that point our Dye and MSG issues in foods nor any behavioral comments in his evaluations.

    You also make a point of the renewed energy some dogs have with better foods.  I would have energy if I ate some crap for years then all of a sudden I got a decent meal.    This is all very interesting, just want to make sure we got all the facts straight.  There is enough dog food misinformation in this world. 

  • Toxed2loss

    For Bob K
    http://jap.physiology.org/content/60/6/2056.abstract
    MSG cadrio vascular problems in dogs

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/19686114/
    MSG – aPpetite stimulant in dogs

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/9256971/
    MSG & glaucoma in dogs

    With those kinds of physiological problems, don’t you think they, in and of themselves would cause behavior changes?  However, there are specific studies just on behavioral effects due to MSG. here’s one…

    AND I think that should be enough to make my point.

    Manuel, M.F., J.H.A. Abalos, and C.D. Solis (2002). Some acute behavioural and physiological effects observed in local Philippine dogs voluntarily fed with monosodium glutamate (MSG) in the diet. Philippine Journal of Veterinary Medicine 39(1): 50-51. ISSN: 0031-7705.
    NAL Call Number: 41.8 P53
    Abstract: Twelve 4- to 7-month-old Philippine nondescript dogs of both sexes were fed monosodium glutamate (MSG) in the diet in quantities varying from 0, 5 and 10% of the amount of food given, using the Latin square design. Both physiological and behavioural parameters were examined in all animals an hour before and after feeding. Doses of MSG as high as 10% did not induce any noticeable change in the behaviour of the dogs. On the other hand, some temporary physiological changes such as tachycardia, vomiting and excretion of dark-coloured faeces were observed in 10 of the dogs.

  • Toxed2loss

    This the same info, but it’s the actual scientific paper on MSG & blue &yellow dyes…

    http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/90/1/178.long

  • Toxed2loss

    O.k. bob K,
    Here’s one on food additive combinations. This addresses the MSG, food colorant synergy. :-)

    http://www.wellsphere.com/add-adhd-article/food-additive-combinations-and-adhd/598733

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