Rating: 
Ol’ Roy dog food earns the Advisor’s lowest rating of one star.
The Ol’ Roy Dog Food product line includes about six kibbles… each designed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages.
Because we were unable to locate a dedicated Ol’ Roy website, the stock of our local WalMart store was used as a source of some of the data reported here.
- Ol’ Roy Puppy Complete
- Ol’ Roy Complete Nutrition
- Ol’ Roy Skin and Coat Formula
- Ol’ Roy Krunchy Bites and Bones
- Ol’ Roy High Performance Nutrition
- Ol’ Roy Kibbles Chunks and Chews
Ol’ Roy Complete Nutrition dry dog food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Ol' Roy Complete Nutrition
Dry Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Ground yellow corn, meat and bone meal, soybean meal, chicken by-product meal, wheat middlings, animal fat [preserved with BHA and citric acid], natural flavor, brewers rice, salt, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, choline chloride, color added [red #40, yellow #5, blue #2], zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, niacin, copper sulfate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, manganous oxide, calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, menadione sodium bisulfite complex [source of vitamin K activity], riboflavin supplement, sodium selenite, calcium iodate, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement, cobalt carbonate
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.5%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
| Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 21% | 10% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 24% | 11% | 57% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 22% | 26% | 52% |
The first ingredient in this dog food is corn. Now, contrary to what you may have heard, corn isn’t necessarily a bad ingredient.
On the other hand, although there’s no way to know for sure here, the corn used in making many pet foods can be similar to the kind used to make feed for livestock.
And that can sometimes be problematic.
What’s more, corn is commonly linked to canine food allergies1.
For these reasons, we rarely consider corn a preferred component in any dog food.
The second ingredient is meat and bone meal… a dry “rendered product from mammal tissues, including bone, exclusive of blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents”.2
Meat and bone meal has a lower digestibility than most other meat meals.
Scientists believe this decreased protein quality may be due to the ingredient’s higher ash and lower essential amino acid content.3
What’s worse, this particular item is anonymous. It doesn’t even specify the source animal.
Even though meat and bone meals are still considered protein-rich meat concentrates, we do not consider a generic ingredient like this a quality item.
The third ingredient is soybean meal. Soybean meal is actually a usable 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 fourth item lists 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”.
In addition to organs (the nourishing part), this stuff can contain almost anything… feet, beaks, undeveloped eggs… anything (that is) except skeletal muscle (real meat).
On the brighter side, by-product meals are meat concentrates and contain nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.
The fifth 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 sixth item lists 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.
What’s worse, this fat is preserved with BHA… a suspected cancer-causing agent (carcinogen).
We do not consider generic animal fat (especially when it’s been preserved in this manner) a quality ingredient.
After the natural flavor, we find 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.
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 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.
And lastly, this Ol’ Roy dog food product contains menadione… a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.
Ol’ Roy Dry Dog Food
The Bottom Line
What a shameful collection of man-made additives and agricultural waste. Simply judging by its ingredients alone, Ol’ Roy Dog Food certainly has the look of an inferior 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 27% and a mean fat level of 13%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 53% for the overall product line.
Near-average protein. Below-average fat. And above-average carbs when compared to a typical dry dog food.
In addition, when you consider the plant-based protein-boosting effect of the soybean meal, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing only a modest amount of meat.
What’s more, it’s difficult to ignore the unusual abundance of so many critical Red Flag items.
Bottom line?
Ol’ Roy Dog Food is a grain-based dry kibble using only a modest amount of meat and bone meal as its main source 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
10/30/2010 Original review
10/30/2010 Last Update
- White, S., Update on food allergy in the dog and cat, World Small Animal Veterinary Association, Vancouver, 2001 ↩
- Adapted by the Dog Food Advisor and based upon the official definition for beef published by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, 2008 Edition ↩
- Shirley RB and Parsons CM, , Effect of Ash Content on Protein Quality of Meat and Bone Meal, Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Poultry Science, 2001 80: 626-632 ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.