Dog Food Advisor 2025 Survey — the Results

Dog Food Advisor has launched its very first survey — the largest ever of U.S. dog parents, asking for their views on how they feed and care for their dogs.

Almost 10,000 Dog Food Advisor email subscribers, from teens to those over 70, responded to the survey. Nearly half of the respondents (49.6%) had one dog, 31.1% had two, 10.8% had three and 8.5% had four — or more — dogs.

As the U.S.’s leading and most trusted dog food review site, we’re passionate about dog food and believe in the importance of high-quality food — and judging from the answers from our respondents, you do too.

Here are some highlights of the survey’s findings.

How far would we go for our dogs?

We love our dogs. That much is obvious. The results of our survey show just how much affection we have for our canine friends, and what we’re prepared to do to care for them:

• 52% said they would go hungry to feed their dogs
• 92% are prepared to go into debt to pay for emergency veterinary care
• 96% said they would NEVER give up their dog due to food costs
• 86% would reduce their own personal spending, on items including clothes, in order to afford to buy quality food for their dog
• 61% have spent more money on their dog’s healthcare in the last year than on their own

How important is what we feed our dogs?

Our respondents need no convincing about the merits of high-quality dog food. In fact, 94% of respondents believed dogs live longer on a better diet, with 57% believing they would live ‘much longer’. Just over half of our respondents (53%) said they actually cared more about their dog’s nutritional needs than their own, while 44% said they read pet food labels more carefully than their own food labels.

However, despite these best intentions, 90% of those whose dog is overweight would still give that dog treats.

What do we feed our dogs?

Dry food, commonly known as kibble, is the most popular type of dog food, with 56.5% citing it as the food they primarily use. A fifth (21.1%) said they use a combination of food, with fresh frozen food the choice of 6.7% and home-cooked food favored by 4.7%. Raw, canned, air-dried and freeze-dried all came lower down the preference list.

Homemade meals are popular, with half of respondents having cooked for their dogs instead due to a lack of trust in commercial brands. Supplements are a big thing, too — 55% give their dog daily supplements to support their diet.

Insect-based diets remain rare among the dog parents surveyed — less than 1% of dog parents currently feed their dogs an insect-based diet — but 21% say they would consider it.

Our respondents reported mixed opinions on raw food and grain-free food, suggesting confusing information, misinformation and disinformation circulating online.

Some 25% believe grain-free is dangerous — but 32% aren’t sure whether it’s safe or not. There’s similar confusion on raw food, too, with fewer than half respondents (40%) believing raw food is safe and over a third (33%) admitting to not knowing. More conclusive are the views on lab-grown meat — 60% of our respondents would not feed it to their dog.

The origin of ingredients is important, with 92% trusting U.S.-sourced ingredients in their dog food. Though 64% said they would feed their dog ingredients from Canada and 47% ingredients from the E.U., there was a different reaction to two other countries. Only 20% said they’d be prepared to feed their dog ingredients from Mexico, while an extremely low 6.7% would give their dog food containing ingredients from China.

Where do we buy our dog food?

According to our respondents, dog food is purchased from a number of different sources. While 31% buy dog food from a pet store, 35% buy their dog food from Chewy, which compares favorably with the 10% buying from Amazon. Around 16% buy directly from the manufacturer, and 11% from their grocery store. A sizeable 29% of respondents buy dog food on subscription.

How much do we spend on dog food?

We asked: ‘How much do you typically spend on dog food per month?’ The answers told us that 13% of dog parents spend $200 or more a month; that figure rose to 17% of respondents with a household income of $150k or higher.

Sixty per cent of our respondents reported that they spend more on food per dog than they did a year ago, with 18% claiming that they spend ‘a lot more’ than a year previously. Some 52% admitted to being a ‘little’ worried about the cost of dog food, with 19% ‘very’ worried — but almost 30% said they weren’t worried at all.

Sadly, 15% said that the price of dog food would stop them getting another dog in the future, and 22% admitted it was a possibility. On the other hand, almost 40% said the cost of dog food would not prevent them from getting another dog, in addition to 21% saying ‘probably not’.

Who do we trust for dog nutrition advice?

So, where do our respondents get their nutrition advice? Where do they get their information about dog food from? And who do they listen to to make decisions about what to feed their pets?

Only 25% of respondents say they’re influenced by their veterinarian, with 56% say Dog Food Advisor Reviews influence their food choices (91% would recommend Dog Food Advisor to other dog parents).

Social media plays a part in dog food choices. In fact, 30% admitted to being influenced by social media when it comes to choosing dog food, and 23% follow dog food influencers. Our survey showed that 12% of 18-39-year-olds follow dog food influencers on TikTok while 10% follow Instagram influencers.

You can download and view the survey highlights here.