About BowlGrade

Database captured 2026-07-25

BowlGrade exists because dog food information online is mostly opinion, and the actual facts — printed on every label by law — were never collected anywhere usable.

Compiled by Arnas Kazlaus, Editor

Verified against manufacturer sources · Updated 2026-07-25

We collect guaranteed analysis, calorie statements, ingredient lists, and AAFCO adequacy statements from manufacturers' published label data; normalise them so different formats can honestly be compared; track FDA recall records per brand; and link every number to its source. Where a brand doesn't publish something, we show the gap instead of filling it with guesses.

That is currently 122 foods from 20 brands, 662 individual label values each linked to the document it came from, and 32 recall events. It also includes 55 values that are missing, and 9 foods whose makers publish no guaranteed analysis at all. Those are on the site too, named, because a database that quietly drops what it could not find is telling you something untrue about its own coverage.

We are independent: no manufacturer owns any part of this site, pays for placement, or reviews content before publication. The site is reader-supported through affiliate links, disclosed wherever they appear — see how we make money and the full methodology.

Who writes this

Arnas Kazlaus, Editor. Compiles the BowlGrade label database and verifies every published figure against the manufacturer's own source document.

In practice that means reading manufacturer label documents, transcribing what they publish, checking the arithmetic that turns those figures into dry-matter and per-1,000-kcal values, and writing down what could not be found. Working subjects: Pet food labelling · AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements · Dry-matter basis conversion · Pet food recall records.

It does not mean clinical judgement. No veterinarian is on staff and no veterinarian reviews this site's content today. When one is retained, their name and credentials will appear in the byline of every page they review, and nowhere else. Corrections, questions and reformulation reports: [email protected].

What we will not publish

The limits are as much a part of the method as the arithmetic, so they are written down rather than implied:

No diagnosis, and no advice about a specific dog's medical condition.
No therapeutic or condition claims — nothing here treats, prevents or manages an illness, and we do not repeat a manufacturer's claim that it does.
No allergy advice. An ingredient list is not an allergy test.
No "best food for" a breed, an age or a life stage.
No score without its working. Every food's number is broken into five components on its own page, each naming the measurement and the threshold behind it — and any food whose maker publishes too little is set aside rather than marked down.

Not veterinary advice

This site publishes label data and standard calculations. Consult your veterinarian before changing your dog's diet, particularly for a dog with a medical condition.

How this is funded

BowlGrade is reader-supported. Some outbound links are affiliate links, marked rel="sponsored", and a purchase made through one pays a commission at no extra cost to you. No manufacturer has paid for placement, edited a page, or seen content before publication, and no brand is covered differently for having a programme or not having one. The full list of which brands pay us and which do not is on the affiliate disclosure page; what we do and do not store about you is on the privacy page.

Corrections and reformulation reports

Manufacturers change recipes without announcements. If the bag in your hand disagrees with our data, we want to know: email [email protected] with the product name and a photo of the label panel, and we'll verify and update with a dated note. The full policy, what to send, and the log of every change we have made are on the corrections page.

What's next

Price-history tracking (so shrinkflation and quiet price hikes become visible), reformulation detection (label diffs over time), per-brand recall alerts by email, and coverage expansion across more brands and formats. If you'd like recall alerts when they launch, the recall tracker page will have the signup.

Sources 122 foods Methodology Captured 2026-07-25 [email protected]