You want to give your pet the safest and most nutritious food available, especially after the slew of dog food recalls in 2007 due to melamine-tainted wheat gluten. With so many brands on the market, how do decide which food is the best? We did a little research to identify experts’ favorites. Here is what we found:

Innova EVO contains no grains, only potatoes which are a great source of B vitamins and minerals. The top four ingredients are turkey, chicken, turkey meal, and chicken meal. Other high-quality ingredients include whole fruits, vegetables, and eggs.

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul is a reasonably priced all-natural brand made with top-quality ingredients, including four meats. The brand offers a wide selection, with formulas for puppies, adults, large and small breeds, overweight dogs, pregnant dogs, and seniors.

AvoDerm natural formulas contain avocados, which have an abundance of vitamins A, E, and C, as well as folate, potassium, niacin, and essential fatty acids. Choose from chicken and brown rice; lamb and brown rice; chicken meal, brown rice, and oatmeal; and vegetarian formulas.

Canidae offers dry and canned formulas for dogs in all different life stages. Made with human-grade ingredients including hormone-free meat, Canidae food includes 10 skin and coat conditioners.

Of course these are only a few possibilities. The following resources will help you make a smart choice:

• The Truth about Pet Food is a video that exposes the practices of pet food manufacturers and teaches you how to read a pet food label.
• Rate It All provides consumer ratings of different dog food brands.
• A+ FRR for Dogs lists a side-by-side comparison of five popular dog food brands: Flint River Ranch, Iams Chunks, Eukanaba Adult Maintenance Formula, PETsMART Premier Oven Baked Chicken Recipe, and Science Diet Canine Maintenance Original Formula.

Tags: AvoDerm, Best Dog Food Brands, Canidae, Chicken soup, dog food recalls, Innova EVO