How we collect and check dog food data
Where Right Dog Food's product data comes from, what we record for every formula, how we match ingredients to allergens, and how we check and correct it.
Updated
Every product on Right Dog Food is built from information the manufacturer publishes. We record it as published, link to where we found it, and show the date we last checked it. This page explains each step.
Sources, in order of priority
- Manufacturer product pages: ingredient lists, guaranteed analysis, calorie statements, feeding guides and AAFCO statements.
- Manufacturer product guides and PDFs, which often include calorie content and full ingredient lists.
- Official recall notices from the US Food and Drug Administration.
- Photos of real packaging, used to verify a sample of our records against the bag itself.
We don’t copy data from retailers, review sites or other databases. Ingredient lists and nutrient values are factual information printed on the product; we record them in full and in the manufacturer’s order.
What we record for every formula
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | Full list, in label order, exactly as published |
| Guaranteed analysis | Crude protein (min), crude fat (min), crude fiber (max), moisture (max), plus any other guarantees listed |
| Calories | kcal ME per kg and per cup or can, from the calorie statement |
| AAFCO statement | Life stage and whether adequacy was shown by formulation or feeding trial |
| Format and sizes | Dry, wet, fresh, freeze-dried or raw; package sizes |
| Source | The URL we took the data from |
| Last checked | The date we last confirmed the data against the source |
If a manufacturer doesn’t publish a value, we show it as missing. We never estimate or fill gaps with typical values.
Calculated values
Some values on our pages are calculated from the label, and we always say so:
- Dry matter basis: label percentage ÷ (100 − moisture %) × 100. See dry matter basis, explained.
- Daily portions: resting energy requirement (70 × body weight in kg^0.75) multiplied by a life-stage factor, divided by the food’s calorie content. See how much to feed your dog.
- Price per day: cost of the calories a 20 kg adult needs, where we track a price.
Matching ingredients to allergens
Our ingredient dictionary maps ingredient names to allergen and ingredient groups. “Chicken meal”, “chicken fat”, “hydrolyzed chicken protein” and “poultry by-product meal” all map to chicken, for example.
Every ingredient gets one of three results for each group:
- Contains: the ingredient names that group.
- May contain: the ingredient could include it but doesn’t say (“natural flavor”, “animal fat”).
- Not found in this list: nothing matches.
We never describe a food as “safe” or “unsafe”. Results describe the ingredient list we recorded on the check date.
Checking our own work
- We check a random sample of newly added products by hand against the manufacturer’s page.
- If the error rate in a sample is above 2%, we stop adding products from that source and fix the process first.
- We recheck formulas on a regular cycle and record changes with a new check date.
Corrections
If our data differs from the label on your bag, tell us through the contact page with the product name and, if you can, a photo of the label. We check it against the manufacturer’s current information, correct the record and update the check date.
Limits
Manufacturers change recipes, sometimes without changing the product name. Our data is accurate to the source on the check date shown. For a dog with a strict avoid-list, always read the label on the bag you buy. Our post on why we show our sources explains why we make this easy.