- High meat60% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
Adult dog food
Adult maintenance is where almost every dog spends most of their life, and it is the most competitive shelf in the shop - which cuts both ways. Competition keeps prices honest and choice enormous, but it also produces the loudest marketing in dog food: ancient grains, superfoods, botanicals, and other decorations that move a label upmarket without necessarily moving the recipe.
Adult dog food
64.1/100
average ODF Score
- Foods on this list2,452
- Price per day£0.16 - £11.96
Top score 94/100 - Alpha Spirit Realfood Complete
2,452 foods
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- High meat32% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- High meat33% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- High meat60% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- HypoallergenicLimited, single-source ingredients - kinder to sensitive dogs.
- High meat65% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- HypoallergenicLimited, single-source ingredients - kinder to sensitive dogs.
- Sensitive stomachFormulated to be gentle on digestion.
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- High meat55% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- High meat60% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- High meat60% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- High meat42% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- High meat40% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- High meat65% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- HypoallergenicLimited, single-source ingredients - kinder to sensitive dogs.
- High meat65% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- HypoallergenicLimited, single-source ingredients - kinder to sensitive dogs.
- High meat62% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- High meat60% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- High meat65% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- HypoallergenicLimited, single-source ingredients - kinder to sensitive dogs.
- High meat55% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- High meat98% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- High meat43% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- High meat31.5% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- High meat70% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- HypoallergenicLimited, single-source ingredients - kinder to sensitive dogs.
- High meat60% named meat (30% or more counts as high).
- NaturalNo artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
- Grain-freeMade without any grains.
- HypoallergenicLimited, single-source ingredients - kinder to sensitive dogs.
A healthy adult dog's nutritional needs are, frankly, not exotic. That means the real differences between adult foods come down to the things our score measures: the quality and clarity of the ingredients, sensible nutritional balance, and what you pay per day for it. A named meat with a declared percentage at the top of the list beats a poetic description of a farm every time.
This is also the category where price-per-day comparisons matter most, because feeding an adult dog is a years-long running cost - a few pence per day either way compounds into real money over a dog's lifetime. Everything below is scored /100 by the open algorithm. Sort by score, then look at what the foods near the top actually cost; you may be pleasantly surprised.
Adult dog food FAQs
What should I look for in adult dog food?
The same three things our score measures: ingredient quality (a named meat with a declared percentage leading the list), clear labelling with nothing hiding behind 'derivatives', and sensible nutritional balance. After that it is price per day - adult food is a running cost for years, so small daily differences compound into serious money.
How much should I feed my adult dog?
Start from the feeding guide on the pack for your dog's weight, then adjust to the dog in front of you: you should feel ribs easily under a light fat cover and see a waist from above. Feeding guides assume an average dog that may not exist - activity, neutering and age all shift the real requirement.
Is it OK to feed the same food every day?
Nutritionally, yes - a complete food is designed to be the whole diet, and most dogs do perfectly well on one good recipe for years. Some owners rotate foods for variety, which is also fine when transitions are gradual. What matters is that whatever you settle on scores well and visibly suits your dog.
Related guides
Go deeper on the topics behind this page.
How to switch your dog’s food without upsetting their stomachThe 7-day transition, what normal looks like on day three, and when to stop. Most "this food upset my dog" is actually a rushed changeover.Read the guide
Puppy feeding guide: how much, how often, and when to switchHow much to feed a puppy, how often, when to move to adult food - and the one mistake that can permanently damage a large-breed dog.Read the guide
How much does it really cost to feed a dog?The gap between the cheapest and priciest way to feed the same dog is 72x - and 62 foods score 80+ for under a pound a day. The real numbers.Read the guide
Is grain-free dog food bad for dogs?Grain-free scores better in our data - but not for the reason the packaging implies. The DCM question, the price confound, and who it is actually for.Read the guide






















