About Open Dog Food

Why this exists

In August 2026, a major voluntary recall left many UK dog owners questioning what they were feeding. Trust in dog food was already fragile, and that moment made it clear that dog owners needed better, more reliable ways to judge what they were feeding.

Around the same time, one of the UK's largest dog food ranking sites published a statement disclosing that a board member had been affiliated with one of their highest-scoring recommended brands for more than two years. The connection had since ended, and there was no allegation that scores had been directly manipulated. Even so, the disclosure made the site's independence hard to take at face value. If a relationship of that kind could exist without prominent disclosure, there was no way to be sure what else might influence the scores - and the methodology wasn't open, so there was no way to check.

Open Dog Food is the alternative: a ranking system where the data, the weights and the calculation are open by default, so anyone can reproduce a score and decide for themselves whether it makes sense.

What we do differently

Open Dog Food ranks recipes by what is actually on the label. We read the ingredient list, match every entry to a transparent glossary, and apply the same mathematical rules to every product. Nobody adjusts scores by hand, and brands have no say in the outcome.

• Open ingredient glossary, so you can see exactly how each item is classified
• The full scoring method is published, so every number can be traced
• Every score comes only from the declared recipe and processing method
• Each product page shows the full breakdown behind its score

We reward transparency. A label that prints real percentages, names its meats and avoids vague fillers will score better than one that hides behind marketing terms. That is the core of the scoring approach.

Independence and disclosure

I work in the dog food industry for a premium fresh dog food company. I want to be completely upfront about that, because transparency is the whole point of this site.

Open Dog Food is a personal hobby. It is not affiliated with my employer, not sponsored by any brand, and not influenced by anyone I work for. The algorithm does not know or care who makes a product; it only sees the ingredients printed on the label.

Keeping the methodology, weights and data published is how I prove that. If the scoring method, the model coefficients and the ingredient data are all visible, there is nowhere for bias to hide.

Disclaimer

Scores and ingredient classifications are our best interpretation of publicly available information, but mistakes can happen. Product recipes and labels change, so a score may not reflect the latest formulation. Open Dog Food is not veterinary advice; if you have concerns about your dog's diet, speak to a qualified vet or canine nutritionist. Read the full disclaimer.