The main protein moves a dog food’s score far less than the type of food does. Within one type, the main proteins differ in median score by 13.5 points at most. Between dry and raw food the median differs by 58. Our data, as at 5 October 2026, covers 2,120 ranked UK dog foods. The median (middle) dry food scores 30, the median wet food 61 and the median raw food 88.
Within dry food, chicken foods have a median score of 32, lamb 28, beef 34, salmon 36 and other fish 26. The highest dry row is duck (37.5) and the lowest is pork (24).
Price moves with the meat as well. In dry food the median runs from £3.55 per kg for beef to £5.39 for duck. Per 1,000 kcal (kilocalories, the energy on the label) it runs from £0.99 (beef) to £1.51 (duck).
Foods that name no meat score lowest of any group of 30 or more foods, with a median of 22 across 178 foods.
How we pick the main protein
The main protein is the first meat or fish named in a food’s ingredient list. Makers must list ingredients by weight, heaviest first.[1] The weights are those of the ingredients as they go into the mix.[2] Fresh meat is mostly water, so it can lead a list and still be a smaller share of the finished food.[2]
Fats, oils, stocks and digests do not count as the main protein. Salmon has its own row, and “other fish” covers cod, herring, white fish and similar.
178 of the 2,120 foods (8%) name no meat or fish that we can read, so they have no main protein. Some labels use a category such as “meat and animal derivatives” in place of an animal. The rules allow that for dog food.[1][2]
We count the foods the site ranks: complete recipes with a score. Toppers, chews and prescription diets are left out.
The score gives no points for a particular animal. It reads how much meat a recipe declares and how much starch it has. It also reads how processed the recipe is and whether the meat is named. The scoring method has the detail.
Why we compare within a type of food
Comparing every beef food with every chicken food would mislead. Beef foods have a median score of 64, against 38 for chicken foods: a gap of 26 points. But 61% of the chicken foods are dry, against 27% of the beef foods.
| Main protein | Foods | Median score | Dry | Wet | Raw | Fresh or dried |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 746 | 38 | 61% | 27% | 10% | 2% |
| Beef | 240 | 64 | 27% | 44% | 25% | 4% |
| Turkey | 240 | 52 | 41% | 42% | 13% | 4% |
| Lamb | 217 | 38 | 52% | 29% | 16% | 3% |
| No named meat | 178 | 22 | 72% | 28% | 0% | 0% |
| Salmon | 152 | 37 | 80% | 15% | 5% | 1% |
| Other fish | 108 | 31 | 74% | 20% | 3% | 3% |
| Duck | 88 | 50.5 | 55% | 23% | 20% | 2% |
| Pork | 83 | 36 | 52% | 31% | 14% | 2% |
| Venison | 31 | 67 | 23% | 32% | 35% | 10% |
Only proteins with 30 or more ranked foods are shown. The last four columns are the percentage of that protein’s foods of each type.
Hold the type of food fixed and the gap closes:
- Dry: beef 34, chicken 32 (65 and 457 foods).
- Wet: beef 64, chicken 61 (105 and 203 foods).
- Raw: beef 87.5, chicken 88 (60 and 71 foods).
Within each type the gap is 3 points or less. Most of the overall difference comes from how many of each protein’s foods are dry, wet or raw.
Dry food scores lower on our single scale. The median dry food declares 33.5% meat and 44.6% estimated carbohydrate as a share of dry matter (the food with the water taken out). For wet food the figures are 60% and 14.4%, and for raw food 90% and 3.3%. The score rewards more meat and less starch, and every type is measured on the same scale.
Dry food by main protein
We rank 1,171 dry foods (kibble, baked and cold-pressed) from 91 brands, with a median score of 30.
Duck has the highest median score of the proteins with 10 or more foods (37.5, from 48 foods). Pork has the lowest (24, from 43 foods). The spread is 13.5 points.
Per kg, the median is lowest for beef (£3.55) and highest for duck (£5.39). Per 1,000 kcal it is lowest for beef (£0.99) and highest for duck (£1.51).
Salmon foods declare the most meat at the median (41%) and lamb the least of the named proteins (26%). Meat share is the largest part of our score, which is one reason rows with more meat can score higher.
| Main protein | Foods | Median score | Median meat | Median price per kg | Median price per 1,000 kcal | Single-protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duck | 48 (29 brands) | 37.5 | 40% | £5.39 | £1.51 | 29% |
| Salmon | 121 (48 brands) | 36 | 41% | £5.33 | £1.49 | 47% |
| Beef | 65 (32 brands) | 34 | 32.5% | £3.55 | £0.99 | 25% |
| Turkey | 98 (35 brands) | 33.5 | 34% | £4.17 | £1.17 | 36% |
| Chicken | 457 (70 brands) | 32 | 33% | £3.98 | £1.12 | 15% |
| Lamb | 113 (43 brands) | 28 | 26% | £4.00 | £1.14 | 31% |
| Other fish | 80 (28 brands) | 26 | 33% | £4.15 | £1.11 | 19% |
| Pork | 43 (15 brands) | 24 | 34% | £5.21 | £1.39 | 12% |
| No named meat | 128 (19 brands) | 20 | 17.5% | £5.27 | £1.48 | 0% |
Medians use the foods in each row. Price is the best-value pack in stock. Short-dated and clearance stock, samples, prices that look like slips and calories outside the usual range for the type are left out of the price columns. Meat uses foods whose label gives a figure. Single-protein is the share of the row’s foods that are. Treat rows of fewer than 30 foods as a guide only.
The highest-scoring food in each row that is in stock, made for adult dogs, and has a price we trust:
- Duck: AATU Free Run Duck Dry Dog Food, score 58, £6.68 per kg.
- Salmon: AATU Salmon Dry Dog Food, score 57, £10.00 per kg.
- Beef: Orijen Regional Red Adult Dry Dog Food with Beef Lamb & Pork, score 62, £10.81 per kg.
- Turkey: Orijen Small Breed Adult Dry Dog Food with Chicken Turkey Quail & Fish, score 62, £11.55 per kg.
- Chicken: Orijen Fit and Trim Dog Food, score 63, £8.33 per kg.
- Lamb: Carnilove ACTIVE Lamb & Wild Boar Dog Food, score 51, £6.16 per kg.
- Other fish: Nourish Pet Food 80/20 Grain Free Salmon with Herring, Haddock, Trout & Sweet Potato Dry Dog Food, score 60, £5.03 per kg.
- Pork: Rocco Adult Classic Pork with Chicken, score 40, £3.35 per kg.
- No named meat: Markus Mühle NaturNah (cold-pressed), score 33, £2.92 per kg.
These proteins lead fewer than 10 dry foods each, too few for a median: venison (7), insect (3), ostrich (3), horse (2), shellfish (2) and buffalo (1).
See every dry food, best score first, or our best dry foods.
Wet food by main protein
We rank 639 wet foods (tins, trays and pouches) from 62 brands, with a median score of 61.
Beef has the highest median score of the proteins with 10 or more foods (64, from 105 foods). Other fish has the lowest (55.5, from 22 foods). The spread is 8.5 points.
Per kg, the median is lowest for beef (£3.80) and highest for venison (£8.97). Per 1,000 kcal it is lowest for beef (£3.91) and highest for venison (£8.34).
| Main protein | Foods | Median score | Median meat | Median price per kg | Median price per 1,000 kcal | Single-protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef | 105 (31 brands) | 64 | 65.5% | £3.80 | £3.91 | 24% |
| Duck | 20 (12 brands) | 62.5 | 65.5% | £7.01 | £6.78 | 40% |
| Venison | 10 (8 brands) | 61.5 | 64% | £8.97 | £8.34 | 40% |
| Chicken | 203 (48 brands) | 61 | 60% | £6.13 | £6.47 | 35% |
| Pork | 26 (14 brands) | 60.5 | 64% | £6.87 | £6.25 | 35% |
| Turkey | 100 (34 brands) | 60 | 60% | £6.77 | £6.55 | 39% |
| Lamb | 63 (27 brands) | 60 | 60% | £5.06 | £4.44 | 46% |
| Salmon | 23 (17 brands) | 58 | 60% | £4.58 | £4.05 | 52% |
| Other fish | 22 (13 brands) | 55.5 | 60% | £5.95 | £6.56 | 64% |
| No named meat | 50 (6 brands) | 25 | 66% | £9.14 | £10.45 | 0% |
Medians use the foods in each row. Price is the best-value pack in stock. Short-dated and clearance stock, samples, prices that look like slips and calories outside the usual range for the type are left out of the price columns. Meat uses foods whose label gives a figure. Single-protein is the share of the row’s foods that are. Treat rows of fewer than 30 foods as a guide only.
The highest-scoring food in each row that is in stock, made for adult dogs, and has a price we trust:
- Beef: Purizon Single Meat - Beef With Hibiscus Blossoms, score 73, £5.50 per kg.
- Duck: Happy Dog Pure Duck Wet Dog Food (France), score 82, £6.87 per kg.
- Venison: ZIWI Original Canned Wet Venison Recipe for dogs, score 68, £15.36 per kg.
- Chicken: Purizon Single Meat - Chicken With Chamomile Blossoms, score 73, £9.16 per kg.
- Pork: Rocco Classic Pork - Pork With Chicken & Salmon, score 70, £2.37 per kg.
- Turkey: Happy Dog Pure Turkey Wet Dog Food (Texas), score 83, £6.87 per kg.
- Lamb: Happy Dog Sensitive Pure Lamb Wet Dog Food (New Zealand), score 67, £6.87 per kg.
- Salmon: Butcher's Joints & Coat Dog Food Tins, score 65, £2.56 per kg.
- Other fish: Ruff's Recipes Fish Pie with Potato & Peas Adult Wet Dog Food, score 66, £9.27 per kg.
- No named meat: Royal Canin Starter Mother & BabyDog Adult Wet Dog & Puppy Food, score 28, £10.34 per kg.
These proteins lead fewer than 10 wet foods each, too few for a median: game birds (4), horse (3), rabbit (3), insect (2), kangaroo (2), buffalo (1) and 2 more.
See every wet food, best score first, or our best wet foods.
Raw food by main protein
We rank 258 raw foods (frozen raw) from 23 brands, with a median score of 88.
Venison has the highest median score of the proteins with 10 or more foods (92, from 11 foods). Duck has the lowest (86.5, from 18 foods). The spread is 5.5 points.
Per kg, the median is lowest for chicken (£5.00) and highest for venison (£7.70). Per 1,000 kcal it is lowest for duck (£3.27) and highest for venison (£5.51).
| Main protein | Foods | Median score | Median meat | Median price per kg | Median price per 1,000 kcal | Single-protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venison | 11 (7 brands) | 92 | 95% | £7.70 | £5.51 | 9% |
| Lamb | 35 (13 brands) | 91 | 94.5% | £6.00 | £4.01 | 40% |
| Pork | 12 (8 brands) | 91 | 95.4% | £6.08 | £4.66 | 17% |
| Chicken | 71 (20 brands) | 88 | 90.4% | £5.00 | £4.16 | 24% |
| Beef | 60 (18 brands) | 87.5 | 85% | £5.79 | £4.07 | 37% |
| Turkey | 32 (17 brands) | 87.5 | 85% | £5.90 | £4.35 | 38% |
| Duck | 18 (11 brands) | 86.5 | 90.4% | £5.01 | £3.27 | 44% |
Medians use the foods in each row. Price is the best-value pack in stock. Short-dated and clearance stock, samples, prices that look like slips and calories outside the usual range for the type are left out of the price columns. Meat uses foods whose label gives a figure. Single-protein is the share of the row’s foods that are. Treat rows of fewer than 30 foods as a guide only.
The highest-scoring food in each row that is in stock, made for adult dogs, and has a price we trust:
- Venison: Paleo Ridge Classic Wild Venison and Duck, score 97, £11.18 per kg.
- Lamb: Paleo Ridge Classic Lamb Tripe, Kangaroo and Chicken, score 97, £7.69 per kg.
- Pork: Henley Raw Just Pork, score 96, £5.70 per kg.
- Chicken: ProDog Raw Chicken & Lamb, score 97, £4.78 per kg.
- Beef: Paleo Ridge Classic Beef Tripe and Turkey, score 99, £4.99 per kg.
- Turkey: Paleo Ridge Classic Turkey, score 97, £7.89 per kg.
- Duck: Henley Raw Just Duck, score 94, £6.80 per kg.
These proteins lead fewer than 10 raw foods each, too few for a median: salmon (7), rabbit (6), other fish (3), goose (2) and goat (1).
See every raw food, best score first, or our best raw foods.
Fresh, freeze-dried and air-dried food
We rank 29 freeze-dried and air-dried foods, with a median score of 76. We rank 23 fresh foods, with a median score of 74.
That is 52 foods in all, too few to give each protein a fair median. We leave these types out of the tables. See the freeze-dried and air-dried foods or the fresh foods.
Single-protein foods
A single-protein food has one named animal protein and nothing unnamed. Oils are ignored. Every other animal ingredient counts, including fats, stocks, meals, milk and egg, so a recipe with chicken and egg is not single-protein.
584 of the 2,120 foods we rank (28%) are single-protein. By type, 21% of dry foods, 34% of wet foods and 31% of raw foods are single-protein.
| Type | Single protein | Several proteins | No named meat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry | 251 foods, median 36 | 792 foods, median 30 | 128 foods, median 20 |
| Wet | 219 foods, median 61 | 370 foods, median 61 | 50 foods, median 25 |
| Raw | 81 foods, median 86 | 177 foods, median 88 | no foods |
In dry food, salmon (47%) and turkey (36%) have the highest shares of single-protein recipes. Pork (12%) and chicken (15%) have the lowest.
Single-protein dry foods have a median score of 36, against 30 for dry foods with several proteins. Some of that gap is built in. A food that also lists an unnamed category, such as “meat and animal derivatives”, cannot be single-protein. The score gives that category no credit for the kind of meat.
See our best single-protein foods. The full list covers every type, dry only, wet only or raw only.
Foods that name no meat
178 ranked foods (8%) name no meat or fish that we can read. Their median score is 22.
- Dry: 128 foods from 19 brands, median score 20. The highest score is 33. The median price is £5.27 per kg, against £4.47 for all dry foods.
- Wet: 50 foods from 6 brands, median score 25. The highest score is 62. They declare a median of 66% meat, against 60% to 65.5% for the named wet rows.
The score reads what the label names. Unnamed categories such as “meat and animal derivatives” cost points under “What kind of meat?”. That is one reason a food can declare plenty of meat and still score low. The scoring method shows how.
Check the label, not just the name
A product name is a guide to the recipe, not a promise about what leads the ingredient list. We looked at 1,278 ranked foods whose name mentions exactly one of 8 meats. In 1,169 of them (91%) that meat is the first meat on the ingredient list. All but 6 name it somewhere on the list.
| Name mentions | Foods | Meat is first on the list | Meat is somewhere on the list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pork | 18 | 100% | 100% |
| Chicken | 465 | 97% | 99% |
| Beef | 147 | 94% | 100% |
| Turkey | 201 | 89% | 99% |
| Venison | 24 | 88% | 100% |
| Salmon | 134 | 87% | 100% |
| Lamb | 209 | 85% | 100% |
| Duck | 80 | 84% | 99% |
A plain whole-word match on the product name, so “Lamb & Rice” counts as lamb. Meats with fewer than 15 such foods are left out.
Duck is the loosest match: 84% of the 80 foods with duck in the name list it first. Pork is the closest, at 100% of 18 foods.
If a name or picture emphasises an ingredient, the label has to give its percentage.[1] Look for that figure. Our guide to reading a dog food label explains the wording makers use.
Price per kg or per 1,000 kcal
Per kg, the median wet food costs £6.08 and the median dry food £4.47. Per 1,000 kcal the gap is far wider: £6.14 against £1.23.
The reason is energy. The median wet food carries 101 kcal per 100 g and the median dry food 359, with raw food at 151. A kilo of wet food goes less far.
So compare price per kg within a type of food, as the tables above do. Use price per 1,000 kcal to compare across types.
Our data shows which proteins cost more, not why. The maker, the form of the meat and the pack size all vary, and a median cannot separate them. We do not guess at reasons such as farming or supply costs, because the data cannot show them.
Each table shows how many brands sit behind a row. A row built from a few brands says more about those brands than about the meat.
Browse by protein and type
Each list holds every food that names the protein anywhere in its ingredient list. That is more than the tables above, which count only foods that lead with it. Counts are ranked foods, and a list can also show complementary foods such as toppers.
| Made with | All types | Dry | Wet | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 883 foods | 520 foods | 247 foods | 101 foods |
| Beef | 361 foods | 75 foods | 151 foods | 122 foods |
| Turkey | 507 foods | 303 foods | 145 foods | 49 foods |
| Lamb | 324 foods | 151 foods | 95 foods | 71 foods |
| Salmon | 313 foods | 211 foods | 62 foods | 32 foods |
| Fish, including salmon | 531 foods | 366 foods | 97 foods | 58 foods |
| Duck | 156 foods | 76 foods | 41 foods | 37 foods |
| Pork | 158 foods | 88 foods | 47 foods | 14 foods |
| Venison | 64 foods | 19 foods | 27 foods | 14 foods |
Want a recipe without a particular meat? The free-from filter checks the whole ingredient list, not just the first meat.
- Free from chicken (660 ranked foods)
- Free from beef (1,133 ranked foods)
- Free from turkey (891 ranked foods)
- Free from lamb (1,165 ranked foods)
- Free from fish (978 ranked foods)
- Free from duck (1,075 ranked foods)
- Free from pork (1,253 ranked foods)
- Free from venison (2,056 ranked foods)
Examples in this guide are chosen by score alone, from foods that are in stock and have a price we trust. Prices are ordered by value, never by what we might earn. How we are funded.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 767/2009, Article 17: specific mandatory labelling requirements for compound feed, legislation.gov.uk
- Code of Good Labelling Practice for Pet Food (October 2019), section 3.2.1.4 Feed material declaration, FEDIAF
This guide is general information, not veterinary advice. Spotted an error? Tell us.