Ol' Roy (Walmart) Dog Food Review

What to feed your dog seems to spark heated debate. The fact is that by-products, rendered meats, or blood and bone meal are crappy things to feed a dog. Wheat and corn are also difficult for dogs to digest. What goes in dog food is barely regulated. As a matter of fact, it's OK to include peanut shells and small amounts of newspaper in dog food.

Ol' Roy is cheap. It is full of garbage ingredients and fillers. If you have a big dog that eats a lot, you may think it's the most economical. That may not be true. Because of the low nutritive value of Ol' Roy, dogs have to eat more of it to meet their needs. You will most likely find that a higher-quality food with no fillers or by-products has a higher density of nutrients and fiber, so a dog won't need such a huge amount to be full.

If you try to switch a dog off Ol' Roy, you may have a challenge on your hands. Ol' Roy contains corn syrup (in the first 5 ingredients) which sweetens it considerably. Of course a dog doesn't want to eat bland tasting food now. It's called "finicky eater syndrome."

I know there are many people who say their dogs have been on it for their lives, or have raised litters on it or whatever and they have had no problems. Many dog owners only notice when there is a diagnosible disease present. A dog can't communicate to you that his quality of life could be better. Excessive licking, scratching, shedding, head shaking, lower energy and tooth/gum problems are not as noticable as a large cancerous mass and could be considered normal if he hasn't ever been on any other food

Are you a bad person? Do you hate dogs if you feed them this? Probably not. If you're treating your dog as a valued member of the family but you feed him Ol' Roy, you're not a dog abuser. Many dogs don't even get that treatment.

The truth is that Ol' Roy is a dog food with the lowest quality ingredients available and is bulked up with fillers. Its main lure is its price. If Walmart doubled the price of Ol' Roy tomorrow, most people using it and touting its greatness would try to find a cheaper alternative.

Being cheap doesn't make you a bad person. If there's some extra wiggle room in your budget for dog food made with real meat, or more importantly, NO CORN or WHEAT, you should upgrade your dog food choice. You may be surprised to find that the dog you thought was "fine" can be "great."