I have friends who have done a lot of research on dog food and this is what they tell me. A lot of dogs are allergic to corn, wheat, and soy (corn being the most likely) so you should try to avoid these ingredients. The primary ingredient should be a "meal" (such as "lamb meal"), not a byproduct. I wouldn't ever get a food that has chicken in it unless it is organic (no chemicals). Apparently most chicken farms have so many chickens that they can't keep track of the ones that are sick so they just put antibiotics in all of the feed. This means that the chicken ends up being full of chemicals that aren't good for us to eat. We humans also eat these chemicals, but we only have chicken a couple of times a week so it is not enough to do any damage. A dog, on the other hand, usually eats their food multiple times a day and having these chemicals in their system can eat away at their stomach lining and cause damage (sorry I can't remember what kind of damage). I feed Bentley Solid Gold brand food. The natural store that I purchase it at also carries California Natural, Eagle, Prairie, and Innova, which are also good brands. Hope this helps, I am just starting to learn about all of this myself
