You want the best for your dogs–just like any good pet parent. But finding the best dog food for your furry friend can be a challenge. We’re here to make the decision easier for you. Today, we’re analyzing two popular brands in the pet food space: Sundays for Dogs and Badlands Ranch dog food. 

Both brands pitch high-protein and less-processed diets for dogs, but they are vastly different products. Below, we break down ingredients, how it’s made, what customer reviews have to say, and overall quality. 

About the Brands

Before we dive into the product, let’s review the company bio for each brand. You’ll want to get a sense of how each brand was built. Knowing the faces behind your dog’s food can give you more peace of mind. 

Badlands Ranch Dog Food

Founded by actress Katherine Heigl, Badlands Ranch dog food offers high-protein recipes for adult pups. Heigl partnered with animal nutritionists to develop their air-dried dog food formulas. Their mission is to deliver “delicious products that nourish dogs inside and out for overall health.”

Sundays for Dogs

Sundays was founded and formulated by practicing vet, Dr. Tory Waxman. With the help of her engineer husband, Michael, they developed air-dried dog food recipes that rely completely on whole foods and real meat. The Waxmans still run their family-owned business and the food is made in the Midwest US. Sundays’ dog food is all about providing pups with 100% human-grade, all-natural dog food. 

Ingredients

Aside from how it’s made, the most important thing about your dog’s food are the ingredients inside. How does Badlands Ranch dog food stack up against Sundays? To compare, here are the ingredients inside each brand’s beef recipe. 

Sundays’ Dog Food Ingredients - USDA Beef Recipe

Beef, Beef Heart, Beef Liver, Beef Bone, Quinoa, Pumpkin, Fish Oil, Sunflower Oil, Zucchini, Kale, Flaxseed, Salt, Parsley, Dried Kelp, Dried Chicory Root, Turmeric, Mixed Tocopherols (Preservative), Ginger, Selenium Yeast, Blueberries, Carrots, Apples, Tomatoes, Shiitake Mushrooms, Broccoli, Oranges, Cranberries, Spinach, Beets, Cherries, Strawberries

Badlands Ranch Dog Food Ingredients - Superfood Complete (Beef Formula) 

Beef, Beef Heart, Beef Liver, Salmon, Flaxseed, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Carrots, Calcium Carbonate, Broccoli, Chia Seeds, Blueberry, Ginger, Salt, Turmeric, Lion’s Mane Mushroom (Hericium erinaceus), Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Selenium Yeast, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D3 Supplements, Mixed Tocopherols (preservative)

Both brands start out with real meat, which is the best thing for your dog’s diet. You’ll find whole foods in both, but Badlands Ranch supplements their food with artificial vitamins and minerals. These can be harder for your dog to digest, which is why we suggest avoiding recipes with artificial nutrients. 

Sundays’ dog food is truly 100% human-grade–no additives or synthetic supplements included. That’s why Sundays for Dogs is the winner for this round. 

Manufacturing & Cooking

Both brands offer air-dried dog food. Air-drying is a gentler cooking process that preserves the natural nutrients, flavor, and moisture of the ingredients. It’s a much better alternative to the high heat and pressure needed to make brittle kibble. 

Sundays’ dog food embraces the air-drying process. They use enough heat as a “kill step” to eliminate pathogens or bacteria from raw ingredients. But the cooking temperatures are low enough to keep the food tasting fresh for even the pickiest pups. 

Badlands Ranch dog food also positions their product as air-dried and “cooked responsibly at low temperatures.” But the added vitamins and minerals make it difficult to believe the food is complete and balanced on it’s own. 

The winner is: Sundays. Though cooking processes are similar, Sundays manages to balance their dog food recipes by AAFCO standards without adding in synthetic nutrients. 

Customer Reviews

Both brands have a good reputation–but let’s put the money on the paws. What do dogs (and their humans) have to say about both dog food brands? Let’s analyze the real customer reviews. 

Badlands Ranch Dog Food Reviews (4.3 / 5 stars on Amazon) 

• “My dogs love this however, the fish/chicken formula has a very strong fish odor so be aware of that. It’s quite expensive but I feel my dogs deserve to be healthy and have the proper food. If you don’t mind the smell and cost--this is a good product.”

• “It’s expensive, is high quality and Czar loves it. Our family is trying to give Czar the best food, so he can live well.”

• “Wonderful, healthy dog food, my dogs crave it like snacks so obviously well made and must be good ingredients... awfully expensive however. Wish it were more affordable.”

Sundays’ Dog Food Reviews (4.7 / 5 stars on brand review site)

• “Sundays is easy to serve, no prep involved. He is usually the pickiest when it comes to food. I've tried so many brands before landing on Sundays. He can't get enough! Happy pup, happy life :)”

• “Jasper loves the Turkey Recipe as his food that he thinks are treats! He favors it over the beef recipe from Badlands Ranch.” 
• “Our pup has allergies so we were looking for “clean” food for her and found Sundays. She loves it and we feel much happier feeding her healthy food. Only drawback so far is there is a lot of very ground up food/ crumbs that she doesn’t always eat, especially at the bottom of the bag. Otherwise, no complaints!”

Since customer reviews are hard to quantify, there’s no winner for this round. For more context, research Sundays and Badlands Ranch dog food reviews to get the full customer experience. 

The winner is…

Sundays for Dogs wins the battle of the brands this time. While Badlands Ranch dog food offers real meat, the synthetic vitamins and minerals can be difficult for dogs to absorb. Sundays’ dog food also offers more details about their formulation and air-drying process, making them the clear winner. 

Before you Google “where can I buy Badlands Ranch dog food”, give your pup a taste of Sundays. Our subscribers get 20% off every automatic reorder, free shipping forever, and a meal plan customized to your dog’s needs. Try Sundays’ dog food today and see how switching can save your pup’s health!