The Tractor Supply Company is an American retail store. It stocks products related to home improvement, lawn & garden maintenance, agriculture, livestock, and pet supplies. However, livestock and pet products make up the bulk of their sales.
The company has over 1700 stores spread across the United States and has been in business for over 75 years. The company headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee.
Tractor Supply Company has its own exclusive brand of pet food, which is 4Health. 4Health has an extensive product range, including grain-free and grain-inclusive formulas, canned dog food, and niche products such as puppy, senior, and small/large breed recipes.
Should I Buy My Dog Food At Tractor Supply?
Many dog owners are hesitant to support and purchase their products from large retail brands like PetSmart or PetCo. Instead, they choose to support small local pet retailers.
So, where does Tractor Supply fit in? It certainly isn’t one of the behemoths of the pet food world, but it is far from a mom-and-pop shop and has a vast number of stores nationwide.
If Tractor Supply is local to you and you are regularly in the area or visiting for other reasons, there is no reason you should not purchase your dog food there. They offer competitive prices and a broad range of products from reliable and trusted brands.
However, if Tractor Supply isn’t local or you wouldn’t frequently shop there, you should price up and consider other online retailers like Chewy, who could save you not only time but also money.
They offer the convenience of home deliveries and subscription-style services, which have catapulted their growth.
Best Dog Food At Tractor Supply
4Health Untamed Red Canyon Recipe Review
4Health is Tractor Supply’s own pet food brand, so it will come as no surprise to regular visitors of the store that it is up for discussion.
4Health has a surprisingly large variety of recipes for a store brand which includes many specialized recipes such as for small or large-breed dogs, high-activity dogs, and dogs with specific health issues.
You can read more about 4Health, including information on their ingredient selection, production range, and recall history, in our 4Health Brand Review.
The Untamed sub-brand of 4Health is their limited ingredient range for dogs with dietary sensitivities and allergies.
Despite this niche focus, the above Untamed recipe is also suitable for dogs with no dietary issues, thanks to the excellent nutrition it can provide.
The recipe has an above-average proportion of protein and fat, which are both critical nutrients for dogs of all ages. This impressive nutritional profile is thanks to the generous portion of Buffalo and Beef Meal, which is the core of the recipe.
Some pet owners are fearful of meat meals like Beef Meal, but they shouldn’t be. Meat Meal ingredients have simply had their moisture removed in advance, making them far denser sources of nutrition than whole meat ingredients.
The other ingredients present are a mix of legume ingredients such as Lentils, Chickpeas, and Peas. These three ingredients are regular features in many grain-free dog food recipes, thanks to their relatively low cost and high nutritional value.
There are some additional minor ingredients present in this 4Health recipe, including Dried Yeast, Tomato Pomace, and Flaxseed.
These minor ingredients are present to provide fiber and beneficial micronutrients such as the Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
Merrick Backcountry Pacific Catch Recipe Review
Merrick is one of the largest pet food brands in the United States and is a familiar sight on the shelves of large pet food stores like PetSmart or Petco.
Due to their size, Merrick has a huge product range, including traditional dry dog food, wet dog food, limited-ingredient dog food, and, more recently, raw or semi-raw dog food.
Merrick’s Backcountry range is a prime example of the latter and is a blend between traditional dry kibble and freeze-dried raw food. This mix and style of semi-raw dog food recipe is unique to Merrick and can be extremely appealing to some dogs.
You can learn more about the Backcountry range and Merrick’s other raw options in our Merrick Brand Review.
The above Pacific Catch recipe is one of our favorite recipes from this range as it contains a massive proportion of fish ingredients, including Salmon, Salmon Meal, and Whitefish Meal.
These fish ingredients provide an excellent proportion of animal-based protein and fat, which is optimal for dogs.
However, given the large portion of Salmon present, the level of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids is surprisingly low, which is unfortunate.
The recipe is rounded out with the usual mix of plant-based ingredients such as Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, and Peas. These legumes and starch ingredients provide the recipe with a mix of carbohydrates and dietary fiber in a reasonable proportion.
There is a small portion of some vegetable by-products present in this recipe, such as Potato Protein and Pea Protein.
However, while many consider these ingredients as questionable, the proportion of these is small enough that it should not cause significant concern.
You can learn more about these ingredients by-product ingredients in our articles, Potatoes, Potato Protein & Potato Starch in Dog Food & Peas, Pea Protein, Pea Flour, and Pea Fiber in Dog Food.
Holistic Select Adult & Puppy Health Salmon, Anchovy & Sardine Meal Recipe Review
Holistic Select is a smaller dog food brand that actually used to be part of the Eagle Pack brand, but it is now it’s a stand-alone brand.
The WellPet group of pet food brands owns Holistic Select, and they also own other well-known brands such as Wellness and Old Mother Hubbard.
Holistic Select has featured in some of our other articles thanks to their use of unique ingredients like Rabbit and Anchovies.
You can learn more about these ingredients and Holistic Select’s full product range in our Holistic Select Brand Review.
The above recipe includes one of these ingredients and uses an unusual mix of seafood ingredients, which is one of the reasons it has earned itself a mention in this article.
The seafood ingredients present include Salmon, Anchovy, and Sardines. This combination of fish ingredients comes together to provide an excellent proportion of animal-based protein, which is well-suited to the vast majority of dogs.
While still satisfactory, the proportion of fat in Holistic Select’s formulas is lower than some of its competitors.
While some may not like this, this lower level of fat could be advantageous to older dogs who are not as active as they were in their youth or for those dogs who are overweight and are attempting weight loss.
Outside of its fish content, the formula uses a range of Starches, Legumes, and Pumpkin to provide its carbohydrate content and is free of any grains or by-products.
These vegetables, especially Pumpkin, offer an ample portion of fiber to aid a dog’s digestion system and ensure they have regular stools.
You can learn why Pumpkin is so effective in aiding digestion in our article Best Dog Food With Pumpkin.
Earthborn Holistic Unrefined – Smoked Turkey Review
Earthborn Holistic is a staple of the premium dog food market and has a substantial and loyal customer base. The brand is owned by Midwestern Pet Foods, which also owns two smaller brands – Sportmix and Pro Pac.
Just like Holistic Select, Earthborn has also been featured on our site several times for their use of unconventional meat and fish ingredients like Squid, Rabbit, and Bison.
You can learn more about their use of these ingredients, along with information on their testing and past recalls, in our Earthborn Holistic Brand Review.
In the past, Earthborn Holistic has relied heavily on legume ingredients, like Peas and Chickpeas, just like most other brands that produce grain-free dog food.
However, Earthborn Holistic recently released a new grain-inclusive range known as Unrefined. This release was almost certainly a response to the links between legumes and canine heart disease (which you can read about here).
The above Smoked Turkey recipe is one of four formulas available within this range, and its core meat ingredients include Turkey, Turkey Meal, and Eggs.
This reliable mix of Turkey ingredients and Eggs provides a satisfactory proportion of animal-based protein and fat.
Earthborn Holistic made the interesting decision not to use some of the more controversial grains, like Corn or Wheat, in their new grain-inclusive range and instead use some less common ones.
Examples of these less common grain ingredients include Quinoa, Buckwheat, Oatmeal, and Chia. This range of grain ingredients is quite broad, and it can provide a modest proportion of carbohydrates, fiber, and select micronutrients.
Buckwheat is likely to be unfamiliar to most dog owners reading this, but you can learn more about Buckwheat in our article Buckwheat In Dog Food.
Taste of the Wild Ancient Mountain Canine Recipe Review
Taste of the Wild is a giant dog food brand in North America which is impressive given the brand is actually quite young in comparison to many of its competitors (it launched in 2007).
In addition to being a relative newcomer, Taste of the Wild has one of the smallest product ranges for a large dog food brand, with just 16 unique dry dog food recipes and an even smaller wet dog food range.
Many will also be familiar with Taste of the Wild’s recipe naming convention, where they select unique ecosystems or regions of the United States, such as Southwest Canyon, Sierra Mountain, or Pacific Stream.
You can understand more about this naming convention and other important facts about Taste of the Wild, like where their recipes are made and who produces their food in our Taste of the Wild Brand Review.
In remarkably similar circumstances to the Earthborn Holistic’s new Unrefined range, Taste of the Wild has also chosen to produce a grain-inclusive range in response to the links between legumes and canine heart disease.
This new “With Ancient Grains” range takes many of Taste of the Wild’s popular dry dog food recipes and replaces the legume ingredients with a variety of grains.
The Ancient Mountain’s two core ingredients are Lamb and Lamb Meal. This combination of Lamb ingredients ensures the proportion of the recipe that consists of meat is very high, and as a consequence, the protein and fat proportion is also satisfactory and sufficient for most dogs.
The grain ingredients used by Taste of the Wild are slightly different than those selected by Earthborn Holistic. They include Sorghum, Millet, and Pearled Barley.
While this is a different choice of grains, they offer very similar nutrition and benefits to the others mentioned previously.
You can learn more about these unique grain ingredients, including their nutrition and history, in our articles Sorghum In Dog Food, Millet In Dog Food & Barley In Dog Food.
Wellness Core Ocean Formula Review
Wellness is a reputable brand that has featured on the shelves of many pet food stores for decades. While some premium brands have moved away from large retail stores or websites, Wellness has stuck around and is readily available at Tractor Supply and others like PetSmart.
Those with a sharp mind will recall that we mentioned that Wellness is owned by the same pet food group as Holistic Select.
However, this isn’t the only thing that makes the brand noteworthy; Wellness has also expanded into the raw pet food market and also has some air-dried products.
You can learn more about these unique product ranges and other information like their nutritional content and the brands’ recall history in our Wellness Brand Review.
However, the brand’s Core range has been their most popular for decades and features a variety of formulas for adult dogs and puppies.
Their Core Ocean Formula is one of our favorites and features a variety of fish ingredients, but the ingredient in the highest proportions is Whitefish. Other fish ingredients present include Salmon Meal, Herring Meal, and Menhaden Fish Meal.
The combination of Whitefish and other oily fish ingredients provides an ample portion of protein and fat.
However, what puts this recipe apart from others is the level of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids, which, as we discuss regularly, can provide several health benefits to dogs.
Many readers may not be familiar with Menhaden Fish Meal as an ingredient in dog food. It is a small oily fish from the Atlantic Ocean that is harvested for its fish oil.
However, the remaining fish meal is low-cost yet rich in protein and is used by pet food manufacturers as an alternative to low-quality and inexpensive vegetable by-products like Pea Protein.
Find out more about this interesting and popular minor ingredient in our article, Menhaden Fish Meal In Dog Food.
