Can You Trust All Dog Food Reviews?

Here at Dog Food Advisor, we aim to be a one-stop shop for all things dog food, dog nutrition, and dog health. The biggest part of that is our world-leading collection of dog food reviews.

But we are not alone in producing dog food reviews.

If you’re reading this, it means you use the internet. And if you use the internet, you’ll know it’s full of review sites. There are so many, there are now review sites that review the review sites.

But can you trust them all? In particular, can you trust other dog food review sites?

How is AI used to make fake reviews?

As you use the internet, you’ll also be aware of what is broadly known as Artificial Intelligence, which we’ll call AI for ease. 

There are and will be many benefits to humanity from AI and machine learning. It will speed up advances in essential areas such as medicine, agriculture, transport, energy and even the development of better, healthier dog food. There will be smaller domestic benefits as everyday tasks become easier. 

There are also risks, though. I’m not talking about robot overlords enslaving humanity, Matrix or Terminator style. Not yet, anyway…

I’m talking about more present AI issues.

It uses data from the internet, which is written by people and therefore includes all our biases and prejudices. The more use there is of AI, the more those biases are exaggerated and exacerbated. They become ingrained as “truth”.

It can also be used to create fake things. It creates deep fake video and audio, it creates convincing bots on social media spreading disinformation, and — relevant to DFA — it lets people create convincing, but unsubstantiated, reviews on absolutely anything. This includes dog food reviews.

Here’s an example of a Top 10 round-up I created using ChatGTP.

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Top 10 Best Dry Dog Foods in the USA

Here’s a round-up of the top 10 dry dog foods available in the USA, based on ingredient quality, nutritional value, brand reputation, and customer reviews.

1. Orijen Original Dry Dog Food

Rating: 5/5 Stars Orijen Original is known for its high-quality, biologically appropriate formula that includes fresh, regional ingredients. It features a variety of animal proteins and is grain-free, making it an excellent choice for dogs with grain sensitivities.

2. Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula

Rating: 4.8/5 Stars Blue Buffalo’s Life Protection Formula is designed to support the immune system, life stage requirements, and oxidative balance. It includes real meat, whole grains, vegetables, and fruit, and is free from poultry by-products, corn, wheat, and soy.

3. Taste of the Wild High Prairie Canine Recipe

Rating: 4.7/5 Stars Taste of the Wild High Prairie is grain-free and made with novel proteins like bison and venison. It includes sweet potatoes and peas for digestible energy and is enriched with antioxidants from fruits and vegetables.

4. Wellness CORE Grain-Free Original

Rating: 4.6/5 Stars Wellness CORE is a grain-free recipe that provides high-protein nutrition with deboned turkey, turkey meal, and chicken meal. It’s designed to support optimal health with a blend of fruits, vegetables, and botanicals.

5. Canidae All Life Stages Dry Dog Food

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars Canidae All Life Stages formula is ideal for multi-dog households. It includes premium ingredients like real meat and whole grains, and is formulated without corn, wheat, or soy. It also contains probiotics to aid in digestion.

6. Hill’s Science Diet Adult

Rating: 4.4/5 Stars Hill’s Science Diet Adult is crafted with natural ingredients to meet the nutritional needs of adult dogs. It includes high-quality protein for lean muscle maintenance and is rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

7. Nutro Ultra Adult Dry Dog Food

Rating: 4.3/5 Stars Nutro Ultra features a trio of protein from chicken, lamb, and salmon, along with a blend of 15 vibrant superfoods like coconut, chia, and kale. It promotes lean muscles, healthy skin, and a shiny coat.

8. Merrick Grain-Free Texas Beef & Sweet Potato

Rating: 4.2/5 Stars Merrick’s Grain-Free formula is made with Texas beef as the first ingredient, offering high-quality protein and healthy fats. It is grain-free, with sweet potatoes providing easily digestible energy.

9. Acana Regionals Meadowland

Rating: 4.1/5 Stars Acana Regionals Meadowland is rich in animal ingredients, including free-run chicken and turkey, freshwater fish, and cage-free eggs. It’s grain-free and incorporates a variety of fresh, regional produce.

10. Purina Pro Plan Savor Adult Shredded Blend

Rating: 4/5 Stars Purina Pro Plan Savor features a combination of crunchy kibble and tender, shredded pieces for taste and texture that dogs love. It’s formulated with high-quality protein from real chicken and includes probiotics for digestive health.

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If you’re a time-poor pet parent looking for a good kibble, this saves you a lot of time. Especially if the list is on a site called something like expertdogfoodreviews.com (which doesn’t exist, by the way). Experts are good, so expert dog food reviews must surely be worth reading.

But the list is a lie. Right at the start it says it’s based “ingredient quality, nutritional value, brand reputation, and customer reviews.”

But AI can’t do that. It isn’t doing that. It’s scraping its data pool and guessing what you’d like to hear, what would make you feel assured, what a human would do when reviewing dog food.  

Here’s a proper list of the Best Dry Dog Foods, by the way. One that’s not AI-generated.

Are AI dog food reviews accurate?

It’s not just snappy Top 10s you can make with AI. You can create quite detailed reviews, too, using AI. Here’s one I made for Cesar dry dog food.

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Cesar Dry Dog Food Review

Cesar, traditionally known for its wet dog food, also offers a line of dry dog food designed to cater to small breed dogs. With a focus on flavor and quality, Cesar dry dog food aims to provide balanced nutrition in a convenient form. Here’s a comprehensive review of Cesar Dry Dog Food:

Ingredients and Quality

Cesar Dry Dog Food features real meat as one of the primary ingredients, such as beef or chicken. The recipes also include wholesome grains like corn and wheat, as well as vegetables for added nutrients. However, the presence of by-products and artificial additives can be a concern for pet owners looking for higher-quality ingredients.

Nutritional Balance

Cesar Dry Dog Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance. It includes essential vitamins and minerals to support overall health, with added nutrients like omega fatty acids for skin and coat health. While the nutrition is balanced for small breeds, the inclusion of some fillers might not be ideal for all dogs.

Taste and Palatability

Cesar Dry Dog Food is designed to be highly palatable, with flavors and textures that appeal to small breed dogs. Many dog owners report that their pets enjoy the taste, making it a good option for picky eaters. The kibble size is also appropriate for small mouths, ensuring ease of eating.

Packaging and Convenience

The packaging of Cesar Dry Dog Food is designed to keep the food fresh, with resealable bags available in various sizes. The convenience of dry food allows for easy storage and portion control, making it a practical choice for pet owners who prefer to feed dry kibble.

Price and Value

Cesar Dry Dog Food is priced competitively, offering an affordable option for pet owners. While it may not be the cheapest option on the market, it provides good value considering the brand’s reputation and the focus on small breed nutrition.

Pros

• Real meat as a primary ingredient
• Balanced nutrition with essential vitamins and minerals
• High palatability and appealing flavors for small breeds
• Convenient resealable packaging
• Affordable and accessible

Cons

• Includes by-products and fillers
• Contains artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives
• Nutritional content may not be ideal for dogs with specific dietary needs or sensitivities
• Limited variety compared to wet food options

Final Verdict

Cesar Dry Dog Food is a solid choice for small breed dogs, particularly those that enjoy flavorful and easily digestible kibble. While the presence of some less desirable ingredients may be a drawback for health-conscious pet owners, the overall balance of taste, convenience, and affordability makes it a popular option for many.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Overall, Cesar Dry Dog Food provides a tasty and convenient meal option for small dogs, though it may not meet the ingredient quality standards of more premium brands. It is a reliable choice for pet owners seeking a balanced diet for their small breed dogs at an affordable price.

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Sounds good, right? 3.5 stars isn’t bad at all and the review gives a sense of authority. If the price is good and your dog likes it, you’d probably consider feeding it to your dog. 

Unless, of course, you read Dog Food Advisor’s review of Cesar Dry Dog Food. Yep, we give it one lonely little star. In our opinion, it’s not a good dog food. 

ChatGTP doesn’t always get it wrong. It gives some dog foods the same rating as we give them. But that’s mostly by chance. It’s creating these reviews by cobbling together online and other data into plausible sentences and structures. A broken clock is right twice a day.

Why do fake AI reviews sound so convincing?

AI reviews sound convincing because AI content generators, such as ChatGPT, are highly sophisticated and use masses of data and information from multiple sources — including the internet. 

So what is written on websites, forums, books, comment sections and so on, will influence what AI produces. But it’s not just that — there’s a training process that uses the information to help the model learn language patterns, facts, grammar, reasoning abilities, and a broad range of knowledge. 

There’s a human element, too, as the information and generation are monitored, and as people interact with the AI model.

This means it can understand and generate human-like text. It sounds like someone who knows what they’re talking about has written the review. 

If AI uses information from the internet, isn’t that a good thing?

You may think that, if an AI model uses information and opinions from all these sources, it’s likely to come up with a pretty accurate assessment of a product. But this isn’t the case.

As I mentioned before, we humans have biases and therefore these biases will affect the reviews. There’s also a lot of false information and mistaken opinions out there, but the AI might not realize that and treat that data as factual. 

Not only that, but the data isn’t current. It’s not happening live. For example, ChatGPT’s knowledge from the internet is limited to information available up until its last update — the current cut-off is September 2021 with some updates up to July 2023. 

Once the model is trained, it doesn’t dynamically access the internet when you ask it to perform a task. So those fake dog food reviews aren’t even created from recent data.

This is according to ChatGPT, by the way. According to this story on the BBC, it may not be the case — at least not for long. But if ChatGPT is confused about its own capabilities, should we trust it to tell us what to feed our dogs?  

Why trust Dog Food Advisor reviews?

All Dog Food Advisor reviews are carried out by people using a tried and tested method based on the information on the food’s label. These include the fat-to-protein ratio, meat quantity and meat quality. 

There are no biases in it, and each review is checked. We take no money from anyone to influence our reviews. We also try to keep on top of any changes in recipes. 

You can read everything you need to know on this page: How We Rate Dog Food

The bottom line is, we are human and we care about dogs. We may not be perfect but we are a darn sight better than a computer program. So please, watch out for any dog food review sites that sound, well, a little robotic.