What dry dog food do veterinarians recommend most?

Most veterinarians will recommend the brand they stock for sale.   Frequently, that is Science Diet.  However dogs differ greatly in their nutritional needs, just as humans do.  The best rule of thumb when looking for good dog food is to look for a brand that list a meat ingredient such as chicken, beef or mutton as the first ingredient, followed by whole grains and some vegetables.

ConsumerSearch.com lists Orijen, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul, Innova EVO, and Canidae as their top choices.  All four feature a high percentage of meat proteins.  Orijen uses potato starch instead of grain for the carbohydrate component.  ConsumerSearch.com also lists several other websites that evaluatie pet food, making it a useful tool for pet owners.

Aims is another brand frequently recommended by veterinarians.  It has a good balance of ingredients, but is rather pricey.   My animals did well on it, as long as I could afford it, but prices forced me to drop back to Purina.

Purina doesn't have as high a ratio of protein to other ingredients, but my animals seem to do well while eating it.  They maintain body weight, are glossy, and digest appropriately.  This is important when selecting food for any pet, but especially for animals with medical conditions that require a specific diet.

One reason Science Diet is frequently recommended by a veterinarian is that is comes in a variety of formulas that are supposed to target specific conditions, such as urinary problems, delicate digestion, or  a need for high protein.

An article by T.J. Dunn, Jr., DMV, (http://www.thepetcenter.com/article.aspx?id=3395) explains his adventures with selecting a good dog food to recommend to his customers.   He observed that many of his four-footed patients who were being fed commercial foods that were labeled as "complete" were coming in with a variety of skin ailments--hot spots, dry or slightly greasy coat, and itchy skin.  

He learned that the problem he was seeing was caused by foods that were based on corn; the successful formulas all featured a meat product as the main or first ingredient!