The short answer: No. Ol' Roy is the cheapest widely-available dog food in America, and the ingredients reflect exactly that. Ground corn first, unnamed meat and bone meal second, soybean meal third, and corn syrup fourth. Add BHA preservative and propylene glycol, and you get an F grade (20/100). There is not a single named animal protein in the entire formula.

What's actually in Ol' Roy?

We analyzed Ol' Roy Complete Nutrition Dog Food — named after Sam Walton's hunting dog and sold exclusively at Walmart, where it's one of the highest-selling dog foods in America by sheer volume. At roughly $18–22 for a 40-pound bag, it's also one of the cheapest. The first five ingredients are ground yellow corn, meat and bone meal, soybean meal, corn syrup, and animal fat (preserved with BHA).

Ground yellow corn leads the formula — a cheap carbohydrate filler that offers minimal nutritional value for dogs. Meat and bone meal at number two is an unnamed, rendered protein source from unspecified animals. You have no idea what species you're feeding your dog. Soybean meal at number three is a plant protein that inflates the protein percentage on the label without providing the amino acid profile dogs actually need.

Then things get worse. The fourth ingredient is corn syrup — actual sugar in a dog food. It's used as a palatability enhancer and binder, and it has no place in any formula marketed as nutrition. Rounding out the top five is animal fat preserved with BHA, an artificial preservative classified as a possible carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Shop on Amazon →

The good stuff

We're really reaching here. Ol' Roy meets AAFCO minimum standards for complete and balanced nutrition, which means your dog won't develop an outright nutritional deficiency. And the price is undeniably low — for owners in a genuinely difficult financial situation, it exists.

That's about all we've got. There are no fruits, no vegetables, no omega-3 fatty acids, no probiotics, and no named animal protein anywhere in the entire ingredient list. There is nothing in this formula that could be described as a quality ingredient.

The not-so-good stuff

Corn syrup at position four is a showstopper. Adding sugar to dog food is indefensible — it contributes to obesity, dental problems, and blood sugar spikes. It's a cheap trick to make low-quality ingredients taste palatable enough for dogs to eat. Most mid-tier brands wouldn't dream of including it.

BHA in the animal fat is a legitimate health concern. This artificial preservative has been flagged as a possible carcinogen, and most reputable brands switched to natural alternatives like mixed tocopherols (vitamin E) years ago. Propylene glycol at position nine is a humectant that also shows up as a component in antifreeze — the FDA considers it "generally recognized as safe" in dog food, but it's actually banned in cat food. Its presence here speaks to the overall formulation philosophy: whatever is cheapest.

Wheat middlings — a byproduct of wheat flour processing — round out the filler parade. There is not a single named animal protein anywhere in the formula. No chicken, no beef, no salmon, no turkey. Just "meat and bone meal" from unknown animals and "animal fat" from unknown animals. The entire ingredient list reads like a cost-minimization exercise.

How it compares

Ol' Roy's F/20 puts it near the very bottom of our database, just above Pedigree (D/37) and Kibbles 'n Bits (F/15) at the absolute bottom of our database. All three share the same problems: unnamed proteins, artificial preservatives, and cheap filler ingredients. But Ol' Roy's inclusion of corn syrup is particularly egregious — even among F-grade foods, adding sugar to kibble is rare.

The upgrade path is straightforward and surprisingly affordable. Diamond Naturals (B/78) typically runs about $10–15 more per bag and scores 58 points higher. Purina ONE (C/58) and Iams (C/63) are widely available at Walmart itself and score more than three times as high. Even Purina Dog Chow (D/39) — still a below-average food — nearly doubles Ol' Roy's score by avoiding the worst additives.

Read the full breakdown in our head-to-head comparison: Ol’ Roy vs Kibbles ’n Bits.

The bottom line

Ol' Roy earns an F grade (20/100) from KibbleIQ. Ground corn, unnamed meat and bone meal, soybean meal, corn syrup, and BHA-preserved animal fat make this one of the worst dog food formulas on the American market. The only thing cheaper than the price tag is the ingredient quality. If your dog is currently eating Ol' Roy, switching to Purina ONE or Diamond Naturals — both widely available and only modestly more expensive — is one of the single best things you can do for their long-term health. Shop on Amazon →

Sources

  • AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) ingredient definitions. AAFCO defines “meat and bone meal” as the rendered product from mammal tissues exclusive of blood, hair, hoof, horn, and stomach contents — a generic, unspecified-species ingredient that our rubric penalizes heavily relative to named meats.
  • FDA Pet Food Recall & Withdrawal Database. Budget extruded kibble lines have historically been overrepresented in recall notices for aflatoxin, salmonella, and vitamin-D excess; readers can check current and historical recalls by brand.
  • WSAVA Global Nutrition Guidelines recommend evaluating manufacturers for quality-control investments, ingredient transparency, and formulator expertise — criteria that favor brands publishing specifics over generic-labeled budget lines.