Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Duck & Brown Rice Puppy Formula Canned Review

Natural Balance Canned Dog Food Review


Quick Analysis

Ingredients:

Nutrition:

Potential Allergens: seafood and eggs

Est. Calories: 109 cal/100g

Price: $$

Overall, Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Duck & Brown Rice Puppy Formula Canned is a significantly above average dog food, earning 8 out of a possible 10 paws based on its nutritional analysis and ingredient list.


Ingredient Analysis

When evaluating a dog food, the first five ingredients can tell you a lot about the quality of a product as they make up the bulk of the product. Ideally, you're looking for quality protein sources with a minimum of cheap starches, fillers or by-products. Continuing down the ingredient list, look for ingredients that resemble real food with a minimal number of unpronounceable chemicals - the same as you would for human food.

Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Duck & Brown Rice Puppy Formula Canned includes the following:

Quality Ingredients

  • chicken
  • chicken liver
  • duck
  • salmon
  • chicken meal

Questionable Ingredients

  • brown rice
  • guar gum
  • carrageenan

Potential Allergens

  • salmon
  • dried egg

Note - a bolded ingredient in the above tables indicates it is one of the first five ingredients listed by the product manufacturer.

Although not the first product listed (which is the most plentiful), Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Duck & Brown Rice Puppy Formula Canned does contain with its top ingredients chicken, chicken liver, duck and salmon which are considered quality protein sources.

Additionally, it's worth noting that this product does not list either by-products nor bulk-adding fillers within its top ingredients. By-products are considered inferior, lesser quality ingredients. Common fillers typically used to add bulk to the product are not required in your dog's diet. Together, their combined absence may be indicative of a higher quality product.

Please also be aware that this product contains guar gum and carrageenan, which are additives that some experts claim may be possible contributors to certain medical conditions in dogs.

Allergen alert: This product contains salmon and dried egg which may be problematic for dogs who suffer from seafood or eggs food allergies.



Nutritional Analysis*

Compared to the other 1160 dog foods in our database, Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Duck & Brown Rice Puppy Formula Canned has:

  • significantly more protein than average
  • significantly fewer carbohydrates than average
  • significantly more fat than average
  • more fiber than average
In general, dogs have been shown to do better with a higher protein, medium fat, lower carb diet with sufficient moisture. However, specialty diets as recommended by your veterinarian may prioritize a different nutritional breakdown.

Calorie Breakdown

Using the calculations provided by the AAFCO, Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Duck & Brown Rice Puppy Formula Canned has approximately 109 calories per 100g (31 calories/ounce), which is considerably more calories compared to the average of the other wet dog foods in the DogFoodDB.


All the product information on this page is based on data collected from the manufacturer's product website as retrieved on May 3, 2017.


Ingredients

Ingredients as published by the dog food manufacturer:

Chicken Broth, Chicken, Chicken Liver, Duck, Salmon, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Dried Peas, Carrots, Potatoes, Canola Oil, Dried Egg, Menhaden Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Oat Fiber, Pea Fiber, Tomato Pomace, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid), Guar Gum, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Salt, DL-Methionine, Carrageenan, L-Tryptophan, Colostrum, Cranberries, Blueberries, Spinach, Dried Kelp, L-Lysine, Yucca Schidigera Extract


Guaranteed Analysis

Nutritional information as published by the dog food manufacturer.*

Protein: (min)
9.5%
Fat: (min)
8.0%
Fiber: (max)
1.5%
Carbs: (est)
2.3%
Ash: (est)
0.8%
Moisture: (max)
78.0%

Dry Matter Analysis

The manufacturer's published guaranteed analysis values normalized for moisture content.

Protein: (min)
43%
Fat: (min)
36%
Fiber: (max)
7%
Carbs: (est)
10%
Ash: (est)
3%
Calories: (est)
109/100g

*Note that some nutritional percentages reported are only estimated values, and are indicated as such as (est). Each dog food manufacturer is required by law to publish a Guaranteed Analysis, which defines each product's maximum values of fiber, moisture and ash in addition to the minimum values of protein and fat contained within. Exact nutritional percentages are not available and hence all calculated values (including carbohydrate percentages and calorie amounts) are determined using these minimum and maximum published values and therefore may differ from actual values.


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