President's Choice Nutrition First - new formula

[Hound Dog]

This week President's Choice launched its reformulated Nutrition First dry food for dogs and cats. The old formulation, called "Nutrition 1st" will continue to be available for some time, to allow pet owners to make a gradual transition.

I got a look today at the Large Breed dog Chicken and Brown Rice formula and copied down the ingredients. They look pretty good for a supermarket brand - no corn, no wheat, no soy, no by-products, and no fillers.

As per the package, here are the ingredients:

Chicken Meal, Chicken, Oatmeal, Dehulled Barley, Brown Rice, Brewers Rice, Chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols - source of vitamin E), Natural chicken flavour, Tomatoes, Whole Dried Egg, Herring Meal, Flaxseed, Brewer’s Yeast, Salmon Oil (source of DHA), Whole Sweet Potatoes, Whole Carrots, Whole Blueberries, Whole Cranberries, Whole Apples, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Sodium Chloride, Chicory Root Extract, Choline Chloride, Vitamins & Chelated Minerals (Vitamin A, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, Niacin, Vitamin C, Inositol, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Beta Carotene, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin K, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulphate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Proteinate, Copper Sulphate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Probiotics (Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Lactobacillus Casei, Enterococcus Faecium, Bifidobacterium Thermophilum), DL-Methionine, Glucosamine, Yucca Schidigera, Chondroitin Sulphate, Dried Rosemary.

Crude Protein 23%
Crude Fat 13%
Crude Fibre 4%
Moisture 10%
Omega 6 1.8%
Omega 3 .4%
Glucosamine 350 mg./kg.
Chondroitin 50 mg./kg.

I didn't check the formulations for Puppy, Adult, Toy & Small Breed, or Weight Control, or any of the Cat ones (Kitten, Adult, Weight & Hairball Control). There's also a Lamb & Brown Rice flavour for dogs.

The pricing appears to be substantially less than comparable name brands - less than $3 a kilo if you buy the large sizes.

I have some minor concerns (no Magnesium, and what the heck is "Natural chicken flavour" doing as the 8th ingredient) but overall this looks like a nutritious food.

What do others think?