Thoughts on Natural Balance Dog Food?

[Jenmlf]

Hi there:

I am in the process of finding a good dog food for my 9mth old Shih Tzu X Maltese. I had him on welness but he doesn't like it and its a little pricey to keep throwing away because he doesn't eat it. I then tryed chicken soup for the puppy lovers soul, he doesn't like the wet food and as for the dry, inorder for me to get him to touch it I have to "dress it up" to be more appealing. I got a free sample of Natural balance both the dry and the sausage and he loves it. I want to give him food that not only he likes but he is getting good nutritrition from, what are your thoughs on this brand? Any advince on this would be apprechiated.

Thanks a lot,
Jen

[mastifflover]

I personally like there dog foods I use the sausage for snacks. Bud loves it. There food is a good quality and worth the price I think

[Jenmlf]

the sausage ok to mix with the dry food to get him to eat it, is it?

Thanks for your openion, I really apprechiate it.

[mastifflover]

Yeah or you could buy some of the canned NB and add that to it maybe a 1/4 wet and 3/4 dry and mix it up and leave a little blob of wet on top to entice the pup. The sausage is actually food too I think I don't have one here to check but read the package and see what it says if it is it will tell you amounts for your dog. I honestly have no ideas for portions for a small dog, he is probably the 1/2 the size of buds head. Bud eats about 6 cups a day so I am thinking your guy could probably live on that for almost 2 weeks. Check the packaging for portions.

[Prin]

You might want to be careful about switching often and dressing the food up because that can sometimes create a very picky eater. Otherwise, the dry is good food. The wet from natural balance isn't as good as the dry, but it's still not horrible...

[coppperbelle]

When I switched my dogs food two years ago I was undecided between NB and Solid Gold. I went with Solid Gold but would have no trouble switching them to NB now if necessary. I have purchased the sausage and my dogs loved it.

[Jenmlf]

Thanks everyone,

Unfortunately, Bailey is a picky eater. I first started with just giving him his wellness (mixed wet and dry) and he ate it, then he didn't like it and stopped eating it. Like I said, I am unalbe to pay for the wasted food that I had to throw away so decided to try another brand, he wasn't overly thrilled with that either so I "dressed it up" by adding salmon, tuna, egg or small amounts of cheese. And since getting these samples of food, I found out he was eating the sausage and dry food combo, I am interested in learning why the dry food of NB is better then the wet?

Thanks so much!
Jen

[mastifflover]

I think the wet has a lot of water in it and probably not as balanced as the dry. Post in the food or recipies section lower down the page you will get a response from someone like Prin or Technodoll or Ontariogreys who will be able to help you out more than myself.

[technodoll]

I am interested in learning why the dry food of NB is better then the wet?

well, dry food is more condensed than wet, so you have to feed less of it and it's more cost-effective than wet. that being said, some of the NB wet formulas contain lots of grains and so-so ingredients, while others are quite good - you just have to read the labels because every formula is different. IMO the better ones are: Fish & Sweet Potato, Duck & Potato, and the others more or less compare in terms of ingredients.

I am of those folks who believe a dog is entitled to variety & freshness in their foods, and should not be condemned to a life of eating the same dry food twice a day for their entire lives (that is just not healthy!). so go ahead, keep adding the fish, cottage cheese, eggs, canned food, meats, etc to your pup's kibble, it only adds to happiness and health!

[Rottielover]

Harley gets cups cups of natural balance for dinner and raw for breakfast. Best of both worlds. Natural balance was the only food he did well on other than raw, so I am keeping him on it. Personally I like the stuff, and good price for the type of food it is.

[Jenmlf]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your replies, I really apprechiate your advice and openions. We decided to stick with Wellness, Bailey does like the lamb and sweet potato as well as a couple of other ones. We also got him the dry puppy food, we will continue to mix his food with what we have been, he really enjoys salmon and stuff. I totally want to feed my little guy the best so that he can get all the nutrition needed. I am pretty educated on food via this site, vet recommendations, our trainer, as well as other sites and know what sorts of things I should be on the look out for.

Thanks again!

[Prin]

Actually on the whole, I don't mind wet food. Some foods are properly balanced and can lead to a healthy doggy (with good teeth noless).

But with food companies like Merrick, Wellness, Solid Gold, and even Innova, who raise the bar in terms of what goes into their canned foods, I expect more now. Like look at DVP's Natural Balance Eatables Irish Stew:

Beef, Potatoes, Water, Carrots, Tomatoes, Modified Food Starch, Beef Fat, Salt, Sucrose, Beef Stock, Caramel Color, Tricalcium Phosphate, Natural Flavoring, Minerals (Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Choline Citrate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement (Vitamin B3), Vitamin A Acetate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Biotin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Dehydrated Celery.

You're depending on Beef, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes (which provide mostly fiber, IMO). That's not well rounded, so they add a gazillion supplements to it and IMO, that's no longer a great holistic food. They're all similar too.

Then you look at a Merrick canned formula, say a beef one too like Cowboy Cookout:

Beef, Beef Broth, Beef Liver, Fresh Sweet Potatoes, Fresh Carrots, Fresh Green Beans, Fresh Granny Smith Apples, Potato Starch-modified, Beef Meal, Egg, Dried Blueberry, Olive Oil, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Natural Caramel Color, Flax Seed Oil (For Omega-3), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Choline Chloride, Salt, Lecithin, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Mixed Tocopherols, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

Where the blue ones are "whole" ingredients and the black are supplements. There still are plenty of supplements, but you don't get the overwhelming sense that your dog is just being fed an expensive, tasty multivitamin. There's just more variety to get the nutrition from.

But then you think, well, if there's more ingredients, there's less of each... Well, Merrick canned has 9% protein, 4% fat and 1% fiber and the DVP one has 5% protein, 3% fat, and 1% fiber.

So as a supplement to the dry food, ok. But alone, I'm not sure the dog will get adequate nutrition.

JMO..

DVP eatables
Merrick Cowboy cookout