NB Potato & Duck kcals?

You should make sure she is getting a source of calcium along with that mix if she is getting it for a meal...

As I said, she also gets the kibble from Nat. Balance twice a day. Not only her fish and the veggie mix. Some veggies have calcium and she also has a bit of yogurt sometimes. She gets a large variety of foods. But, like I said, she gets some kibble to make sure she gets things she needs. 

Papillon,
The Dog Food Project has the changes under Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance under the grain free section.  I think one of the ingredients added was inulin (which is good) and there were more additions and subtractions but it was enough to cause intestinal problems for mine.

I just happened to notice something after seeing the post that said the ingredients were sweet potato, potato. . .I had carefully looked at the ingredients and didn't see that potato was on my 5 lb bag.  And, just last night I bought a 15 lb bag.  The 5 lb bag has only sweet potato and then the fish and the 15 lb has sweet potato and then potato and THEN the fish.  I wonder why the size of the bag is making the difference.  Both are new bags with date codes at the beginning of 2008. 

As far as adding meat. . .are you guys just feeding dry kibble?  Because if your adding meat either canned or homecooked your going to boost that protein level up if that's your concern. 
 
I add Evanger's Hunk of Beef to Willow's food and add in our cooked meats when we have them.  She also gets cheese. 
 
It's a good food despite what is being posted.  And, I'm not being defensive I just think people might read this and not understand.

Lori

As I said, she also gets the kibble from Nat. Balance twice a day. Not only her fish and the veggie mix. Some veggies have calcium and she also has a bit of yogurt sometimes. She gets a large variety of foods. But, like I said, she gets some kibble to make sure she gets things she needs.

 
The problem is the kibble might not have enough calcium to balance the phosphorus in the other foods. Most vegetables have more phosphorus than calcium, or just about the same. And yogurt has just a tiny bit more calcium than phosphorus. Salmon is really high in phosphorus, with very little calcium (unless you're feeding canned, which has bones, but you said you cook it yourself). I'm not saying you need to do anything different, it's possible you end up with a good ratio, but it's also entirely possible you don't.
 
For example, if you feed 100 grams of Natural Balance kibble, and 3 oz of fresh salmon, you end up with about 1000 mg calcium, and 1150 mg phosphorus. Calcium to phosphorus is supposed to be between 1:1 and 2:1. That's 1:1.15. Not so good.
 
Just trying to help.

??? [sm=party.gif]  I'm confused.

I feed my 2 Tzus NB Potato/Duck due to Sam having an unknown food allergy.  Willie is 16 lbs; Sam is 13 lbs.(the runt).  I feed Sam approx. 2 Tbs of kibble twice a day, and Willie gets 2 heaping Tbs.  They probably average 2 cookies per day (30 kcals each) and I put about a teaspoon of yogurt on their kibble each morning.  I used to put a tablespoon of EVO Rabbitt formula on the kibble, but stopped after I found out some of  the Natura canned products are made at Menu.[]

Is this ratio ok?  Should I be supplementing them with something they may not be getting enough of from the NB?

The amount of kibble is so small that DH thinks I am under-feeding them; however, it is obvious by their frame that neither of them are too skinny by any means.  16 lb is the top of the standard, and he's not even 2 years old yet!

Willie is 16 lbs; Sam is 13 lbs.(the runt). I feed Sam approx. 2 Tbs of kibble twice a day, and Willie gets 2 heaping Tbs.

Can we trade dogs, PLEASE? On Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish, my 11 pound dog eats 1/4 cup, twice a day, and my 17 pound dog eats 2 cups, twice a day.

I need more efficient dogs! LOL

my 17 pound dog eats 2 cups, twice a day.

OMG![sm=eek.gif]  Maybe I AM starving them - LOL. 
I'm positive they aren't  starving by LOOKING at them, and of course they ALWAYS want more - they're dogs[]

I guess your dogs have a much faster metabolism - isn't that funny how they can be the same weight and have such different needs?  Just goes to show why you can't go by what's on the bag[sm=no%20no%20smiley.gif]

I guess we have to consider the breed; my dogs were bred to be companions, and they're darn good at it!  They have an acre of fenced in yard to run in.  They do exercise themselves by playing chase, etc., but only in short bursts.

My real concern is if they are getting the appropriate nutrients and vitamins on what I'm feeding them.  Since the ingredient list is reduced to a minimum (allergy formula), I wasn't sure if that means they're lacking something I should supplement?[8|]

Mine definitely don't exersize themselves, LOL. They were bred to hunt, and they need stimulation. Teenie is happy with a little half mile walk, some training, and a lot of snuggle time. Emma needs a good three mile walk, or a couple of hours to play with other dogs, or a solid hour or more of frisbee, followed by training, and then she can settle down. She also has liver issues, which accounts for part of the reason that she eats so much. My dogs are very lean.

I don't know if they'd need anything extra or not. You could email Natural Balance. They've always been VERY helpful, to me, and will usually send you an envelope of coupons, when you email them. I recently emailed them to ask if any plans were in the works for a dog food roll in the allergy formulas. I *love* the idea of a food roll, but haven't found one, yet, that works for me.

The problem is the kibble might not have enough calcium to balance the phosphorus in the other foods. Most vegetables have more phosphorus than calcium, or just about the same. And yogurt has just a tiny bit more calcium than phosphorus. Salmon is really high in phosphorus, with very little calcium (unless you're feeding canned, which has bones, but you said you cook it yourself). I'm not saying you need to do anything different, it's possible you end up with a good ratio, but it's also entirely possible you don't.

 
    Chelsea's right, which is why I said you need to add 250mg of calcium for every three and a half ounces of meat. I got this information from an animal nutritionist, so it's something you need to consider.