Dog Community

Not pleased with NB response

Posted : 10/18/2011 4:47:00 PM

I emailed Natural Balance a while ago because I wanted to know the nutrient analyses of their foods. I always check those values before buying a food because I want to know whether a company is just meeting the bare minimum AAFCO standards or going beyond that. I like to look for vit E and zinc levels that exceed the minimums because we have skin issues here, whether or not glucosamine/chondroitan is added at any significant levels, amino acid profile (most dog foods don't add taurine, but some do), what the omega-3 includes (EPA or DHA?), sodium levels, etc etc. Some foods list the detailed analyses right on the bag, and those that don't usually have it either on their website or available upon request. NB only has the protein,fat,fiber, omega-6 data on the bags so I emailed them to see if they would provide more info.

Well, NB replied that they "couldn't provide such a comprehensive amount of data". Interesting how most other foods can. Makes me think they don't actually KNOW the true nutrient analyses of their foods at any given time. I have to say I don't trust a company that hides info stuff like that. It seems that they are more concerned with marketing than actual animal nutrition.

Sucks too, because Piper is doing great on their foods but now I'm not sure I will stick with it.

jessies_mom

Posted : 10/18/2011 7:15:38 PM

Years ago, before I realized Jessie was allergic to potatoes, I wanted to feed her one of their formulas and had the same problem with getting information from them. I have had excellent responses from Wellness, Eagle Pack, and Solid Gold in the past. Natura has comprehensive nutritional information on their website for each product. I know Jessie's nutrient requirements according to NRC guidelines, and interestingly, I had to supplement B vitamins when Jessie was on one of Natura's products because she wouldn't have gotten enough unless I fed her more calories than she needed. B vitamins are water soluble so it doesn't make sense for a company to skimp on them.

It's probably fine for you to supplement the vitamin E and omega 3's, but don't add extra zinc. Minerals interact with each other and too much zinc interferes with the absorption of copper and iron.

ETA; The kind of zinc is important too; zinc oxide is poorly absorbed and most of it is passed in the stool. So even if an adequate amount of zinc is in the food, if it's in the form of zinc oxide it's not doing the dog much good.

jettababy

Posted : 10/19/2011 1:17:53 PM

Yeah, I already supplement with fish oil and vit E occasionally, but would never try to mess with other stuff. I know too well how certain compounds can interact and how easy it is to get dangerous excesses!

Having small dogs though, I worry about them not eating enough nutrients because they eat only small amounts of kibble. (a lot less than the bag recommends). That's why I like to check nutrient profiles so I can find a "denser" kibble. I guess if I had a large or giant dog I wouldn't care so much because they eat a lot of food per day.

sl2crmeg

Posted : 10/19/2011 6:07:43 PM

I haven't been thrilled with them either. They recently added flaxseed to some of the LID proteins - bummer.

Jewlieee

Posted : 10/19/2011 7:48:47 PM

This is in no way a knock on you but of course they are more interested in marketing and actual nutrition. They are a business and we can't forget that. They are in business to make money and you do that by lowering production and overhead costs and come up with a good marketing scheme. The best product in the world would fail without good marketing. Not that I'm defending them because obviously thats poor customer service. Poor customer service is a pet peeve of mine.