Dog Community

Posted : 4/2/2007 2:11:06 PM

I think the protein % in their kibble is way too low and I would never consider feeding it to a dog that wasn't having allergy problems. First ingredient on most bags is a carb source. If I were to feed it to an allergy dog, I'd heavily supplement with extra meat.
Their canned food is great, one of my favs.

sallya

Posted : 4/2/2007 2:27:10 PM

All you have to do is add some protein if you like. I give fresh cooked salmon or steak. That 'up's" the protein. Easy.

papillon806

Posted : 4/2/2007 3:04:46 PM

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

I think the protein % in their kibble is way too low and I would never consider feeding it to a dog that wasn't having allergy problems. First ingredient on most bags is a carb source. If I were to feed it to an allergy dog, I'd heavily supplement with extra meat.
Their canned food is great, one of my favs.

Keep in mind that the carb source listed in front is made mostly of water; just like you would critique "chicken" for not really being the majority of the food if it was listed first. Because they are followed by meat meals, the actually majority of the food is not the carb. [

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Also, like mentioned above, I add canned food to each meal which raises the protein level to a more ideal %. Because their formulas don't use many protein-heavy carbs (corn, barley, millet, etc), the protein level will look lower than some of it's competitors, when the actual amount of protein digested is around the same amount.

Bobsk8

Posted : 4/2/2007 7:19:29 PM

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

I think the protein % in their kibble is way too low and I would never consider feeding it to a dog that wasn't having allergy problems. First ingredient on most bags is a carb source. If I were to feed it to an allergy dog, I'd heavily supplement with extra meat.
Their canned food is great, one of my favs.

Protein in most of their Allergy Kibbles is 21-22%. Protein in the Natural Balance Ultra, Solid Gold and Canidae, is 22-24%. I don't think that 1% difference is going to have a dramatic effect on the pet's health and if it does, a small piece of cheese or a scrap of meat or fish will balance it out..........

willowchow

Posted : 4/2/2007 8:23:13 PM

If I were to feed it to an allergy dog, I'd heavily supplement with extra meat.

That's what I do. I always add Evanger's Hunk of Beef or some homecooked meat to her kibble. She gets cheese pretty often with it too.

sallya

Posted : 4/2/2007 8:51:38 PM

yes, easy to do.

willowchow

Posted : 4/2/2007 8:57:19 PM

I honestly don't think even if someone is just using it by itself that they are going to have a health issue.

Melissa Camiel

Posted : 4/2/2007 9:08:21 PM

I have always liked Natural Balance. I only tried the Allergy formulas with Jetta--her favorite was venison and brown rice. I think its a great company and offers superb allergy formulas---its so hard to find a good allergy food. Even brands that claim to be for "allergy dogs" end up including something like barley or extra grain sources.

willowchow

Posted : 4/2/2007 9:15:42 PM

Even brands that claim to be for "allergy dogs" end up including something like barley or extra grain sources.

Yeah, definately the amount of food with barley in it is ridiculous.

Dave Hill

Posted : 4/2/2007 11:44:39 PM

ORIGINAL: willowchow

If I were to feed it to an allergy dog, I'd heavily supplement with extra meat.

That's what I do. I always add Evanger's Hunk of Beef or some homecooked meat to her kibble. She gets cheese pretty often with it too.

I treat with the NB food rolls to add a bit of protein too. They don't currently have any food rolls in the allergy formulas so they do contain some wheat and rice flour.

willowchow

Posted : 4/3/2007 11:09:42 AM

OK, still haven't received a response to my e-mail to them. It's been since Saturday. So, re-sent the message. I'm giving the benefit of the doubt with it being right after a weekend and with a recall going on. But, I really hope I get an answer. This makes me uncomfortable that I'm not hearing from them.

skyehi

Posted : 4/3/2007 11:53:37 AM

De-lurking just to say - although my dogs did great on NB Duck, I had a horrible time trying to contact the company. Via email or phone, it was impossible. I had some questions about their dog food and tried both methods to contact them... no luck. Also, I used to feed their canned to my cat, and once opened a can that was only half-full and dried up. I tried to report it to them, but email/voice mail were not returned, and I couldn't get through to a live person. Frustrating!

JoAnnDe

Posted : 4/3/2007 4:36:39 PM

Stange - I've emailed them twice in the past two weeks and both times received a response within 48 hrs (in fact, the first email was answered w/in 24 hours).
Both times the responses were complete and addressed my questions.

Edie

Posted : 4/3/2007 7:26:07 PM

I think as with all companies,a response,detailed,quick, or not at all, depends on the question asked [

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diane303

Posted : 4/5/2007 2:37:20 PM

Funny that the Giant Poop should be mentioned here. I tried Natural Balance as an alternative to Eagle Pack Holistics (I was running out of EP and NP is available just across the street here). I mixed it with what EP I had left to try to make the transition easy. They loved it and I was thrilled....but.....the poop that issued forth was quite astounding.

When they are on Eagle Pack, their poops are noticibly smaller and firmer.

Natural Balance (opinions?)