Natural Balance Dog Food Reviews, Ratings, Recalls, Ingredients!
About The Company
Dick Van Patten´s Natural Balance Pet Foods is a US pet food producer with its headquarters located in Burbank, Los Angeles in California. It was established in 1989 by actor Dick Van Patten after he appeared as a guest on John Davidson´s show. He had lunch with the show´s band drummer who along with the actor was involved in rescuing stray dogs and cats. Together they developed the idea for a holistic health food for pets. Van Patten´s tennis partner, who was a vet, told him that pet food should contain no fillers like wheat, corn, soy or by-products.
The company promotes itself as creating tasty, safe and nutritious pet food. Many of their dry formulas maintain the initial ingredients created from the start but since 2014 food rolls have been reformulated to omit wheat flour which has been replaced by brown rice in response to the latest veterinary research.
Dry Food
Food | Quality | Our Rating |
|---|---|---|
A+ | ||
A+ | ||
A+ | ||
A+ | ||
A |
Canned Food
Food | Quality | Our Rating |
|---|---|---|
A | ||
A- | ||
A | ||
A- | ||
A |
Natural Balance Dog Food Rating
Natural Balance is not BBB accredited but the J M Smucker Company has been accredited with an A+ since 1998.
I like their limited ingredients range which contains an average protein content of 21% and a crude fat level of 10%. I can see no fillers or artificial fillers in the ingredient list with the exception of tomato pomace, which is a controversial ingredient. Some people argue it is a filler while others that it is a good source of fiber. The chicken recipes provide chicken meal which can contain 300% more protein than actual chicken and chicken fat which is high in omega 6. You can be sure that your pet is getting only the nutrients they need.
My only reservation is that some ingredients such as flaxseed could be argued to boost the protein content and so it is not clear if the meat content is higher than average.
Natural Balance Dog Food Pros & Cons
Pros
- Good Quality Ingredients: These include fruit, vegetable and premium animal proteins.
- Natural Balance carries out nine tests on every batch of dog food and shares the results, so you can always be confident your pet is safe.
- A customer Care team all with a degree in animal health science to help you choose the right food you’re your canine pal.
Cons
- I have found Natural Balance bags of dry food to be up to $15 a bag more expensive than other leading brand dog foods. You may however, consider this a price worth paying for natural ingredients.
Ingredients Analysis
Ingredients Include
Garbanzo beans: Garbanzo beans are a superfood for dogs. Beans help provide natural fibers that help regulate blood sugar levels, one of the leading causes of insulin resistance and diabetes in dogs. In addition, these rich sources of proteins and minerals boost your pet’s immune system and help burn fat.
Peas: Peas can be added right to your dog’s food, frozen or thawed. Peas are a good source of the B-vitamin Thiamin, phosphorous, and potassium.
Sweet potatoes: his powerful antioxidant gives the tuber its yellow, gold, or orange (and sometimes even purple) coloring and converts to vitamin A in your dog’s body. It’s thought to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer and provide protection against heart disease.
Brown rice: Is easily digestible and provides sustained energy with the correct balance of fiber to ensure better nutrient absorption which results in fewer stools being produced.
Whole grains: Veterinarians join nutrition experts in saying pets can reduce several health risks when their diet includes whole grains. The very same health benefits can be seen in our beloved pets with consumption of whole grains as part of a healthy diet – such as reduced risks of kidney disease, diabetes, high cholesterol and some cancers.
Meat: Chicken, Venison, Lamb, bison and Buffalo, Duck and salmon are all proteins which provide a great taste and create amino acids which are used to build muscle and establish a healthy metabolism.
Flax seeds: One of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.
Taurine: A lack of taurine in the diet caused serious eye and heart diseases to develop in dogs and cats.
Natural Balance also has a grain free range which is a good choice for your canine friend along the same principles as the Paleo diet for humans because grain free recipes follow the high protein diet that is natural for a carnivore. It is only recently that commercial dog food started to be packed with artificial fillers such as corn and wheat. You would not see a feral dog grazing in a field of wheat so why give it to our animals now? However, in the standard Natural Balance food, whole grains are used which would be healthier than corn.
Natural Balance Recalls
Natural Balance has had a few recalls over the years. The massive melamine recall of 2007 involved some of the Natural Balance lines. Later that year, some Natural Balance products were recalled because of botulinum — the toxin that causes botulism — was found in a non–pet food product that was produced in the same plant as the Natural Balance foods. In 2010 and 2012, there were recalls because of potential salmonella contamination.
I can find no evidence however of any recalls in the last two years.
Final Thoughts
My research of Natural Balance dog food reviews has been very positive. I have found no evidence of any problems connected to the food on consumer affairs websites. The only negative reviews of Natural Balance dog food have been that sometimes switching your dog suddenly to a high protein food can cause vomiting but the Neutro Balance website does suggest you introduce the food gradually.
The brand uses an excellent range of natural ingredients and has a good track record so if you are looking to change your dog´s diet to a heath food option then I would highly recommend Natural Balance.
