# Nutro Max, Natural Choice and Ultra - Differences



## MrLeadFoot (Jan 4, 2009)

Anybody know what the different applications are for these foods, or where I can find out? Company website doesn't really say.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

I don't undestand the question. What do you mean "different applications"?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

http://www.nutroproducts.com/ncdogprod.shtml
The ingredients are all listed except the Ultra on their site.
Ultra has a link to every ingredient, but doesn't list them, you have to click on the icons. 
_Whole Dog Journal_ just put out their list for the top dog foods for total wellnes ~ kibble/wet food
Nutro Ultra Holistic Adult was on the approved list
Max adult was on the not recommended.
Natural choice lamb & rice was not recommended either.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: onyx'girl_Whole Dog Journal_ just put out their list for the top dog foods for total wellnes ~ kibble/wet food
> Nutro Ultra Holistic Adult was on the approved list


That's a surprise. When I looked at the ingredients list on the bag I wasn't impressed. It is also Expensive.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Here is a link to the ingredient list. (It won't let me "copy and paste".)
Nurto Ultra ingred list.


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## Winkin (Feb 21, 2007)

I'm with you, Tracy - that food looks very average at best.

First 6 ingredients:
Chicken Meal
Whole Brown Rice
Ground Rice
Corn Gluten Meal
Lamb Meal
Rice Bran


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

The WDJ list was very large, and they listed the first 6 ingredients. How much rice can you have without it being called Rice & some meat... I was surprised at some on the recommended list. I think the list on what NOT to feed was a no brainer!
All the grocery store brands, and of course SD and Iams were on this one.


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Nutro Ultra Holistic Large Breed Adult (it won't let you right-click, but it won't stop a Ctrl + C







)

Chicken Meal, Whole Brown Rice, Ground Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Lamb Meal, Rice Bran, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Salmon Meal, Flaxseed, Natural Flavors, Oatmeal, Suncured Alfalfa Meal, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Tomato Pomace, Cranberry Powder, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, L-Lysine, Dried Kelp Meal, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Extract, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Biotin, L-Carnitine, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Niacin, Garlic, Calcium Iodate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Beta-Carotene, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Folic Acid.


Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min) 28%
Crude Fat (min) 12%
Crude Fibre (maxn) 4%
Moisture (max) 10%
Linoleic Acid (min) 4%
Calcium (min) 1%
Calcium (max) 1.5%
Phosphorus (min) 0.8%
Phosphorus (max) 1.2%
Zinc (min) 250 mg/kg
Iodine (min) 5 mg/kg
Selenium (min) 0.3 mg/kg
Vitamin E 150 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (min) 35 mg/kg
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) (min) 0.1%
Alpha-Linolenic Acid (min) 0.65%
L-Carnitene (min) 75 mg/kg
Beta-Carotene (min) 0.5 mg/kg
Total Bacillus Species (min) 283 million CFU/lb

*Nutro Ultra Adult (NOT L.B) Ingredients:*

Ingredient list:
Chicken Meal, Whole Brown Rice, Ground Rice, Lamb Meal, Rice Bran, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Salmon Meal, Flaxseed, Natural Flavors, Oatmeal, Suncured Alfalfa Meal, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Tomato Pomace, Cranberry Powder, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, L-Lysine, Dried Kelp Meal, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Extract, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Biotin, L-Carnitine, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Niacin, Garlic, Calcium Iodate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Beta-Carotene, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Folic Acid.


Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min) 26%
Crude Fat (min) 12%
Crude Fibre (maxn) 4%
Moisture (max) 10%
Linoleic Acid (min) 4%
Zinc (min) 250 mg/kg
Iodine (min) 5 mg/kg
Selenium (min) 0.3 mg/kg
Vitamin E 150 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (min) 35 mg/kg
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) (min) 0.2%
Alpha-Linolenic Acid (min) 0.65%
L-Carnitene (min) 75 mg/kg
Beta-Carotene (min) 0.5 mg/kg
Total Bacillus Species (min) 283 million CFU/lb

Renji was on the above food when I first got him and it wasn't really that bad. He did fine on it. Nothing to write home about, just fine.


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## MrLeadFoot (Jan 4, 2009)

Thanks for the reply, all. What I'm getting at is that they offer 3 lines, but I can't tell what each one is specifically designed for. I mean, why have 3 lines? There must be some reason.

Sure, I saw the ingredients, but the only significant difference seems to be what they use as the primary protein source, but I am after the "Why", as in, "Why whould I get Max, Natural Choice, or Ultra... over one of the other lines?" Does that make sense? Is Max better for energetic dogs, or is Natural Choice better for coats, or is Ultra better for compact stools? I know what what I'm TRYING to say, but not sure it's coming out right (no pun intended). 

Nutro's site sucks. Their info isn't consistent with the info on the food bags themselves. It's obvious they don't get the fact that people want as much detail as they can get. Unfortunately, most stores don't carry all the different lines, so trying to hunt down info off the bags themselves is not practical.

I am actually looking for a kibble that is a complete food, yet doesn't cause digestive issues. For example, ProPlan, which is what the pup was on when I brought her home, induced vomiting. I switched to Blue, and although the vomiting was eliminated, it resulted in loose stools. I switched to Avoderm, which resulted in a nice and shiny coat, alot of energy, but inconsistent stools. While it was better than Blue for my dog, I didn't like the inconsistent stool forms. Most recently, I switched to Eukanuba. When I mixed in the Eukanuba with the Avoderm, even the initial small transitioning amount, the very next stool was formed. In fact, I switched to 100% after only 3 days, without one problem.

I saw quite fantastic results with Eukanuba, in that my dog started to fill out better, and her stools are perfect every time, although she poops more. But, her skin and coat are drier now and she seems to have a very slightly less energy. The lesser energy thing is a minor thing, and it is not necessarily a bad thing, as I'm sure most people would welcome the lower intensity in a pup , but it sure seems like she started to slow down a tad within days of the switch.

I know I can probably supplement fish oil or something for her skin and coat, but I would think that with today's technology I should be able to find a food where I don't have to supplement for things like consistent stools or dry skin. For example, with the Blue and the Avoderm, I had to mix in pumpkin with every feeding to ensure well-formed stools.

Having to supplement all the time is a PITA, especially if you travel alot with a dog. You always end up forgetting something or running out of something. It would be convenient to be able to just tote the kibble sometimes, you know what I mean?


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

> Originally Posted By: MrLeadFootThanks for the reply, all. What I'm getting at is that they offer 3 lines, but I can't tell what each one is specifically designed for. I mean, why have 3 lines? There must be some reason.


Sure, Max is the most price-conscious, Ultra is the best quality (though still not very good for the price IMHO), and Natural choice is in the middle.

If it's not outside your budget, I'd suggest something like Wellness, California Natural, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, or Innova.


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Nutro Max and Nutro Natural Choice have lower quality ingredients IMO than Ultra. Honestly, with all the ingredients in all the Nutros, I personally would skip this brand altogether.

Since your pup sounds like a special case, I'd try Ultra and go from there. If it doesn't work, try Natural Choice. Then, Max. Then you keep going. Some dogs are really hard to find foods for and there's nothing we can really do to better direct you when we know that your pup has a myriad of issues. Have you tried California Natural? They really limit their ingredients which is a good thing for sensitive dogs.

When we travel, we have a cooler just for Renji: raw chicken, raw beef heart, sometimes a can of fish, sometimes some eggs, it's an ordeal!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

It isn't that big a deal to carry some gelcaps of salmon oil, and vitamin E when travelling. I think a variety of food is good as I wouldn't like to eat the same thing day in, day out. I don't like the nutro products and would go with something w/less fillers. I cringe when I see a Nutro rep at the pet stores, everytime I am in there they approach me talking about their greeenies, it is invasive and I just tell them I feed RAW. But I want to tell the other ones they are hawking to to go to this site and learn for themselves:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
I about cried when I was in Wal-mart yesterday and a lady was putting a huge bag of ol-roy in her cart for her poor undernourished dog...


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## Dohhhhh (May 1, 2006)

I tried the Nutro Ultra when it first came out...for my 4 GSD's. It gave them HORRIBLE gas....they could clear a room. I switched pretty quick. I recently tried the Ultra Small dog for my Yorkie. Same thing...NASTY Gas. Needless to say I will NOT try Ultra again.


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## marylou (Apr 21, 2006)

MrLeadFood - sent you a PM....


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## MrLeadFoot (Jan 4, 2009)

I went to the Natural Choice, and so far, so good, though it's only been 4 days. The first meal was 30% Nutro, but since she took to it so well, on day 3 I went to 100%. All is well, like I said, thus far. I went to the Natural Choice over the Ultra because I believe the corn meal gluten and wheat flour in the Natural Choice act as binding agents. The two brands of "holistic" type of foods I previously tried did not include those ingredients, which I suspect contributed to my dog's softer-than-should-be stools.

I'm not so sure about all the hype about certain corn and wheat preparations being bad for dogs, either. Of course, if your dog is allergic to those ingredients then it's obviously bad for that particular dog, just like how some humans have wheat allergies and cow-milk allergies. But, I wonder if that allergic reaction in some dogs created an over-reaction by the general public or something.

The thing I noticed about foods is that there are so many different foods, and there's ALWAYS some people that have had problems with just about every one. That makes it very hard to decide what to try, you know what I mean?

For example, I know someone who tried Blue and Avoderm, both brands of which I also tried. Avoderm is supposed to be incredible for coats, and I found that it indeed was. Unfortunately, stools were soft. But, this other person found stools to be fine, but her dog itched like crazy on it, and her dog's skin was all dry, which is something that Avoderm is supposedly engineered NOT to have happen.

What happened to the old days when there was only a handful to choose from, like the el cheapo Dog Chow types, and the Science Diet and Eukanuba types? Kind of like how now there are SO many notebook computers available. Like notebook computers, which all share very common parts, I wonder if dog foods are the same way, and that it's the manufacturers' jobs to try to convince us that one is better than the other, when in reality many are pretty much the same, you know what I mean?


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Seeing how most people find a food they like or works for their dog and stick with it for the life of the dog, the dog food business is BIG BUSINESS. 

I just don't think eating the same thing day in and day out is healthy, regardless of the quality of the food.


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## MrLeadFoot (Jan 4, 2009)

Diana, I've heard you mention that before, but I think if we had completely balanced foods available to us, we could live quite well on them. Of course, as humans, we've evolved to being "spoiled" by having so many delicacies for our palates.

I think dogs are different. I mean, in the wild, many animals dine on the same foods day in and day out, so if processed foods contain the same necessary nutrients that dogs would get in the wild (although dogs have been bred OUT of the wild), then as long as they don't lose their appetite for a food, they should be fine. In fact, I believe MOST of the decent processed dog foods available today have MORE nutrients than dogs would easily be able to find in the wild.

I once saw a raccoon in my backyard that easily went 50 lbs. It was so huge, it alarmed me, and I contacted the Dept. of Fish and Game about it, because I felt it could be a danger in my neighborhood. They told me that there are actually plenty of 50 lb.+ raccoons running around in my area because they get into the high-protein dog foods in people's garages. That says something to me, you know?


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