# Nutro Natural Choice?



## WDC (Nov 27, 2012)

Today at the vet, my vet told me about some of the dangerous stuff that is in Beneful, what we were previously feeding King. She recommended Nutro Natural Choice puppy food for Large Breeds. We haven't fed him any yet, but it looks to be a well-accepted and nutritionally complete food.

Have any of you guys used this food brand?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I wouldn't touch it. I had three sick dogs on exactly that food. Many people had sick dogs on that food. There is much better out there for the same price.


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## WDC (Nov 27, 2012)

Jax08 said:


> I wouldn't touch it. I had three sick dogs on exactly that food. Many people had sick dogs on that food. There is much better out there for the same price.


Hmm, I will see how it goes. If it doesn't agree, we can get a refund and a free bag of new food.

Are you sure they didn't just get sick because of the transition of foods? There usually is a bit of an upset digestive system after any abrupt change in diet.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

No. They did not get sick from transition. None of my dogs have ever gotten so much as gas from a "transition". The boxers had pools of dark blood and diarrhea and Jax was lethargic. Good luck with that.


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## WDC (Nov 27, 2012)

Jax08 said:


> No. They did not get sick from transition. None of my dogs have ever gotten so much as gas from a "transition". The boxers had pools of dark blood and diarrhea and Jax was lethargic. Good luck with that.


Ouch, sorry to hear about that. Hope you found a better solution.


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## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO (Oct 4, 2006)

The company has a history or recalls. I personally wouldn't use it. What is your budget?


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## WDC (Nov 27, 2012)

I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO said:


> The company has a history or recalls. I personally wouldn't use it. What is your budget?


There is not really a budged. I mean, under $50 for a medium sized bag of course.

I really want to give the food a chance, Nutro is a safety certified brand, and if it doesn't work out, I will switch.

Have any of you guys heard of Hill's dog food? They claim to be the #1 veterinarian recommended brand.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

My dogs did fine on it for a few years. Well until all that crap with the menu-foods recall. There was malomime in the rice-protein concentrate, or corn-gluten. At that time, there was a lot of recalls on a lot of foods. Several of my dogs did get sick. 

I think it is hands down better than Beneful, so Kudos to your vet for getting you to switch. 

I also think there are better foods for the money. I was shocked at how much Nutro was charging recently. Their food is a middle of the road type of food, not terrible, not premium. I think if you are paying much more than $1/pound for the ingredients in that stuff, your are getting rooked. 

The thing is, if you go to a more premium food, the chances are you will feed less and make up the difference, and not even pay more even though a bag of the better food will cost more money. 

I went from Nutro to Canidae, and it was true that by feeding less of the better food, I actually paid less. And my dogs did well on the new food. Until they had a problem, switched manufacturers, and changed their formula.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Sierra has done well on Canidae ALS.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Hill's, no I would not feed that. It is Science Diet, and they are the most recommended because they target vets to market and sell their food. They also have some specific diets designed for particular issues. Mostly, though it is over-priced garbage food.


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## WDC (Nov 27, 2012)

What's wrong with science diets?


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

WDC said:


> What's wrong with science diets?


Everything. 

Let me get some ingredient lists.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Science Diet Large Breed Adult:

*Ingredients:*
Ground Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Soybean Oil, Chicken Liver Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Iodized Salt, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Dried Chicken Cartilage, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, Potassium Chloride, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Carnitine, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract 

*****************************************************************************************************************

*Ingredients:*
Ground Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Soybean Oil, Chicken Liver Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Iodized Salt, 

Ok, So, let's just look up to the salt, because below salt, well, I think we can not worry too much about that stuff. 

First incredient is corn -- not the end of the world but dogs are carnivores, and really, meat and meat meal should be up there in the beginning of the list. 

The next is Chicken by-product meal. What exactly a by-product is is up for debate. I think that we can be pretty sure it does not include breast meat, and thigh meat, and back meat. It can contain some organ meat (probably intestines and all they contain), and beaks, and feet, and skin, and bone. Look for chicken or chicken meal. Meat and bone meal is probably better than Chicken by-product meal. It is cheap stuff -- what no human is going to eat. Can nutrients be dredged out of it, sure, but you can do a lot better.

Soybean meal -- why? This is simply a filler. Dogs do not need soybeans. 

Animal fat -- Why not chicken fat, or beef fat? Animal fat can be ANY animal fat, whatever is cheapest this week. 

Soy bean oil -- again, not sure why.

Chicken liver flavor -- flavor? Why? If there is meat then you do not have to add flavor.

Dried egg product is the first ingredient that doesn't make me choke, flaxseed is ok too. 

This stuff is crap, and they charge about $32 for a 17 pound bag of it.


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## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO (Oct 4, 2006)

I think it might serve you well to learn a bit about ingredients in dog food- what to look for, what to avoid, etc. 
The Dog Food Project - How does your Dog Food Brand compare?
I think this is an informative website that can really help you understand the difference between quality foods, junk foods, and those foods that disguise themselves as quality by making certain claims, like Science Diet.
Besides ingredients, the quality of the company itself is also important-does the company have a history of recalls? Are the ingredients they use from the USA (and other like countries), or from China? What kind of quality control process do they use?


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

To compare that, this is Diamond Naturals Adult Chicken and Rice dog food, $30 for a 40# bag:

*Ingredients: *
Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, white rice, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, dried plain beet pulp, egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, fish meal, salt, potassium chloride, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid. 

*******************************************************************************************************************

Ingredients up to salt:
Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, white rice, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, dried plain beet pulp, egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, fish meal, salt

Chicken is the first ingredient, good, probably once the 70% water is knocked out, a whole lot less, but still it is in there. 

Chicken meal backs up the chicken. Very good. This is chicken meat with out the water. 

Whole grain brown rice -- not a requirement, but has more nutrients than white rice, and is more easily digested by most dogs than corn.

White rice -- unnecessary and probably put it so that when added to the brown rice it might actually add up to more than the chicken meal, but still it is an ingredient that will not hurt the dog. 

Cracked pearled barley -- lots of foods went heavily to barley when rice cost increased due to a poor growing season. 

Chicken Fat -- today, tomorrow, the next day. 

oatmeal is good stuff, a filler, probably not necessary, but not terrible for dogs could be good for the skin and coat,, hard to say.

dried beet pulp aids in digestion

dried egg product -- wish it was eggs, but you can't have everything.

natural chicken flavor -- no idea what the heck this is needed for.

fish meal -- good for skin and coat probably trumps that chicken flavor, but whatever. 

In all, much better ingredients and as ingredients must be weighted in the order that they fill according to volume, you can see that this probably has a lot more meat than science diet. And it is tons cheaper.


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## WDC (Nov 27, 2012)

So in general are most of you guys against omnivorous diets? I've seen many healthy dogs raised on omnivorous diets, so I don't really but into the "dogs are carnivores and should only eat meat" thing.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Dogs with good strong genes will be able to thrive on a poorer diet than others but the above advice from others is meant as general guidance.
For instance I met a Basset Hound of 18 years that was still healthy and had eaten nothing but Iams his whole life. But I would not feed my dogs that because I want to prevent as many health problems as possible and feeding him the best food is something you are able to control. You can always find exceptions.


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## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO (Oct 4, 2006)

WDC said:


> So in general are most of you guys against omnivorous diets? I've seen many healthy dogs raised on omnivorous diets, so I don't really but into the "dogs are carnivores and should only eat meat" thing.


??
None of the foods people suggested contain only meat.
What people are pointing out is that the foods you have asked about don't have _enough _meat in them. You don't have to buy into the dogs are carnivores theory, but a corn/soy based food is not a good diet for a dog.
Have you started to read that link I provided? It would be very helpful for you.


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

Jax08 said:


> No. They did not get sick from transition. None of my dogs have ever gotten so much as gas from a "transition". The boxers had pools of dark blood and diarrhea and Jax was lethargic. Good luck with that.


I'm with Jax on the NO NUTRO!!! Zoey was lethargic, had bloody diarrhea, was VOMITING blood....I took her off Nutro cold turkey and placed her onto a new food and it stopped, she's never had another issue again and prior to that had never had problems on a food. Nutro nearly ended her life because I was ready to put her to sleep thinking I had no other option, taking her OFF Nutro saved her life. I will never again feed that food!! I'm not a food nazi either but I will stop and tell my story to people I see picking up Nutro to warn them. Far too many other good options out there to risk your pets health and life on Nutro. It might not even be diarrhea/vomiting or lethargy you experience, your dog (like many pets on Nutro) could end up with organ problems. Do you really want that to be a possible battle? Of course any dog can get sick but with the amount on Nutro who have issues, you can't help but point it to that one factor (That being Nutros food) when you've got dogs (And cats!) of all breeds/sizes/ages getting sick and diseased on this food in such similar ways.

Will you at least read over the 1,266 reviews that people have wrote with their experience on Nutro and consider the fact that with that many reviews this food doesn't even get 1.5 stars??

1,266 Complaints and Reviews about Nutro Pet Foods

Because it's crap. You can even Google "Nutro Problems" or "Nutro Complaints" for more information and reviews on their poor food.

Plenty of good foods (And yes, they're are "omnivorous"...heck even GRAIN FREE is technically still omnivorous since it contains fruits and veggies...) out there to try that will do your dog better than Nutro. Check for Pro Pac, Eagle Pack, Dr. Tims, Victor, Earthborn Holistic, Fromm (Gold or Classic line is good bang for your buck with no lost quality compared to their 4* line), California Natural (LID food), ect. Good brands, good prices and they'll feed your dog well without the well known risk that comes from Nutro.


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

ack thats what Im feeding my 2 Natural choice lamb and rice


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

WDC said:


> So in general are most of you guys against omnivorous diets? I've seen many healthy dogs raised on omnivorous diets, so I don't really but into the "dogs are carnivores and should only eat meat" thing.


No. I feed my dogs a diet that has rice in it. Some people like to go grain free as dogs would not eat grains naturally and they have little nutritional value for dogs, and they are often charged with causing food allergies. 

Personally, I think it is no more natural for a dog to eat potato or peas, than it is for them to eat rice or corn or barley. But I understand that feeding only meat could break the bank, and since time began, dogs ate whatever they could scrounge off of humans. 

Still, many of the grain-based foods are grain-based because it is cheaper. And, they are not buying top quality grains to shove in dog food. They are getting the bottom of the barrel so to speak, the stuff the FDA would not approve for human consumption. These foods are generally filled with additives and preservatives, some of which are also not approved for human consumption because they are carcinogens. And, well, you might care if the dog food looks like it has different colored pieces but the dog could care less. 

If the food has molasses in it, chances are it's in their to encourage the dog to eat food that is one or more of the following: grain-based, has rancid fat, has very little nutritional value to dogs so the dog needs to eat tons of it to stay in condition. 4 cups of food a day is really a lot for a GSD, and some of these foods require much more for a dog our size. What they do is bulk it up with unnecessary and low quality crap, so that you have to put a bag and a half into your dog a month, where otherwise it would be a bag or less. Then, you buy more. Your dog eats more and poops more. 

Eating more garbage, low quality ingredients, gives your dog that much more of a chance to succumb to the carcinogens and lack of good ingredients. Poor coat condition, immune system issues, cancer, skin problems, lack of energy, longevity can be affected by what we put into our dogs. 

Stay away from corn. Not because corn is bad for dogs, but because products with corn in it are generally the lowest in quality, they are using the cheapest fillers for a reason.


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## WDC (Nov 27, 2012)

He has been on it a day, and seems to be more active. His stool is definitely more consistent as well. I'll keep an eye out for problems, but he loves the new food. Really likes the taste.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

WDC said:


> His stool is definitely more consistent as well. I'll keep an eye out for problems, but he loves the new food. Really likes the taste.


Tomorrow and the next few days will be more telling.


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## WDC (Nov 27, 2012)

I'll be sure to tell you guys my experience.

Also, I was thinking about cooking him a steak in rice once a week. My dad did it for his pit bull and he turned out to be a really big and healthy dog. What do you guys think?


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Adult Dog food. $50 for a 30# bag.

Ingredients:
Chicken, Chicken Meal (source of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate), Whole Brown Rice, Brewers Rice, Rice Bran, Whole Grain Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Pea Protein, Natural Flavor, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Soybean Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Potassium Chloride, Salt, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Niacin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Selenium Yeast, Biotin, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Decaffeinated Green Tea Extract, Spearmint Extract

Ingredients up to salt:
Chicken, Chicken Meal (source of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate), Whole Brown Rice, Brewers Rice, Rice Bran, Whole Grain Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Pea Protein, Natural Flavor, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Soybean Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Potassium Chloride, Salt,

Chicken, good. 
Chicken meal--even better, no problems here.
Whole brown rice -- fine.
Brewers rice -- cheap filler, used to separate the rice components so that rice does not need to be #1 on the list. 
Rice Bran -- why, why is this necessary save for the above? 
Whole grain Oatmeal -- nothing wrong with this, but when you add it to all that rice you can see that there is a whole lot of grains going on here under the meat ingredients, chances are if you add up the grains, there is significantly less meat than grain. 
Chicken Fat -- good. 
Pea protein -- this I do not like. why is this needed to boost the protein levels if there is all that chicken in there? Canines should have animal based protein, not vegetable based protein. Count on it that the pea protein is significant in the 24% that this food has. This ingredient, in my opinion slaps this food below the food that Diamond makes for $30 for a 40 pound bag. 
Natural Flavor -- fine, but why if this is a chicken based food? I wonder why we have to add all this flavor. Dogs like chicken. If the food has good chicken and good chicken fat, why do we have to boost the flavor?

It is not terrible food, middle of the road food really, they are just charging a terrible amount for it. 

Nutro -- 342 kcal/cup. The diamond food I listed is 368 kcal/cup 

The thing is you're paying $20 more for 10# less for food that has less protein, less fat, less animal-based protein, and less calories, so you have to feed more of it.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

WDC said:


> I'll be sure to tell you guys my experience.
> 
> Also, I was thinking about cooking him a steak in rice once a week. My dad did it for his pit bull and he turned out to be a really big and healthy dog. What do you guys think?


Your dog does not need any more rice. Some dogs do not do as well with beef, not sure why, but that depends on the dog. I think that giving the dog a raw chicken leg quarter, bones and all, once or twice a week in lieu of 1/2 the dog's daily intake would be better than cooked steak and rice. 

The reason is that when we process the meat, essential nutrients are processed out. 

Another thing that you might consider is to give your dog a hard-boiled egg or raw egg once a day -- excellent source of animal protein, highly digestible, excellent for the coat. 

Send me the steak. I will take that off your hands.


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## WDC (Nov 27, 2012)

Hmm, an egg a day could get pricey, but I will think it over. Raw chicken may be feasible.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

An egg a day is pricey, but steak and rice is not? Well, I guess if you live on a working cattle ranch that is true. Here we can get 18 eggs for about $1.50, That is an egg a day for about 8 cents a day. I don't know how you can get much better than that. I don't know how much steak you can give your dog in a two-week period for $1.50.

Chicken leg quarters you should be able to get for 60 cents to a dollar a pound. This is ok, because you skip a meal of that super-expensive food. And you won't be out much.


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## WDC (Nov 27, 2012)

I fed him a raw egg today, and he loved it. Think i might make it a habit.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

I fed Nutro Ultra to both my dogs for years until Raina developed grain allergies. They both did very well on it until then. Now she is on grain free Innova Prime Herring and Salmon formula. She can't have rice and most chicken flavored dog food has rice unfortunately. I do cook chicken and liver for her though.


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## Justaguy (Nov 20, 2012)

WDC said:


> There is not really a budged. I mean, under $50 for a medium sized bag of course.
> 
> I really want to give the food a chance, Nutro is a safety certified brand, and if it doesn't work out, I will switch.
> 
> Have any of you guys heard of Hill's dog food? They claim to be the #1 veterinarian recommended brand.


Stay away from Hills food. Any food that byproduct, corn meal ect is garbage. I worked in a pet food store for 10 years so I can tell you. As for nutro it's not a bad food but because of its history of recalls I'd pass. Personally I'm a big fan of Blue and Innova.


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