# TOTW Vs. Natural Balance-Which one would you pick?



## blord (Feb 14, 2009)

I've FINALLY narrowed it down to Taste of The Wild or Natural Balance. I need a good, grain free food that is moderately priced and these two seem to fit the bill. Any opinions on which one is better for my 9-1/2 y/o GSD, Ellie?








Thanks!!


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## marksteven (Aug 2, 2008)

I,m a natural balance feeder and i would recommend it to anyone.


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## Jenni (Feb 2, 2009)

I am on my 3rd bag of TOTW and so far my dogs love it...I love the price. Absolutely no problems switching either...nice firm stools, beautiful shiny coats, no more bad dog breath. I have a 7 month GSD and a 5 yr old husky on it. I have not tried Natural so I cannot judge that BUT..I have tried Chicken soup, Canidae, Nature's Variety....So far the price quality and easy transition is a winner for me.


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

I have mine on Natural Balance and they love it
so that is my vote


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## RubyTuesday (Jan 20, 2008)

I have only fed TOTW. People have excellent results with both from what I've read here & elsewhere but Natural Balance is too carb heavy for me. IF I had a reason to feed it I would b/c people are overall very happy with it but I prefer a meatier kibble.


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## blord (Feb 14, 2009)

I'm hoping it will help with her itchies. TOTW is more of a drive to get, but I like the formula a little better. NB is at Petco which is very close. Decisions, decisions!


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## elly1210 (Jan 4, 2009)

We use Natural Balance so far the only food that keeps his poops firm but he is a poop eater (your dog is probably not) so I was thinking of trying TOTW because I read that someone switched and the poop didn't appeal to them anymore that would be the only reason I would switch to see if that helped that issue.


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## Goldglv (Jul 25, 2008)

I was in the exact same boat, narrowed it down to these two. I went with Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Venison and couldn't be happier. Nice firm stools, my girl's weight is under control and she loves the food.

The main reason I chose Natural Balance was because of the possibility of Exthoxyquin in TOTW. I'm not comfortable at all feeding a food that may contains this.


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## crazyboutdogs (Aug 26, 2007)

well, they are both great foods, however, i've raised my pack on the natural balance ultra premium, which is not grain free. they do have a nice grain free allergy line. my guys are on the wellness core now, but i still use the natural balance canned and they love it!!!

totw is made by diamond. the same people who make chicken soup for the dog lover's soul. 

as far as quality control and if you are a safety conscious person in light of all these recalls, lawsuits, etc., natural balance has wonderful quality control!! they run all of their final batches of food through various lab tests.

problem with both of these is neither guarantees that the fish meal used in them is ethoxyquinn free. not many foods do, but wellness does. that is why i pay a little more but went with the core.


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## blord (Feb 14, 2009)

I guess I'll go with Natural Balance since it's more readily available to me. I can always switch later if I need to, right? Thanks everyone!!


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## blord (Feb 14, 2009)

Wait - I just called the Blue Seal feed store down the road and they have TOTW there! It's $41.99 for a 30lb bag. I called Petco and Natrual Balance is $46.99 for a 28 lb bag. The amount you feed is basically the same. AHHHHHH!! I hate to pick based on price and location, but if I do TOTW wins.


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## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

just an fyi - that I am currently switching from Nature's Variety to TOTW (two reasons...Nature's Variety's prices went through the roof...and I wanted to go no grain) I have two girls who are extremely sensitive and I have had major issues trying to switch to no grain in the past. This switch is going extremely well...we are at about 1/2 to 1/2 right now...and they have very dark..firm stool.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

I have fed both NB and TOTW. My dogs did very well on NB grain free formulas but afetr about 9 months on it Havoc began itching again and digging at his ears. So I switched to TOTW and itchy and scrathing at ears is gone. 

Both are excellent foods. My dogs are currently doing well on TOTW. Either food is an excellent choice so if you had to pick one there is nothnig wrong with deciding based on cost and ease of availability for you.


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## balakai (Feb 9, 2005)

I am having trouble with the fact that TOTW is manufactured by Diamond. For those of you that feed it, do you not worry because the TOTW is grain-free?

Another issue--the TOTW seems quite low in kcal/cup compared to other foods; how much do you feed? The Pacific Stream only has 360 kcal/cup; the two kibbles that I am mixing now (Blue Buffalo Wilderness and Healthwise Active Adult) average out to 516 kcal/cup.

My female is 15 months old, ~70 pounds, ~25.5" tall and currently eats around 1800 kcal/day. I think that I would have to feed a lot more of the TOTW, which would negate any cost savings.

~Kristin


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## Goldglv (Jul 25, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: crazyboutgsd'swell, they are both great foods, however, i've raised my pack on the natural balance ultra premium, which is not grain free. they do have a nice grain free allergy line. my guys are on the wellness core now, but i still use the natural balance canned and they love it!!!
> 
> totw is made by diamond. the same people who make chicken soup for the dog lover's soul.
> 
> ...


This is why I chose to feed the Sweet Potato & Venison as oppossed to their Fish & Sweet Potato. I do like the Wellness Core line, just a bit pricier.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: balakai
> 
> Another issue--the TOTW seems quite low in kcal/cup compared to other foods; how much do you feed? The Pacific Stream only has 360 kcal/cup;
> 
> ...


i fed a bag or totw pacific stream for a month (local store was out of orijen). i had to feed 5 cups/day vs 3.50-3.75 c/day of the orijen, so i dont find it such a great value having to increase by 33% the amount being fed with orijen. the orijen is 483 cal/cup. kimba is 60-63 lbs and very active. so, w/ orijen she is consuming 1811 cals/day. i am also skeptical about why the caloric content is so low in the totw.


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## DHau (Feb 24, 2007)

Thought I would add here that Natural Balance does offer coupons for their regular customers via e-mail. Usually $2.00 but it can be printed multiple times for bulk purchases. You just join their "club" and you can end it at any time.


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## Kelsey3283 (Feb 28, 2008)

I always had good luck with Natural Balance but the lack of joint health supplements really bothered me. The answer was wellness core. I feed much about a cup less a day(4 cups with core, 65 lb female) Vs with NB and every possible health aspect of my dog(who has a digestive tract with an itchy trigger finger) has been perfect. No itchies, no shedding, clean eyes, small firm dark stool - and the biggest issue which I have had, she actually eats the food and loves it.

Anyway like I said I can speak for the neutrality of NB. Its good food but it made me feel like I should be supplementing with joint pills and that costed more then just switching to the premium wellness core. About TOTW(pacific stream) - My dog can't do fish, plus IMHO fish doesn't have the reliability of other meats when considering consistent varieties and suppliers - TOTW gave my dog the runs but she's very prone to that so we could be isolated in this. Also keep in mind that these foods are less per pound but you will also have to feed more of it every day. As long as you are comfortable with that they really are both very decent foods.


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## elly1210 (Jan 4, 2009)




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## jesmagmisty (Jul 13, 2001)

I could have written this same question. My 3 GSD's have been on NB Sweet Potato and Venison about 3 months now. 2 of the 3 are losing weight with the same amount of which I fed them previous foods, CA Nat, Canidae, CS. Maggie hasn't lost weight but she has cancer and I am supplementing her with many things. I've called all over today and TOTW PS is $49.99 at every place I called. I'd go for it if I could get it for 41.00. Maggie is getting a little bit of cooked hamburger meat in hers, guess I'll have to let the other two have some also to keep from losing weight.


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

wow I can get it for 40.99. granted i only order about once a month as I have a minimum order price, but 49.99?? ouch.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

yea, 49.99 is a bit high. i pay 45.99, but it went up a few months ago from 42.99. if it goes up 49.99 i will be looking for something else, because i have my two adults on it and its only lasting 3 weeks. i feed 1 1/2 cups twice a day.

debbie


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## jesmagmisty (Jul 13, 2001)

Angela, you order in bulk don't you, or do you order online? I could just about drive to Tampa and back buying multiple bags and still come out cheaper. LOL


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

I order in bulk direct from distributor







Should have another order going in a few wks.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I've fed both. I was feeding TOTW for a long while quite happily until one bag I opened was a different color kibble than all the others. Cash got sick immediately and it took me weeks to get him back to normal. I emailed the company twice and never heard back from them. (Yes I checked my junk email box.)

I really like TOTW and think it's a good product but really can't take chances with a digestive system as sensitive as Cash's. If it were just Rocky Iron-tummy I'd probably still be feeding it. 

I'm thinking of looking into Wellness Core.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

how much do you save by ordering in bulk from the distributor? i gotta do something different as far as $$$$ if i am going to keep my two adults on TOTW.

debbie


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

I tried TOTW because I wanted more protein but it had my dog itching again, I've never had any problem with the NB Venison...so I stick with what works and will supplement with the Evanger's 100% canned venison and Nupro Silver.


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## bmass01 (Apr 7, 2005)

Just an FYI both are manufactured by diamond. I tried TOWO when it first came out, horrible gas







I have used NB Sweet Potato and fish and SP and Venision both with good results. I just do not trust diamond so I switched to Fromm.


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## doubleknuckles24 (Feb 19, 2009)

I have a question... is that price isolated to the east coast, because i live in california and just switched over to totw about 3 wks ago and the price here is 47.99 for 30lbs. we were on canidae als and it was 45.99 for 44lbs? I was wondering where to go online to get a price like 40.99 for 30lbs?

Mike


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## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

$45.98 for 30 lbs. of TOTW here in NEPA. 
I checked every other no grain (including the better priced ones such as Natural Balance and Canidae NG) and TOTW was the best price here. It was also cheaper than alot of the grain foods that I consider good such as NV, Pinnacle, Wellness.....


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

shipping would prob kill you for 30lbs. I and other stores get from the same distributor so it's really irks me if I run out and have to pay 45 a bag when I know i can get it for less, lol. Some companies are marking up 20% and more.


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