# Difference between nutro max/ultra?



## NewToGS (Dec 6, 2016)

Hi everyone!

I'm in search for a new puppy food for my 7 month old girly. What is the difference between Nutro Max, Ultra, and Essential?


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Like most big national brands, Nutro offers a range of foods -- the typical line assortment for many brands is a cheap, low-end food with lower protein and more grain than meat, a mid-grade, and a high-end (more meat, less grain -- or ideally, grain-free, though that's not the case here). 

I believe Ultra is their attempt to compete with high-end holistic foods. I say "attempt" because you have to look at the source and make your own judgment call on how you feel about Mars Petcare marketing high-end, holistic food (Mars is the same brand that also owns Pedigree dog food, and Royal Canin, among others).

If you're going to feed this brand, you might as well feed their "high end" food. When you pick a manufacturer that spans such a range, you'd best pick their top offering. 

My biggest worry with Mars is sourcing: are they sourcing ingredients for Pedigree from the same places as Nutro Ultra? 

I have a big circle of dog-owning friends and acquaintances through rescue, and I always chat with people about what they feed and how it's working out, and I see their dogs' coats. I honestly haven't known anyone personally who has fed Nutro since the late-1990s, when they got busted by the FDA for having pentobarbitol a euthanasia drug in the pet food. I feel like I used to know a lot of people feeding it back then, but I can't think of even one now. Since I don't know anyone still feeding that brand, I can't offer you any insight from feeding observations on whether the Ultra is worth the extra money.

Out of curiosity, why did you select Nutro as the brand you want to feed?


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## NewToGS (Dec 6, 2016)

Mostly just a word of mouth that it was good. I also am debating wellness, orijen, and Fromm? 

I'm not too sure what to get since there's so many opinions. She's tried blue wilderness large breed puppy and german shepherd royal canine and it's not her favorite so I want to try something else.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Agree with Magwart's cautions about this food.

You may want to look into the following brands:

 *PUPPY FORMULAS:*

*ACANA PUPPY (only available in Canada) : **http://acana.com/our-foods/heritage/puppy-large-breed/* Store Locator | Acana Company owned and manufactured.

*ORIJEN *(note that Orijen can give some dogs very loose stool)*: **http://www.orijen.ca/products/dog-food/dry-dog-food/puppy-large/** Store Locator: *http://www.orijen.ca/where-to-buy/ Company owned and manufactured. Source origins are stated on their site. 

*FROMM’S: **http://frommfamily.com/products/gold/dog/dry/#heartland-gold-large-breed-puppy** Store Locator: *http://frommfamily.com/retailers/usa/#progress=2 This is Family Owned, Family Run, & Family Manufactured. Most other pet food companies have another company manufacture their food except for big named companies like Iams and Purina which use questionable ingredients.

*NATURE’S VARIETY: **http://www.instinctpetfood.com/product/instinct-raw-boost-grain-free-kibble-large-breed-puppy-food-chicken* Store locator: Find A Store | Nature's Variety


Moms


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

This is a statement by Jim Easton:
Jim Eastin, supplier quality assurance scientist for Nutro Company, presented a seminar titled:
“The Importance of* Rendered Ingredients* in Pet Foods” at the October 26, 2011 Pet Food Industry symposium. He referred to poultry by-products as 
"value-added ingredients" and described rendering as "environmentally responsible" by *converting by-products into ingredients Nutro uses in its pet food products. *
Nutro Co. scientist discusses using poultry by-products as petfood ingredients 
Not for my money!

Below are posts of 2 members who had trouble with the Nutro brand:

*On blog in Jan/2017 – 2 dogs having an issue with Nutro!*
CarrieJo (Quote 1/20/17 – 11:08pm) Long story short I think I got a bad batch of kibble. So I am switching food cold turkey yea I know you shouldn't but when you have 5 dogs throwing up since the new bag was opened I cannot in good faith buy another bag of the same thing so I figure their tummies might not like the switch so adding pumpkin in hopes of keeping them from having problems.

searched on the internet and apparently I am not the only one who recently had trouble with this brand. So much for feeling safe with a brand.
Jenny720 (Quote 1/21/17 – 6:12am) What brand was it? 
CarrieJo (Quote 1/22/17 - 11:59pm) It was *Nutro *Ultra Puppy. 
Thread location: http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/diet-nutrition/682433-question.html#post8314289 

lalabug (Quote 1/9/17 ) I have read as many poop threads around here as I can. We are still having issues with Ghost and pudding poop. She has about one formed(but very soft) poop for every 3-4 pudding poops. 
*Took her to vet. Fecals at vet were clear, though from what I understand, we need to ask for a more specific test to rule out giardia/coccidia/parasites?
*we tried suspending all treats in case that was culprit - no change
*have not changed food recently
*she eats and drinks well, has plenty of energy, but is "on the thin side" according to vet
I know loose stool is common in some pups, I guess I'm just trying to determine the next best step. http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/feeding-our-puppy/680914-battling-pudding-poops-2.html 

lalabug (Quote 1/22/17 – 5:32pm) After the last bout with the diarrhea/pudding poops, I felt like the probiotic tablets the vet gave us seemed to really help. We were prescribed Propectalin tablets, about 5 days worth I believe. We are starting to get very soft stools again and occasional diarrhea. 
GypsyGhost (Quote 1/22/17 – 5:41pm) Out of curiosity, what are you feeding her? 
lalabug (Quote 1/22/17 – 6:36pm) we are currently on *Nutro *large breed puppy. Thread location: http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/diet-nutrition/682673-probiotics-question-2.html


Moms


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## lalabug (Oct 20, 2016)

I am only throwing my .02 cents in for what it's worth since every dog will have a different reaction to the zillion different brands of food out there. We put our pup on Nutro and had a bad experience with it. Chronic diarrhea that returned every 2-4 days. Itching. A lot of wax buildup and ear gunk. If you decide on it, hopefully you will have a better experience than we did! Choosing food can be very overwhelming. Try to research as best you can before deciding.


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## NewToGS (Dec 6, 2016)

Thanks for everyone's inputs! My local store didn't have orijen like I had hoped or Fromm... it was between canidae? (I think that's how it's spelled) and the wellness large breed puppy. 

I ended up going with wellness since it was the only one that had "large breed" and "puppy" listed. She actually ate it without me having to fancy it up! Next time before she fully runs out of food I'll try orijen! It's very tempting!


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

You'll need a mom-and-pop independent retailer to get brands like Fromm and probably Orijen/Acana. They don't sell to big box stores -- they protect the small retailers who develop strong customer relationships on "Main Street" by not distributing to the big box stores. Or you can buy online.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

NewToGS said:


> Thanks for everyone's inputs! My local store didn't have orijen like I had hoped or Fromm... it was between canidae? (I think that's how it's spelled) and the wellness large breed puppy.
> 
> I ended up going with wellness since it was the only one that had "large breed" and "puppy" listed. She actually ate it without me having to fancy it up! Next time before she fully runs out of food I'll try orijen! It's very tempting!


Hi NewToGS!

You may want to wean your pup on to a new food a little slower to prevent gut upset.



Try transitioning with small amounts of new food mixed with old, taking a week or two to change. 

If stool get loose, go back to previous amount fed (where stool was solid) and hold at that amount for a few days until his gut gets use to it. Then increase again. This is called "bowel tolerance".


chewy.com has an "auto ship" program that can keep you supplied on a regularly scheduled basis. 



Good Luck
Moms


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## dz0qp5 (Oct 12, 2004)

I think their max line is their best. Don't fall for marketing gimmicks. They can charge significantly more for these, just like the other "holistic" companies. It is simply marketing. Many by-products are far superior protein sources and many chicken meals are inferior. That is one reason you can not tell the quality of a dog food by the ingredients list. Only the companies know the exact quality of the ingredients, and some of them don't even know that, especially the companies that are just marketing companies, which include most of the "5 star" foods on dogfoodadvisor. That is why Purina knew exactly what was in Blue Buffalo, when Blue had no idea.

Nutro does significant testing and research of their products via the Waltham Pet Nutrition Center. I would never buy a dog food from a company that has never had any published research into nutrition, does not employ any animal nutritionists, veterinarians or certified veterinary nutritionist and does not have a research center. Again most of the "top foods" on the internet don't meet these criteria. They are simply marketing departments. That is why you are seeing so many threads about , itching, loose stools, foods that aren't palatable etc.


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## Femfa (May 29, 2016)

I always recommend looking on Dog Food Advisor for learning more about dog foods, too. I personally look for meat based, 5 star food brands for kibbles.


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