# Is Natural Balance good?



## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

We just picked up Natural Balance original formula for our dog. We tried Wellness Core but she didn't like it. Is Natural Balance really good for them?


----------



## Hallie (Nov 9, 2008)

Natural balance ultra premium? We tried that with Hallie and Peanut. It is a good food. There's not too much meat in it though which contributes to the low protein. It's a great food but Hallie or Peanut grew tired of it quickly, I think it was because it wasn't a very meaty tasting food. 

EDIT: meant to say it wasn't a very meaty tasting food.


----------



## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

It is very confusing when you go in the store. I had printed off a list of dog foods and forgot the paper (duh). The woman who I know that works there says that it is good food. She feeds it to her dog.

Now I did read that a couple years ago there wasn't something bad in this stuff but then the recent reviews were fine. hmmm

Yes it is the Ultra Premium.


----------



## Looney Tunes (Oct 24, 2009)

NO, if you are concerned about ingredients from China.

I also was sold Natural Balance LID (grain free) and when I got home I immediately emailed the company because the bag says "Manufactured for: ______" BUT NOT "Manufactured in the USA"

So, I wanted to know if it was made in the USA and if the ingredients were from the USA. 

There response was that 96% of the ingredients were from the USA. They said they imported Taurine from China (because it is hard to get elsewhere..really?).

IMO, anything from China is a no. They have poisoned: toys for children with lead paint and other ingredients, medications (heparin), drywall, and dog/cat food in 2007. Don't trust anything going into my dog/cat from there.

Also goto this website which is helping me alot...
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

or this one ..... http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg2.htm


----------



## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

What is Taurine?


----------



## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

You got me worried so I returned it and got Avoderm. I don't see that word on it. Gad it is confusing.


----------



## Hallie (Nov 9, 2008)

Taurine is a naturally occuring amino acid. It's normally found in meat.


----------



## kpollard (Aug 3, 2008)

Teddy has been on NB for over a year now and does fine on it. Healthy coat, no weight problems..however he has an overly sensitive stomach and we HAVE to have him on a LID. If you don't have to do a LID then a food with more meat is probably more desirable.


----------



## brecken (Oct 25, 2009)

natural balance is a really good food it has no fillers or biproducts its very holistic as well keep them on that food


----------



## Looney Tunes (Oct 24, 2009)

It is not a good food. If you don't want Chinese imported synthetically produced products in your food, stay away.

Taurine is an organic acid that comes from the bile of the liver and muscle stores. So, it occurs both naturally and is produced synthetically to be added to pet food. In the 1980s, it was discovered to be very important for feline health, because cats do not naturally synthesize it. In cats, the absence of it can cause retina problems, blindness, hair loss, tooth decay, and cardio problems. It is now a requirement for cat food. 

But it was never added to dog good until recently. In fact, until recently the FDA spoke out against adding it to dog food because dogs can synthesize it themselves. That being said, studies conducted starting in 2005 have shown that it can be useful for cardiac health issues in large dogs like Newfies and Dobs. 

Not all dog food companies test the imported SYNTHETICALLY made taurine..If companies are not testing it and with China's history, it is not safe IMO.


----------



## dieterherzog (Sep 28, 2009)

Avoderm isn't good food either. I don't know of any dog that is sensitive to EVERY meat protein and the fact that they have a vegetarian diet for dogs makes me dislike them. The best thing that is sold in Petco/Petsmart is Wellness. Natural Balance is OKAY if you feed it for a short while, most dogs do great on the limited ingredients diet (my dog did when he was puking for a while). 

If your dog doesn't like Wellness Core, you may have to try Orijen or EVO. A little more expensive and harder to find, but well worth the cost.


----------



## sassykzt (Oct 25, 2009)

My 3 Westies didn't like wellness either( they are not picky). They ate n. balance fish & sweet potato for a few years -- need to be on grain free food due to skin issues. My vet was concerned that there was not enough protein as they are very active. I switched them to Orijen 6 fish-- could tell a difference in their coats/skin and stool. EVO is good too-- my sis feeds it to her 6 dogs and my dogs eat it when they visit. The whole China thing had me concerned too. Orijen is made in Canada-- they are pretty specific in their newsletter that nothing comes from China-- not even the supplements in the food which (surprise!!) China pretty much corners the market. I know, the whole dog food thing is exhausting!


----------



## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

Gad, this is very confusing. To think that we never even looked at what was in our dog's food. I read where Avoderm is one of the highest rated dog foods.

I looked for Orijen but could not find it. Guess it is good I didn't.

The Avoderm I got was chicken and I think brown rice.


----------



## brecken (Oct 25, 2009)

if u want a grain free food your gonna want to go with evo but you have to transition very slowly bc its a high protein rich food you want to do about 90% old food and 10% evo bc its so high in protein but its a really good food and its grain free


----------



## Ayanla (Jun 11, 2009)

brecken said:


> if u want a grain free food your gonna want to go with evo but you have to transition very slowly bc its a high protein rich food you want to do about 90% old food and 10% evo bc its so high in protein but its a really good food and its grain free


There are several other choices for grain free besides Evo.


----------



## brecken (Oct 25, 2009)

there is also diamond


----------



## Ayanla (Jun 11, 2009)

brecken said:


> there is also diamond


Among others...

Orijen
Canidae
Instinct
Welness


----------



## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

Well this is for a ten month old Pom who weighs about eleven pounds. I don't want her to gain more than she should but I want her to get what she should to have a healthy live.

Where is Orijen sold? I didn't see it at Petco.


----------



## ZerotheHero3 (Oct 5, 2009)

Snuggles said:


> Well this is for a ten month old Pom who weighs about eleven pounds. I don't want her to gain more than she should but I want her to get what she should to have a healthy live.
> 
> Where is Orijen sold? I didn't see it at Petco.


Do you know of any smaller dog boutiques or stores near you? They usually carry higher premium brands like Orijen. If no, then you may need to get it online. PetCo and PetSmart do not carry it.


----------



## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

I can only think of one other place but I think they make their own food.


----------



## ZerotheHero3 (Oct 5, 2009)

Here are some websites where you can order Orijen online:
http://search.petfooddirect.com/?D=orijen&Ntt=orijen&Dk=0&Np=2&N=0&Nty=1
http://www.k9cuisine.com/default.aspx

However...PetCo sells Wellness Core which is another one of my favorites.


----------



## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

Thanks but I think I would rather try some place close in case they don't like it, it can be returned. Natures Recipe is suppose to be good, aren't they?


----------



## ZerotheHero3 (Oct 5, 2009)

Natures Recipe isn't bad, but I like my kibble to have a less grains (if at all) than what NR has. Blue Wilderness is what I feed my 18 pound Cairn Terrier. You can get that at PetSmart. And they have a policy where you can take the bag of food back if your dog doesn't like it.

Oh, here's a site where you can order the trial sized bag of Orijen for $1.99. Not sure on what the shipping price is though.
http://www.pethealthandnutritioncenter.com/store/product/orijen-dog-food-trial-size-1lb/


----------



## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

Petsmart is closer than Petco so maybe I will check it out tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks

Is Blue Wilderness the same as Blue Buffalo Wilderness?


----------



## ZerotheHero3 (Oct 5, 2009)

Yes. Blue buffalo makes Blue Wilderness.


----------



## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

So it is the same?


----------



## ZerotheHero3 (Oct 5, 2009)

Yes. There's the regular Blue Buffalo line where they have adult, puppy, etc. Then they make the Wilderness line which is just one kind. Blue Wilderness. It's in a shiny blue bag.


----------



## brecken (Oct 25, 2009)

Ayanla said:


> Among others...
> 
> Orijen
> Canidae
> ...


wellness is a really good food as well we dont carry orijen so i dont know to much about that one i should research it though bc i keep hearing that one alot


----------



## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

Okay, I went back and found the Wilderness one. It was kind of hiding. LOL There was only one kind and it has a wolf on it.

Now it says to give less for her size than we have been doing so I hope I am not overfeeding her. Just weighed her and she is 12-13 pds.


----------



## wolfsnaps (Apr 27, 2007)

I dont think Natural Balance is a bad food at all. My dogs do well on it. It isn't THAT grain heavy. I mean, it is not grain free so if you WANT grain free, then ok, it has grains in it. They are high quality grains though (like brown rice and oatmeal). I am a firm believer in rotating foods that way if one food is lacking in something, another food can replace that loss. PLus, I think chainging flavors occassionally is a nice variety for the dogs 


Petco has Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Solid Gold, Pinnacle, and Wellness (including Core...grain free) which I think are all decent foods. They are a far cry from Pedigree and Purina. I mean, it isnt raw, but these foods are all good choices.


----------



## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

I think I will keep the Wilderness for this time and see how she does. She did eat all of it tonight. (not the bad-LOL)


----------



## Looney Tunes (Oct 24, 2009)

It is not just what is in the food, but WHERE the ingredients are coming from that matters to me. 

For pete's sake, China has poisoned and killed animals and humans with their products and we keep allowing importation and use of the ingredients.

Taurine DOES NOT have to be imported from China. Eagle Pack imports 3 ingredients from China and they do not need to. They do it because it is CHEAP.

I am tired of seeing companies apologize when they know the risk is there. I won't give that to my dogs anymore. Just like I won't buy my children toys from there either because of lead paint (hard to do!).


----------



## philovance (Jan 7, 2009)

I think the fight against any and all ingredients coming from China is futile. Most vitamin supplements are made in bulk in China these days. It's also true that Diamond has had its share of difficulties with quality control, although if they have had "more" relative to their production output I couldn't say. I think NB is made by Diamond now (haven't read the thread thoroughly)?

However, I think the people behind NB are "honest" and trying to make a really good product to hit a price point. Interestingly this is about the cheapest food I buy from Petfooddirect.com but for some reason Petco has jacked it up to $13 a bag in the store.

I never feed the same kibble twice and I will continue to feed NB in rotation because I'm not paying month in and month out what Orijen costs. There are too many other foods to feed along with NB ultra to worry me.

In our house we've always liked NB ultra.


----------



## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

Well now that I have the Wilderness food, I don't think my dog likes it too well. It has sat most of the day.


----------



## evinqubie (Jul 26, 2009)

I think Fromm is pretty good. It's rated by the WDJ as good dry food for 2009. I feed my little baby Fromm dry food, and she loves it! It has many different flavors, so you can kinda switch the flavors between weeks to keep your dogs from getting boring on it!

Here is the website!
http://www.frommfamily.com/


----------



## StellaLucyDesi (Jun 19, 2008)

I agree that Natural Balance is a good food. Fromm 4-Star and Gold are great foods. I like the food and company alot. Right now, I am feeding Nature's Variety Instinct (Duck & Pot) along with their raw medallions and Instinct can food. I have decided to do this in my rotation:

Nature's Variety Instinct (Duck & Potato)
Fromm 4-Star Surf & Turf
Wellness CORE reduced fat
Acana Pacifica


----------

