Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Puppy Formula Chicken & Duck

The average dog food we reviewed has 39 total ingredients, with 1 controversial ingredient. This product has 0 total controversial ingredients, really great.

Top 5 Ingredients

Dog food ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. So when looking at dog food label, take a close look at the first 5 ingredients. They make up about 80% of the total weight.

• Chicken
  Chicken is a nutritious meat that provides protein, fat and other nutrients to dogs. Raw meat contains about 75% water which is cooked off during the making of dog food. This leaves only a fraction of the protein content in the final product's weight. We recommend looking for dog foods that also include meat meals in the first five ingredients (pre-cooked meat powder that contains four times the amount of protein). However, chicken is generally a healthy dog food ingredient.

• Chicken Meal
  Meat meals are the result of cooking. Water is removed from meats to create a protein-rich meal powder. Meat meals contain about four times the protein meats do, so generally, they're a good source of nutrients. Chicken meal is generally a healthy dog food ingredient.

• Brown Rice
  Brown rice is whole-grain rice with the inedible outer hull removed. It provides calories, complex carbohydrates and a few other nutrients to dogs. We generally consider it a quality dog food ingredient.
  
  
• Pea Protein
  Pea protein is an extract of the pea plant. Peas are a good source of carbs, fiber and protein. Peas are starchy but high in vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc. We consider this a healthy dog food ingredient. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that there is a potential link between peas and canine heart disease. It is still too early to draw conclusions so we cannot yet say if peas are a generally high-quality dog food ingredient or should be avoided.
  
  
• Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols)
  Chicken fat is the fat left over after cooking chicken parts. It's a high-quality dog food ingredient that provides nutrients such as fat and Omega-6 fatty acids. Mixed-Tocopherols are a natural preservative made from Vitamin E that helps keep food fresh. We consider it a high-quality dog food preservative.

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‍Controversial Ingredients

As pointed out above, Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Puppy Formula includes no controversial ingredients.

‍Country of Origin

Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Puppy Formula is made in the United States. Dog foods manufactured in the U.S. have to follow high quality standards, so this is a good thing.

Meat & Fat Quality

This food lists the following as its main meat, protein and fat sources: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Duck Meal, Dried Egg, and Menhaden Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols. What do they all have in common? They all clearly show you which animal species they come from. That’s transparent and makes the ingredients more trustworthy.

Artificial Preservatives

This product contains no controversial preservatives. Keep in mind that not all artificial preservatives are necessarily bad. That’s because they serve an important purpose, which is to prevent food from spoiling. However, we consider 11 artificial preservatives controversial because of their potential link to cancer and other serious health conditions.

Artificial Colors

Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Puppy Formula also doesn’t use artificial colors, excellent!

Artificial Flavors

No artificial flavors either. This dog food manages to ace all three “artificial ingredients” tests, an excellent performance. This is exactly what you want to see from dog foods.