Nutro Natural Choice Dog Food: A Review
We have tried virtually all of the Nutro dog food varieties over the course of the last few years.
In fact, I distinctly remember the day I made the decision to switch from Purina Dog Chow (and other Purina blends, including Puppy Chow and Gravy Train) to what I thought of at the time as "a very expensive premium dog food": Nutro.
They say that Nutro's "Natural Choice" dog food is America's #1 Large Breed pet store dog food.
How We Chose Nutro
Until this time, I had always bought my dog's food at the supermarket -- where I bought all my groceries.But, on this day, I was working at the vet, and I was complaining about the large volume of "poo" that our two dogs left behind in our fenced backyard. Not only was it becoming a chore to pick up regularly after our two adult dogs, but I also feared that there might be an odor coming from our backyard that would offend the neighbors if I didn't pick it up quick enough.
One of the vet techs at the time mentioned that she had been using Nutro dog food and was happy with it.
Another co-worker there also spoke highly of the Nutro food products -- especially the Lamb & Rice version. She said the day she switched from "regular" dogfood to Nutro dog food for her two dogs, she noticed a difference in their stools.
The Truth Is In The Poop!
So, what's to get excited about when it comes to dog pooh, you ask? Well, a lot. This is based on my own experience...- First, the stool that results from a diet consisting of Nutro Natural Choice dog food seems to break down easier in the elements, thus disappearing naturally (and faster) from my backyard. (IF... I don't get out there to pick it up myself, first.)
- Second, the dog poo in the backyard is less smelly. Seriously. That means you're not offending the neighbors (...something I always worried about with 2 dogs and houses very close to ours on either side of the fence).
- Third, the stool seems to be more solid and more "refined" than stools my dogs have eliminated after eating other dog foods.
- Fourth, the Nutro dog food -- overall -- seems to be more easily digested by our dogs. Which goes hand-in-hand with what I'm actually seeing in their stool samples.
From the Nutro website:
Smallest Stool Volume...
Added beet pulp helps promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract. High digestibility means small compact stools for easy cleanup. That means more nutrition for your dog and less backyard cleanup.
Our Favorite Nutro Dog Food Products
Nutro Lamb & Rice (green bag) has remained our all-time favorite. Each of our dogs has always been fed this as a base -- day in and day out.Where we change things up a bit is with the other flavor of Nutro Natural Choice dog food that we choose to mix in with the Lamb & Rice. Yes, this is probably done more for our personal preference than theirs -- because I'm sure the dogs would be just as happy (and just as healthy) if that's all we fed them.
But, for some reason we (like many other pet owners), feel the need to vary their diet a bit. Why?
Oh, I don't know...
...so they don't get bored with that particular blend of dog food.
...because we think they might like variety as much as we like variety in our diets.
...so they can taste different flavors, making their diet less bland.
Plus, as a rule, we do not feed our dogs people foods, so we tend to think that we're indulging them (and their senses) a bit if we switch up their dog food flavors once in awhile.
Mixing Things Up A Bit
Nutro Natural Choice food has proven to be very good for our dogs, so we've decided to stick with it. In addition to the Lamb & Rice formula we use as a base, we frequently mix in some Large Breed Adult (blue bag), or some Large Breed Adult Lamb & Rice (bright green bag).When Jersey was with us, we mixed the Nutro Lamb & Rice with Nutro Senior (silver bag)... even our 2-year-old black lab ate this combination and he seems to have fared quite well.
Since we switch it up every other month or so -- keeping the Nutro Lamb & Rice as the base -- we could supplement the diet of our two black labs with practically any other flavor or formula and they would do just fine.
Though some might disagree, saying you should never give a senior dog's diet to a growing puppy, we believe that the base of Nutro Lamb & Rice is strong enough on its own to make up for any lost nutrients that might have been sacrificed during that month or so the dog was getting the senior food mixed in. I think of it as a "bonus" -- dessert, that's formulated slightly different than his meal!
We are also part of the Nutro Frequent Buyer Program. You can sign up too... it's FREE! You get $20 in Nutro dog food coupons, plus a free 30-lb bag every time you purchase 10 bags.
Nutro Improves Skin & Coat Issues
The Nutro website also states that your dog will have "healthy skin and a shiny coat" on a diet of Nutro Healthy Choice dog food.While I can attest to the fact that our dogs have always had excellent, healthy looking coats (two Lab-mixes and one American Eskimo dog), I can't say that I ever noticed less itching in our dogs. We've never had fleas in our home, but our dogs do have itchy skin. The vet says it's just something they will have to live with. Therefore, I can't see how this food has helped their skin issues any.
Here's someone whose dog experienced a significant amount of itch-relief after switching to Nutro Lamb & Rice.
Nutro offers a more specific claim with regard to skin issues on the labels of their MAX dog food varieties:
"High levels of important linoleic acid help to condition your dog's skin and coat. Your dog will experience less shedding, less itching, and less scratching with MAX."
Very interesting... Perhaps we'll try incorporating some Nutro MAX dog food in with the Nutro Natural Choice food from now on.
Nutro's 3 Brands of Dog Foods Explained
The rep at Nashville Pet Products where we purchase our Nutro dog food locally said the biggest difference between MAX and Natural Choice is:- Nutro MAX is one step up from grocery store brand dog foods. It's got more flavor than the other Nutro products (great for dogs who are used to supermarket dog foods) and a bit more fat.
- Nutro's Natural Choice is made with more natural ingredients and has less fat. It is believed to be even healthier for your dog.
- Nutro Ultra is their top-of-the-line dog food with a combination of holistic dog food ingredients (including lamb, chicken, and salmon) and no chemical preservatives.
Nutro Dog Food Ordering Information
Save time, money (...and the heavy lifting!) by ordering your Nutro dog food online:Nutro Natural Choice dog food (all varieties)
Nutro MAX dog food (all varieties)
IVE BEEN FEEDING MY BLUE NOSE PITBULL NUTROS LAMB AND RICE FOR A WHILE NOW BUT IM TRYING TO GET HIM A LITTER BULKIER. IS THERE ANY HEALTHY TIPS TO GET HIM BULKIER???? HE IS 1YRS OLD.
I have a boxer that has food allergies. We put him on the chicken, rice and oatmeal and it cleared up his allergies. Within 2-3 weeks they were almost completely gone We had to switch him to the venison meal and whole brown rice (purple bag) because he decided he did not like Chicken anymore and it is doing wonderful as well.
I have had my 11 year old Lhasa Apso on Nutro Ultra now for about 10 months,she LOVES it! We had to switch to this from Iams due to her always having kidney stones..so far NO stones....
I switched from Science Diet to Nutro Natural Choice about 2 years ago. After the transition, I started noticing their poo was a lot smaller and indeed would be gone quickly (I've actually seen little beetles take care if it pretty quickly). I generally mix the lamb and rice with venison formulas, but have successfully experimented with most of their brands. I have an 11 year old small mutt and he's still got so much energy and spunk to him. Before the switch, he wasn't as lively as he is now. I credit the food.
so i have had my two shi tzu dogs for almost two years now and when they were pups i fed them wet dog food by purina and mixed it with kibbles N bits. i then begain to work at a pet store and became educated on dog foods. i was told to switch my dogs to science diet or nutro. i began to read the ingredients on both foods and saw that nutro is way more healthier and more meat based then science diet. i now have been feeding my dogs nutro ever since and there stool is alot more less of a problem and there fur is so soft and best of all they love it! i would not ever feed my dogs anything less then nutro
Try getting some Greenies Dental Treats or Nutro Tartar Control biscuits.
I JUST SWITCHED MY BOXER PUPPY TO NATURAL CHOICE.BEST THING IVE DONE FOR MY PUP.I WAS FEEDING HIM CHICKEN SOUP HE HAD CONSTANT DIAREAH AFTER A WEEK ON NATURAL CHOICE HES 100% BETTER AND HAPPIER.AFTER TRYING DIFFERANT BRANDS IVE FOUND THE BEST ONE FOR MY DOG.
I come from the netherlands and have a dalmation that is now almost 11 years old. From puppy till about the age of 9 1/2 we fed him nutro's choice, first the green bag and later on a grey bag lamb & rice if i'm correct. For all those years we were very satisfied with this brand. But our dog created a lot of dental tartar (i hope my translation is correct) and our vet told us that the amount of tartar was extremely large. After removing the tartar the vet told us that we should use another brand of dogfood, Hill's Prescription Diet T/D (tartar), and we also give special dental bones for tartar. However this brand Hill's is now becoming more and more expensive (about 12 EURO more than the nutro, wich is about 17 us dollars) en can only be bought at the vet. So i think they just want to make a lot of money instead of just wanting the best for my dog.(and i know from people who worked whit him that this perticular vet is a money grubber!!) So i think i will be going to the pet store and buy nutro again and purchase some extra stuff for dental tartar, there seems to be something like prozym or plaque off available for dental problems. Nutro means good quality dogfood for a nice price is my opinion.
I have used Natural Choice for over 12 years now, and wouldn't change for the world. At times I've had the large breed puppy, large breed adult and large breed senior bags all sitting in the kitchen. I have 13 year old dogs that still act like 5 year olds. I will never change.
My 10 month old Lab/Boxer mix, Sparky, always gets comments on his beautiful coat, thanks to Natural Choice for Large Breed Puppies. I switched him to this as soon as I got him as a puppy (he was being fed Purina 1). My new pup, Zephyr, a German Shepherd/Lab mix, had a dry flakey coat and was under-weight when I got him from the Humane Society three weeks ago. I immediately switched him from Science Diet Puppy Food to Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy. His coat is now soft, silky and shiney with no flakes, and he is filling out nicely. I also supplement with Flax Oil for both my pups.
I am a Shih Tzu breeder. I recently switched from Kibbles and bits to your food. Lamb and Rice. I just had 4 new litters of puppies. Your food is amazing. The puppies were born alot bigger than if I kept them on kibbles and bits. I would like to commend you on your dog food and it is the best food I have ever bought. Keep up the good work . Elizabeth Murphy
Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice has worked very well for my two mixed breed dogs. Our chow-lab mix had digestive issues early on, as well as scratching and chewing himself, and we tried a few different foods before settling on Nutro. Our vet wanted to do allergy tests, but all his health issues were resolved after finding Nutro Natural Choice. It is also fairly affordable, compared to other "premium" brands. The pet store chains frequently have this brand on sale.
We did try mixing in some Nutro Max, but it did not agree with our dogs. So, just Lamb and Rice for us!
an organic raw/BARF diet is best for most dogs...try it! No recalls on raw organic meat!
"homemade" food (even cooked) meat and low-glycemic fruits and veggies has let dogs live healthy lives for years...much better than packaged processed stuff in a bag!
HOWEVER if you are going to feed commercial pet food use EVO (no grain) or Prairie/nature's variety, Evanger's, Chicken Soup etc. are WORLDS ABOVE NUTRO!
CANNED food always naturally contains more meat and is always the HEALTHIER choice in any brand
Dogs are designed to eat mostly animals (bones, tissue, muscle and all) and the vegetables contained within the prey stomachs. DOGS DO NOT NEED ANY GRAIN IN THEIR DIET!
Cats even more so - they're obligate carnivores!
We have been using Nutro since we got my Mini Bull 3 years ago. I was searching the web for info on Organic dog food after all the recalls. How scary. I have since changed my mind about a change after reading the great reveiws and the ingredients in Nutro we will be staying.
Our German Sheperd shed so badly it drove us crazy. Nothing seemed to help until we tried Natural Choice Lamb and Rice. Thank you