# Natural Balance & Wellness: Who Is More Trustworthy?



## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

I've been really happy with Natural Balance Lamb & Rice. We are about halfway through the bag and first off, Jackson devours it. Which is sooo rare for him with a kibble. I've said this before but this one, like, he REALLY loves, LOL. It seems to be agreeing with him very well too... nice firm little stools 2-3x a day, his coat is still good looking, his breath does not stink, eye boogers/goop is very very minimal, almost none at all besides the normal crusties every now and then, etc, etc. I think he really loves the kibble size too -- larger, but still kind of flat vs. round if that makes sense. Yep, I have a picky boy, who_ usually _won't eat really tiny kibble lol. So yeah, really happy with it right now and don't plan on switching.

I do like to rotate though every other bag or so. So was looking at Wellness Simple Solutions Duck. Anyone ever fed Simple Solutions? Jackson always ate grainfree foods before but honestly, he's doing really great, if not better, with some of these grain inclusive foods. Only thing is at Petco it was like $16.99 for a 4lb bag of it... I used to get 5.5lbs of Acana for like $14.99. The 18% fat minimum in all the Acana formulas is too high for my liking since he had pancreatitis. So I prefer to stay under 12-13%.

I'm more looking for company credibility, too. Do you think Wellness is a more trustworthy company as a whole than Natural Balance? Ingredient-wise, the NB Rice and Lamb actually looks better to me. But I've learned it's not always about ingredients; I really like to be able to trust a company as much as I can too.

No hurry to run out and switch or anything since he's doing so well with NB. But just wanted to get some thoughts.

NB Lamb & Rice
Lamb Meal, Brown Rice, Ground White Rice, Rice Bran, Canola Oil, Lamb, Tomato Pomace, Natural Flavor, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Natural Mixed Tocopherols, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid.
Crude Protein 21.0% minimum
Crude Fat 12.0% minimum
Crude Fiber 4.0% maximum
Moisture 10.0% maximum
Calcium 1.2% minimum
Phosphorus 1.0% minimum
Omega-3 Fatty Acids 0.3% minimum
Omega-6 Fatty Acids 1.7% minimum

Wellness Duck
Ground Rice, Duck, Rice Protein Concentrate, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Tomato Pomace, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Natural Duck Flavor, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Beta-Carotene, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid], Minerals [Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite], Choline Chloride, Taurine.

This is a naturally preserved product.

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein Not Less Than 20.0%
Crude Fat Not Less Than 12.0%
Crude Fiber Not More Than 3.0%
Moisture Not More Than 11.0%
Lycopene* Not Less Than 0.20 mg/kg
Omega 6 Fatty Acids* Not Less Than 1.75%
Omega 3 Fatty Acids* Not Less Than 0.75%

As an FYI, I use Weruva http://www.weruva.com/ canned to up his protein a bit!  Plus he still gets bully sticks to chew on a few times a week.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Just a personal thing but I will never buy Natural Balance again. Chelsy was on the Venison and rice when they had the huge recall with the melamine from China. She got horribly sick at age 11 and had to have bladder surgery. They said it was nothing to do with the recall, but she had never had any problems like that in 11 years of life and has never had crystals in her urine since then. They said her bladder was literally packed with sand and crystals. Of course they wanted her on a special diet and medication for the rest of her life. Natural balance took back all the food across the whole country, but they said they had no actual health problems from it and it wouldn't have had anything to do with Chelsy's problem. 

(She has had a UTI this year but it was bacterial from her being slightly paralyzed, nothing to do with crystals. )


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

I've always thought Wellness was a pretty great company (owned by Old Mother Hubbard, I do believe). Why not try the Wellness lamb, barley, and salmon (Wellness® Complete Health® Super5Mix® Lamb, Barley & Salmon Meal Recipe It only has 12% fat but similar ingredients so you don't have to worry about the switch of flavor and ingredients being too intense for your pup.


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## Feedingtime (Oct 21, 2011)

Jacksons Mom said:


> I've been really happy with Natural Balance Lamb & Rice. We are about halfway through the bag and first off, Jackson devours it. Which is sooo rare for him with a kibble. I've said this before but this one, like, he REALLY loves, LOL. It seems to be agreeing with him very well too... nice firm little stools 2-3x a day, his coat is still good looking, his breath does not stink, eye boogers/goop is very very minimal, almost none at all besides the normal crusties every now and then, etc, etc. I think he really loves the kibble size too -- larger, but still kind of flat vs. round if that makes sense. Yep, I have a picky boy, who_ usually _won't eat really tiny kibble lol. So yeah, really happy with it right now and don't plan on switching.
> 
> I do like to rotate though every other bag or so. So was looking at Wellness Simple Solutions Duck. Anyone ever fed Simple Solutions? Jackson always ate grainfree foods before but honestly, he's doing really great, if not better, with some of these grain inclusive foods. Only thing is at Petco it was like $16.99 for a 4lb bag of it... I used to get 5.5lbs of Acana for like $14.99. The 18% fat minimum in all the Acana formulas is too high for my liking since he had pancreatitis. So I prefer to stay under 12-13%.
> 
> ...


Natural Balance is a rip-off, and it is made by Diamond to boot. Wellness is very expensive for the below average nutrition you get. That cute little guy should be eating a food with much more protein and fat than those two have. Don't be fooled by the warm and fuzzy names, neither of those foods are very good, especially for a small/toy breed. The little guys should get a food with more than 25% protein, 30% would be best and 16% to 20% fat. He wouldn't be so picky if his food had more fat.

Ironically, small/toy breeds should be fed the same food as sled dogs because if their rapid metabolism. Many suffer from hypoglycemia because they are fed wrong.

What were the circumstances around the pancreatitis?


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Feedingtime said:


> Natural Balance is a rip-off, and it is made by Diamond to boot. Wellness is very expensive for the below average nutrition you get. That cute little guy should be eating a food with much more protein and fat than those two have. Don't be fooled by the warm and fuzzy names, neither of those foods are very good, especially for a small/toy breed. The little guys should get a food with more than 25% protein, 30% would be best and 16% to 20% fat. He wouldn't be so picky if his food had more fat.
> 
> Ironically, small/toy breeds should be fed the same food as sled dogs because if their rapid metabolism. Many suffer from hypoglycemia because they are fed wrong.
> 
> What were the circumstances around the pancreatitis?


Yeah, Diamond isn't necessarily my favorite. He's not extremely little -- 16lbs and lots of muscle, lean. 

I've talked about it before but I am not even sure he had pancreatitis... in the end, vet did not really say for sure, and even mentioned a food allergy. But I dunno. I tend to think it was just a really bad case of upset stomach. He ate a lot of fatty human foods one night and the next morning he started puking. Then he puked all through the following night until 5am. He was in the hospital hooked up to IV's for over 24hours as his lipase levels were off the charts. But the next day he was better again and fine and was not exhibiting any other symptoms, but his lipase levels were always a bit high. We were in the vet every other day it seemed for about a week and a half, getting sub-q fluids four separate times, and multiple bloodwork. Then they sent out for a cPL test a week later, which came back negative. Either way, I was advised to keep fat levels down a bit and that once a dog has one episode of pancreatitis, they are more prone to getting it again. And since he's been eating these lower fat grain inclusive foods, he's been much more inclined to eat. Before, even on Acana and Orijen, he wouldn't eat much and kibble would sit for days sometimes. So I think his tummy is feeling better possibly on these a bit less rich foods and that's why he's maybe eating more. I dunno, just an idea.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

rannmiller said:


> I've always thought Wellness was a pretty great company (owned by Old Mother Hubbard, I do believe). Why not try the Wellness lamb, barley, and salmon (Wellness® Complete Health® Super5Mix® Lamb, Barley & Salmon Meal Recipe It only has 12% fat but similar ingredients so you don't have to worry about the switch of flavor and ingredients being too intense for your pup.


I am almost positive he won't eat that, lol. I bought a bag of Wellness once that had the salmon and whitefish in it and all the dogs (including my dads two) wouldn't touch it. They've never eaten anything even remotely fishy.  But thanks for the suggestion!


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

chowder said:


> Just a personal thing but I will never buy Natural Balance again. Chelsy was on the Venison and rice when they had the huge recall with the melamine from China. She got horribly sick at age 11 and had to have bladder surgery. They said it was nothing to do with the recall, but she had never had any problems like that in 11 years of life and has never had crystals in her urine since then. They said her bladder was literally packed with sand and crystals. Of course they wanted her on a special diet and medication for the rest of her life. Natural balance took back all the food across the whole country, but they said they had no actual health problems from it and it wouldn't have had anything to do with Chelsy's problem.
> 
> (She has had a UTI this year but it was bacterial from her being slightly paralyzed, nothing to do with crystals. )


Thanks for your info! I always hear mixed thoughts on NB which does kind of scare me. But then again, I hear mixed thoughts on almost every food, so it's hard to say. I just know he REALLY is loving, and doing well, on the NB formula right now so we'll finish the bag.

I also have a $5.00 coupon for NV Prairie so may throw that into the rotation. I don't like to keep him on any one food for too long, I do like to rotate protein sources, and give him variety to keep him interested.

Really wish the Acana Classic line would come into the USA...

I wanted to add he's done fairly well on most dog foods we've tried. Little things change like amount of eye boogers and coat shininess and breath, and maybe more poop or something, but for the most part, all the kibbles he's been on, I've never had any HUGE issues and he's always been a healthy little guy besides this one issue (that didn't stem from dog food). I wouldn't say he has a sensitive stomach per say but sometimes poo would be a bit soft or he'd have a runny poo issue while on walks when he was on higher protein/fat foods but since the "switch" we no longer have this issue at ALL. I think I just over-analyze everything in general, LOL


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

I dunno, I like NB :-X (I'm a rep for them). I think the company is good and has integrity. They test each batch and you can look it up online. 

I like their Ultra blend. Abbie is doing really well on it, and they have it in small bites too  


I like Nature's Variety Prairie too! Esp rotating them.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Also a fan of their Alpha line (new grain free) with slightly higher protein (26%). I like the chicken/rabbit/lamb one.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

meggels said:


> I dunno, I like NB :-X (I'm a rep for them). I think the company is good and has integrity. They test each batch and you can look it up online.
> 
> I like their Ultra blend. Abbie is doing really well on it, and they have it in small bites too
> 
> ...


I was actually looking for the Lamb & Rice Large Bites, LOL. He looovesss crunching on his kibble. Like I said, he always seems to enjoy larger kibbles, for the most part. The tiny ones he's never been too interested in for some reason.

Do you know how much bigger the Lamb & Rice large bites are as opposed to the regular? I did not see the large bites in Petco though, only small bites?


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

The large bites are really hard to find I think. I can look in a little bit, I have some samples.


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## nupe (Apr 26, 2011)

i MEAN DONT YOU HAVE TO TRUST THE FATHER OF EIGHT KIDS AND THE STAR OF A old TV sitcome ..in Dick Van Partton??...lol


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

I don't think the protein nor fat is high enough. If you don't even think he had pancreatitis, why other than the fact that he likes the kibble, are you feeding him a lesser food? Dogs are carnivores, and don't need carbs. Feeding him a food that has 60% or more carbs isn't good. Why not feed him canned food only, or go back to Taste of the wild/acana?


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

nupe said:


> i MEAN DONT YOU HAVE TO TRUST THE FATHER OF EIGHT KIDS AND THE STAR OF A old TV sitcome ..in Dick Van Partton??...lol


LOL!



Caty M said:


> I don't think the protein nor fat is high enough. If you don't even think he had pancreatitis, why other than the fact that he likes the kibble, are you feeding him a lesser food? Dogs are carnivores, and don't need carbs. Feeding him a food that has 60% or more carbs isn't good. Why not feed him canned food only, or go back to Taste of the wild/acana?


Because he's done better on it in general than the higher protein/higher fat foods and he likes it better. He's never, well rarely, voluntarily ate kibble until he began eating the lower fat foods, and I am wondering if it's because it makes his belly feel better. Since his "sickness" with whatever, he's been eating GREAT, regularly, really enjoys his food. I pour kibble into the bowl, his breakfast gets eaten. This is, like, amazing for this dog, lol. Who would love kibble untouched for DAYS. While on Orijen/Acana/etc, I was only feeding 1/2 cup per day, way less than the recommended amount, but I would still get the occasional soft poop, the end would come out runny. Not EVERY time but usually one out of three poops per day it would be like this. We never have this issue at all anymore and he's eating 3/4 cup per day of the NB Lamb and Rice. I will say I often wonder if he's got an issue with potatoes. He did well on NV Instinct, as far as I remember, but he did gain a bit of weight. But he will not eat ANYthing potato, if a french fry gets offered, nope. Baked potato? Nope. Sweet potato? nope. Potato chip? nope. lol. I always thought it was so weird.

I can't afford to feed canned food to him solely lol. I just mix it in and one can lasts us a week. If he were eating it every day, he'd need like a can a half per day.

I tried TOTW again for like 5 days but he pooped a ton on it for some reason... like way more than usual. 

I would consider trying Acana again, might get a sample bag. But like I said, I'm really happy with the NB results right now, so I'm not looking to switch, just need another food in the rotation. If he did okay on Acana again, I'd begin feeding it full time.

But I was more concerned about the company integrity itself as I've heard mixed opinions on Natural Balance and did not know if anyone had any input on the company itself. Diamond does tend to make me nervous in general... but it seems they haven't had any issues for a while.


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