Rating: 
Natural Life canned dog food earns the Advisor’s second-highest rating of four stars.
The Natural Life product line includes three canned dog foods.
Although each formulation appears to be named for a specific life stage, we found no AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for these dog foods on the Natural Life website.
- Natural Life Puppy Complete
- Natural Life Adult Complete
- Natural Life Adult Lamaderm
Natural Life Adult Complete was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Natural Life Adult Complete
Canned Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Chicken, water sufficient for processing, chicken liver, rice, rice flour, flaxseed, dicalcium phosphate, guar gum, carrots, peas, salt, lecithin, choline chloride, potassium chloride, carageenan, cassia, Yucca schidigera extract, cranberries, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, copper sulfate, niacin supplement, calcium pantothenate, biotin supplement, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, folic acid, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate, calcium iodate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin D supplement
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 6.8%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
| Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 8% | 4% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 36% | 18% | 37% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 31% | 38% | 32% |
The first item in this dog food lists chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.1
Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
The second ingredient is water… which (of course) adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a normal finding in most canned dog foods.
The third ingredient is chicken liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal. So long as it’s not over-weighted in a dog food, chicken liver is a beneficial component.
The fourth item is rice. Is this whole grain rice, brown rice or white rice? Since the word “rice” doesn’t tell us much, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.
The fifth ingredient lists rice flour. Rice flour is made from either white or brown rice and is considered a good gluten-free substitute for wheat flour.
The sixth ingredient lists flaxseed… one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.
The seventh ingredient is dicalcium phosphate… likely used here as a dietary calcium supplement.
The eighth ingredient is guar gum… a gelling or thickening agent found in many wet pet foods. Refined from dehusked guar beans, guar gum can add a notable amount of dietary fiber to any product.
From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.
But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.
With one notable exception…
We note the minerals listed here don’t appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.
Natural Life Canned Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Natural Life appears to be an average canned dog food.
But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 36X%, a fat level of 18% and estimated carbohydrates of about 37%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 38% and a mean fat level of 22%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 32% for the overall product line.
Average protein. Average fat. And above-average carbohydrates… when compared to a typical canned dog food.
With no sign of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a wet food containing a moderate amount of meat.
Bottom line?
Natural Life is a meat-based canned dog food using a moderate amount of chicken or lamb as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand four stars.
Highly recommended.
Those looking for a kibble from the same company may wish to visit our review of Natural Life dry dog food.
A Final Word
This review is designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in specific health benfits for your pet.
For a better understanding of how we analyzed this product, please be sure to read our article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews”
Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.
Have an opinion about this dog food… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
03/23/2010 Original review
10/23/2010 Review updated
07/23/2011 Review updated (no changes)
07/23/2011 Last Update
- Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.