Nature’s Variety Raw Frozen Diets (Raw)

Rating:

Nature’s Variety Raw Frozen Dog Food earns the Advisor’s highest rating of five stars.

Currently, the Nature’s Variety Raw Frozen product line includes seven recipes… each designed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages.

• Nature’s Variety Raw Beef Formula
• Nature’s Variety Raw Bison Formula
• Nature’s Variety Raw Lamb Formula
• Nature’s Variety Raw Rabbit Formula
• Nature’s Variety Raw Chicken Formula
• Nature’s Variety Raw Venison Formula
• Nature’s Variety Raw Organic Chicken Formula

All the products are 100% grain-free and designed to mimic a dog’s natural ancestral diet.

Nature’s Variety Raw Frozen Bison Formula was chosen as a typical example of the line for this review.

The first ingredient is beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.¹

Like most meats, beef is naturally rich in all ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life. A quality meat ingredient.

The second ingredient is beef liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal. So long as it’s not over-weighted in a dog food, beef liver is a beneficial component.

The third item includes ground beef bone… an excellent source of natural calcium.

The fourth ingredient is beef heart. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing to us humans, heart tissue is pure muscle… all meat. It’s naturally rich in quality protein, minerals and complex B vitamins, too.

The fifth ingredient is beef kidney… another low-fat organ meat thankfully sourced from an identified species.

Amongst the rest of the ingredients we note the inclusion of a number of healthy fruits and vegetables…

• Apples
• Carrots
• Squash
• Broccoli
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Kelp
• Parsley
• Blueberries
• Alfalfa
• Persimmons

Ground flaxseed is one of the best vegetable sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Flax meal is rich in soluble and insoluble fiber.

This product also contains four different kinds of eggs. Eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

We find no added vitamins or minerals on the ingredients list. But the company assures consumers the product’s “fruits and vegetables provide beneficial vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants”.²

The Bottom Line…
Nature’s Variety Raw Frozen Diets

As meat ingredients go, Nature’s Variety Raw Frozen Diets might be as good as it gets. According to the company, the dog food’s first five ingredients make up 95% of the overall product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 41%, a fat level of 25% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 26%.

Featuring a brand average of 40%, protein numbers range from a low of 36% for the lamb and bison formulas to a high of 41% for each of the others.

Fat was an impressive 23% for the group.

This is the profile of a raw dog food containing an abundance of meat.

For those unfamiliar with a raw diet… those who may worry that feeding a raw diet like this may be a bit “meat-heavy”… afraid they may be leaving out some important nutrient… think again.

This Nature’s Variety product meets AAFCO nutrient guidelines for being “complete and balanced”.

Bottom line?

Nature’s Variety Raw Frozen is a meat-based wet dog food using a veritable bounty of fresh frozen meats as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand a well-deserved five stars.

Enthusiastically recommended.

See a recap of all the product lines made by this company when you visit our summary page… Nature’s Variety Dog Food Reviews.

For more suggestions, be sure to visit the Advisor’s Recommended Raw Dog Foods summary page.

A Final Word

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 brand… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.

Notes

11/04/2009 Original review
05/16/2010 Review updated

Tagged as: adult, all life stages, ancestral diet, frozen, gluten free, grain-free, growth, maintenance, puppy, raw, senior