Rating: 
Nutrience Original Dog Food receives the Advisor’s above-average rating of 4 stars.
The Nutrience Original product line includes eight dry dog foods… three designed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for growth and five for adult maintenance.
- Nutrience Original Puppy Small Breed
- Nutrience Original Puppy Medium Breed
- Nutrience Original Puppy Large/Giant Breed
- Nutrience Original Adult Small Breed
- Nutrience Original Adult Medium Breed
- Nutrience Original Adult Large/Giant Breed
- Nutrience Original Older/Light Small/Medium Breed
- Nutrience Original Older/Light Large/Giant Breed (3 stars)
Nutrience Original Adult Medium Breed dog food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Nutrience Original Adult Medium Breed
Dry Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Chicken meal, ground corn, oat groats, brown rice, chicken fat (naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), dried beet pulp (sugarr removed), natural chicken flavor, dried tomato pomace (natural source of lycopene), yeast culture, flaxseed (natural source of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids), salt, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, calcium propionate (natural preservative), calcium carbonate, choline chloride, Yucca schidigera extract, rosemary extract, blueberry, cranberry, dl-methionine, l-lysine, fructo-oligosaccharides, yeast extract, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, vitamin E supplement, sodium selenite, zinc proteinate, calcium ascorbate (vitamin C), iron proteinate, manganous oxide, niacin (vitamin B3), calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5), copper sulfate, manganese proteinate, vitamin A acetate, inositol (vitamin B8), biotin (vitamin B7), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), copper proteinate, vitamin D3 supplement, calcium iodate, folic acid (vitamin B9)
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.4%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken meal. Chicken meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.
The second ingredient lists corn. Now, contrary to what you may have heard, corn isn’t necessarily a bad ingredient.
On the other hand, although there’s no way to know for sure here, the corn used in making many pet foods can be similar to the kind used to make feed for livestock.
And that can sometimes be problematic.
What’s more, corn is commonly linked to canine food allergies1.
For these reasons, we rarely consider corn a preferred component in any dog food.
The third ingredient includes oat groats… a whole grain, minimally processed form of oats. So long as they are adequately cooked, groats are unusually high in nutritional value.
The fourth item is brown rice. Brown rice is a quality ingredient… a complex carbohydrate that (once cooked) is fairly easy to digest.
The fifth ingredient lists chicken fat. Chicken fat is obtained from rendering chicken… a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.
Chicken fat is high in linoleic acid… an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing, chicken fat is actually a quality ingredient.
The sixth item is beet pulp. Beet pulp is a controversial ingredient, a high fiber by-product of sugar beet processing.
Some denounce beet pulp as an inexpensive filler while others cite its outstanding intestinal health and blood sugar benefits.
We only call your attention here to the controversy and believe the inclusion of beet pulp in reasonable amounts in most dog foods is entirely acceptable.
After the chicken flavor, we find tomato pomace. This is another controversial ingredient, a by-product remaining after processing tomatoes into juice, soup and ketchup.
Many praise tomato pomace for its high fiber and nutrient content… while others scorn it as a cheap pet food filler.
Just the same, there’s probably not enough tomato pomace here to make much of a difference.
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 have much of an effect on the overall rating of this product.
With three notable exceptions…
First, this recipe contains fructooligosaccharide… an alternative sweetener2 probably used here as a prebiotic. Prebiotics function to support the growth of healthy bacteria in the large intestine.
Next, the yeast extract is likely used as both a flavor and immune system enhancer. Although you may have heard otherwise, the glutamic acid found in yeast extract is a food additive generally recognized as safe by the USFDA.3
Yeast extract is also considered another prebiotic.
And lastly, this food does contain chelated minerals… minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.
Nutrience Dog Food… the Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Nutrience Dog Food appears to be at least an average kibble.
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 26%, a fat level of 14% and estimated carbohydrates of about 52%.
Due to its apparently lower meat content, the Original Older/Light Large/Giant product has been downgraded to our mid-tier category.
Excluding this lower-rated product, the remaining group features an average protein content of 27% and a mean fat level of 16%.
Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 49% for the overall product line.
Near-average protein. Average fat. And near-average carbs… when compared to a typical dry dog food.
Free of of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing a moderate amount of meat.
Bottom line?
Nutrience is a grain-based dry dog food using a moderate amount of chicken meal as its main source of animal protein… thus earning the brand 4 stars.
Highly recommended.
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 a specific health benefit 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
08/27/2010 Original review
02/13/2011 Review updated (new formulas)
- White, S., Update on food allergy in the dog and cat, World Small Animal Veterinary Association, Vancouver, 2001 ↩
- Wikipedia definition ↩
- L-Glutamic Acid, FDA Select Committee on GRAS Substances ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.
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