Rating: 
Nutro Ultra canned dog food receives the Advisor’s second-highest rating of four stars.
Currently, the Nutro Ultra product line includes six canned dog foods… four designed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for adult maintenance and two for all life stages (puppy formulas).
- Nutro Ultra Adult
- Nutro Ultra Puppy
- Nutro Ultra Senior
- Nutro Ultra Large Breed Adult
- Nutro Ultra Large Breed Puppy
- Nutro Ultra Weight Management
Nutro Ultra Adult canned dog food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Nutro Ultra Adult
Canned Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Chicken broth, chicken, chicken liver, potato starch, lamb, salmon, lamb liver, turkey, wheat gluten, egg product, peas, carrots, salt, ground flaxseed, whole brown rice, sunflower oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), herring meal, potassium chloride, guar gum, sodium phosphate, dried plain beet pulp, ground rice, rolled oats, natural flavors, tomato pomace, alfalfa meal, calcium carbonate, cranberry meal, blueberry pomace, sodium alginate, tricalcium phosphate, pomegranate powder, avocado powder, iron proteinate, xanthan gum, zinc proteinate, pumpkin powder, vitamin E supplement, spinach flakes, sodium ascorbate, choline chloride, zinc oxide, taurine, l-carnitine, beta carotene, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, cobalt proteinate, sodium selenite, thiamine mononitrate, potassium iodide, vitamin A supplement, biotin, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin supplement
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 5%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken broth. Broths are nutritionally worthless. But because they add moisture to a dog food they are a common finding in many canned products.
The second ingredient is 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 all ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
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 lists potato starch. Potato starch is a gluten-free carbohydrate used here more for its thickening properties than its nutritional value.
The fifth item is lamb. Like chicken, lamb is another quality meat.
The sixth item is salmon. Salmon is a fatty marine and freshwater fish naturally high in protein as well as omega 3 fatty acids… essential oils needed by every dog to stay healthy.
After lamb liver and turkey, we note the inclusion of wheat gluten. Gluten is a tofu-like residue that remains after wheat has had all its starchy carbohydrate (the good stuff) dissolved out of it.
Compared to meat, glutens are inferior grain-based proteins low in many of the essential amino acids dogs need to sustain life.
This less nutritious plant-based ingredient can significantly boost the total protein content reported in this dog food.
The tenth ingredient is egg product… a dehydrated form of shell-free eggs. Quality can vary significantly. Lower grade egg product can even come from commercial hatcheries… from eggs that have failed to hatch.
In any case, eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.
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, dried 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.
Tomato pomace is another controversial ingredient… a by-product left of 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 laden with pesticides found on the skin of the tomato before processing.
Just the same, there’s probably not enough tomato pomace here to make much of a difference.
Finally, we note 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.
Nutro Ultra Canned Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Nutro Ultra canned dog food looks like an above-average wet product.
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 40%, a fat level of 28% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 25%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 40% and an average fat level of 25%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate portion size of 27% for the full product line.
Average protein. Average fat. And average carbohydrates… when compared to a typical canned dog food.
Yet when you consider the plant-based protein-boosting effect of the wheat gluten, this appears to be the profile of a wet food containing only a moderate amount of meat.
Bottom line?
Nutro Ultra canned dog food is a meat-based wet product using a moderate amount of chicken as its main source of animal protein… thus earning the brand three stars.
Recommended.
Those looking for a comparable kibble from the same company may wish to check out our review of Nutro Ultra dry dog food.
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… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
12/19/2009 Original review
07/26/2010 Review updated
- Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
