Rating: 
Nutro Ultra dry dog food earns the Advisor’s above-average rating of 4 stars.
The Nutro Ultra product line includes seven dry dog foods… five meeting AAFCO nutrient profiles for maintenance, one for growth (Large Breed Puppy) and one for all life stages (Puppy).
- Nutro Ultra Adult
- Nutro Ultra Puppy
- Nutro Ultra Senior
- Nutro Ultra Small Breed Adult
- Nutro Ultra Large Breed Adult
- Nutro Ultra Large Breed Puppy
- Nutro Ultra Weight Management (3 stars)
Nutro Ultra Adult Dog Food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Nutro Ultra Adult
Dry Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Chicken, chicken meal, whole brown rice, ground rice, rice bran, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), lamb meal, salmon meal, natural flavors, flaxseed, sunflower oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), dried plain beet pulp, rolled oats, potassium chloride, egg product, tomato pomace, dried pomegranate, dried blueberry, dried cranberry, dried pumpkin, dried spinach, dried carrot, salt, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), l-carnitine, biotin, niacin supplement, potassium iodide, copper proteinate, calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B2), vitamin A supplement, beta carotene, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), sodium selenite, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.4%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient in this dog food lists chicken. Although it is a quality item, raw chicken contains about 80% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost… reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight.
After processing, this item would probably account for a smaller part of the total content of the finished product.
Which brings us to chicken meal… the second and (more likely) the dominant meat ingredient in this recipe.
Chicken meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.
The third item is brown rice. Brown rice is a quality ingredient… a complex carbohydrate that (once cooked) is fairly easy to digest.
After ground rice, we note the inclusion of rice bran… a healthy by-product of rice milling. Though not as nutritionally complete as whole grain rice, brans are still unusually rich in fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals.
Please notice the last three items are all rice ingredients. Even though they’re a mixture of decent quality grains, there’s a more important issue to consider here…
The controversial practice of ingredient splitting.
If you were to combine all three rice items, the rice would then occupy a higher position on the list… almost certainly nudging out the chicken to become the real first ingredient in the dog food.
The sixth ingredient is 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 next two ingredients include lamb and salmon meals. Like chicken meal, both items are considered protein-rich meat concentrate
fish meal. Because it is considered a meat concentrate, fish meal contains almost 300% more protein than fresh fish itself.
Unfortunately, the controversial chemical ethoxyquin is frequently used as a preservative in fish meals.
But because it’s usually added to the raw fish before processing, the chemical does not have to be reported to consumers.
We find no public assurances from the company this product is ethoxyquin-free.
Without knowing more, and based upon this fish meal’s location on the list of ingredients, we would expect to find only a trace of ethoxyquin in this product.
After the natural flavor, we find 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.
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 a 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 an inexpensive 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 affect the overall rating of this product.
With two notable exceptions…
First, we find no mention of probiotics… friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing.
And lastly, this food also contains 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 Dry Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Nutro Ultra looks to be an above-average dry 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 28%, a fat level of 14% and estimated carbohydrates of about 50%.
Due to its apparently lower meat content, the Weight Management recipe was downgraded to the next lower star category.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 28% and a mean fat level of 14%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 50% for the overall product line.
Average protein. Below-average fat. And near-average carbs when compared to a typical dry dog food.
Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing a moderate amount of meat.
Bottom line?
Nutro Ultra is a rice-based dry dog food using a moderate amount of chicken 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 specific health benefits 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
12/19/2009 Original review
05/28/2010 Review updated
07/21/2010 Review updated
12/27/2010 Review updated
04/04/2011 Updated to more appropriate 3.5 stars
09/04/2011 Updated to 4 stars (new recipe, menadione removed)
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.