Nutrience Infusion Dog Food Review (Dry)
Highly Recommended
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Nutrience Infusion Dog Food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4.5 stars.
The Nutrience Infusion product line includes the 6 dry dog foods listed below.
Each recipe includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage: Growth, Maintenance, All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.
Use the links below to check prices and package sizes at an online retailer.
- Nutrience Infusion Healthy Puppy [G]
- Nutrience Infusion Healthy Adult (4 stars) [M]
- Nutrience Infusion Healthy Adult Beef (4 stars) [M]
- Nutrience Infusion Healthy Adult Small Breed [M]
- Nutrience Infusion Healthy Adult Large Breed [M]
- Nutrience Infusion Healthy Senior [G]
Nutrience Infusion Healthy Adult Small Breed was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.
Nutrience Infusion Healthy Adult Small Breed
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Protein
Fat
CarbsCarbohydrates
Deboned chicken, chicken meal, steel cut oats, pearl barley, green peas, red lentils, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), natural chicken flavour, sun-cured alfalfa, freeze-dried chicken liver, salmon oil, coconut oil, calcium carbonate, pumpkin, butternut squash, carrots, spinach, broccoli, apples, blueberries, cranberries, pomegranate, juniper berry extract, ginger, fennel, chamomile, peppermint leaf, licorice root, turmeric, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, vitamin A supplement, niacin, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid), minerals (zinc sulfate, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, ferrous sulphate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), potassium chloride, salt, lecithin, choline chloride, chicory root extract, yeast extract, dl-methionine, l-lysine, glucosamine hydrochloride, chondroitin sulfate, rosemary extract, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium bifidum fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 3.5%
Red denotes any controversial items
| Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 28% | 18% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 31% | 20% | 41% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 26% | 40% | 34% |
The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken. Although it is a quality item, raw chicken contains up to 73% 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.
The second ingredient is chicken meal. Chicken meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.
The third ingredient includes oats. Oats are rich in B-vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.
The next ingredient is barley. Barley is a starchy carbohydrate supplying fiber and other healthy nutrients. However, aside from its energy content, this cereal grain is of only modest nutritional value to a dog.
The next two items include peas and lentils. These two ingredients are a quality source of carbohydrates. And like all legumes, they’re rich in natural fiber.
However, both peas and lentils contain about 25% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.
The seventh ingredient is chicken fat. This item 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.
After the natural chicken flavor, we find sun-cured alfalfa. Although alfalfa is high in protein (18%) and fiber, it’s uncommon to see it used in a dog food. This hay-family ingredient is more commonly associated with horse feeds.
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 Nutrience product.
With 5 notable exceptions…
First, we note the use of salmon oil. Salmon oil is naturally rich in the prized EPA and DHA type of omega-3 fatty acids. These two high quality fats boast the highest bio-availability to dogs and humans.
Depending on its level of freshness and purity, salmon oil should be considered a commendable addition.
Next, we find coconut oil, a natural oil rich in medium-chain fatty acids.
Medium-chain triglycerides have been shown to improve cognitive function in older dogs.1
Because of its proven safety2 as well as its potential to help in the treatment of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) and chronic skin disorders, MCT can be considered a positive addition to this recipe.
Next, yeast extract is the common name for a broad group of products made by removing the cell wall from the yeast organism.
A significant number of these ingredients are added as specialized nutritional supplements while others are used as flavor enhancers.
However, the glutamic acid (and its chemical cousin, monosodium glutamate, or MSG) found in a minority of yeast extracts can be controversial.
That’s because even though the Food and Drug Administration designated these food additives to be safe decades ago3, the agency continues to receive reports of adverse effects.
So, detractors still object to the use of yeast extract and other glutamic acid derivatives and blame them for everything from Alzheimer’s (in humans) to obesity.
In any case, since the label reveals little about the actual type of yeast extract included in any recipe, it’s impossible for us to judge the quality of this ingredient.
In addition, this food 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.
And lastly, we note the inclusion of dried fermentation products. Fermentation products are typically added to provide enzymes to aid the animal with digestion.
Nutrience Infusion Dog Food Review
Judging by its ingredients alone, Nutrience Infusion Dog Food looks like an above-average dry product.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 31%, a fat level of 20% and estimated carbohydrates of about 41%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 30% and a mean fat level of 19%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 43% for the overall product line.
And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 61%.
Which means this Nutrience product line contains…
Near-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical dry dog food.
Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the peas and lentils, this still looks like the profile of a kibble containing a notable amount of meat.
Bottom line?
Nutrience Infusion is a grain-inclusive dry dog food using a notable amount of named meat meals as its main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4.5 stars.
Highly recommended.
Nutrience Dog Food Recall History
The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to this Nutrience brand. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.
Notes and Updates
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