Highly Recommended
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Only Natural Pet Canine PowerFood receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4 stars.
The Only Natural Pet Canine PowerFood product line includes 8 dry dog foods.
Each recipe below includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage: Growth, Maintenance, All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.
Important: Because many websites do not reliably specify which Growth or All Life Stages recipes are safe for large breed puppies, we do not include that data in this report. Be sure to check actual packaging for that information.
Use links below to compare price and package sizes at an online retailer.
- Canine PowerFood Poultry Feast [M]
- Canine PowerFood Just Fish Feast [M]
- Canine PowerFood Wild Feast [M]
- Canine PowerFood Red Meat Feast [M]
- Canine PowerFood Small Breed Feast [M]
- Canine PowerFood Reduced Fat Feast [M]
- Canine PowerFood Puppy Power Feast [G]
- Canine PowerFood Large Breed Feast (4.5 stars) [M]
Only Natural Pet Canine PowerFood Red Meat Feast was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.
Only Natural Pet PowerFood Red Meat Feast
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Protein
Fat
CarbsCarbohydrates
Deboned lamb, lamb meal, pork meal, pea protein, field peas, garbanzo beans, lentils, sunflower oil, sun cured alfalfa, flax seed, herring oil, natural flavor, chicory root, dried apples, dried cranberries, dried carrots, tomato pomace, dried kelp, potassium chloride, vitamins [vitamin E supplement, calcium pantothenate, niacin supplement, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid], choline chloride, minerals [zinc proteinate, calcium carbonate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, selenium yeast, calcium iodate], pumpkin, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation product (source of amylase, lipase and protease), dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, pineapple stems (source of bromelain), Yucca schidigera extract, turmeric, New Zealand green mussels, rosemary extract, mixed tocopherols (preservative)
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4%
Red denotes any controversial items
| Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 33% | 17% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 37% | 19% | 36% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 31% | 39% | 31% |
The first ingredient in this dog food is lamb. Although it is a quality item, raw lamb 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 lamb meal. Lamb meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh lamb.
The third ingredient includes pork meal, another protein-rich meat concentrate. Yet it can also be high in ash — about 25-30%.
However, the ash content of the final product is typically adjusted in the recipe to allow its mineral profile to meet AAFCO guidelines.
The fourth ingredient is pea protein, what remains of a pea after removing the starchy part of the vegetable.
Even though it contains over 80% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.
And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.
The fifth ingredient lists peas. Peas are a quality source of carbohydrates. And like all legumes, they’re rich in natural fiber.
The sixth ingredient includes garbanzo beans, also known as chickpeas. Like peas, bean and lentils, the chickpea is a nutritious member of the fiber-rich legume (pulse) family of vegetables.
The seventh ingredient includes lentils. Lentils are a quality source of carbohydrates. Plus (like all legumes) they’re rich in natural fiber.
It’s important to note that a number of ingredients included in this recipe are each a type of legume:
- Peas
- Garbanzo beans
- Lentils
Although they’re a mixture of quality plant ingredients, there’s an important issue to consider here. And that’s the recipe design practice known as ingredient splitting.
If we were to combine all these individual items together and report them as one, that newer combination would likely occupy a significantly higher position on the list.
In addition, legumes contain about 25% protein, a factor that must also be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.
The eighth ingredient is sunflower oil. Sunflower oil is nutritionally similar to safflower oil. Since these oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids and contain no omega-3’s, they’re considered less nutritious than canola or flaxseed oils.
Sunflower oil is notable for its resistance to heat damage during cooking.
There are several different types of sunflower oil, some better than others. Without knowing more, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this ingredient.
The ninth ingredient is sun-cured alfalfa. Although alfalfa is high in protein (18%) and fiber, it’s uncommon to see it used in 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 product.
With five notable exceptions…
First, flaxseed is one of the best plant-based sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Flax meal is particularly rich in soluble fiber.
However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.
Next, chicory root is rich in inulin, a starch-like compound made up of repeating units of carbohydrates and found in certain roots and tubers.
Not only is inulin a natural source of soluble dietary fiber, it’s also a prebiotic used to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in a dog’s digestive tract.
In addition, this food contains tomato pomace. 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.
Next, this food includes 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 find selenium yeast. Unlike the more common inorganic form of selenium (sodium selenite), this natural yeast supplement is considered a safer anti-cancer alternative.
Only Natural Pet Canine PowerFood Dog Food Review
Judging by its ingredients alone, Only Natural Pet Canine PowerFood dog food looks like an above-average dry 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 39%, a fat level of 20% and estimated carbohydrates of about 33%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 38% and a mean fat level of 19%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 35% for the overall product line.
And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 49%.
Above-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical dry dog food.
When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the pea protein, peas, garbanzo beans, lentils, dried alfalfa and flaxseed in this recipe, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing a moderate amount of meat.
Bottom line?
Only Natural Pet Canine PowerFood is a grain-free dry dog food using a moderate amount of named meat meals as its main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars.
Highly recommended.
However, it’s unfortunate the company chose to include so much plant-based protein in its recipe. Otherwise, we would have been compelled to award this product a higher rating.
Please note certain recipes are sometimes given a higher or lower rating based upon our estimate of their total meat content and (when appropriate) their fat-to-protein ratios.
Only Natural Pet Dog Food Recall History
The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to Only Natural Pet. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.
You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls sorted by date. Or view the same list sorted alphabetically by brand.
Notes and Updates
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A Final Word
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