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Only Natural Pet RawNibs Dog Food Review (Freeze-Dried)

Rating:

Only Natural Pet RawNibs Freeze-Dried Dog Food receives the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.

The Only Natural Pet RawNibs product line includes the 4 freeze-dried 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 to compare price and package sizes at an online retailer.

Only Natural Pet RawNibs Pasture Raised Beef and Tripe was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Only Natural Pet RawNibs Pasture Raised Beef and Tripe

Freeze-Dried Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 59% | Fat = 15% | Carbs = 18%

Ingredients: Beef, beef tripe, beef lung, ground beef bone, beef liver, beef heart, beef kidney, sweet potatoes, blueberries, broccoli, apples, ginger, garlic, raw organic goat’s milk, raw apple cider vinegar, herring oil, mixed tocopherols (preservative), d-alpha tocopherol

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 2.7%

Red denotes controversial item

Estimated Nutrient Content
MethodProteinFatCarbs
Guaranteed Analysis55%14%NA
Dry Matter Basis59%15%18%
Calorie Weighted Basis52%32%16%
Protein = 52% | Fat = 32% | Carbs = 16%

The first ingredient in this dog food is beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.1

Beef is naturally rich in all ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The second ingredient is beef tripe. Tripe usually consists of the first three chambers of a cud-chewing animal’s stomach. As unappetizing as it may seem to us humans, tripe is favored by dogs and sometimes even includes the stomach’s contents, too.

The third ingredient is beef lung. Beef lung is a protein-rich organ meat that’s also low in fat.

The next ingredient is ground beef bone, an excellent source of natural calcium.

The fifth item is beef liver, an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The sixth ingredient is beef heart. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing to us humans, heart tissue is pure muscle — all meat. It’s naturally rich in quality protein, minerals and complex B vitamins, too.

The seventh ingredient is beef kidney, an organ meat low in fat and rich in protein and essential minerals.

The next ingredient includes sweet potatoes, which are a gluten-free source of complex carbohydrates in dog food. They are naturally rich in dietary fiber and beta carotene.

Next, we find blueberries. Blueberries are a good source of vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.

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 Only Natural Pet product.

With 4 notable exceptions

First, herring 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, herring oil should be considered a commendable addition.

Next, garlic can be a controversial item. Although many favor the ingredient for its claimed health benefits, garlic has been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs.2

So, one must weigh the potential benefits of feeding garlic against its proven tendency to cause subclinical damage to the red blood cells of the animal.

Additionally, goat’s milk is rich in calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D. It contains slightly less lactose and can be considered nutritionally similar to cow’s milk.

And lastly, except for the vitamin E, we find no additional vitamins and minerals added to this product.

Only Natural Pet RawNibs
Dog Food Review

According to its ingredients alone, Only Natural Pet RawNibs Dog Food looks like an above-average raw product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 59%, a fat level of 15% and estimated carbohydrates of about 18%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 55% and a mean fat level of 18%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 19% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 32%.

Which means this Only Natural Pet product line contains…

Above-average protein. Below-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to other raw dog foods.

Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a raw product containing an abundance of meat.

Bottom line?

Only Natural Pet RawNibs is a grain-free raw dog food using a liberal amount of named meats and organs as its dominant source of animal protein, thus receiving 5 stars.

Enthusiastically recommended.

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.

A Final Word

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Notes and Updates

  1. Association of American Feed Control Officials
  2. Yamato et al, Heinz Body hemolytic anemia with eccentrocytosis from ingestion of Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum) and garlic (Allium sativum) in a dog, Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 41:68-73 (2005)
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