Natural Balance Dog Food
From LoveToKnow Dogs
Natural Balance dog food's fame extends beyond its celebrity founder, Dick Van Patten. The established natural pet food brand has a reputation for offering a variety of dry, canned and specialty food with quality ingredients since the 1980's. Dog owners who are searching for a natural dog food should consider Natural Balance.
Natural Balance Dog Food History
The story of Natural Balance Pet Foods began with a conversation between actor Dick Van Patten and several friends who were involved in dog rescue and veterinary medicine. Van Patten realized that he could turn a lifelong love of animals into an effort to improve animal health. By 1989, Van Patten, his son Jimmy and their partners founded Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc.
The pet food company based its formulas on the general principle of providing health food for pets. Formulas were designed for each stage of an animal's life. The food did not include cheap fillers or typical food allergy irritants.
Today, Natural Balance offers lines of pet food for dogs and cats. Pet foods include organic and specialty formulas. The company also sells zoological formulas for carnivorous wild animals such as bears, lions, wolves, crocodiles and eagles. Natural Balance pet food can be found at pet stores throughout the US, Germany and Korea.
Dog Food Formulas
Natural Balance provides a large selection of dog food available in dry, canned, frozen loaves and food roll varieties. The dog food lines include allergy, vegetarian and small breed formulas.
Natural Balance produces five different types of dog food and treats:
- Natural Balance Original Ultra: The line offers the original Ultra-Premium Formula for puppies and adult dogs and the Reduced Calorie Formula for overweight and senior dogs in both dry and canned food. The line includes an active formula, A.M.P. Ultra Active Dry Formula for highly active dogs, such as working dogs. The Ultra Premium Formula is also available in a small kibble version for small breeds.
- Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets: The L.I.D. line of dog food and treats are formulated for puppies and adult dogs with allergies. Dog food varieties include a Sweet Potato & Venison Formula, Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Formula, Sweet Potato & Fish Formula, and Potato & Duck Formula in dry and canned food. The Potato & Duck formula is available in small kibbles for small dogs.
- Natural Balance Vegetarian Formula: The vegan vegetarian formula has won awards. This dry formula is suitable for healthy adult dogs and adult dogs with allergies.
- Natural Balance Organic Formula: The organic formulas are certified by the Oregon Tilth-GMO and guaranteed to be pesticide-free. Ingredients include chicken, brown rice, oats and omega fatty acids.
- Natural Balance Oven-Baked Gourmet Loaves: The food comes in the form of frozen loaves of meat and grains. Flavors include beef, chicken and venison.
- Natural Balance Gourmet Treats and Dog Food Rolls: The treats are made with nutritious ingredients that improve canine skin and fur. Treat options include food rolls, bone-shaped biscuits and round biscuits in a variety of sizes and flavors.
Natural Balance guarantees that all dog food formulas provide complete nutrition with all natural ingredients. The dog foods contain quality whole meats and whole grains instead of meat by-products or cheap fillers, such as corn, for optimal nutrition.
Customer Reviews
Natural Balance has a good reputation for providing quality dog food products. Their products are widely recommended by veterinarians and breeders. It is also one of the top selling natural dog foods on the market.
On the website, RateItAll, 166 customers gave Natural Balance 3.71 stars out of 5 stars. Many customers were happy with the dog food and noticed an improvement in their dogs' health.
The following dog health improvements were noted in the reviews:
- Shiny coat
- Increased energy level
- Firm, healthy stool
- Allergy symptoms improved or disappeared
- Less shedding
- Teeth have less plaque
- Picky dogs liked the food
The negative reviews focused on some dogs' bad responses to a food, lack of improvement of a health condition or product pricing. The negative reviews were mainly written during the pet food recall of 2007. Some Natural Balance products were affected by the recall. Negative reviews included:
- Distrust of a company affected by the pet food recall
- Dog got sick from eating the food
- Loose stool
- No improvement in allergy symptoms
- Expensive price
After the pet food recalls, Natural Balance instituted a Buy with Confidence program, which allows customers to view the product testing information for each package of dog food online. Natural Balance assures customers that all pet food products are rigorously tested for contaminants such as melamine, cyanuric acid, ochratoxin, E. coli and salmonella. Natural Balance only sells pet food that passes their testing procedure to ensure safe, quality products.
Many customers must be reassured by Natural Balance's testing measures because the most recent RateItAll reviews are all positive.
Where to Buy Natural Balance Pet Food
Customers can purchase Natural Balance dog food at local pet stores and online. Online retailers include:
Conclusion
Customers will enjoy Natural Balance's large selection of dog food formulas. The fact that a pet superstore such as Petco carries the brand will appeal to dog owners searching locally for natural brands. People who prefer a vegetarian or organic diet for their dogs will also love the vegetarian and organic formulas.
Some dog owners may find it difficult to trust a pet food company that was affected by the 2007 pet food recalls. However, the product testing procedures, the Buy with Confidence program and the company's long history of quality products should satisfy many customers.
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This page has been accessed 1,810 times. This page was last modified 20:01, 18 July 2009.
© 2006-2009 LoveToKnow Corp.
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