Natural Balance organizes its dog food into two lines. Limited Ingredient Diets is the larger one, with 28 recipes: 27 kibbles and one fish wet food. It is sold as limited ingredient food, and most recipes use one named animal protein, ranging from chicken, fish, lamb and duck to beef, bison, turkey and venison. Of its 27 kibbles, 14 are grain free.
Original Ultra is smaller and built around chicken: five chicken kibbles, four of them grain free, plus one beef paté. Its kibbles average 26.6% protein and 38% estimated starch as fed, close to the kibble catalog averages of 26.9% and 37.4%. Limited Ingredient Diets kibbles average 25% protein and 42.8% starch, with 361 kcal per cup against 387 for Original Ultra. Every Original Ultra kibble contains peas or lentils, while most Limited Ingredient Diets kibbles contain neither.
Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets is a 28-recipe line, nearly all kibble, sold as limited ingredient food with one named animal protein in most recipes, from lamb and duck to bison and venison. Its kibbles carry more estimated starch than the catalog average.
A good fit for: Owners wanting one named animal protein in most recipes; Owners avoiding peas or lentils, since most kibbles contain neither
Original Ultra is a Natural Balance line of five chicken-based kibbles, four of them grain free, plus one beef paté wet food. Every kibble contains peas or lentils, and the kibbles sit close to our catalog averages for protein and estimated starch.
A good fit for: Dogs that do well with chicken as the main protein; Owners wanting grain-free kibble near catalog-average protein and starch
Natural Balance Pet Foods makes dry and wet dog and cat food and treats, including its Limited Ingredient, Original Ultra, Health Protection and Specialized Nutrition lines. The brand is part of Ethos Pet Brands, which also owns Canidae. 1, 2
Where It Is Made
The company says most of its diets are made in the United States, either at its company-owned facility in Brownwood, Texas or by selected manufacturing partners. It says all of its manufacturing sites must hold Safe Quality Food (SQF) certification. 3
History
Actor Dick Van Patten and Joey Herrick founded Natural Balance in 1989. Del Monte Foods acquired it in 2013, it passed to The J.M. Smucker Company in 2015, and Smucker sold it to Nexus Capital Management in January 2021 for about $50 million. In 2023 Natural Balance merged with Canidae to form Ethos Pet Brands, backed by L Catterton and Nexus Capital Management. 4, 5, 1
Worth Knowing
Natural Balance recalled dry dog food over possible Salmonella contamination in 2010, and in 2012 another Salmonella recall affected most of its dry dog food recipes. In 2021 it recalled a dry cat food, also over possible Salmonella. 6, 7, 8
Natural Balance announced four new dog products: Freshly Cooked wet pouches, Limited Ingredient Small Breed Cups, Health Protection Large Breed dry food and Yo-Gut Bites functional treats. PR Newswire
Natural Balance announced that its Specialized Nutrition and Health Protection dry dog food lines each received a 5-star rating from Dog Food Advisor. PR Newswire
Ethos Pet Brands showed more than 100 new and refreshed products at Global Pet Expo 2025. For Natural Balance these included the Health Protection and Specialized Nutrition dry and wet dog food lines. BlogPaws (press release)
Natural Balance launched Health Protection, a dry dog food line with prebiotic fiber and probiotic-coated kibble. It came in five varieties, including puppy and small breed formulas. Pets+ Magazine
Ten everyday foods. Safe, In Moderation or Never. No googling, no second guesses.
Then share your score with your friends, however embarrassing it turns out to be.
115 foods in the deck. Grapes are in there. So is cheese.
Cheese?Avocado?Grapes?
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Ten foods, one at a time. Call each one Safe, In Moderation or Never, then flip
the card to see if you had it right. The ones you miss are listed at the end.
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Keys: 1 Safe 2 Moderation 3 Never Enter Next
SafeNever
Can dogs eat
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