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This recipe no longer appears in Instinct's current range.

We keep the page so you can compare it with what you feed now. The analysis below is the last label we recorded, checked October 2026. Source

Current foods to look at instead
INSTINCT · ORIGINAL

Instinct Original Small Breed Grain-Free Recipe with Real Chicken Dry Dog Food

Top 5 ingredients of Instinct Original Small Breed Grain-Free Recipe with Real Chicken Dry Dog Food are Chicken, Chicken Meal, Chickpeas, Tapioca, and Chicken Fat. According to the guaranteed analysis, we calculated the starch ratio as 26.0%.

Composition of one cup as fed: protein 35.0%, fat 19.5%, fiber 3.5%, moisture 10.0%, ash, assumed 6.0%, starch, derived 26.0%
35%
20%
10%
26%
  • protein
  • fat
  • fiber
  • moisture
  • ash, assumed
  • starch, derived
Starch works out at 26.0% of this cup, below the kibble average. Protein comes in at 35.0%. One cup carries 476 kcal.
PROTEIN
35.0%
STARCH, DERIVED
26.0%
KCAL / CUP
476
Compare With Another Food
Instinct Original Small Breed Grain-Free Recipe with Real Chicken Dry Dog Food

Ingredient Wiki

FIRST 5 OF 27 COMPONENTS
Chicken

Chicken

The clean flesh of the chicken, with or without skin, used fresh. Roughly 70% of its weight is water, most…
Chicken Meal

Chicken Meal

Chicken that has been cooked, dried and ground into a concentrated meal, with most of the water and fat removed.
Chickpeas

Chickpeas

The seed of the chickpea plant, also sold as the garbanzo bean.
Tapioca

Tapioca

A starch extracted from the root of the cassava plant.
Chicken Fat

Chicken Fat

Fat rendered from chicken tissue, used as an energy source and to make the food more appealing.

Guaranteed
Analysis

As printed on the bag, measured “as fed”

Calories
4,262 kcal/kg
Crude Protein (min.)
35.0%
Crude Fat (min.)
19.5%
Crude Fiber (max.)
3.5%
Moisture (max.)
10.0%
Starch ratio (calculated)
26.0%

476 kcal per cup.

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Complete guaranteed
analysis

Every row printed on the bag, measured “as fed”

Crude Protein (min.)
35 %
Crude Fat (min.)
19.50 %
Crude Fiber (max.)
3.50 %
Moisture (max.)
10 %
Calcium (min.)
1.40 %
Phosphorus (min.)
1.10 %
Vitamin E (min.)
200 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) (min.)*
100 mg/kg
Omega 3 Fatty Acids (min.)*
0.20 %
Omega 6 Fatty Acids (min.)*
2 %
Glucosamine (min.)
300 mg/kg
Chondroitin Sulfate (min.)
525 mg/kg
Bacillus coagulans (min.)
60,000,000 CFU/lb

*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.

Full Ingredient
Declaration

Exactly as the bag prints it, heaviest first

SALT DIVIDER

Chicken, Chicken Meal (source of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate), Chickpeas, Tapioca, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Turkey Meal, Herring Meal, Peas, Dried Tomato Pomace, Natural Flavor, Coconut Oil, Salt*The Salt Divider. Ingredients are listed heaviest first, and a dog food needs very little salt, so everything after this point is present in an even smaller amount., Potassium Chloride, Egg Product, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl- 2-Polyphosphate, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin), Carrots, Apples, Cranberries, Montmorillonite Clay, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide), Choline Chloride, Freeze-Dried Chicken, Freeze-Dried Chicken Liver, Pumpkinseeds, Freeze-Dried Chicken Heart, Dried Bacillus coagulans Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract

Ingredients are listed heaviest first, and a dog food needs very little salt, so everything after the divider is present in an even smaller amount.

NUTRITION, DRY MATTER
NUTRIENT AS FED DRY M. READING
PROTEIN 35.0% 38.9% HIGH
FAT 19.5% 21.7% n/a
FIBER 3.5% 3.9% n/a
CARB (EST.) 26.0% 28.9% LOW
STARCH RATIO 26.0% KIBBLE AVG 38.0%
HOW MUCH TO FEED

Daily portion calculator

Weight
45 lb
Weight goal
OF THIS FOOD, PER DAY
2.3CUPS
    1,076 kcal252 g

    Calculated from the resting energy formula vets use and this food’s actual calorie density (476 kcal per cup). A starting point to adjust from, not a prescription.

    RECALL HISTORY // INSTINCT

    2 FDA Recalls On Record

    JUL 24, 2015
    SALMONELLA

    Instinct® Raw Chicken Formula for dogs Matched by brand. The notice lists the exact products and lots.

    FEB 15, 2013
    PLASTIC PIECES

    Pet food Matched by brand. The notice lists the exact products and lots.

    None in the last three years. Older events stay on the record. See the recall log

    SAME LINE

    Other Flavors

    Original Grain-Free 40.0% Original Grain-Free 41.1% Original Grain-Free 38.3% Original Grain-Free 40.6%

    Protein on a dry matter basis, read the same way.

    OTHER BRANDS // CLOSEST ON THE LABEL

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    Other kibble recipes with the closest protein, fat and starch as fed, the way the bag prints them. Prescription diets are left out.

    One honest caveat. These figures are what a label will tell us: protein, starch, the top of the ingredient list, flagged additives and the brand’s recall record. They cannot tell you whether your dog will do well on this food. Allergies, gut sensitivity, age and health conditions all matter more than any of it, and none of them are printed on a bag. If your dog is thriving on a food whose figures read lower than this one, that is not a mistake, and we would not switch on our say-so.

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