Instinct Grain-Free Dry Dog Food, Chicken Meal Formula, 25.3-Pound Package

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List Price: $70.00
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I have a 6 year old chocolate labrador retriever. Chip has been plagued with a dry itchy coat and profuse shedding for the past 5 yrs. My vet thought that he was allergic to grains and suggested I try the Nature's Variety GRAIN FREE dog food. After two months, chip's skin stopped flaking, his shedding reduced exponentailly and his coat was as shiny as when he was a pup. I was a skeptic in the beginning thinking that chip was on the pro plan diet and that was good, right? WRONG! I highly recommend this food. Do the research and find what low grade ingredients are in name brand pet foods on the market today. When all of the dog food poisionings and recalls happened you never seen this brand on the list. I truly am a believer in this product.

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When I met my last rescue pet, Dixie, approximately 6.5 years ago, she was a real mess--both externally and internally. She exhibited a nervous condition {G.E.R.D.} that my vet said was due to her previous horrendous living conditions; that is to say, that everything that went down her goozle promptly came right back up! She was painfully emaciated, skeletal almost, and her blood-work was all over the place. So, after a round of IV fluids and 2 bags of 'Science Diet' chow, Dixie came home with me to recuperate and to learn how to live in a loving home. The first thing I did was to research which pet foods would address her particular condition; I knew that I didn't want to keep her on the 'Science Diet' regimen--it's too full of ingredients that I feel don't belong in a proper diet for dogs. Lo' and behold, I stumbled upon the "Nature's Variety Instinct" formula for dogs. It seemed like a good fit, due to all of the proper ratios {protein/fat} and totally 'GRAIN-FREE". Viola! The rest, as they say, is history.... 6.5 years later, Dixie now weighs in at approximately 20 loving, happy pounds of my friendly and well-adjusted best friend.

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Please note that I am not questioning the inherent quality of this dog food. Nature's Variety is known to make one of the best commercial grain-free diets out there. Their ingredients are top-notch, and my dogs certainly enjoyed this food. The problem is that it seemed to make their stomach issues worse instead of better. It seems that some dogs simply have problems digesting a totally grain-free diet, because of how rich the food is. My dog ended up having to have simply chicken and rice, which has so far kept his tummy issues under control (fingers crossed). Consult your vet before switching your dogs to a grain-free diet, in case grain isn't the issue causing their problems.

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I have a 1 year old Vizsla who has been plagued with gas and diarrhea since the day I got her. I had tried other "grain-free" dog foods with no luck. Many of those foods contained potatoes, which was still too much carbohydrate it seemed. This food is grain and potato free and seems to have her on the right track finally!

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Simply the best dog food around, in my opinion. I am SO glad that Amazon finally is stocking this it is a lot more expensive on here with the standard price, but with the Subscribe and Save discount, it is the cheapest around.

Don't take my word for it, here are some professional reviews of this product:

***DogfoodAdvisor.com gives the product 5/5, their highest grade.

"Above-average protein. Above-average fat. And below carbs when compared to a typical dry dog food.

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

When you also consider its lack of any critical Red Flag items, it becomes obvious we're evaluating an exceptional dry food.

Bottom line?

Nature's Variety Instinct is a grain-free kibble using an abundance of meat and poultry meals as its main sources of animal protein... thus earning the brand five stars.

Enthusiastically recommended."

***petfoodratings.net gives the product 5 Stars as well, saying:

What's good about this food....

Grain-free, very high in quality meat content (first 3 ingredients), pumpkinseeds are great for fiber & skin/coat, herring meal, fruits/veggies.

....and what's not so good.

Nothing.

***dogfoodanalysis.com also lists this as one of their 6 star (best) brands. The packaging is different, as it was from 2009, but same ingredient list:

"The first and fifth ingredients in this food are named meat products, in meal form. Although it is easier to have confidence that there is a good amount of meat in a food when there are multiple meat meal ingredients heading the ingredient list, the supporting macronutrient breakdown of this product lends a high level of confidence in the amount of meat product in the food. The inclusion of fish meal amongst the major incredients provides a good source of omega 3 and 6 OFAs.

Tapioca is the starch content with primary purpose as thickener. It is the second ingredient in a food with likely carbohydrate content of around 26% DMB.

There are no grains in this food. The major carbohydrate source is tapioca, which may be particularly useful for dogs with sensitivities to potatoes or who suffer arthritis. There is a good range of fruits/vegetables in the food, and a good range of probiotics.

We note that chicken fat is the third ingredient in the food and that research at Purdue University has identified fat in the top four ingredients of dry dogs foods as a factor increasing the risk of bloat in large breed dogs. The presence of citric acid as a preservative means that this food should not be pre-moistened prior to feeding (pre-moistening of foods preserved with citirc acid has also been identified as a factor increasing the risk of bloat).

This food is outstanding in that it contains no grains whatsoever. Grains are not a natural part of a canine diet and it is pleasing to see dog foods on the market that exclude grains completely from the diet.

The only caution we would make on this food is that the high protein and calcium content may make it suitable for adult dogs only, particularly in the case of large breeds."

***On the best brands list at