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Nature’s Variety Instinct Ultimate Protein Dog Food receives the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.

The Instinct Ultimate Protein product line includes 3 grain-free dry dog foods.

Each recipe below includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage: Growth, Maintenance, All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

• Instinct Ultimate Protein Duck [M]
• Instinct Ultimate Protein Chicken [M]
• Instinct Ultimate Protein Small Breed [A]

Instinct Ultimate Protein Duck recipe was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

The first two ingredients in this dog food are duck and chicken. Although quality items, raw poultry contains up to 73% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost, reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight.

After processing, these items would probably account for a smaller part of the total content of the finished product.

The third ingredient includes eggs. Eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

The fourth ingredient is tapioca, a gluten-free, starchy carbohydrate extract made from the root of the cassava plant.

The fifth ingredient is ground flaxseed, one of the best plant-based sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Flax meal is particularly rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

The sixth ingredient is canola oil. Unfortunately, canola can be a controversial item. That’s because it can sometimes (but not always) be derived from genetically modified rapeseed.

Yet others cite the fact that canola oil can be a significant source of essential omega-3 fatty acids.

In any case, plant-based oils like canola are less biologically available to a dog than fish oil as a source of quality omega-3 fats.

After the natural flavor, we find tomato pomace. Tomato pomace is a controversial ingredient, a by-product remaining after processing tomatoes into juice, soup and ketchup.

Many praise tomato pomace for its high fiber and nutrient content, while others scorn it as an inexpensive pet food filler.

Just the same, there’s probably not enough tomato pomace here to make much of a difference.

The ninth ingredient is whey protein concentrate. Whey is a by-product of the cheese industry. This particular type of whey is high in protein (80%) and moderate in the milk sugar, lactose (10%).

Concentrates of this nature can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

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 product.

With 3 notable exceptions…

First, montmorillonite clay is a naturally occurring compound rich in many trace minerals. Montmorillonite has been approved for use in USDA Organic Certified products.

Reported benefits include the binding of certain mold-based toxins and even controlling diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Next, we note the inclusion of dried fermentation products in this recipe. Fermentation products are typically added to provide enzymes to aid the animal with digestion.

And lastly, this food contains chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

Nature’s Variety Instinct
Ultimate Protein Dog Food Review

Judging by its ingredients alone, Instinct Ultimate Protein Dog Food looks like an above-average dry product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 52%, a fat level of 19% and estimated carbohydrates of about 21%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 52% and a mean fat level of 19%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 21% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 37%.

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

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the flaxseed, this still looks like the profile of a kibble containing an abundance of meat.

Bottom line?

Instinct Ultimate Protein is a grain-free dry dog food using a generous amount of named meats as its main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.

Enthusiastically recommended.

Nature’s Variety Dog Food
Recall History

The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to this Nature’s Variety product line. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.

• Nature’s Variety Instinct Dog Food Recall of July 2015 (7/24/2015)
• Nature’s Variety Dog Food Recall February 2013 (2/15/2013)
• Nature’s Variety Dog Food Recall July 2012 (7/12/2012)
• Nature’s Variety Dog Food Recall March 2010 (3/9/2010)
• Nature’s Variety Dog Food Recall February 2010 (2/14/2010)

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls sorted by date. Or view the same list sorted alphabetically by brand.

Notes and Updates