Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet Kibble DOG FOOD Review

With an average score of 4.3/10, Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet Kibble Is considered a high risk dog food. There are 3 recipes that average 26% protein and 36% average carbohydrate as calculated. 

It should be noted that this is a limited ingredient line with one protein and one vegetable followed by a lengthy list of synthetic vitamins and minerals and some questionable ingredients that affect ingredient quality and ingredient safety scores.

This line loses ingredient quality points for its high carbohydrate content. The label states that these foods do not contain grain, potato, corn, wheat or soy, but they do include peas and tapioca which are starches that contribute to the carbohydrate level. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate, but starch is required for extrusion in dry foods like these. Excessive carbohydrate is an indicator of lower food quality as it can be used to reduce manufacturing cost. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance. 

This line also loses significant ingredient quality points for added vitamins and minerals. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources so their inclusion is usually due to poor quality or overly processed raw ingredients. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.

These recipes use canola oil, which is a highly processed and inflammatory oil. Canola is also a well-known GMO crop. Seed oils are an inexpensive alternative to higher quality animal fats and oils.  

The ingredient safety score is lower because, like all kibbles, Instinct Limited Ingredient Dry is ultra-processed. The individual ingredients in dry dog foods are heated several times during processing, which can cause a significant loss of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Ultra processed foods are often supplemented as we see here. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species. 

Rounding out the ingredient safety scores, Instinct loses points for high pesticide or herbicide foods in the top five ingredients. This line also loses points for added natural flavor. This ingredient is often animal digest or MSG, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.  

The recipes don’t lose points for this, but it should be pointed out that the recipes contain coconut oil which has been shown to cause undesirable changes in the gut lining. 

It’s also worth noting that the line contains sodium selenite as a source of selenium. Dogs need selenium, and it’s usually added in very small amounts. However some research suggests that sodium selenite may be associated with potential toxicity, so selenium yeast is the preferred form of this mineral.  

There’s ingredient splitting in a couple of recipes. This is the practice of splitting ingredients into subcategories (like peas and pea protein) to make them appear lower on the ingredient list. It’s often used to disguise the amount of lower quality ingredients. 

Some recipes include “glam” ingredients like pumpkin seeds, lung, liver and kidney, which is also a concern. These ingredients are added to suggest the food has healthy ingredients. In these recipes the glam ingredients are often freeze-dried animal protein ingredients. But they’re listed below the salt, which means they’re present in tiny amounts that won’t benefit your dog.

The salmon is wild caught, which is more nutritious than farmed fish, with a better fatty acid balance. 

The label does not provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio, which is a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.