INSTINCT ORIGINAL KIBBLE Dog Food Review

With an average score of 5.2/10, Instinct Original Kibble Is considered a moderate risk dog food. There are 3 recipes that average 36% protein and 23% average carbohydrate as calculated. 

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, tapioca and chickpeas, which are starches that contribute to the carbohydrate level. 

Although the carbohydrate level is lower than many competitor brands, dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate. 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. Plant proteins are also used, and are a less expensive substitute for quality animal protein. You want to see animal sources because they are more digestible and contain a wider array of amino acids than plant based protein sources. 

The ingredient safety score is lower because, like all kibbles, Instinct Original 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 foods known to have high pesticide or herbicide residues  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 one recipe contains 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.  

Some recipes include “glam” ingredients like apples, cranberries, lung, liver and kidney, which is also a concern. These ingredients are added to make consumers think the food has healthy produce rich in antioxidants or minerals. But they’re listed below the salt, which means they’re present in tiny amounts that won’t benefit your dog. 

There’s also a concern about ingredient splitting in these foods. This is the practice of splitting ingredients into sub-categories (like peas, pea protein and pea flour) to make them appear lower in the ingredient list. It’s often done to disguise the amount of lower quality ingredients in the food.

It’s worth noting that Instinct adds and guarantees a decent amount of probiotics in the food. 

It’s good to see that salmon in these recipes is wild caught. Farmed fish is less nutritious, with a less favorable fatty acid balance. However, they don’t provide this detail for the non-salmon fish ingredients in this line, so those are likely farmed.

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.