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K9 Natural was founded in 2006 in New Zealand by the Natural Pet Food Group. This company also manufactures Feline Natural and Meat Eaters.
The Natural Pet Food Group is part of the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC), and is 100% made in New Zealand. The company appears to manufacture their own foods, although it’s not clear whether this is true or not.
K9 Natural offers both a canned and freeze-dried food, in addition to treats and supplements.
K9 Natural claims to be made in New Zealand. The proteins seem to originate from New Zealand and are grass-fed, although it doesn’t state whether they are grass finished or grain finished (although it’s typical for beef to be grass-finished in New Zealand). The company also claims their ingredients are GMO free and sustainably sourced. However, the food contains a vitamin and mineral premix so it’s difficult to claim these ingredients are sustainable and non-GMO because the company does not appear to be non-GMO verified. For example, vitamin D3 can come from irradiated animal protein and vitamins and minerals can be extracted with solvents. With that said, this company appears to use high quality organic minerals and a higher quality form of selenium.
Overall, both the canned and freeze-dried foods are moderately high in protein and low in carbohydrate. It’s notable that the carbohydrate content is low in starch and not from grains or legumes, which is desirable. However, some of the foods contain sunflower oil, which is a processed oil that’s typically a high pesticide product, while others contain apples which are another high pesticide crop. Aside from the sunflower oil and the large-ish number of added vitamins and minerals, the ingredient quality looks reasonably good. The exceptions are the beef and lamb recipes: both contain more fat than protein, which indicates cheaper cuts of meat. High fat diets can be inflammatory and can cause unwanted changes in the gut flora.
Overall, it’s beneficial to feed dogs proteins sourced from New Zealand since the fatty acid profiles will be more balanced and there may be less presence of antibiotics and pesticides. And this food has a nice variety of organ meats, which are more nutritious than muscle meats. However, this food would score higher on ingredient quality if it was fortified with added vitamins and minerals that came from whole food sources.
The average score of each K9 Natural line is listed below. Click on any line to view the individual foods and scores.
K9 Natural’s canned dog food line is considered a low to moderate risk food. It averages 43% protein and 4% carbohydrate, as calculated on a dry matter basis. The ingredient quality score of these foods is high, although there is added seed oil and excessive added minerals. The beef and protein foods also lose ingredient quality points due to a high fat content. However, the food safety score is reasonably high. The points lost for food safety are for the canning process (high processing) and known high pesticide ingredients, although they are lower down the ingredient list. The company claims their ingredients are non GMO but they are not certified non GMO.
K9 Natural’s freeze-dried dog food line is considered a low risk food. It averages 40% protein and 6% carbohydrate, as calculated on a dry matter basis. It’s interesting that the freeze-dried line is lower in protein than the canned line. However, like the canned line, the beef and lamb foods lose ingredient quality points for high fat content. Otherwise, the ingredient quality score of these foods is decent, although there is added seed oil and excessive added minerals. However, the food safety score is high. The food safety score is good since freeze-dried foods are not highly processed. With that said, known high pesticide ingredients like sunflower and apples do make an appearance, although they are lower down the ingredient list. The company claims their ingredients are non GMO but they are not certified non GMO.
13/04/2018 – K9 Natural voluntarily recalled four batches of its K9 Natural Chicken Feast frozen raw dog food for the potential presence of Listeria.
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