Food scores are based on ingredient quality and safety. For more information, view our evaluation criteria.
With an average score of 8.2, K9 Natural’s freeze-dried dog food line is considered a low risk dog food. The line averages about 40% protein and about 6% carbohydrate, as calculated on a dry matter basis, which is reasonably low. Unlike many other dried and canned foods, the carbohydrate content comes from low starch sources, including mainly pumpkin, broccoli and cauliflower. With that said, the freeze-dried line is lower in protein than the canned line, which is interesting.
The ingredient quality score is impacted by the sunflower oil. Seed oils like sunflower are highly processed and can be inflammatory. The food also loses an ingredient quality point for excessive added minerals, which can be an indication of lower quality ingredients. Ideally, any food should contain whole food nutrition and not rely on vitamin premixes. This is especially important as vitamin D and copper toxicity are common in pet foods and can cause kidney and organ damage in dogs.
On the ingredient quality side, some of the proteins contain more fat than protein, including the beef and lamb. Higher fat meats are cheaper and can be high in omega-6 fats.
The ingredient safety score is good, since the food is freeze-dried. This method of drying food without the use of heat is minimal processing and won’t cost the food any ingredient safety points. With that said, the food does contain sunflower oil and apples in many of the formulas. Both are known high pesticide crops, however they are further down the label.
It’s worth noting that, like most foods, K9 Natural does not provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio, which is a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.
Overall, K9 Natural offers a decent freeze-dried food that scores lower than some of its competitors and higher than others. The food would certainly score higher without the seed oil and added vitamins and minerals.
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