Nutrish Dry DOG FOOD Review

With a score of 2.6, Nutrish Dry is considered a high risk dog food. There are 4 recipes that average 25% protein and 40% carbohydrate as calculated.

Corn, sorghum, peas and rice are carbohydrates found in the top 5 ingredients of these recipes and that contributes to the excessively high carbohydrate content. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates, but starch is required for extrusion in dry foods. Excessive carbohydrate is an indicator of food quality as it can be used to reduce manufacturing cost. Foods that are rich in carbohydrates can increase insulin levels, increase the risk of obesity and cause unwanted changes to the gut microbiome. 

This line is lower in protein than a premium kibble, averaging 25%. There are added amino acids in the Turkey recipe that iindicate lower quality protein. Recipes also contain plant proteins like soybean and corn.

This line loses ingredient quality points because recipes are supplemented with more added vitamins and minerals. This can indicate lower quality or incomplete ingredients. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from added vitamin premixes, so it’s preferable that most or all vitamins and minerals come from real foods.  

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.  

The ingredient safety score is 0/10 for 3 of these 4 recipes. Dry kibble dog foods are ultra processed so that costs points. Extruded foods are heated several times during production, which will cause major losses in some active enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients.  

Additional safety concerns are for ingredients like sorghum, peas, barley, millet and corn, some within the first 5 ingredients, that are known to contain higher pesticide/herbicide residues when spray-dried with Roundup (glyphosate). Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases. 

Corn and soybeans are known GMO crops that appear in the top 5 ingredients. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.

Natural flavor is also used. This is often animal digest or MSG, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies. Rice is also a concern as it can contain arsenic, which is linked to chronic health issues. 

These recipes also include glam ingredients, in this case, carrots, that are healthy-sounding ingredients listed after salt, which means they’re included in minimal amounts that don’t provide any nutritional benefit. 

Finally, there is ingredient splitting in these recipes. That’s the practice of splitting ingredients like corn and peas into subcategories to make them appear lower on the ingredient list. This can also move more desirable protein ingredients higher. 

One recipe uses salmon but it doesn’t specify whether the fish is farmed or wild caught. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild caught fish and does not contain the same healthy fatty acid balance. It’s also worth noting that Rachael Ray’s Nutrish Dry doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in these recipes. While this is true of most foods, it’s unfortunate since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory limit of 30:1.