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1.3k
United Kingdom
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14Suitable for all breeds of dogs
Click here for more info.
In general, unless your dog has health issues, you probably won't have to worry about these figures. Click here for more information
Mixing bowl composition
This is the ingredients list as printed on the packaging or manufacturer's website.
Think of the 'mixing bowl' composition like a recipe - all the ingredients you would need to put in a 'mixing bowl' in order to make the food.
Ingredients have to be listed in descending order of their weight so the higher it appears, the more there is.
Highlighted ingredients
Ingredients that we believe to be controversial or inferior are highlighted in yellow with particularly low grade, highly contentious or excessively vague ingredients in red.
As fed composition
While the 'mixing bowl' composition is useful for knowing what went into the food, it doesn't always reflect what your dog is actually eating. This is because the processes that turn the ingredients into the finished pet food can significantly alter the relative weights of the ingredients.
For this reason we've calculated the approximate 'as fed' percentages for the main ingredient categories in the finished product.
Please note that these figures are very approximate. They are estimates based on the information provided by the manufacturer in the ingredients list so the clearer the terminology and the more percentages they provide, the more accurate our estimates will be. Wherever information is lacking, we always assume the worst.
Ingredient categories
◉ Meat ingredients: includes all meat and fish ingredients except isolated fats/oils.
◉Added oils and fats: includes all isolated oil and fat ingredients.
◉ Carb-rich ingredients: includes all ingredients derived from grains, pseudo-grains, potatoes and other starchy root vegetables, sweet potato and legumes (except whole peas which are categorised under fruit and veg) except for isolated protein and extracted oils. Also includes fibre supplements.
◉ Fruit and veg: includes all whole vegetables and fruits.
◉ Other: all other ingredients. Mostly made up by nutritional supplements and additives.
For more information on any ingredient, please take a look at our Dog Food Ingredient Glossary
The dry matter level of a nutrient is the percentage there would be in the food if all of the water was removed.
With water taken out of the equation, these figures allow the nutrient levels of foods of different types (like wet and dry) to be compared on an even playing field.
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91.00 out of 100 - Excellent
Our unique product ratings are calculated based on a number of characteristics including the quality and quantity of the stated ingredients, certain nutritional and technological additives and the processing methods used to create the food. They are designed to indicate how beneficial we think a food is likely to be for the majority of dogs when fed on a daily basis for an extended period. Click here for more information
Country of origin:United Kingdom
A technological additive is any substance added to a pet food "for a technological purpose and which favourably affects the characteristics of feed".
The most common categories of technological additives include preservatives and antioxidants, gelling agents and thickeners and probiotics.
While the primary effects of technoloical additives are certainly 'favourable' (increased shelf life in the case of preservatives & antioxidants, better food texture and consistency in the case of gelling agents and thickeners etc.) some have been linked to health problems in pets and should be treated with caution.
Unfortunately, many technological additives do not have to be declared by the manufacturer so just because they do not appear on the label does not necessarily mean they are not in the food. If in doubt, ask the manufacturer directly exactly what technological additives their foods contain.
lorbol •one year ago
Can anyone please explain why this isn't suitable for adult dogs who are toy/small breeds? Is it the size of the food chunks or something else? I've tried to work out the cost calculator and it just will not let me do it for my dog at 4kg. Any advice on this welcome as I'm not sure why it's relevant as long as feeding the correct amount?megasonic 2.0
lorbol
•one year ago
It's just the size of the freeze-dried food. It's the same ingredients for the 120g and the 250g. The 120g is marketed as mini and the 250g as medium/maxi. We actually buy the 250g for our toy breed as I can get it cheaper where I am than the 120g, I just break it into smaller bits.Matthew Davies
lorbol
•9 months ago
We have a 5kg Dachshund and fed her this for a year, she was fine with it, the recommend amount is around 45 cubes a day so for yours about the same, we have now switched over to wainwrights version which is about the same size food, I'm surprised the rating is lower as we've seen an improvement since switching, but that may be dog specific, I feel like she doesn't eat as much as this one, her fur has got softer and she's generally more content with it.Cat79 •one year ago
We have had to order from Amazon.. via the nature variety shop front†¦ however seasonal changes with this product mean we have a lot of over dry product we can’t use and Natures Variety won’t assist as they hide behind us ordering from Amazon†¦ it’s a bit frustrating and as a result I won’t order from them again.Cat79
Cat79
•one year ago
I should add Amazon have now refunded me and advised to keep the product, i will be taking it to our local rescuePipperie •one year ago
I’m not sure this product is made by nature’s menu? The nature’s variety website is completely different to the nature’s menu website, and the nature’s menu website doesn’t even mention a freeze dried range. I purchased it and fed it to my dogs based on the fact that I knew where it came from, but now I’m not sure and I have lost confidence. A bit confusing.Cat79
Pipperie
•one year ago
It is but I would say buy small quantities at a time as I have been left high and dry by them with lots of super dry product we can’t useKS111 •one year ago
Please update the pricing for all the Nature’s variety freeze dried products! They have discontinued the 840g packets, now selling at 40% higher in smaller 250g packs. My dog used to love this, however due to the price hike, is now cost prohibitive 😢Confused •2 years ago
I agree------ percentage of fat too high------ and why is it only AADF approval? What about UK ? One review says " excluding UK "------ ??Tish Langmead •2 years ago
At what age exactly does a puppy become an adult...mine is 11 months old and I've just changed him over to this, It suits him very well . He refused all other foods I tried and could even be fussy about home cooking...So I am pleased to have found this. Years ago we didn't have puppy food as such...all dogs were fed Chappie!Team AADF
Tish Langmead
•2 years ago
Great question Tish! Most adult foods are suggested for dogs of 12 months and over but that can be a bit simplistic. In reality, smaller breeds tend to reach adulthood (full size) a little earlier than 12 months and large breeds can take significantly longer than a year.Lesley F •2 years ago
My dog is on the freeze dried. However I've since been told that 80% protein is way too high and not a balanced diet. Can you explain.PugMama •2 years ago
Why is the freeze dried not suitable for puppies if it is completely natural - seems a shame to feed this to 8 year old pug but 7 month old pup would have to have dry extruded.megasonic 2.0
PugMama
•one year ago
I don't understand this either. I have a 5 months old puppy I have been adding this as a topper with his kibble.Emma Mcquillen
megasonic 2.0
•2 months ago
The Same reason you don't give raw items to babies. Their tummies haven't adapted yet, they haven't got a fully developed immune system. The freeze dried meals contain raw ingredients. It's to keep your dog safe from illness. Your risking their health.Diana Triantafyllopo •2 years ago
Hello, I have been buying for the last 6 months nature’s variety freeze dried turkey for my little dog.He seems to enjoy it and I have no problems whatsoever. The only thing I noticed though and I wanted to ask you is the fat content which seems to be high. Can you please comment on that? I had a look and proper raw food has a fat content of 6 per cent and the freeze dried food has a fat content of 34 per cent. Thank youbazza
Diana Triantafyllopo
•2 years ago
Hi, raw food has a much higher moisture content. This means the majority of say 100g of raw food is water, whereas 100g of dry food has around 6% moisture. Dry food will have much higher percentages of fat, protein, etc on the label as the lack of moisture makes it very dense in nutrition, but that doesn't mean it actually has more fat when you account for portion sizes. I hope that clears things up for you!Linzeroo
bazza
•2 years ago
I don’t understand this reply. The fat content is the proportion of fat. So whether your dog eats 50g of food of 250g of food, 34% of the meal will be fat. Portion sizes are irrelevant!robin frost
Linzeroo
•10 months ago
Sorry maybe i shouldn't be getting involved with this conversation, but just saying , 34% fat in 50g of food is 17g of fat that the dog would consuming . 6% of fat in 250g of food is 15g of fat the dog will be consuming ................so the quantities here absolutely do matter as far as how much fat is consumed .. in the example of the amount of fat consumed (which is the important factor) there is very little difference