The Natural Pet Food Group started K9 Natural in 2006 in New Zealand. They also make Feline Natural and Meat Eaters.
The Natural Pet Food Group is a PSC member. This is the Pet Sustainability Coalition. Products are 100% made in New Zealand. It’s unclear if the company has its own facilities.
K9 Natural offers canned and freeze-dried food. They also offer treats and supplements.
For our K9 Natural dog food review, we’ll look at the food ingredient quality and safety of each line of food. Our dog food reviews are based on these criteria.
IS K9 NATURAL A GOOD DOG FOOD?
K9 Natural foods are made in New Zealand. They offer canned and freeze-dried food.
The proteins originate in New Zealand. They are grass-fed. It doesn’t state whether they are grass finished. It’s typical for beef to be grass-finished in New Zealand.
The company supports sustainable and free-range farming practices. However, they don’t provide certification from their suppliers. They state that their whole food ingredients are traceable from farm gate to the package.
The ingredients are non GMO. But there’s no verification of either. And the recipes contain a vitamin and mineral premix. For example, vitamin D3 can come from irradiated animal protein. Vitamins and minerals can be extracted with solvents. However, the company appears to use high quality organic minerals. They use a higher quality form of selenium.
These foods are moderately high in protein. They are low in carbohydrates. It’s notable that the recipes are low in starch. Carbs aren’t from grains or legumes, which is desirable. Some foods contain sunflower oil. This has 2 concerns. This is a processed oil that is inflammatory. It’s also a high pesticide crop. Other recipes contain apples. This is another high pesticide crop. The ingredient quality of other ingredients looks acceptable. The exceptions are the beef and lamb recipes. They contain more fat than protein. This can indicate cheaper cuts of meat. High fat diets can be inflammatory and can cause unwanted changes in the gut flora.
It’s beneficial to feed dogs proteins sourced from New Zealand. The fatty acid profiles will be more balanced. There may be less presence of pesticides. These recipes have a nice variety of organ meats. They have higher levels of nutrients than muscle meats. But it would be preferable to have all vitamins and minerals come from whole foods.
K9 Natural doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in its recipes. This is true of most companies. It’s a concern because AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation.
K9 Natural Freeze-Dried
Score: 8.2/10
Ingredient List For Beef Recipe: Beef, beef Liver, beef tripe, beef kidney, beef heart, beef blood, eggs*, beef spleen, ground beef bone, sunflower oil, flaxseed flakes, brown kelp, new zealand green mussel, pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, dipotassium phosphate, dried kelp, apples, pears, salt, vitamin E supplement, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, magnesium oxide, selenium yeast, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, beta-carotene, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin D3 Supplement.
K9 Natural’s freeze-dried is a low risk dog food by our criteria. There are 5 recipes. They average 40% protein. The carbohydrate average is 6%, as calculated. The freeze-dried line is lower in protein than the canned line. However, the beef and lamb recipes have high fat content in both lines. The ingredient quality score of these foods is decent. However, there are excessive added minerals. And there is inflammatory seed oil. The ingredient safety score is high. Freeze-dried foods are not highly processed. But there are known high pesticide ingredients. These include sunflower and apples. They are lower on the ingredient list. The company claims their ingredients are non-GMO. However, they aren’t non-GMO verified.
Freeze-Dried Benefits
- Made in New Zealand
- Higher in protein
- Low in carbohydrate
Freeze-Dried Concerns
- Some recipes high in fat
- Excessive added minerals
- Contains seed oil
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
K9 Natural Canned
Score: 7.2/10
Ingredient List For Grain-Free Lamb Recipe: Lamb, water sufficient for processing, lamb liver, lamb heart, lamb tripe, lamb blood, eggs, lamb spleen, lamb kidney, ground lamb bone, sunflower oil, flaxseed flakes, brown kelp, new zealand green mussel, pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, dried kelp, apples, pears, salt, vitamin E supplement, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, magnesium oxide, selenium yeast, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, beta-carotene, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin D3 supplement.
K9 Natural’s Canned dog food is a moderate risk dog food by our criteria. There are 5 recipes. They average 43% protein. There are minimal carbohydrates of 4%. This is calculated on a dry matter basis for comparison with dry foods. The ingredient quality score of these foods is high. The concerns are inflammatory seed oil. There are excessive added minerals. The Beef and Lamb recipes have a higher fat content than protein. The ingredient safety score is reasonably high. These are highly processed foods. They involve several stages of heating. This can deplete nutrients. There are known high pesticide ingredients. The content is lower as they are further down the ingredient list. The company states ingredients are non GMO. However, they are not non GMO verified.
Canned Benefits
- Made in New Zealand
- Higher in protein
- Low in carbohydrate
Canned Concerns
- Highly processed
- Some recipes high in fat
- Excessive added minerals
- High pesticide/herbicide ingredients
- Contains seed oil
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
K9 NATURAL DOG FOOD RECALLS
K9 Natural has had one voluntary recall.
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.
Evaluation Criteria
These dog foods were evaluated and scored based on two criteria:
Are the Ingredients High Quality?
Here are some common low quality ingredients or markers we look for:
- Is there excessive carbohydrate content, which can cause gut imbalances?
- Does the food contain unnamed proteins, which are low quality?
- Does the food use cellulose (wood pulp) as a source of fiber instead of real food?
- Are there excessive vitamins and minerals added in place of real food nutrition?
- Are there excessive added amino acids or plant proteins instead of expensive meat protein?
- Does the food contain inflammatory processed seed oils?
How Safe Are the Ingredients?
Many ingredients come from unhealthy, inflammatory sources or are full of pesticides so we look for:
- How processed is the food?
- Does the food contain known genetically modified foods?
- Does the food contain ingredients known to be high in pesticides?
- Does the food contain natural flavor, which are often MSG or animal digest?
- Does the food contain rice, which is high in arsenic?
We evaluate each food by these criteria. We assign a score using the average of ingredient quality and safety. This is NOT a paid list and there are no affiliate links. Dogs Naturally partnered with DogFoodReviews.com to develop unbiased, objective criteria for dog owners. This will help them choose the best dog food on the market. You can view the full Evaluation Criteria at DogFoodReviews.com.
