Nature's Recipe (by Del Monte Foods)

Nature's Recipe began in the late 80's, and is currently owned by the Del Monte Food Company.  Their line of what they call "specialty" dog foods have been developed "to address specific needs of dogs" such as:

• Easy to Digest Recipes
• Breed Specific Recipes
• Lifestage Recipes
• Healthy Skin Recipes.

The company claims that none of their formulas contain corn, or wheat (which is good).  Their line of dog food includes both wet and dry dog food.

From the Nature's Recipe official website:

"For over 20 years, Nature’s Recipe® has been recommended by leading veterinarians and pet nutritionists. Our premium dog and cat recipes feature unique proteins like venison, lamb, salmon, and buffalo. Our choice ingredients—from human-food grade hand carved chicken to chicory root—are designed to help your pet live a healthy,active life."

All of Nature's Recipe dog food formula's are listed below.  Click on the link to read reviews on each specific formula.  If there is not link below, a review has not been posted about the product yet.

Nature's Recipe Adult Dog Food Formulas:

1. Nature's Recipe® Adult Lamb Meal & Rice (dry)
2. Nature’s Recipe® Canned Adult Lamb & Rice Recipe (wet)
3. Nature’s Recipe® Adult Carved Chicken & Rice with Vegetables Recipe (wet)
4. Nature’s Recipe® Adult Carved Turkey & Rice with Vegetables Recipe (wet)
5. Nature’s Recipe® Adult Carved Lamb & Rice with Vegetables Recipe (wet)

Nature's Recipe Puppy Dog Food Formulas:

1. Puppy Lamb Meal & Rice (dry)
2. Large Breed Puppy Recipe (dry)
3. Puppy Canned Carved Lamb Meal & Rice with Vegetables (wet)
4. Canned Puppy Lamb & Rice (wet)

Nature's Recipe Senior Dog Food Formulas:

1. Nature’s Recipe® Senior Lamb Meal & Rice Recipe (dry)
2. Nature’s Recipe® Canned Senior Lamb & Rice Recipe (wet)
3. Nature’s Recipe® Senior Carved Lamb & Rice with Vegetables Recipe (wet)
4. Nature’s Recipe® Joint Health Fish Meal & Chicken Meal Recipe (dry)

Nature's Recipe "Healthy Skin & Coat" Dog Food Formulas:

1. Nature’s Recipe® Healthy Skin & Coat Venison Meal & Rice Recipe (dry)
2. Nature’s Recipe® Healthy Skin & Coat Vegetarian Recipe (dry)
3. Nature’s Recipe® Healthy Skin & Coat Vegetarian Canned Recipe (wet)
4. Nature’s Recipe® Healthy Skin & Coat Rabbit & Rice Recipe (wet)
5. Nature’s Recipe® Healthy Skin & Coat Venison & Rice Recipe (wet)

Nature's Recipe "Easy To Digest" Dog Food Formulas:

1. Nature’s Recipe® Easy-to-Digest Lamb, Rice & Barley Recipe (dry)
2. Nature’s Recipe® Easy-to-Digest Fish Meal & Potato Recipe (dry)
3. Nature’s Recipe® Easy-to-Digest Chicken Meal, Rice & Barley Recipe (dry)
4. Nature’s Recipe® Canned Easy-to-Digest Lamb, Rice & Barley Recipe (wet)
5. Nature’s Recipe® Canned Easy-to-Digest Chicken Meal, Rice & Barley Recipe (wet)

Nature's Recipe "Breed Specific" Dog Food Formulas:

1. Nature’s Recipe® Toy Breed Chicken Barley & Rice Recipe (dry)
2. Nature’s Recipe® Terrier Breed Chicken Barley & Rice Recipe (dry)
3. Nature’s Recipe® Large Breed Chicken & Oatmeal Recipe (dry)

Nature's Recipe "Farm Stand Selects" Dog Food Formulas:

1. Farm Stand Selects® Turkey Recipe (dry)
2. Farm Stand Selects® Lamb Recipe in Sauce (wet)
3. Farm Stand Selects® Chicken Recipe in Sauce (wet)
4. Farm Stand Selects® Vegetarian Recipe in Sauce (wet)
5. Farm Stand Selects® Salmon Recipe in Sauce (wet)

Have you ever purchased Nature's Recipe dog food? Please share any of your experiences with us and make a post below!

Nature's Recipe Consumer Ratings:

 

My daughter bought a puppy last year and it has had problems with its eyes swelling up and getting very red. She recently switched to an all natural dog food and her dog's eyes look considerably better.

 

Fleas can also cause a similar looking problem. Years ago I had a German Sheperd who turned totally red and I mean red, blew my mind and I freaked out. He was red and his eyes were red and runny. Took him to an emergency vet and found out he was allergic to fleas. LOL, cost me a fortune so now I stay on top of the flea thing...

 

It is most likely allergies. I have a chocolate lab that got into a bag of peanuts when she was about 10 weeks old - her whole face swelled up and her eyes swelled nearly completely shut. I was terrified and started to rush her to the vet. I called him on the way and he told me to give her benadryl - 1 mg per pound (i.e 25 mg. for 25 lbs.) Her swelling was gone within an hour. Keep allergies in mind. Many dogs these days are allergic to popular products in food such as wheat, chicken meal, corn, chicken and beef. It is sometimes necessary to switch to foods with a more rare product in it (buffalo, salmon, whitefish, herring, venison, sweet potato, etc..) I had to switch my lab to a salmon mixture to make her itchy skin go away too. It really helped. Hope this helps!! I work at a petstore, but most of this is from my own experience!

 

They have again reduced their bag size (note weight on BOTTOM of bag) from 40 to 37.5 then to 34 lbs and have started adding "animal digest" to some of their dry foods. READ the labels and then read the front of the bag where they claim "no by-products". Here os what os on "animal digest" as described ny these websites. NO MORE Natures Recipe for my dogs.



Animal digest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Animal Digest is a common ingredient used in pet foods. As defined by the AAFCO, Material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_digest - 19k - Cached - Similar pages
Ingredient to Avoid! Animal Digest | Dog Reflections
Oct 1, 2007 ... Animal Digest is often included in many commercial treats and bottom of the barrel dog foods. Be prepared to be grossed out when I explain ...
http://www.dogguide.net/blog/2007/10/ingredient-to-avoid-animal-digest/ - 44k - Cached - Similar pages
What Is In My Pet's Food?
Animal Digest. Means manure. Someone has collected the manure from another animal and put it in the pet food your are feeding your pet. ...
http://hubpages.com/hub/What_Is_In_My_Pets_Food - 98k - Cached - Similar pages
Animal Digest - AAFCO Definition - Cat Food Glossary
Learn to understand the ingredients listed on cat food labels, by reading their AAFCO definitions. Here's the definition for 'animal digest'
http://cats.about.com/od/catfoodglossary/g/animaldigest.htm - 19k - Cached - Similar pages

 

You mean censorship don't you?

 

I agree with you Steve, but you should not quote or give links to Susan Peters. She has been sued and is in the process of getting sued again and she is a complete moron. She works for Menu foods, ugh and they have had more recalls than all the other plants put together. She is a dog groomer, huh.
As far as this food goes it doesn't get much worse. I wouldn't feed this to the crows. I sure wish they had it reviewed so I could point out the crap in it.

 

Natures recipe is not a premium dog food!! I used to feed this to my dog,before I wised up and learned a little bit about dog nutrition,and how to understand ingredient lists.This food is grain heavy and low in meat content.It also contains Menadione Sodium Bisulfite complex which is synthetic vitamin K,it causes alot of problems in dogs.I use Merrick's Before Grain now,a much better feed.If you are looking for a Premium food I would go with a company that manufactures their own products!!Champion Foods- Orijen,Ancana.Merrick pet care-Before grain,Whole earth farms.Fromm Family-Fromm.Natura-Evo-Karma-California natural.All these are manufactured in their own facility.

 

Oh yeah if you read the top of the page it says "Natures Recipe Has been recommened by Veterinarians for twenty years" That statement should make you run away screaming from this dog food.Most vets will tell you that they don't really cover nutrition much in vet school,and the information they do get is sponsored by dog food companies like Iams-another crap dog food!!If you want good info on dog nutrition try a holistic veterinarian.Just google it and you can get a list for your area.

 

This is whats in their Large Breed Puppy and I was kind of surprised. Your right there is not enough meat,but no corn, wheat, soy or glutens. No Ethoxyquin. No Hulls. No BHA OR BHT. OK,poultry fat is terrible and you can do better than Tomato Pomace. Overall I would give this a 3 star out 6 stars. I missed the Fat product so it's a little heavy in the fat area,most likely to get the dogs to eat it. I also missed the animal digest. Humm not lid 3 star maybe even on the low side of 3. But then again puppies need fat, I guess I am pretty wishy washy on this one but still a 3.


Chicken meal, Oatmeal, Pearled Barley, Brown Rice, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Chicken, Fat Product (natural source of DHA), Tomato Pomace, Dried Brewers Yeast, Animal Digest, Salt, Chicory Root, Potassium Chloride, Alfalfa Nutrient Concentrate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Inositol, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Beta-Carotene, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of vitamin K activity), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Iron Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Choline Chloride, L-Carnitine, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Yucca Shidigera, Rosemary

 

I used to feed Natures Recipe to my dog,before I wised up and learned a little bit about dog nutrition!! It has way too much grain and not enough meat!! Plus it contains Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex which is synthetic vitamin K. It causes alot of problems for dogs.

 

Here is a list of negative effects of menadione on the body. It is incomplete, since my English medical terminology is lacking and I was simply not able to translate the more complicated scientific phrases into proper English:

* causes cytotoxicity in liver cells
* causes formation of radicals from enzymes of leucocytes, with the consequence of cytotoxic reactions
* considerably weakens the immune system
* possible mutagenic effects
* damages the natural vitamin K cycle
* has no effect on coumarin derivatives, which are often present in commercial food due to mold contamination (toxic when ingested)
* causes hemolytic anemia and hyperbilirubinemia, not just linked to large doses
* disturbs the level of calcium ions (Ca2+) in the body, which is an important factor fibrinolysis
* is directly toxic in high doses (vomiting, albuminuria), unlike natural vitamin K
* builds up in tissue and has been detected in eggs, meat and milk of animals supplemented with menadione derivatives
* causes irritation of skin and mucous membranes
* causes allergic reactions and eczema

 

I would give Natures Recipe and every other dog food that uses Menadione Sodium Bisulfite A Zero on a scale of 1 to 6 !! Some manufacturers also use different variations like "Menadione" or "Sodium Bisulfite" Or " K-3" Watch out for different names that mean the same thing!!That is one reason to pay more for premium dog food as they use natural sources of vitamin K!!Like seaweed,green veggies,kale,kelp.Also you feed less because the food is more nutrient dense,So the cost is offset by feeding less volume!!

 

Since we are on the subject of preservatives and synthetics used in dry dog food, how is it a (supposed holistic all natural) dog food can have a shelf life that is equal to and sometimes greater than those that used the preservatives that we know are harmful. Doesn't that seem a bit strange???

 

I did not notice that. You are correct, did you get that off this site? I've known about vitamin K not being good but sometimes some of that crap slips by me. Thanks



http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione

 

Jess,yes that is the site where I got that info.It's a shame the way these manufactures poison our pets with this crap!! I mean it causes toxicity in liver cells,considerably weakens the immune system,Disturbs calcium levels,causes irritation of mucus membranes,causes allergic reactions and eczema.WTF?? Why are they putting this crap in our pets food?? I fed this crap to my dog for a year,no wonder she has tumors!! I guess I'm lucky she's not dead.(SORRY TRINITY)Anyway some people think their dog is allergic to some ingredients ie Chicken-Beef or some oats,they should check the label for synthetic vitamin K because it does cause allergies!!

 

Yeah, it is a bummer. And yeah your right, most of time peoples dogs are having problems because of whats in that Grocery store crap to include petsmart and petco. Thats a really a good site you should always leave a link. Hopefully people will go there and figure it out on their own. I gotta believe their is more in the cheap crap then they say and I still get a chuckle when someone says chicken by products is good, if they only new it was mostly feathers!!! I guess it gives you a understanding on why I feed my dog from 4 different manufactures. Orijen(2 kinds), California Natural (Nutra pet), TOTW (Diamond) and Fromm. The only reason I feed TOTW and Fromm is because he loves duck so darn much. I feed him mostly Orijen and man does he loves that Red. But I try to make sure he gets a lot of the Orijen Large breed puppy and with my pig that it isn't very hard, LOL.

 

OK, I could cry! Really. I am so frustrated trying to know what to feed my babies. I certainly do not want to harm them and had switched from Purina One lamb and rice to Nature's Recipe lamb & rice thinking I was doing a good thing for them. What ablout the Costco brand of lamb & rice? I can't afford alot with four dogs and they are all my dear babies. One GSD, 2 doxies, one mix. I sure wish dogs could talk. They are all far less itchy on the N. Recipe. What is the solution. HELP!

 

You are moving up the latter. Just about anything is better than purnia. See my post about Kirkland, for the money it is fine. Not everyone is willing or can pay what I do.

http://dogfoodchat.com/kirkland-dog-food/comment-page-3/#comment-12293

 

Martha, I checked out the ingredient list for 3 of the Kirkland Signature The Adult chicken and rice and the puppy chicken and rice DO NOT list Menadione Sodium Bisulfite complex. But the Lamb and rice DOES include it in the ingredient list. I find it strange that it would be in one product and not the others!!Since the only real difference is Lamb or Chicken,the other ingredients are the same.If I were you I would contact the manufacturer before using their products!!I don't know how trustworthy they are though because it is manufactured by menu foods,they are the ones who had the big recall a few years back that killed a lot of dogs and cats!!

 

Martha, sorry I misled you Kirkland is manufactured by Diamond but they were involved in the recall of 2007 also!!

 

If you could afford it here is a list of some very good dog foods.
Artemis
Blue Wilderness
Go
Horizon
Evo****
Innova**
Instrinct***
Orijen******
Taste of the Wild**
Wellness
Acana***
Fromm**
Merrick
Canidae
Evanders
Earthborn
Natrures Logic
Natures Variety
Solid Gold
Pinnacle
Timberwolf
Blue Buffalo
Halo
California Natural**

 

I am very upset with Nature's Recipe...they not only reduced the bag size from 20# to 15# but they increased the price here in my market from $22 to $29. I can no longer afford to buy nor do I want to after such drastic changes. I can understand raising the price, but reducing the size of the bag by 1/4 is too much.

 

Try Californal Natural or HealthWise, BOTH ARE PRETTY EASY ON THE POCKET BOOK AND both are very good foods, better than this product.

http://www.naturapet.com/

 

Denise,I used Nature's Recipe for over a year - the Farmstand Selects and the Chicken and Rice.Until I started researching dog food ingredients-Besides not having enough meat and too much grain it also contains synthetic vitamin K in the form of Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex this is a VERY bad ingredient. And I will NEVER use another dog food that utilizes this ingredient.Here's a list of some of the problems that it causes-Causes toxicity in liver cells-Causes formation of free radicals-cancer causers.Damages natural vitamin k cycle.Causes Anemia.Disturbs Calcium levels.Causes irritation of skin and mucus membranes.And the list goes on...Now my son and I who is 5 love this dog VERY much-he has grown up with her and wants to take her to kindergarten with him in the fall. So when I found out about this ingredient being in her food I was OUTRAGED!! So I started researching brands- I chose Merrick's Before Grain kibble and their 5 star canned foods.You can only find this food at your local Independently owned pet store.They do not distribute to chain stores.In my area it is 37 dollars and some change for a 25 pound bag.Also their other formulas are cheaper and contain high quality grains.Here's a list of other manufactures that I trust-the all actually make their own foods in their own facilities-Champion makes Orijen-Acana.Fromm Family makes Fromm.Natura makes Evo-Karma-Innova-California Natural.All other brands are made in dog food factories-store brands and so called Premium brands.You could also check out Dog food Analysis they rate brands 1 to 6.Also for a list of ingredients to look out for- http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione