Dog Food -- A New Low (Actually Nulo) Warning: Hüsky conent...

 So Hüsky doesn't eat a lot,  compared to other breeds.  But I like to make sure he eats very well.  His basic diet is grain-free kibble with additions of grain free wet stuff.  He also gets barely-cooked meat, poultry & fish,  plus raw bones. For the meat,  if I have a chunk of Cow or Turkey,  I'll just sear it up in a skillet on both sides.  He enjoys the occasional stalk of broccoli,  a slice of tomato,  a carrot.

Anyway I always try and keep a good reserve of grain-free kibble on hand.  The good stuff is costly,  3-4 bucks per pound.  So whenever I see a 'clearance' deal I grab however many bags I can afford.  Stuff is either 'close-dated' or they aren't going to stock that line anymore,  or the packaging changed.

Here's the latest score, out of Austin,  Texas.  I got a bag of the Salmon and one of the Chicken.  They both have nice high Protein & Fat content.

http://nulo.com/dog/medalseriesdog/medalseries-salmon/

Here's a review from one of the dog-food review websites...

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/nulo-medal-series/

"...Nulo was founded in Austin, Texas in 2009-10 with the first food distributed in 2010. Landa moved to Austin in 2010 to be closer to the facilities where the foods are produced. According to Landa, Nulo’s kibbles are manufactured by CJ Foods with facilities in Nebraska and Kansas. Nulo’s canned foods are made by Simmons Pet Foods. Both of these companies are well-known with good reputations for making foods for some of the top pet foods in the U.S.

Landa also emphasizes the high amount of animal-based protein used in Nulo foods. The protein in the foods range from 80-85 percent animal-based protein from meat and fish, making their percentage one of the highest in the pet food industry, if not the highest. Landa also says that Nulo makes sure that their foods contain a blend of amino acids so your dog is getting a balanced amino acid profile that is good for his health.

If we take one of the MedalSeries foods as an example, such as the Salmon & Sweet Potato Adult Dog Recipe, 82 percent of the protein in the food comes from animal-based protein sources. The first five ingredients in this food are: Deboned Salmon, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Whole Peas, and Sweet Potato. The food has 32 percent crude protein, 17 percent crude fat, 5 percent crude fiber, and 10 percent moisture. The food is AAFCO-approved as a maintenance dog food.

If you’re wondering about the ash content in this food (and other MedalSeries foods), Nulo graciously supplied us with the information (as-fed basis):

Dry Dog Formulas

MedalSeries Puppy Chicken & Sweet Potato: 7.47%

MedalSeries Adult Chicken & Peas: 7.47%

MedalSeries Adult Lamb & Lentils: 8.02%

MedalSeries Adult Salmon & Sweet Potato: 7.53%

MedalSeries Large Breed Adult Turkey & Peas: 8.45%

MedalSeries Senior Chicken & Lentils: 8.90%

With this in mind, we figured the DMB (dry matter basis) values for the MedalSeries Salmon & Sweet Potato Adult Dog Food Recipe to be: 35.6 percent protein, 18.9 percent fat, 5.6 percent fiber, and 31.6 percent carbohydrates. That carb percentage is quite low compared to many dog foods today which can have carbohydrate percentages as high as 45-50 percent or more. Even many grain free foods often have very high carbohydrate percentages.

In addition to these basic facts about the MedalSeries and Freestyle foods, Nulo has some other admirable features. Their foods have no potatoes, tapioca, corn, wheat, soy, potatoes, glutens or GMOs, and no poultry or meat by-products, no artificial colors, preservatives, or flavoring. They do not use any ingredients from China. Most of their ingredients are sourced here in the U.S. Their lamb comes from New Zealand and some of their duck comes from western Canada. Their taurine comes from Japan and their vitamin C comes from Scotland. (Michael Landa told us that they are working on providing a source listing for every ingredient they use so keep checking the Nulo web site.)

Nulo also uses Ganeden BC30 probiotics for digestive and immune health. We know – lots of companies claim they use special probiotics but most of the probiotics added to pet foods don’t survive the manufacturing process. The patented BC30 probiotic survives the extrusion and cooking process – and can back up the claim with research – AFB International Research & Development Study. This means that your pet actually gets the live beneficial bacteria for better digestion and health. BC30 is a spore-based probiotic which is protected until it reaches the proper pH level found in the dog’s lower intestine where it starts to do its work.

Along with being made in the U.S., Nulo foods, both dry and canned, have intensive quality control programs in place to ensure the safety of the products from beginning to end..." 

Above quote from another dog-food site:

http://dogfood.guru/nulo/