The Kibble Trials: Contestant #1 Nature's Variety Instinct: Salmon

Since Conker has been being stupid about his food for about two weeks now, only eating small amounts and of select items, sometimes outright refusing an entire meal, I decided to bump up the Trials and instead of starting in April, started them at the end of March.

I drove over to Petco and bought two bags of kibble that were on sale.
I looked at the protein, fat, and carb ratios of the two kibbles and decided upon Nature's Variety Instinct: Salmon since the ratios were closer to what Conker's "normal" diet is than the other kibble. They were pretty close, but I decided not to upset his system too much with the sudden switch.


The Rundown.

Nature's Variety has a nice selection of grain-inclusive and grain-free kibbles. I would have gone with grain-inclusive if it weren't for the high carb content (42%) so I went with grain-free. Fortunately, the formula I chose has no potatoes, an item I have linked to digestive problems with Conker. (Sometimes though, as in the case of dehydrated taters, Conker can handle some potato products just fine.) Unfortunately, my Petco has a slim selection of Nature's variety foods and I was forced to chose from chicken, duck and turkey, or salmon formulas. The two I actually wanted to try, beef and rabbit, were not available, neither were the two limited ingredient diets lamb or turkey. So I went with salmon, my number 3 choice.

Ingredients:
Salmon Meal, Herring Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Canola Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Tapioca, Pea Starch, Pork Liver, Natural Pork Flavor, Coconut Oil, Sun-Cured Alfalfa Meal, Tomato Pomace, Montmorillonite Clay, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Biotin, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Carotene, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Potassium Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide), Salt, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Carrots, Garlic, Apples, Pumpkin, Rosemary Extract, Yeast Culture (Saccharomyces Cerevisiae), Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus niger Fermentation Extract, Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Extract, Freeze Dried Cod.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min): 35.0%
Crude Fat (min): 20.0%
Crude Fiber (max): 2.5%
Moisture (max): 10.0% 
 

The 4.4 pound bag normally costs $19, making each cup cost $1.14 and each pound about  $4.31. That equates out to about 11 days of food for Conker. Fortunately for me, I was able to acquire a $3 off coupon directly from Nature's Variety, and the kibble was on sale for $2 less than normal, so I got $5 off for a total of cost $14.10, bringing the cost per cup down to $.84 and price per pound down to $3.20 (it was the most expensive kibble per cup in the Trials before the sale and coupon).

The ratios are: Protein:31 Fat:47 Carb:23 (using calorie weighted basis from the turkey and duck formula on dogfoodadvisor) which is right about what I was looking for in a kibble. The carbs are almost equal with Conker's normal diet (15-19%) and the fat a bit lower lower (50-55%).

I also got some cans. One each of venison, lamb, and beef. I will add roughly 25% canned every other day or so unless for some reason they cause complications.
Venison cost the most at $4 per 13.2 ounce can can (I got it for $3.60) and beef and lamb cost the same at $3.29 per 13.2 ounce can (I got for $2.92 each).

The ratio for the cans are:
Protein:30 Fat:54 Carb:16 (based off the duck formula on dogfoodadvisor)


So far Conker likes it and switched over just fine. We'll see how well he does on it (short-term) when the bag and cans run out.
More information and a proper review will be included at the end of the trial.