Natural & Delicious Chicken & Ancestral Low-Grain Mini Breed Formula Dry Dog Food, 5.5-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Farmina Natural & Delicious Chicken & Ancestral Low-Grain Mini Breed Formula is a dry food featuring chicken as its main protein, designed with a low-grain recipe.
This formula offers good protein quality, with chicken providing a solid amino acid profile. It also includes quality carbohydrate sources with beneficial fermentable fiber, and quality fat sources like named chicken fat and marine oil for EPA and DHA.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for mini breed dogs who thrive on a chicken-based, low-grain diet. Nothing serious working against it.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Strong fit for active large sporting breeds like Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Irish Setters navigating diet-associated DCM concerns. Chicken anchors position 1, with zero pulses in the top 15, plus herring at position 10. In its 2022 update on diet-associated DCM, the FDA identified Golden Retrievers as the most reported breed, with 121 cases out of 1,382 total canine reports (8.8%) received between January 1, 2014, and November 1, 2022 (FDA, 2022) .
Looking at this for adult Golden Retrievers or Golden Retrievers with diet-associated DCM concerns ? We are building dedicated pages for these combinations.
Auto-matched from this product's measurements (ingredients, life stage, calorie density) to a breed archetype. Not a substitute for vet input on your specific dog.
Research informing this analysis
MethodologyThe Sniff System grades this product against 3 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
- FDA, 2022cardiac · epidemiology · breed predisposition· cited in 5 claims
- FDA, 2019diet composition· cited in 2 claims
- NRC, 2006nutrient bioavailability
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Sniff scored this formula 79/100, landing in A-tier territory. The biggest contributor was protein quality (+18 points): Reasonable protein quality. chicken delivers solid amino acid coverage. Also adding to the lift: carbohydrate quality (+16). Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Reasonable protein quality. chicken delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
No negative drivers crossed our reporting threshold.
- Bottom 3% for crude fiber in grain-inclusive dry kibbles (3.2% DMB)
- Top 5% for overall Sniff Score in dry kibbles (79/100)
- Bottom 10% for fat quality in Farmina's lineup (12/16)
Computed against the rest of our catalog. Percentiles refresh on each catalog update.
Similar dog foods worth considering
Three lenses on products with formulation profiles similar to this one.
Farmina N&D Ancestral Grain Lamb & Blueberry Recipe Puppy Mini Dry Dog Food, 5.5-lb bag
Scores 2 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Farmina N&D Ancestral Grain Chicken & Pomegranate Medium & Maxi Adult Dry Dog Food, 26.5-lb bag
$3.58/lb vs your seed's $5.82/lb (38% less) at a comparable score.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.
- 1protein animalchicken
Real meat. Primary protein source, with the amino acid profile dogs actually evolved to eat.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2dehydrated chicken
Real meat. Primary protein source, with the amino acid profile dogs actually evolved to eat.
Position 2: co-primary protein. Two named animal proteins in the top 2 is a strong protein build.
- 3spelt
Position 3: major carbohydrate source.
- 4grainoats
Whole grain. Steady energy, soluble fiber, and well-tolerated by most dogs.
Position 4: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 5fatchicken fat
Despite the name, a high-quality energy source. Concentrated calories plus essential fatty acids like linoleic acid. See why →
Position 5: secondary fat. Often where marine oils sit when present alongside a primary land-animal fat.
- 6grainbarley
Whole grain with a low glycemic profile and some soluble fiber. Easy on blood sugar.
Position 6: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 7dried whole eggs
Position 7: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 8dehydrated pork
Real meat. Dense protein and fat, though less common in dog food than chicken or beef.
Position 8: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 9pork fat
Real animal fat from a named species. Clean energy source.
Position 9: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 10herring
Whole fish, naturally high in omega-3s and very digestible protein. Common in premium formulas.
Position 10: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 11dehydrated herring
Whole fish, naturally high in omega-3s and very digestible protein. Common in premium formulas.
Position 11: trace protein. Likely there for amino-acid diversity or label appeal more than nutritional weight.
- 12fiberdried beet pulp
Soluble fiber from sugar-beet processing. Sometimes treated as a filler, but it's actually one of the better fiber sources in kibble. See why →
Position 12: trace fiber inclusion.
- 13herring oil
Concentrated omega-3 from herring. Same role as salmon oil, skin and coat support.
Position 13: trace protein. Likely there for amino-acid diversity or label appeal more than nutritional weight.
- 14dried carrot
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, antioxidants. Same as carrots, sometimes singular on labels.
- 15othernatural flavors
Same as natural flavor. Usually hydrolyzed liver or broth, adds palatability.
- 16suncured alfalfa meal
Sun-dried alfalfa, preserving more of the natural vitamins than heat-dried versions.
- 17fiberinulin
Prebiotic fiber that feeds beneficial gut bacteria. Same compound found in chicory root.
- 18fructooligosaccharide
Prebiotic fiber, often abbreviated FOS. Feeds beneficial gut bacteria.
- 19dried pomegranate
Antioxidants, real. Like other fruit additions, the dose in kibble is mostly cosmetic.
- 20dried apple
Whole apple with the moisture removed. Real fruit, fiber, modest nutrition contribution.
- 21dried spinach
Leafy green. Some iron, vitamin K, and fiber. The dose in kibble is small but it's real food.
- 22psyllium seed husk
Soluble fiber. Supports stool quality. The same fiber humans use for digestive regularity.
- 23dried sweet orange
- 24dried blueberry
- 25mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
Showing first 25 of 58. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
21 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.