Cold Pressed Puppy & Adult Grain-Free Salmon Recipe Dry Dog Food, 4-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Nulo Cold Pressed Puppy & Adult Grain-Free Salmon Recipe Dry Dog Food is a cold-pressed dry food for puppies and adult dogs, featuring salmon, chicken, and whitefish.
This Nulo recipe offers good protein quality, with salmon providing solid amino acid coverage. It also includes quality carbohydrate sources that provide fermentable fiber. The formula incorporates diverse, highly bioavailable protein sources like spray-dried porcine plasma, which is a good sign.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for puppies and adult dogs of any size. Nothing serious working against it.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Good fit for active large sporting breeds like Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and English Setters navigating weight management. At 335 kcal/cup this formula runs on the lean side, with crude fiber at 6% (above the catalog median, supports satiety). Labs are the canonical food-motivated breed. Weight management is the dominant practical concern, even more than breed-specific health risks. The 2014 AAHA Weight Management Guidelines define overweight as a Body Condition Score (BCS) of 6-7 on a 9-point scale. A score of 8 or 9 indicates obesity, representing 20-30% and >30% above ideal body weight, respectively (Brooks et al., 2014) .
Looking at this for puppy Labrador Retrievers or Labrador Retrievers with weight management ? 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 2 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
- Brooks et al., 2014diagnostic · protocol · satiety· cited in 3 claims
- Raffan et al., 2016genetics
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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.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 68/100, landing in B-tier territory. The biggest contributor was protein quality (+17.5 points): Reasonable protein quality. salmon delivers solid amino acid coverage. Also adding to the lift: carbohydrate quality (+12). Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber. The 7-point gap to A-tier sits mostly in protein quality (17.5 of 27 possible). Full protein quality requires named-species named-cut proteins in the top of the deck (e.g., "deboned chicken" rather than "chicken meal" or "poultry meal").
Reasonable protein quality. salmon delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein.
No negative drivers crossed our reporting threshold.
- Top 4% for DMB fat in grain-free dry kibbles (22.7%)
- Bottom 4% for caloric density in grain-free dry kibbles (335 kcal/cup)
- Top 10% for DMB protein in dry kibbles (39.8%)
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.
Nulo Frontrunner Ancient Grains Turkey, Whitefish, & Quinoa Recipe High-Protein Adult Dry Dog Food, 14-lb bag
Scores 12 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Nulo Freestyle Puppy Grain-Free Salmon & Peas Recipe Dry Dog Food, 26-lb bag
$3.42/lb vs your seed's $20.00/lb (83% 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 animalsalmon
Real fish meat. Natural source of omega-3s, which kibble usually has to add back from oil.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2protein animalchicken
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.
- 3protein animalwhitefish
Real fish meat. Lean protein with a clean amino acid profile.
Position 3: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 4spray-dried porcine plasma
- 5ground miscanthus grass
Same as miscanthus grass. A plant fiber source, mostly there for stool quality.
- 6fruitapples
Real fruit, some fiber and antioxidants. The amount in kibble is too small to matter much.
Position 6: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 7vegetablepumpkin
Soluble fiber that supports stool quality. Mild and well-tolerated.
Position 7: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 8tuna oil
Position 8: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 9fatsunflower oil
Common plant oil. Useful in moderation for omega-6, though too much skews the omega ratio against the dog's favor.
Position 9: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 10othernatural flavor
Legal term for animal-derived flavoring, usually hydrolyzed liver or broth. Adds taste, says nothing about quality.
- 11coconut glycerin
- 12mineraltricalcium phosphate
Calcium and phosphorus source. Same role as dicalcium phosphate, slightly different ratio.
- 13yeast culture
Fermented yeast. Source of B vitamins and beta-glucans that some research suggests support immune function.
- 14betaine
- 15mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 16preservative naturalmixed tocopherols
Natural vitamin E used to keep fats from going rancid. The good kind of preservative. See why →
- 17mineralzinc proteinate
Zinc bound to protein for better absorption. The premium form of the mineral, versus zinc oxide which sits cheaper on the label.
- 18mineraliron proteinate
Iron bound to protein for better absorption. The premium form versus inorganic iron sulfate.
- 19mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 20mineralcopper proteinate
Copper bound to protein for better absorption. Common in better-formulated diets.
- 21mineralmanganese proteinate
Manganese bound to protein for better absorption. The chelated form most premium brands use.
- 22mineralsodium selenite Flagged
Inorganic selenium. Effective at AAFCO levels, no documented safety concern in dogs despite what some pet food blogs claim. Selenium yeast is a marginal upgrade, not a necessity. See why →
- 23mineralcalcium iodate
Source of iodine for thyroid function. Functional, required in complete formulas.
- 24vitaminvitamin e supplement
Required nutrient and a natural antioxidant. Often pulls double duty as a preservative.
- 25vitaminniacin supplement
B vitamin (B3). Required in complete dog foods, added as a supplement to standardize the dose.
Showing first 25 of 40. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
21 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.