Freestyle Duck Recipe with Pears Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food, 8-oz bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Nulo Freestyle Duck Recipe with Pears Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food is a freeze-dried raw food for all life stages, featuring duck and duck liver as its main proteins.
This food offers good protein quality, with duck providing solid amino acid coverage for your dog. You'll also find quality fat sources, including named fat with marine oil for EPA and DHA. Plus, it has quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for dogs of all life stages, especially if you're looking for a premium freeze-dried raw option.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Good fit for adult French Bulldogs and similar lower-energy companion breeds navigating a sensitive stomach. Working in its favor: prebiotic fiber (chicory or FOS) for gut health. Duck leads at position 1, and a single-species protein design that makes trigger isolation easier. What we'd flag: multiple protein sources stacked (harder to isolate triggers). Frenchies have notoriously sensitive GI tracts plus a tendency toward obesity given their low activity needs. Limited-ingredient formulas with moderate calorie density tend to fit them well.
Looking at this for adult French Bulldogs or French Bulldogs with a sensitive stomach ? 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.
- NRC, 2006digestibility · fiber· cited in 2 claims
- AAFCO, 2024zinc
- Swanson et al., 2002prebiotics
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Solid grade. 71/100 (B) reflects the structural fit of this formula against The Sniff System's eight scoring components. Protein quality did the heavy lifting (+19 points): Reasonable protein quality. duck delivers solid amino acid coverage. The supporting beat: fat quality (+12 points). Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source). What's keeping it out of A-tier: protein quality (19 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. duck delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
No negative drivers crossed our reporting threshold.
- Lowest crude fiber in Nulo's lineup (3.2% DMB)
- Top quartile for DMB protein in Nulo's lineup (45.3%)
- Lowest caloric density in Nulo's lineup (184 kcal/cup)
Computed against the rest of our catalog. Percentiles refresh on each catalog update.
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Scores 4 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
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Chicken instead of duck, 1 point higher, different brand.
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 animalduck
Real meat. Often used as a novel protein for dogs with sensitivities to chicken or beef.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2duck necks
Position 2: co-primary protein. Two named animal proteins in the top 2 is a strong protein build.
- 3duck heart
Position 3. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 4duck wings
Position 4: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 5protein animalduck liver
Position 5. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 6pears
- 7vegetablevegetable
Unnamed vegetable. No way to know what species. Named vegetables are far more transparent.
Position 7: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 8green beans
Real vegetable. Fiber and a small amount of vitamins. Often used in weight-management formulas because it bulks up a meal without adding calories.
- 9vegetablecarrots
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, and a small amount of antioxidant value.
Position 9: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 10fruitblueberries
Antioxidants, real. But the amount in any kibble is too small to do much. Mostly marketing.
Position 10: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 11vegetablekale
Leafy green with antioxidants and fiber. Small dose in kibble, but it's not just for marketing.
Position 11: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 12vegetablespinach
Leafy green. Some iron, vitamin K, and fiber. The dose in kibble is small but it's real food.
Position 12: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 13supplementparsley
Real herb. Trace amount of vitamins K and C. The dose in kibble is small, mostly there for label appeal.
- 14apple cider vinegar
- 15fatground flaxseed
Cracked flaxseed for better digestibility. Same plant omega-3s as whole flaxseed, just easier for the dog to extract.
Position 15: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 16mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 17fatsunflower oil
Common plant oil. Useful in moderation for omega-6, though too much skews the omega ratio against the dog's favor.
- 18fatsalmon oil
Pure omega-3s. The thing skin-and-coat formulas are usually built around.
- 19supplementdried kelp
Natural source of iodine and trace minerals. A common premium-brand inclusion.
- 20fiberinulin
Prebiotic fiber that feeds beneficial gut bacteria. Same compound found in chicory root.
- 21probioticdried bacillus coagulans fermentation product
Probiotic strain. More heat-stable than lactobacillus, which means more of it likely survives kibble processing.
- 22mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 23mineralzinc proteinate
Zinc bound to protein for better absorption. The premium form of the mineral, versus zinc oxide which sits cheaper on the label.
- 24mineraliron proteinate
Iron bound to protein for better absorption. The premium form versus inorganic iron sulfate.
- 25preservative naturalmixed tocopherols
Natural vitamin E used to keep fats from going rancid. The good kind of preservative. See why →
Showing first 25 of 29. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
19 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.
FreeStyle Freeze-Dried Raw Duck Recipe with Pears is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stages including growth of large size dogs (70 pounds or more as an adult).