Max Puppy Large Breed Farm-Raised Chicken Recipe Natural Dry Dog Food, 25-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Nutro Max Puppy Large Breed Farm-Raised Chicken Recipe Natural Dry Dog Food is a dry food for large breed puppies, primarily featuring chicken.
This recipe offers good protein quality, with chicken meal providing a solid amino acid profile. It also includes quality fat sources, like named chicken fat and marine oil, which is a good source of EPA and DHA. The carbohydrate sources are also of good quality and provide fermentable fiber.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for large breed puppies. 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 puppy Labrador Retrievers and similar active sporting breeds navigating weight management. At 336 kcal/cup this formula runs on the lean side, with crude fiber at 4% (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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.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 65/100, landing in B-tier territory. The biggest contributor was protein quality (+15.5 points): Reasonable protein quality. chicken meal delivers solid amino acid coverage. Also adding to the lift: fat quality (+12). Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source). The 10-point gap to A-tier sits mostly in protein quality (15.5 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. chicken meal 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.
- Top quartile for fat quality in Nutro's lineup (12/16)
- Bottom quartile for DMB fat in Nutro's lineup (15.6%)
- Bottom quartile for crude fiber in Nutro's lineup (4.4% DMB)
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.
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 meal
Chicken with the water cooked out. Per pound, packs more protein than fresh chicken. See why →
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2grainbarley
Whole grain with a low glycemic profile and some soluble fiber. Easy on blood sugar.
Position 2: major carbohydrate source.
- 3brewers rice
Broken rice kernels left over from milling, usually destined for human beer-making. Cheaper than whole or even white rice. Same carbs, less nutrition than the brown version. See why →
Position 3: major carbohydrate source.
- 4grainsorghum
Whole grain with a low glycemic index. Gluten-free, well-tolerated, decent fiber content.
Position 4: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 5protein animalchicken
Real meat. Primary protein source, with the amino acid profile dogs actually evolved to eat.
Position 5: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 6fatchicken fat
Despite the name, a high-quality energy source. Concentrated calories plus essential fatty acids like linoleic acid. See why →
Position 6: secondary fat. Often where marine oils sit when present alongside a primary land-animal fat.
- 7protein animalegg product
Processed whole eggs. Same nutritional profile as fresh eggs, just shelf-stable.
Position 7: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 8dried plain beet pulp
Beet fiber, with the sugar removed. Long unfairly maligned. It's a real soluble fiber that supports stool quality. See why →
Position 8: functional fiber for digestion or satiety.
- 9protein plantpea protein
Concentrated plant protein. Inflates the protein number on the label without matching the amino acid quality of meat.
Position 9. Moderate inclusion. Contributes carbohydrate and some plant protein.
- 10othernatural flavors
Same as natural flavor. Usually hydrolyzed liver or broth, adds palatability.
- 11mineraldicalcium phosphate
Calcium and phosphorus combined. Required source of both minerals, especially in formulas without much bone content.
- 12split peas
Position 12. Trace inclusion. Below the level associated with the FDA's DCM-pattern concerns.
- 13fatfish oil
Concentrated omega-3s. The reason 'EPA' and 'DHA' get to show up on the bag.
Position 13. Trace marine oil. Contributes some omega-3 but well below the level that drives EPA/DHA totals.
- 14mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 15fatflaxseed
Plant source of omega-3. Helpful for skin and coat, though dogs absorb omega-3 from fish more efficiently.
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.
- 17supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 18preservative naturalcitric acid
Natural antioxidant preservative. Helps keep fats from going rancid.
- 19preservative naturalmixed tocopherols
Natural vitamin E used to keep fats from going rancid. The good kind of preservative. See why →
- 20vitaminvitamin e supplement
Required nutrient and a natural antioxidant. Often pulls double duty as a preservative.
- 21mineralferrous sulfate
Inorganic iron. Standard mineral source. Iron proteinate is the gentler, better-absorbed premium form.
- 22zinc oxide
Inorganic zinc. Cheapest mineral form on the market. Functional but less bioavailable than chelated alternatives.
- 23mineralsodium 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 →
- 24l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate
A stable form of vitamin C used in pet food. Provides antioxidant support and survives processing better than plain ascorbic acid.
- 25mineralmanganese sulfate
Inorganic manganese. Functional but less well-absorbed than the chelated proteinate form.
Showing first 25 of 38. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
24 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.