Natural Choice Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food, 13-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe is a dry food for puppies, featuring chicken as its main protein source.
This recipe offers good protein quality, with chicken providing solid amino acid coverage. It also includes quality fat sources like named fat and marine oil, which is a source of EPA and DHA. The carbohydrate sources are also good, providing fermentable fiber.
There are no flagged ingredients or major negative drivers. However, the product does not explicitly state an AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement.
Good fit for puppies of any size. Less ideal if you prefer foods with a clear AAFCO statement on the label.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Good fit for puppy large sporting breeds like German Shorthaired Pointers, Weimaraners, and Brittanys. Chicken leads the deck at position 1, 31% DMB protein, 407 kcal/cup. Elbow dysplasia prevalence in German Shorthaired Pointers is 0.8% based on 10,233 OFA evaluations through 2023. Over 98% of evaluated GSPs have normal elbows, making the condition uncommon for the breed (OFA) .
Looking at this for puppy German Shorthaired Pointers ? 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.
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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.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 (+18.5 points): Reasonable protein quality. chicken 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 7-point gap to A-tier sits mostly in protein quality (18.5 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 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 Nutro's lineup (3.3% DMB)
- Top quartile for caloric density in Nutro's lineup (407 kcal/cup)
- Bottom quartile for carb quality in grain-inclusive dry kibbles (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.
Nutro Natural Choice Adult Small Bites Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food, 13-lb bag
Scores 4 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Nutro Max Puppy Large Breed Farm-Raised Chicken Recipe Natural Dry Dog Food, 25-lb bag
$2.20/lb vs your seed's $2.92/lb (25% 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.
- 2protein animalchicken meal
Chicken with the water cooked out. Per pound, packs more protein than fresh chicken. See why →
Position 2: co-primary protein. Two named animal proteins in the top 2 is a strong protein build.
- 3grainbrown rice
Whole grain that's easy to digest. Steady carb energy plus a little fiber.
Position 3: major carbohydrate source.
- 4grainbarley
Whole grain with a low glycemic profile and some soluble fiber. Easy on blood sugar.
Position 4: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 5grainoatmeal
Gentle on the stomach. Slow-release carbs and soluble fiber that supports stool quality.
Position 5: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 6brewers 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 6: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 7legumepeas
Cheap protein bulk. Fine in small amounts, but when peas stack with lentils and chickpeas in the top ingredients, it's the pattern the FDA flagged in its heart-disease investigation. See why →
Position 7. Moderate inclusion. Contributes carbohydrate and some plant protein.
- 8fatchicken fat
Despite the name, a high-quality energy source. Concentrated calories plus essential fatty acids like linoleic acid. See why →
Position 8: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 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.
- 10dried 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 10: functional fiber for digestion or satiety.
- 11othernatural flavors
Same as natural flavor. Usually hydrolyzed liver or broth, adds palatability.
- 12mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 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.
- 15mineraldicalcium phosphate
Calcium and phosphorus combined. Required source of both minerals, especially in formulas without much bone content.
- 16supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 17supplementdl-methionine
Essential amino acid. Often added when plant proteins dominate, since methionine is naturally lower in pulses than meat.
- 18chia seed
Plant source of omega-3 and fiber. Like flaxseed, useful in trace amounts.
- 19dried coconut
- 20dried tomato pomace
The fiber-rich byproduct of tomato processing. Sometimes flagged unfairly. It's a real fiber source, not a filler shortcut.
- 21dried egg product
Whole eggs with the water removed. Same nutritional value as fresh eggs, just shelf-stable.
- 22vegetablepumpkin
Soluble fiber that supports stool quality. Mild and well-tolerated.
- 23dried kale
Leafy green with antioxidants and fiber. Small dose in kibble, but it's not just for marketing.
- 24dried spinach
Leafy green. Some iron, vitamin K, and fiber. The dose in kibble is small but it's real food.
- 25preservative naturalcitric acid
Natural antioxidant preservative. Helps keep fats from going rancid.
Showing first 25 of 46. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
24 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.