Ultra Puppy Large Breed High Protein Trio of Proteins Chicken, Lamb & Salmon Dry Dog Food, 22-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Nutro Ultra Puppy Large Breed High Protein Trio of Proteins is a dry dog food for puppies, featuring chicken as its main protein source.
This formula has a strong protein profile, with chicken as the first ingredient, which means good biological value for your puppy. It also includes quality carbohydrate sources like barley and brown rice that provide fermentable fiber. Plus, you'll find named fat sources, including marine oil for EPA and DHA.
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 active large sporting breeds like Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Irish Setters navigating diet-associated DCM concerns. Working in its favor: explicitly formulated for large-breed dogs. Chicken anchors position 1, with zero pulses in the top 15. Goldens appeared disproportionately in the FDA's DCM reports. Pulse-heavy grain-free formulas warrant extra caution; named animal protein with organ meat or marine sources is the safer fit.
Looking at this for puppy 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 2 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
- FDA, 2022epidemiology · breed predisposition· cited in 4 claims
- FDA, 2019diet composition· cited in 2 claims
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Strong grade. 76/100 (A) reflects the structural fit of this formula against The Sniff System's eight scoring components. Protein quality did the heavy lifting (+22.5 points): Strong protein profile with chicken as the primary ingredient, delivering high biological value. The supporting beat: carbohydrate quality (+16 points). Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Strong protein profile with chicken as the primary ingredient, delivering high biological value.
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.
- Top 1% for overall Sniff Score in Nutro's lineup (76/100)
- Bottom quartile for DMB fat in Nutro's lineup (15.6%)
- Top 10% for carb quality in Nutro's lineup (16/16)
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.
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.
- 3grainbarley
Whole grain with a low glycemic profile and some soluble fiber. Easy on blood sugar.
Position 3: major carbohydrate source.
- 4grainbrown rice
Whole grain that's easy to digest. Steady carb energy plus a little fiber.
Position 4: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 5grain oatmeal
Position 5: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 6grainsorghum
Whole grain with a low glycemic index. Gluten-free, well-tolerated, decent fiber content.
Position 6: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 7fatchicken fat
Despite the name, a high-quality energy source. Concentrated calories plus essential fatty acids like linoleic acid. See why →
Position 7: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 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.
- 9othernatural flavors
Same as natural flavor. Usually hydrolyzed liver or broth, adds palatability.
- 10protein animallamb meal
Lamb cooked down to a dry concentrate. Per pound, more protein than fresh lamb. See why →
Position 10: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 11protein animalsalmon meal
Salmon cooked into a dry concentrate. Carries both protein and natural omega-3s in one ingredient. See why →
Position 11: trace protein. Likely there for amino-acid diversity or label appeal more than nutritional weight.
- 12brewers 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 12: minor grain inclusion.
- 13protein plantpotato protein
Concentrated potato protein. Like pea protein, it inflates the protein number without matching meat-quality amino acids.
Position 13: trace plant protein.
- 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.
- 16fatfish oil
Concentrated omega-3s. The reason 'EPA' and 'DHA' get to show up on the bag.
- 17mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 18mineraldicalcium phosphate
Calcium and phosphorus combined. Required source of both minerals, especially in formulas without much bone content.
- 19supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 20preservative naturalcitric acid
Natural antioxidant preservative. Helps keep fats from going rancid.
- 21preservative naturalmixed tocopherols
Natural vitamin E used to keep fats from going rancid. The good kind of preservative. See why →
- 22chia seed
Plant source of omega-3 and fiber. Like flaxseed, useful in trace amounts.
- 23dried coconut
- 24dried egg product
Whole eggs with the water removed. Same nutritional value as fresh eggs, just shelf-stable.
- 25dried tomato pomace
The fiber-rich byproduct of tomato processing. Sometimes flagged unfairly. It's a real fiber source, not a filler shortcut.
Showing first 25 of 52. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
23 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.