K9 Natural Information
K9 Natural is a pet food brand based in New Zealand that specializes in free-range ingredients and impressive nutrition.
K9 Natural stands out from the crowd and its competitors by offering freeze-dried and wet dog food recipes that use 90% meat.
This is unprecedented in comparison to most other pet food brands, which are likely to have as little as 30% meat in their recipes.
For those of you more familiar with the dog food industry, K9 Natural is extremely similar to another New Zealand-based brand Ziwi Peak which also specializes in high meat content and air-dried food.
For those of you wanting to purchase K9 Natural dog food, there are several ways to do so. You can use their Where To Buy Tool to find a local pet food store near you that stocks their products.
Alternatively, if you are based in New Zealand, you can purchase their products directly from their website.
However, if you are overseas, there are still several online pet food websites that stock K9 Natural including Chewy and Amazon.
K9 Natural Product Range
Dog Food
As we touched on above, K9 Natural does not produce traditional dry dog food like most other dog food brands.
Instead, they have a range of freeze-dried and canned dog food, alongside toppers, and treats.
Their product range is moderate in size but does have a variety, including a number of core meat and fish ingredients rather than just one.
In addition to their food offerings, K9 Natural produces a few dog supplement products which have become extremely popular.
In fact, while researching the brand we found that some of their supplements on Chewy were more popular than most of their food products.
K9 Natural has two digestive support supplements, one of which is shown above, and they also have several supplement oils.
These oils support health issues like the Brain and Eyes, Hips and Joints, and a dog’s Skin and Coat.
Cat Food
K9 Natural has a sister brand known as Feline Natural, which is where they sell their cat food products.
The cat food range within the Feline Natural brand is a similar size to their K9 Natural dog food range and includes canned cat food and frozen cat food.
In addition, the Feline Natural brand also lacks traditional dry cat food recipes, just like the dog food range.
K9 Natural Nutrition
Dog Food
Given the huge portions of meat used in their recipes, it will not come as a shock that the nutritional profile of K9 Natural’s dog food products is excellent.
It includes significantly above average proportions of protein and fat and a significantly below-average proportion of carbohydrates when compared to most brands.
You can see an example of this below in the nutritional profile of one of their freeze-dried recipes.
As you can see, the proportion of nutrition provided by protein and fat is colossal and sums to over 95% of the recipe.
However, the fat proportion is significant which means that portion control is important to avoid issues like weight gain or obesity.
That being said, some of K9 Natural’s other freeze-dried recipes contain lower proportions of fat than the above.
One last point to make regarding K9 Natural’s nutrition is that you can view in-depth nutritional information about their recipes on their Nutritional Information Page.
Here they provide the exact as-fed and dry matter basis nutritional profiles of their recipes which is information that the vast majority of brands do not do which should be praised.
If you would like to learn more about canine nutrition, we would highly recommend you read our Dog Food Guide for an in-depth discussion and analysis.
K9 Natural Ingredients
K9 Natural sources all of its wholefood ingredients from sustainable sources within New Zealand. This includes the Lamb, Beef, and Chicken that are found in the majority of their recipes.
While some may be afraid of meat sources from outside the United States, New Zealand has extremely high food standards that likely surpass those of the United States which means there is little cause for concern.
High-Quality Meat & Fish Ingredients
- Beef
- Lamb
- Chicken
- Salmon
- Hoki
K9 Natural makes use of a moderate range of high-quality meat and fish ingredients, with a focus on those that can be produced from within New Zealand.
Most of these, such as Chicken, Beef, and Salmon, are industry favorites and are used by other freeze-dried brands as well as traditional dog food brands.
However, the inclusion of Hoki is quite unusual, and we are not aware of any other dog food brands that use this fish ingredient.
In addition to their core meat and fish ingredients, K9 Natural makes use of several organ meat ingredients such as Tripe, Liver, Kidney, and Heart.
These organ meat ingredients are excellent additions to their recipes and can provide two beneficial traits.
Firstly, organ meats are extremely flavorful and can greatly enhance the palatability and appeal of dog food.
In addition, these organ meat ingredients are packed with nutrition in the form of protein, fat, and high concentrations of several vitamins and minerals.
You can learn more about the use of organ meat ingredients in dog food recipes in our article Organ Meat Ingredients In Pet Food.
Other Notable Ingredients
In addition to their core meat and fish ingredients, many of K9 Natural’s dog food recipes contain a small portion of Eggs.
Eggs are an excellent addition to a dog’s diet and a highly nutritious, containing protein, fat, carbohydrates, and several beneficial vitamins and minerals.
Despite their impressive nutrition, they are underutilized in the dog food industry in favor of cheaper ingredients.
Many of K9 Natural’s recipes contain a small portion of Sunflower Oil which is a vegetable oil that is regularly used in dog food recipes.
Some brands use Sunflower Oil as an additional source of beneficial fats and to improve flavor.
However, others include Sunflower Oil in their recipes as a binding agent to help hold the ingredients together in a more consistent format and texture.
K9 Natural states in their FAQ section that they include Sunflower Oil in their recipes as a natural source of linoleic acid, which is required to meet AAFCO standards.
Learn more about the uses of Sunflower Oil in dog food recipes and some of the concerns that there are about its use in our article Sunflower Oil In Dog Food.
K9 Natural makes use of Flaxseed Flakes in almost all of its recipes. While most brands tend to stick to Flaxseed or Flaxseed Oil, Flaxseed Flakes are practically very similar.
Flaxseed is well-known among dog owners, mainly due to its high content of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids, which are known to provide several health benefits.
However, there are several other health benefits that Flaxseed can provide that are less well known. You can learn more about these in our article Flaxseed In Dog Food.
What is interesting is that K9 Natural specifically discuss Flaxseed Flakes in their FAQ section and states that they are present to aid with digestion and in the formulation of healthy stools.
Kelp is a relatively uncommon addition to pet food recipes, with only a few other select brands like Ziwi Peak and Stella & Chewys utilizing it.
Kelp is found in dog food for two main purposes firstly, as a binding agent to help hold the ingredients of the food together in a consistent texture and format.
However, some other brands use Kelp for its health benefits and nutritional content, with Kelp having a high plant-based protein level as well as including beneficial minerals like Iodine.
You can learn more about Kelp and its use in the pet food industry in our article Kelp In Pet Food.
Lastly, some of K9 Natural’s recipes include a tiny portion of Pumpkin as a minor ingredient. Pumpkin is used extensively in dog food, primarily for its digestive traits and effects.
Pumpkin is a concentrated source of dietary fiber, which can aid dogs in maintaining regular digestion and stools.
However, Pumpkin can provide some additional nutrition, such as beneficial micronutrients like Beta Carotene.
Learn more about Pumpkin and its use in dog food recipes in our article Best Dog Food With Pumpkin.
K9 Natural Animal Testing
At this time, we have no information on what type of animal testing that K9 Natural participates in for its product range.
Many smaller pet food brands, like K9 Natural, avoid disclosing detailed information online about their testing and trials.
This lack of information is that many would prefer to avoid backlash or negative responses from their customers.
We strongly believe that intrusive or laboratory-style testing of animals is a cruel and outdated practice and one which we hope will see a significant decline.
K9 Natural Recalls
To the best of our knowledge and based on our research (FDA, AVMA, DogFoodAdvisor), K9 Natural has not issued any recalls of its dog products and is, therefore, a recall-free dog food brand.
This lack of recalls shows that K9 Natural takes the safety and quality of its manufacturing process seriously.
We hope that they can continue this perfect record in the coming years and take steps to further improve their internal processes.
Despite this, we encourage dog owners to be vigilant of any future recalls of K9 Natural or any other pet food brand to ensure their dogs remain healthy and safe.
Best of K9 Natural
K9 Natural Lamb Feast Review
K9 Naturals has a moderate range of canned dog food recipes, including a Lamb Formula, Chicken Formula, and Beef Formula.
We’ve chosen to highlight the Lamb Formula as Lamb is the primary livestock animal of New Zealand and a more unusual dog food ingredient that Beef or Chicken.
Due to this Lamb focus, the primary ingredient is Whole Lamb, but there are also a number of Lamb organ meats present, including Lamb Liver, Lamb Heart, and Lamb Kidneys.
These organ meats can provide a unique cocktail of vitamins and minerals that can supplement their core diet.
There are several more minor ingredients present, including Lamb Blood, Eggs, and a small range of vegetables such as Pumpkin, Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Cabbage.
As we touched on earlier, Eggs are incredibly nutritionally dense and an excellent addition to any dog food formula.
Moreover, the vegetables will provide additional vitamins and minerals, as well as a very modest portion of carbohydrates and fiber.
K9 Natural Featured Articles
Best Canned Dog Food – K9 Natural features in our in-depth look at canned dog food. In this article, we explore the differences between traditional dry dog food and canned dog food.
We break down our suggestions into distinct sections, and K9 Naturals features in the premium section alongside other brands like Ziwi Peak and Hound & Gatos.
K9 Natural Full Product Range
Dog Food
Freeze-Dried Dog Food
Freeze-Dried Beef Feast
Freeze-Dried Chicken Feast
Freeze-Dried Lamb Feast
Freeze-Dried Lamb & King Salmon Feast
Freeze-Dried Beef And Hoki Feast
Canned Dog Food
Beef Feast Can
Chicken Feast Can
Lamb Feast Can
Lamb & King Salmon Feast Can
Hoki & Beef Feast Can
Toppers
Beef Feast Topper
Chicken Feast Topper
Lamb Feast Topper
Lamb & King Salmon Feast Topper
Hoki & Beef Feast Topper
Dog Treats
Beef Lung Protein Bites
Beef Healthy Bites
Lamb Lung Protein Bites
Chicken Healthy Bites
Lamb Healthy Bites
Green Mussels Healthy Snacks
Dog Supplements
Brain & Eye Oil
Hip & Joint Oil
Skin & Coat Oil
Dog Milk
Beef Green Tripe Freeze-Dried Booster
Lamb Green Tripe Freeze-Dried Booster