Open Nature Information
Open Nature is a pet food brand owned and sold by Safeway stores in the United States. The launch of Open Nature was announced in 2011, and their products were made available to shoppers soon after.
Since then, Open Nature’s product range has remained stable and hasn’t seen much change or expansion.
While this is a positive trait to many who want a stable and consistent brand, it could show the brand is not seeing huge success or growth.
At this time, it is not clear where Open Nature dog food is produced or if a 3rd party manufacturer produces the recipes. However, we highly suspect that Safeway outsources its production.
Many other grocery stores have their own store brands or products produced by a 3rd party as they do not have their own facilities or expertise to produce pet food independently.
Given that Open Nature is a store brand, it is not available for purchase from other retail pet food stores or the large online pet food websites like Chewy or Amazon. Instead, it is only available from Safeway or Instacart orders.
Open Nature Product Range
Dog Food
Open Nature has a dog food range that is modest in size when compared to many other dog food brands. This range includes a mix of dry dog food and canned dog food.
The dry dog food range from Open Nature also contains some specialty recipes, such as grain-free food, grain-inclusive food, and puppy food.
Open Nature does not produce any breed-specific or size-specific dog food which are usually produced by large or more established brands.
Cat Food
Open Nature’s cat food range is similar in size to their dog food range and consists of three dry cat food recipes and six wet/canned cat food recipes. This product size is quite small compared to most other cat food brands.
Like the dog food range, this cat food product range includes some specialty recipes, such as a recipe for kittens. Cat food brands tend to produce less niche recipes and tend to stick to Kitten or Senior cat food.
Open Nature Nutrition
Dog Food
The nutritional profile (Guaranteed Analysis) of most Open Nature recipes is not available to view on their website, which is frustrating to dog owners looking to research Open Nature dog food.
You can see the below example from Safeway’s website where they list the ingredient list, but the Guaranteed Analysis is absent.
However, based on our research, the nutrition offered by Open Nature’s dry dog food is sadly average at best. It includes average proportions of protein and fat and proportions of carbohydrates that are significant.
Most dogs would be better suited to a nutritional profile with higher protein and fat proportions, especially from animal sources.
However, some of Open Nature’s wet dog foods offer more satisfactory nutrition that is low in carbohydrates and high in animal-based protein and fat.
If you would like to learn more about canine nutrition, we would highly recommend checking out our Dog Food Guide for an in-depth look.
Cat Food
The nutritional profile of Open Nature’s dry cat food recipes is similar to their dog food recipes in that information is not readily available online.
However, based on our alternative research, their recipes contain modest proportions of protein and fat and overly large proportions of carbohydrates.
However, Open Nature’s wet/canned cat food is more promising and contains a much higher protein and fat proportion.
This higher proportion of animal-based protein and fat is especially important for cats who are obligate carnivores rather than omnivores, like dogs.
If you would like to learn more about feline nutrition, including what it means to be an obligate carnivore, be sure to take a read of our Cat Food Guide for a detailed breakdown.
Open Nature Ingredients
High-Quality Meat & Fish Ingredients
- Chicken
- Lamb
- Beef
- Salmon
Open Nature uses some of the most common meat and fish ingredients found in pet food recipes. Ingredients like Chicken and Beef are so commonly used because of their relatively low cost and high nutritional value.
Despite their low cost, pet owners should not turn their nose up at these regular ingredients as they are very suitable components of a dog or cat’s diet and can provide a plentiful supply of animal-based protein and fat.
Open Nature does not use any of the less common meat and fish ingredients that are becoming popular among some premium brands.
Some prime examples of less common or unique meat ingredients that are being used in pet food include Rabbit, Venison, and Kangaroo.
You can learn more about these unique ingredients and why they are used in our article Best Hypoallergenic Dog Foods Guide.
Other Notable Ingredients
Open Nature makes use of the grain Brown Rice in several of its recipes. Grain ingredients, such as rice ingredients, are often controversial additions to pet food recipes, as many consider them to be processed or fillers.
However, Brown Rice is considered by many to be one of the best grain ingredients that can be used in dog food and far superior to others like Wheat or Corn.
This is thanks to the fiber and micronutrients Brown Rice can provide in addition to its base carbohydrate content.
These benefits are especially prominent when Brown Rice is compared to White Rice and other grains that lack these nutrients and are therefore considered to be inferior or less valuable.
Sadly, Open Nature also makes use of some grain by-product ingredients such as Brewers Rice and Rice Bran.
These grain ingredients are left over after processing or manufacturing and are considered by many in the industry to be low-quality ingredients.
If these ingredients are not sold to pet food companies, they are often used in industrial animal feed, where nutrition is provided at the lowest possible cost.
You can learn more about these two ingredients in the following articles: Brewers Rice In Dog Food & Rice Bran In Dog Food.
Chickpeas are a legume and are a prevalent plant-based ingredient in dog food along with other legumes like Lentils and Peas.
They are so popular in the industry, especially the grain-free industry, because they are relatively inexpensive and are high in plant-based protein.
However, in recent years, there have been some concerns about using high volumes of legumes and legume by-products in dog food recipes and an increased rate of canine heart disease.
This is a topic that is too broad and detailed for this page, but if you want to learn more about this, we recommend you check our discussion in our popular article Best Dog Foods Without Peas.
Sweet Potatoes and Potatoes are additional carbohydrate-providing ingredients that feature in select Open Nature recipes.
Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes are starch ingredients and a staple of human plates. Starch ingredients like these are incredibly dense sources of carbohydrates, and for this reason, their portion size must be tightly controlled to avoid weight gain or obesity.
Sadly, the portion size of these ingredients in some Open Nature recipes is quite significant, which means the proportion of carbohydrates present is large.
Menhaden Fish Meal is found in many pet food brands’ recipes, including some of the more premium brands.
Menhaden Fish are caught and processed for their oils, but the fish meal leftover from this oil-extraction process is very nutritionally dense, especially in animal-based protein.
This product is therefore used to boost the animal-based protein and fat content of some pet food recipes, which is must preferred to plant-based alternatives like Pea Protein.
Read more about Menhaden Fish Meal and why a minority do not support its use in our article Menhaden Fish Meal in Dog Food.
Chicken Fat is found in several of Open Nature’s recipes and is added to pet food to boost animal-based fat levels and improve a recipe’s palatability and taste.
Chicken Fat is chosen for this task as it is relatively easy to source and affordable compared to some alternatives. While less common, some other animal fats are found in pet food, such as Beef Fat.
You can learn more about Chicken Fat, including whether it can trigger a Chicken allergy, in our article Chicken Fat In Dog Food.
Dried Beet Pulp is used industry-wide as a source of soluble fiber in dog food. Soluble fiber can be important to some dogs to ensure they keep regular and consistent digestion; however, it isn’t always required.
Outside of its fiber content, Beet Pulp provides little nutrition to dogs, including a lack of protein, fat, or carbohydrates.
You can read more about Beet Pulp and why some are concerned when it is present in large quantities in our article Dried Beet Pulp In Dog Food.
Open Nature Animal Testing
We have no information on what type of testing Open Nature or Safeway does to test its dog or cat food products.
There has been a strong increase in interest about animal testing, feeding trials, and other related areas. Many pet owners are concerned about if there is sufficient testing done by smaller pet food brands and if their food is safe for long-term consumption.
However, we strongly believe that Open Nature outsources its Open Nature product to a third-party manufacturer. Due to this, the testing of these products is likely carried out by this third party.
We strongly believe that invasive or laboratory-style testing of animals is a cruel and outdated practice and one which we hope will be eliminated in the coming years.
Open Nature Recalls
Based on our research (FDA, AVMA, DogFoodAdvisor), Open Nature pet food products have never been recalled in the United States, which makes them a recall-free pet food brand.
Given that Open Nature is now far from a new or young brand, it shows that their manufacturing processes take quality and safety seriously to avoid contamination or other risks.
We hope that Open Nature can continue this perfect recall record and ensure that their customer’s pets remain healthy and safe.
Despite this recall-free record, we always encourage consumers to be vigilant for any future recalls of Open Nature or any other brand.
Best of Open Nature
Salmon & Chickpea Recipe Review
The above recipe from Open Nature is our favorite of their dry dog food range. This is as this recipe utilizes Salmon as its primary ingredient rather than the typical Chicken. Salmon is an excellent choice for dog food and can provide a plentiful supply of high-quality protein and fat.
Salmon is also one of the best sources of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids, which are believed to provide several health benefits to dogs, including an improvement in the condition of a dog’s skin and coat and a reduced risk of certain health issues.
This Salmon is joined by a portion of Menhaden Fish Meal, which we discussed earlier. The presence of a portion of Menhaden Fish Meal means that the overall proportion of the recipe that is fish-based is quite high, and as a consequence, so is the protein and fat proportion.
Chickpeas, Potatoes, and Peas make up the bulk of the recipe’s plant-based content and provide the recipe with a mix of carbohydrates, fiber, and select vitamins and minerals.
Beef & Chicken Review
As we mentioned earlier, Open Nature’s wet dog food recipes offer more satisfactory nutrition than their dry dog food recipes. The above Beef & Chicken recipe is a stellar example of this superior nutrition.
The vast majority of the recipe is made up of two ingredients – Beef and Chicken. This combination of two industry favorites provides an excellent proportion of protein and fat that is suitable for the majority of dogs, including those that are more active.
The recipe then includes a small portion of Beef Liver, which, as an organ meat ingredient, can improve the recipe’s flavor and provide vitamins and minerals that are not abundant in traditional meat cuts.
The only other notable ingredients in the recipe are Cassie Gum, Carrageenan, and Guar Gum, which are all binding agents and do not provide noticeable nutrition. However, some prefer dog food recipes that are free from these gums.
Adult Chicken & Chickpea Recipe Review
Based on our research, the best recipe from Open Nature’s limited cat food range is the above Chicken & Chickpea recipe.
Its primary ingredients of the recipe are Chicken and Chicken Meal which are both reputable animal-based ingredients.
Many consumers are cautious about pet food recipes with Meat Meals like Chicken Meal, but they shouldn’t be. Meat Meals have simply had their moisture removed in advance, which means they are a more dense source of nutrition thanks to their lack of moisture.
This combination of Chicken and Chicken Meal provides a reasonable proportion of protein and fat that is suitable for the average cat.
The recipe then uses a mix of Potatoes, Chickpeas, and Peas to provide carbohydrates and fiber. Cats do not need a proportion of carbohydrates this high, but it is a necessary evil to ensure that the price of cat food is not high.
Chicken & Whitefish Dinner Review
Wet cat food is an excellent choice for most cats’ diets as it not only provides nutrition but much-needed moisture, which many cats struggle to take on consistently.
The above recipe uses a mix of Chicken, Whitefish, and Egg to provide the bulk of its nutrition. This unusual combination of meat, fish, and eggs is high in animal-based protein and fat, which is critical for a cat’s obligate carnivore diet.
There are no significant plant-based ingredients present in the recipe, which strongly aligns with a cat’s natural diet, which is mostly free of plant-based content.
Open Nature Features Articles
At this time, Open Nature has not been featured in any of our articles.
Open Nature Full Product Range
Dry Dog Food
Salmon & Chickpea Recipe
Chicken & Chickpea Recipe
Lamb & Brown Rice Recipe
Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe
Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe
Canned Dog Food
Lamb Dinner
Beef & Chicken
Chicken
Beef & Vegetables
Dry Cat Food
Adult Chicken & Chickpea Recipe
Kitten Chicken & Chickpea Recipe
Adult Salmon & Chickpea Recipe
Wet/Canned Cat Food
Shredded Chicken Dinner
Shredded Salmon Dinner
Turkey & Salmon Dinner
Chicken & Beef Dinner
Chicken & Whitefish Dinner
Turkey & Giblets Dinner
I just bought the salmon & chickpea cat food. My cat won’t touch it. She tries to go through the litter box motions of covering it up. The bag I got says best used by 4/18/20. Is it old? I was hoping this would be a good alternative to blue Buffalo.
My cat is overweight and I wanted to see about a food that she would like with less carbs.
I also recently purchased, and several of my cats are throwing up multiple times after eating. I have switched them back to their old food and they aren’t vomiting. I thought the kibble was too big but maybe it’s something in it.
My cat is having a terrible reaction to the Turkey & Giblets adult canned food. He puked it up and seems tired and paranoid. I have never seen him like this before. Taking him to the vet asap.
I just purchased this food for my cats at the beginning of April 2020. I thought grain free would be a good switch, but my cats are vomiting like never before. At first I just noticed in 1 cat consistently vomiting after breakfast(we have 7 adult cats), and attributed it to him eating too fast. Today one of my cats vomited 4 times, after each time she would try to take a nibble of food. For dinner time I switched them back to their old food and after 3 hours of observation Mone of them have thrown up. I feel like the kibble size of the food is just too large for cats to handle. Many of my cats chewed up the majority of the food with a few whole pieces of kibble in it.
My cats love this brand of wet cat food! I wish I could get it online
We have six adult cats in the house. They always consume a bowl full of dry cat food every night. We recently bought an 11 pound bag of Chicken & Chickpea Recipe Adult Cat Food. NONE OF THE CATS WILL TOUCH IT!!!! We are just going to have to throw the stuff away!!!
I still don’t see where it is made? China? USA? How can I know?
Just bought the wet food chicken and fish for cats my cat will not touch it!
Open nature dental treats for large dogs are horrific. They contain crap fiber that looks like wood and chew down like old bark. Hate them am totally repulsed by this product. I have bought other open nature products and they are fine but your dental treats should be recalled.
My dog loved this brand the first few times he had it, but due to the lack of work my husband and I had to buy whichever grain free brand was on sale. I’m not sure if we had been getting the chicken & brown rice or the chicken & chickpea. This last time my husband bought a large bag and and since then my dog has had soft, sometimes runny poos, vomits on occasion and has had a rash on his belly.
I don’t know for sure if the food is what’s causing these issues, but I was wondering if anyone else has a dog with similar symptoms.
Open Nature is made by Lucerne in Pleasanton California. I suggest contacting them directly
I started using the kitty food and upgraded to adult food and my cat loves it. Never had any problem.
We bought the salmon and chickpea dry dog food recently. This is the second or third bag and since opening a new bag, my dog has been vomiting every time he eats it. We fed him rice after a bad bout of vomiting and when he seemed better, we fed him this dry food again and he kept vomiting. Our other larger dog also vomited the food. Expensive vet visit revealed nothing, and luckily no serious illness. Switched food and no more vomiting.
Dry food with chick peas: Both my cats refused to touch it. I decided to wait it out, thinking they were being picky and the did eventually eat it. Now both cats are constipated and vomit when they try to eat. I will be feeding them some wet food tonight to hopefully loosen them back up. I never imagined a “healthy” cat food would risk my cats health this badly. What a huge waste of money and torture for my poor babies. I’ve never seen another food, cheap or fancy, do this to my cats.
Open Nature Grain Free with Beef and Vegetables, Cuts in Gravy, Dog Food. Fed this to my dog for 2 days,before I realized it was this new dog food that was making her tremble non-stop, pant heavily, act and look terrified, crawl up my leg to be held and when holding her she was so terrified it was like she was trying to crawl inside me for help. When I put her down she’d go under the bed and hide. Since she had never done this before, I traced it down to the dog food. On day 3 I gave her the dog food I had been giving her off and on for years, and she has been fine since then. I experiment with different wet foods for her, and she hasn’t ever had a reaction. I am not sure what is in this formula that would give her these scary reactions. I hope Open Nature contacts me and takes the rest of the cans I bought at the same time and analyzes them for toxins.
I just bought my dog a package of Beef Jerky treats. I opened the package, & found the Beef Jerky treats to be ” Moldie”. I can take a picture & send it to you. I want my money back!!! Please write me back. So I can get this handled, Thank-you!! My phone # is (425) 268-1158.
I bought this for my kitty who frequently throws up , she liked it and so far has not thrown up
Open nature grain free limited ingredient diet TURKEY AND SWEET POTATO RECIPE
iS this a balanced healthy cat food ?
Just purchased open natures cans of wet food. One of my cats is constantly throwing up, the other 2 are sleeping more than usual and my most playful one who is usually obsessed with his ball will not even look at it. DO NOT BUY THIS FOOD clearly its poison and I am livid!
My 4 cats absolutely love this food both wet and dry. My Persian has had terrible stomach issues for years and is finally regular and no longer has tar like poops that would cover her backside. Not very elegant looking on a pure white cat. I have two rescued strays and a calico sphynx also, none of them have had an issue. I just wish i could order it by the case and have it delivered!
switched my dogs over to open nature Lamb and Brown rice. Both dogs have had nothing but runny stools and my older beagle mix has had an allergic reaction such as watery itchy eyes. Have taken them off of it as of tonight and switching them back to just 6. Wish i would of read the reviews first. I will not buy this product again. A waste of money and i feel dangerous to my dogs
Does anyone’s cat also have diarrhea from eating Open Nature?
There’s so many comments about cats throwing new cat food. I learned from our vet long ago that you have to gradually introduce new food over a about a week. Just add a few kibbles or whatever to what cats currently eat each day increasing a bit of new food.
My dog and cats love it
Why is the company not answering to the negative comments……I just started my senior =^..^= on the various flavors…..she likes them so far…..she was on Science dry cat food for years and did great on it until she decided she no longer wanted it….to the point she stopped eating…sooooooo….I think I am going to mix some of the wet food with her Science and see if she will eat it…..I leave some dry food out each day in hope she will eat some with the set food….Also noticed she prefers wet food is cold…… Ciao. Zoey the =^..^=
We switched to Chicken and Brown Rice for dogs 2 weeks ago and we are noticing ourpup is drinking huge amounts of water and for the first time since he was a puppy 3.5 years ago he wakes us up twice a night to gooutside. Switching back to blue buffalo and tossing the rest of the OpenNature bag.
Cat treats are awful!!!!
I switched my 6 cats to the chicken & chickpeas and it’s been great no more vomiting. Then Safeway was out so I purchased Salmon & Chickpeas the first bag was fine so I got a large bag the food size pellets were larger and my 1 cat ended up with blood in his urine very expensive. I had ran out of cat food so I thought I would try again did the same thing blood in urine and it cost me a lot of money to get him well. Now I’m stuck with this large bag of cat which I paid $26.99 is it returnable
open nature grain free chicken and chickpea kibble caused my dog to drink copious amounts of water. too much beet pulp, and or salt probably.
Interesting that so many have had problems. Our older kitty, who is kinda fussy, seems to absolutely love the wet cat food. She begs for it throughout the day. Safeway had been out of it for a long time, and she was somewhat OK with Tastefuls.
They finally got it back in stock and she is now one happy kitty! (For dry food we use Sci. Diet for her more specialized needs).
They are made in Canada
I bought the canned LAMB Dinner for my Aussie and thank goodness I looked at the ingredients before I fed it to him. First ingredient- CHICKEN. My dog is highly allergic to chicken. This is not only false labeling but dangerous too. WTH.
My cat has been eating the canned chicken and whitefish pate, and especially the Salmon shreds. Actually, he hates the texture of shreds, and will leave much in his bowl. However, I was so impressed that the number one and two ingredients are Salmon and Salmon broth, that I decided to purée the product in a bullet blender. Despite the now liquified product, he laps it up, and, obviously, considering the high quality ingredients, it’s good for him as well.
My dog experienced a horrifying reaction to this food. We were oblivious to the cause of her symptoms. I have purchased this brand many times, but with this new batch, she has been shaking nonstop for three days and depositing loose stools all over the house. She has had difficulty walking and getting onto the couch. Her stomach has been making terrible noises. This food is like poison to my dog and we sadly didn’t figure this out for three days. The only thing that helped her relax was a warm bath. She seems better this morning. Please be careful with this “food”, something seems to have drastically changed in the manufacturing or ingredients.
I just purchased this wet Catfood for the first time last night for my two very healthy cats. They are both three years old. They absolutely love this wet Catfood and I could not be happier. It’s much cheaper than the 6 small cans of Fancy Feast I go through everyday!
I bought the dry lamb rice dry dog food, it’s been 2 days and my dog literally moves away from it and drinks her water turned away from the food.
Any chance on a refund, used 1/2 cup? 6!b bag
I am most definitely throwing this stuff out!! All the comments about runny stools is the truth!! Open nature is garbage. If anything else should occur They will surely be held accountable.
I have been giving my dog ( Blue) the salmon / chick pea dog food since February. With in the last month I feel the ingredients have changed. Is that true ? Or it is the the same recipe . Please reach out .
Thank you,
Jennifer
My two cats love both the wet and dry food by Open Nature. I’ve been feeding this to my cats for years and they never had vomiting or loose stool problems after eating it. One cat has to have grain free food, which can be super expensive so the low price point of Open Nature fits my budget and my cats love it!
Lately I have noticed lower shelf space for this product at Safeway. I hope they are not phasing this product out.