Instinct Dog Food Review Dec 2024 | Ratings | Recalls | Ingredients

Instinct Dog Food Review Dec 2024 | Ratings | Recalls | Ingredients

5/5 - (2 votes)

Topic: Instinct Dog Food Review – This article contains the detailed, in-depth Instinct Dog Food Reviews | Instinct Original Dog Food Reviews | Instinct Dog Food Recall 2024 | Instinct Dog Food Ingredients | Where to buy Instinct Dog Food

Instinct Dog Food Ratings

4.6 out of 5.0 stars

We would love to give this Instinct Original Grain Free dry dog food a rating of 4.6 Stars out of 5 Stars. Check the Instinct Original Grain Free Dry Dog Food product.


Who makes Instinct Dog Food? | Who owns Instinct Dog Food?

Who is Instinct dog food owned by? Nature’s Varietywhose parent company is M.I. Industries, is the owner and producer of the Instinct product line of dry dog foods and Prairie brands. Compared to other major brands, it’s comparatively new in the market, with its foundation back in 2002. 

We noticed that the brand doesn’t have any significant recall history, thus assuring quality products for your furry pet to a certain extent. The Instinct product line is entirely raw, natural, nutritious, and almost identical to a dog’s primary diet is achievable. Nature’s Variety mainly delivers two types of food brands, Instinct, and Prairie.

Where is Instinct dog food manufactured? | Is Instinct Dog food made in the U.S.?

The Instinct dog food products and variants are manufactured with top-quality ingredients from all over the world. The company produces the Instincts Dog foods products in their own manufacturing units in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.

Instinct Original Dog Food Reviews 2024

Certain dog foods are good for your dog’s health, and a few others are exceptionally good for your dog. While we can confirm that the Instinct Grain Free Dog Food is a considerable choice, we can’t conclude whether it falls in the best category. So read the entire detailed Instinct Original Dog Food Review and make the best choice for your dog. 

Instinct Dog Food products focus on providing the best dog food possible with natural ingredients without using any kinds of artificial fillers. The brand is quite famous for its holistic approach by using the best ingredients necessary for your dog’s growth and guided by the company’s very own certified veterinarians. Apart from having their own veterinarians, the chief boasts of a Ph.D. in food science. All these thus act in favor of enhancing the brand name.

Instinct Dog Food Ingredients

Chicken, Chicken Meal, Peas, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Tapioca, Herring Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Natural Flavor, Salt, Dried Tomato Pomace, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin), Carrots, Apples, Cranberries, Montmorillonite Clay, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide), Choline Chloride, Freeze Dried Chicken, Freeze Dried Chicken Liver, Pumpkinseeds, Freeze Dried Chicken Heart, Dried Bacillus coagulans Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract

In this nature’s Instinct dog food reviews, we found after focusing on the specific product that 70% of the ingredients are fresh, high-quality meat contents, whereas the rest of the ingredients are fresh veggies and fruits. Therefore, the product seems to contain high-quality proteins in the right proportions needed for your dog. But the question remains whether the ingredients are good enough in real to classify it as supreme dog food. That’s why we have divided the utility of each of the ingredients used in the product and made a detailed analysis for guiding you in the process of finding the best dog food. 

instinct dog food reviews

Pros of Instinct Original Dog Food

Lets’s start with the pros of Instinct Grain Free Dog Food to gain a deep insight into the advantages of this specific product. 

1. Using the Primary Food Ingredient to the Fullest

Fresh chicken is the primary ingredient of Instinct Grain Free Dry Dog Food, and the brand knows how to use it to the fullest for serving the maximum nutrition ever possible. The product comprises chicken, chicken fat, chicken meal, freeze-dried chicken liver, and heart, along with freeze-dried chicken meat. Therefore, expect your dog to consume the maximum high-quality protein needed from a dog’s point of view. 

To break it down a bit, a chicken meal constitutes an even higher concentration of protein than fresh chicken meat. Therefore, the inclusion of both will help your dog grab all the proteins with minimal loss that occurs during food processing. As per the Calorie Weighted analysis, the protein percentage is around 31%, while the percentages of fat and carbohydrates stand at 44% and 25%, respectively. Besides the proteins, chicken fat is the source of good fats for your doggy by providing the vital Omega-6 fatty acids.

As discussed, we also noticed chicken liver and heart use in the food. Both of these ingredients provide ample amounts of vitamins and minerals and thus help in strengthening your dog’s body. Therefore, Instinct has a well-curated and well-thought planned out recipe for your dog just by using chicken in different ways. Not only do they act as the essential building blocks, but they also enhance the taste of the food. Without any artificial ingredients as fillers and preservatives, these ingredients provide the necessary proteins, vitamins, and fats. The omega acids help in maintaining the smooth, furry dog coat too. 

2. The Right Usage of Fish in the Product

Apart from chicken, Instinct Grain Free Dry Dog Food also uses Herring Meal and Menhaden Fish Meal. For any dog, fish meals are of utmost necessity. Apart from providing fish proteins, minerals, and vitamins, marine ingredients act as major storehouses of omega-3 acids. In this case, Herring and Menhaden are some of the premium choices that any brand would love to incorporate if they want to produce high-quality dog food. 

3. The Power of Fresh Veggies 

If chicken and fishes weren’t enough, here comes the veggies with their supply of minerals and vitamins. The product doesn’t contain inferior quality ingredients, which include potato, soy-by products, and corn. Instead, it comes with pumpkin seeds, carrots, tomato pomace, and many more. All of these provide the required fibers for your dog’s health and development.

Besides veggies, Instinct also has fruits like apples and cranberries as their ingredients. If you are worried about your dog’s digestion, Instinct also packs the required fermentation products that provide all the enzymes required for smooth digestion.

4. Benefits of Raw Pet Food in Instinct Original DogFood

Raw dog food is way more beneficial than processed products. Too much processing reduces the nutritious value of the product by reducing the protein content or the natural vitamins and minerals and anti-oxidants. The natural taste also gets hugely affected, and studies have shown that most dogs disapprove of taste changes. Instinct products use raw ingredients to provide the maximum nutrition possible.

instinct original dog food review

Cons Of Instinct Original Dog Food Review

There aren’t many opposing sides to using this supreme dog food product. The product seems to be perfect in its way, and most of the customers love to use this product. However, some complaints about the food bag size raised and demand for a larger bag that would suffice the needs of their dogs. Also, the frozen bits stick way down to the bottom of the bag, and you may have to be extra patient and cautious mixing the product. Even though these are trivial, there’s always a space for improvement for any brand.

Instinct Dog Food Recall 2024 | Instinct Dog Food Recall History

On 24-July-2015, Nature’s Variety declared a voluntary recall of their product ‘Instinct® Raw Chicken Formula’ for dogs with a “Best By” date of 04/27/16 because of the possibility of Salmonella contamination of the products.

Nature’s Variety has announced a voluntary recall of their Instinct® Raw Chicken Formula for dogs with a “Best By” date of 04/27/16 because these products may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can affect animals eating the products, and there is a risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

The infected products are restricted to the Instinct Raw Chicken Formula Frozen Diets packaged recipe in the following orders:

  • UPC# 769949611431 – Instinct Raw Chicken Formula Bites for Dogs 4 lb.; Best By 04/27/16
  • UPC# 769949611448 – Instinct Raw Chicken Formula Bites for Dogs 7 lb.; Best By 04/27/16
  • UPC# 769949611486 – Instinct Raw Chicken Formula Patties for Dogs 6 lb.; Best By 04/27/16

Instinct Dog Food Recall 2021

On 2nd July 2021, Natural Instinct Limited recalled various Instinct Products having duck due to a salmonella outbreak.

The Natural Instinct Company has taken the preventive step of recalling several frozen raw pet food products produced using duck. Because the Instinct products possess salmonella, these products have been sold online and by independent pet stores.   

Natural Instinct takes its responsibilities concerning pet food safety extremely seriously and has therefore decided with the Food Standards Agency to launch a recall of the following products:

PLEASE NOTE: 

The batch code for the food is printed on the white tub, and the date of production for the treats is printed on the white label.

Product details:

ProductPack SizesBatch Number containingUse by dates
Working Dog Duck1kg and/or
2x500g
231297
231298
231299
234331
234332
239084
239086
08.01.2022
15.01.2022
22.01.2022
13.02.2022
20.02.2022
11.03.2022
18.03.2022
Pure Duck1kg and/or
2 x500g
231297
231298
231299
234331
234332
239084
239086
08.01.2022
15.01.2022
22.01.2022
13.02.2022
20.02.2022
11.03.2022
18.03.2022
Working Dog Puppy1kg and/or
2x500g
231298
231299
234331
234332
239084
15.01.2022
22.01.2022
13.02.2022
20.02.2022
11.03.2022
Production dateUse by date
Duck CarcassPack 208.04.2021
15.04.2021
20.05.2021
08.01.2022
15.01.2022
20.02.2022
Duck NecksPack of 615.04.2021
22.04.2021
15.01.2022
22.01.2022

This problem does not impact any other product manufactured by Natural Instinct.

Salmonella is a bacterium that can render disease in humans and animals. Therefore, the product could carry a possible risk because of the probable existence of salmonella, either via direct handling of the pet food or indirectly, like, from pet feeding bowls, utensils, or contact with the excreta of animals.

In humans, symptoms yielded by salmonella usually include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. Infected animals may not necessarily portray symptoms of illness, but symptoms can include diarrhea.

Please consistently observe the direction on the labeling when handling and serving raw pet food, just the same way as you would if handling raw meat for human consumption. 

It is always recommended to clean utensils and feeding bowls thoroughly after use. Customers should wash their hands thoroughly after handling raw pet food, bowls, utensils, or after contact with the droppings of animals. Natural pet food should be stored individually from any food (particularly ready-to-eat foods). Cautiousness should be taken when defrosting to avoid cross-contamination of foods and surfaces.

Actions to be taken

  • Please do not provide the above-mentioned infected products to your pet.
  • Inspect if you have bought any of the affected batches as per the above list and see if you even have any unused products.
  • If you bought from a stockist, please return the unused product to where you purchased the item. A full refund will be given. 
  • If you purchased the product online, please directly contact the Natural Instinct company. For further details, please get in touch with recall@naturalinstinct.com.

Where to buy Instinct Dog Food | Where can I buy Instinct Dog Food?

You can buy Instinct Dog Food from online retailers like Amazon. If you purchase any product by clicking our website links, we may receive an affiliate fee from online retailers. This support helps us bear the cost and maintenance of our free blog, which we provide to our readers.


Frequently Asked Questions:

Is Instinct Brand good for dogs?

As per our review, Instinct is an outstanding grain-free dry kibble dog food. The Instinct Original dry dog food uses chicken meat as its primary source of animal protein, and thus this product received a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars.

Is Instinct all grain free?

Correctly obtained cage-free chicken is the primary ingredient. Instinct Original dry dog food is a Grain-Free with rich protein dog food prepared along with probiotics to support healthy digestion and omegas fatty acid for developing skin & coat. This product is formulated without grain, potato, corn, wheat, soy, by-product meals, artificial colors, or preservatives.

Is instinct Dog Food complete and balanced?

The raw frozen and freeze-dried recipes of the Instinct product line deliver complete and balanced nutrition for dogs and cats, which satisfies AAFCO guidelines. The company also uses High-Pressure Processing to confirm that its natural products are pathogenic bacteria-free and safe for pets and pet owners.


Final Conclusion on the Instinct Original Dog Food Review

At the beginning of the Instinct Original Dog Food reviews, we wanted to determine whether we could classify the product as excellent. After a detailed Instinct Dog Food review, we don’t rank it as one of the excellent dog foods available in the current market but also would love to give it 4.6 stars out of 5. So, you can consider buying this for your dog and see whether your pet loves the product.


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One Comment
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