Natural Balance Original Ultra

Reviews say that Natural Balance Original Ultra dog food represents a good compromise between premium dog foods such as Orijen Adult Formula (*Est. $40 per 15.4 lb. bag) and supermarket brands such as Purina Dog Chow Complete and Balanced (*Est. $18 per 20 lb. bag), which includes lots of less-desirable ingredients such as corn and meat and bone meal. Instead, Natural Balance uses named meats and meat meals, including chicken, lamb meal and duck meal. Grains are used as carbohydrate sources, but those are higher-quality grains such as brown rice, oatmeal and barley.

The food contains no byproducts or artificial preservatives, and its fish meals are preserved using Naturox rather than the more controversial ethoxyquin. A dog-food testing program that makes its results available for all to see is well received. Natural Balance has had some issues with recalls, and some varieties of its dog food -- but not Natural Balance Original Ultra -- were recalled in the spring of 2012 over possible salmonella contamination (though none of Natural Balance's products had actually tested positive for that). On the whole, the company is generally considered to be responsive and responsible.

Because it uses some grains, Natural Balance Original Ultra doesn't always earn the highest grades at sites that evaluate dog foods based on their ingredients, yet it still does well enough to earn recommendations. Reports can be read at DogFoodAdvisor.com, PetFoodRatings.net, DogAware.com and DogFoodScoop.com. Petco.com is a place to go to read reports from pet owners who use Natural Balance Original Ultra.