Below you'll find answers to our most commonly received questions. You may also Contact Us directly and we will be happy to assist.
Read the label! High quality ingredients are essential for a healthy food. The first ingredient should always be a meat or fish protein. Whole meats, whole grains, and natural preservatives are key components of the healthiest pet food. Pay attention to the protein ratio. A pet food with 20-30% protein is ideal. The bag should also be dated for freshness. Every bag of Nature's Select pet food has a "best buy" date stamped onto the back of the bag. It is recommended that the bag is used before that date; however, the food is perfectly safe to feed to your pets after that date, it just loses some potency after that date. It's important to remember that a "best buy" date is not the same as an "expiration date".
All Nature's Select formulas are free from corn, wheat, soy, gluten, and any other processed grain by-products. We have NEVER been challenged on nutrition! At Nature's Select, we have kept our formulas current with the latest nutritional advancements to maintain a high level of nutrition. All Nature's Select formulas are formulated to meet or exceed the nutritional levels established by AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.
READ the label. Avoid inexpensive, less nutritional ingredients and fillers. Corn, wheat, soy, and animal by-products are fillers that lack the nutrition your pets need.
Meat by-products consist of organs and parts not desired for consumption. They can include bones, blood, intestines, lungs, heads, feet, and feathers. We think it’s important to use specific ingredients such as chicken meal or brown rice. That way, you always know exactly what you are getting. When brands use ingredients such as poultry by-products, the ingredients can change from bag to bag. You may get chicken in one bag and turkey in the next.
Changing ingredients suddenly can cause digestive upset. Most fillers can be linked to excessive waste, poor nutritional absorption, and skin problems like excessive scratching and hair loss.
Also make sure there are no chemical preservatives such as BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), or ethoxyquin. These preservatives are potentially cancer-causing agents. The long-term buildups of these chemicals in your pet’s body have not been thoroughly studied and may ultimately be harmful.
Let's find you a Nature’s Select Distributor closest to your area. Visit our Locations Page to find your nearest supplier OR Simply click the link below to get started.
Find Your StoreWe are proud to produce all of our Nature’s Select dry kibble foods in our Texas-based manufacturing facility. All Nature’s Select products are MADE IN THE USA and have USA sourced ingredients with the exception of our lamb and green mussels which are sourced from New Zealand. All of our formulas exceed AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) standards.
"USA Made" refers to our product being made here in the United States. "USA Safe" refers to the USA approval of processing for our New Zealand Lamb recipe which has lamb that is sourced from New Zealand. All Nature's Select Recipes are made in the great state of Texas!
You can find our feeding instructions in two places. Our feeding instructions are located on the back of every bag of kibble as well as on our website where feeding guidelines for each of our formulas are listed.
A feeding guideline is found on the back of our dog food bags. Here is what it looks like:
Dog Weight & Active Dog Recommended Serving:
10lbs+ = 1/2 - 1 1/2 CupsLet's keep in mind this is the suggested feeding amount for an active adult dog. The serving size may increase or decrease a bit depending on your dog's physical activity and age. If you are looking to promote weight loss, go with the lesser recommended amount according to weight. If you are looking to increase weight, go with the greater recommended amount.
Although it is a quality ingredient, chicken is about 80% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost, reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight. Ingredients on a pet food label are listed in descending order by weight. When you see chicken as the first ingredient in pet food, this is before it’s cooked. Once cooked, the percentage of chicken in the formula is much lower due to the loss of moisture. Chicken meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken. Chicken meal does not contain by-products such as beaks, feathers, or feet.
Our meals are considered a meat concentrate that contain nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken, lamb, beef, or salmon. They do NOT include bone or internal organs. To learn more about our take on meat meal, Click Here
Effective Spring 2019, all of our dog food products were updated to comply with the latest Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) labeling requirements for “All Life Stage” products. To be labeled “All Life Stage including growth of large size dogs (70 lb. or more as an adult),” a food must contain less than 1.8% calcium. The previous calcium threshold was 2.5%. In compliance with AAFCO requirements where necessary, we reduced the amount of calcium in our formulas and made other slight enhancements to the ingredient profile depending on the product, including the addition of some new ingredients or the order of ingredients listed on the packaging.
These ingredient enhancements are based on the latest industry data and recent research on nutrition for dogs. We have validated through third-party testing that the updated formulas have comparable nutrient profiles to our previous formulas. As always, Nature’s Select continues to provide the unique core ingredients - four essential ingredients including Selenium Yeast, superior Mineral Complexes, Prebiotics, and Probiotics - that provide pets with superior nutrition.
We are GMO-free except in the formulas that contain rice. The following products are GMO-free: Select Multi Protein Recipe (Beef, Chicken, Pork), Select Cold Water Recipe (Menhaden Fish), and our Grain Free Products (Farm Fresh Recipe, Coastline Catch Recipe, Range Hearty Recipe); all other Nature's Select Products are not GMO-free. However, we do have a complex diversity of ingredients in our products and in such ratios, that the GMO aspect is really very small. As for Nature's Select, we have been and will be prudent in using the finest and safest ingredients from the best sources we have available.
All our formulas are either grain free or made from gluten free grains.
Since our product is made fresh bi-monthly, we ensure a fresh bag upon every delivery. Our pet food has a shelf life of up to 1 year when kept in an air tight container or bag not exposed to direct moisture or heat.
Our food never sits on our shelves for long. We get our shipments in every two weeks. We use only natural preservatives which is why our shelf life is about 11-12 months based on delivery. Store bought food usually lasts up to 2 years because it contains chemical preservatives. We do not have any chemical preservatives in our Nature's Select Pet Food.
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Find Your Store"To be honest I really thought we'd only use this pet food the first 6 months to make the breeder happy...but what a pleasant surprise Nature's Select is. When you compare the cost of feeding raw pet food & the amount of prep time that goes into a homemade dog food, there is no comparison! My dogs are happy and so am I."
"My vet recommended switching my lab over to this due to constant ear infections. Not only has she not had any more infections but her coat has never looked better!"
"Saddie turns 15 this December and is still the love of our family after all of these years! Thanks for the healthy great food! ~Jackie W. "