Nature's Variety offers many nutritious choices for your dog or cat, including our Raw Frozen Diets, grain-free Instinct kibble and cans, and our wholesome Prairie kibble and cans. Any or all of these nutritious diets may be right for your special pet, but a few initial considerations may be helpful...

Are you trying to avoid certain ingredients?
If your pet has problems with certain ingredients, you may want to consider our Raw Frozen and Instinct Limited Ingredient Diets. These foods have less ingredients, so it is easier to control what your pet eats.

Does your pet enjoy a particular protein?
Nature's Variety offers a wide array of choices for your pet to enjoy, including chicken, lamb, duck, beef, rabbit, salmon, and venison. Variety – also known as rotation – not only helps your pet enjoy their food, but also can help prevent overexposure to ingredients and be helpful in preventing allergies.

Are you looking for a wholesome, well-rounded diet that promotes easy and appetizing variety?
If so, you could consider our Prairie foods. Prairie is rich in meat, poultry and fish with whole grains, fruits, and vegetables – and we offer a complete line of kibble and can formulas for your pet to enjoy.

Whichever Nature's Variety food you choose for your pet, you can feel confident they are getting the best nutrition nature has to offer. We encourage you to work closely with your veterinarian to determine which foods may be right for your special animal companion.

(Once your pet is accustomed to Nature's Variety foods, you can rotate freely between forms and flavors.  All Nature's Variety diets are specially formulated for rotation feeding – learn more about rotating varieties for better health.)

It is important to work closely with your veterinarian to determine if your pet's reaction is food-related or not. If it is food-related, it can be a true allergy (immune response) or simply intolerance. Either case requires careful identification of the irritant and special attention to ingredient quality and pet food labels.

Common food irritants can include chicken, beef, eggs, wheat, and corn. We make foods that do not contain these common ingredients called Limited Ingredient Diets. You can read about them at the Instinct brand website.

Itching, foot biting, nose or eye discharge, and hot spots, are common signs of allergies. However, allergies can be environmental or food related. It is important that you work closely with your veterinarian to determine if your pet's reaction is food-related or not. If it is food-related, it can be a true allergy (immune response) or simply intolerance. Either case requires careful identification of the irritant and special attention to ingredient quality and pet food labels.

Common food irritants can include chicken, beef, eggs, wheat, and corn. We make foods that do not contain these common ingredients called Limited Ingredient Diets. You can read about them at the Instinct brand website.

The term Limited Ingredient Diet (LID) is commonly known as a formula or diet that uses a restricted or limited number of ingredients. For some pets, less is more. Only the most essential, nutrient-rich, easily digestible ingredients are used in a Limited Ingredient Diet. Because some pets thrive on a pure and simple diet, Instinct Limited Ingredient Diets contain only one protein and one starch, with just a few other wholesome ingredients. Each ingredient is carefully chosen for its nutritional value and high digestibility. LID diets make it easy to manage what your pet eats – or doesn’t eat – everyday.

Instinct Limited Ingredient Diets are made with minimal ingredients to provide optimal nutrition. Each formula is made with pure and simple ingredients carefully chosen for their nutritional value and high digestibility. Each diet is grain-free & gluten-free, with one pure animal protein, one simple starch, vitamins and minerals, and just a few other wholesome ingredients. Instinct Limited Ingredient Diets are not only easily digestible, but also contain a variety of omega fatty acids in canola oil and coconut oil that help naturally nourish your pet’s skin and coat.  Now your pets can enjoy pure and simple nutrition that is easy on their digestive system and nourishing to their health.

While Instinct Kibble and Instinct Limited Ingredient Diets (LID) are both grain-free and gluten-free, LID foods are unique because they use a simplified ingredient list.  Each LID formula contains only one animal protein, one starch, and just a handful of other simple ingredients.  Instinct LID formulas are free of commonly used pet food ingredients like chicken, beef, eggs, dairy, grain, and gluten.  Additionally, Instinct LID kibble contains a unique green tea extract coating for a great taste and aroma your pet will enjoy.

Pets are finicky about different things – for some it is the flavor, for others it may be texture or odor. Experimenting with your pet's diet may help to identify their likes and dislikes. Try to find an animal protein your dog or cat enjoys. We often hear from our customers that our Instinct Rabbit and Duck canned formulas are particularly palatable, as is our Prairie Chicken kibble and chicken raw diets.

We understand that pets have likes and dislikes when it comes to what they eat every day – we offer free kibble samples at your local retailer as well as A Taste of Raw, a small portion of our raw diets nicely priced at $4.99. Our foods always come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, so you can feel confident trying our foods for your special dog or cat. Remember to always transition slowly when changing your pet's diet.

If your pet's stomach upset is caused by certain ingredients, our Limited Ingredient Diets are made with only pure, simple, essential ingredients that have been carefully chosen for their nutritional value and high digestibility. Each diet provides grain-free, gluten-free nutrition with one protein and one simple starch, combined with just a few other wholesome, natural ingredients.

Nature's Variety Raw Frozen Diets and our Instinct kibble and canned formulas provide superior nutrition without grains rich in animal protein and essential fatty acids to keep your pet's skin and coat healthy.

Many pet owners have found that a highly digestible, grain-free diet reduces stool volume for their dogs and cats. Nature's Variety Raw Frozen Diets and our Instinct kibble and canned formulas provide superior nutrition without fillers and may decrease backyard and litter box cleanup.

Every day we hear amazing stories from our customers about the results their pets have enjoyed on our natural and nourishing diets. You may find pets with similar situations in our Family Scrapbook – we encourage you to see what worked for them.

Every Nature's Variety diet is complete and balanced for all life stages, from energetic puppies and kittens to adult and senior dogs and cats. Our nutritious foods are rich in meat, poultry, and fish; and beneficial fruits and vegetables are included to provide important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Our wholesome and natural foods will properly nourish your pets no matter what their life stage because they are formulated as nature intended.

That said, we also understand that many pet parents are looking for the extra reassurance of a product that is designed especially for puppies.  Therefore, we do offer a Prairie Puppy Formula and a Prairie Large Breed Puppy Formula.  These Puppy Foods are very similar to the regular Prairie Kibble Foods, but they feature some additional benefits: they contain natural sources of DHA to nourish the brain, they provide ideal levels of Calcium to Phosphorus for growing/developing bones and teeth, and the Large Breed Puppy Formula contains Glucosamine & Chondroitin for joint health.

Puppies and kittens are very active and spend a lot of energy playing, exploring, and growing - and they need to be fed appropriately. Each of our wholesome diets has feeding guidelines for puppies and kittens; you may also visit our Feeding Guide for more information. Each puppy and kitten is different, so it is important to work with your veterinarian to insure your new little family member gets just the right nutrition.

The needs of a large breed puppy are no different from a small breed puppy. All puppies need high quality protein, low carbohydrate, balanced calcium to phosphorus (CA:P), bioavailable vitamins and minerals, and beneficial omega fatty acids like DHA (found in fish and fish oil). What does vary with large breeds is the growth rate and how the growth is managed through diet and lifestyle. We recommend working closely with your veterinarian to develop a healthy plan for your large breed puppy's feeding and exercise regimen. We also recommend varying the flavor and format of food fed to puppies – it will help to prevent boredom and possibly prevent food intolerances from developing.

When dogs and cats are pregnant they need to consume much more food than they traditionally would eat. Each dog and cat is different, so it is important to work with your veterinarian to insure your pet does not become too heavy or too thin. As a general rule, pregnant dogs and cats eat approximately 50% more food than when not pregnant. Please work with your veterinarian to develop the proper feeding regimen for your pregnant/lactating pet. Also, visit the Feeding Guide for helpful feeding information.

Every Nature's Variety diet is complete and balanced for all life stages, from energetic puppies and kittens to adult and senior dogs and cats. Our nutritious foods are rich in meat, poultry, and fish to nourish muscles and build strong bones. Beneficial fruits and vegetables are included to provide important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Our wholesome foods will properly nourish your dog no matter what his age, so there's no need for a life stage – or senior – diet.

The cost to feed raw depends upon the needs of your special dog or cat. Each pet is different, and their nutritional requirements will vary depending upon their age, size, and activity level. For estimating purposes only, a 25 lb dog with moderate activity will eat approximately $4.75 a day if fed 100% raw (assuming they eat patties, Chicken Formula, at average retail cost). We recommend rotating among Nature's Variety foods, feeding dogs and cats different formats (kibble, can, raw) and different varieties (venison, chicken, lamb, salmon). Your pet will enjoy and benefit from the variety, and you can choose the nutritious foods that best fit your budget and lifestyle.