Here's a pretty evenhanded review of that food. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/natural-balance-limited-ingredient-diets-dry/ You want to read all the way down; their ratings comments near the end are usually important.

You are right; it DOES contain fish oil. I would want to know how much (or how much of each EPA and DHA is even better), and then (if you keep using the food), add more if needed.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

.... I don't think I know a commercial food with therapeutic amounts of fish oil added. ( might be concerned if I did, because fish oil is extremely volatile; it should not be subjected to heat, or even light.) I'd also want to know about the handling of it, purity of it, etc. ....

D and dl-alpha are about the Vitamin E, not the fish oil. The E is loosely based on weight. Do we know her weight?

Was the Norwegian fish oil you were using Carlson?

I plan to keep her on the NB-she does well on it. Do you mean the peoples comments? Personally I don't put alot of weight into those kind of comments, they're all anecdotal with no support. Sure someone can be convinced "my dog ate that and died 12 hours later" but without empirical evidence anyone can say anything.

She's put on some weight (yay), and apparently had a 2 year old growth spurt so she's around 60lbs right now.

The Norwegian Salmon Oil was made by Nature Made.

 Quote: Jodi Moen

Do you mean the peoples comments?

No, of course not.

I mean at the bottom of each review, you want to read to the end, to the part headed:

The Bottom Line

This is where they explain the rating and make valuable comments, like why it has the number of stars they gave.

For one thing, depending on the reader's goals and preferences, the reasons may be less or more important than they are to the rating editors. (For example, their reason for three stars, which is mainly around the plant-based, lower-meat nature of this food, may not matter at all to someone who is going by results and also sees that even with a modest amount of meat, this food is recommended.)

For me, a 60-pound dog with dry skin would be gradually worked up to a teaspoon or so of fish oil a day plus about 400 IU of natural (d-alpha, preferably plus mixed tocopherols) Vitamin E.

JMO. I would want to factor in the exact amount of fish oil in the food.

Sorry about that, I gave myself a concussion last week and thinking was a tad off more than normal

Yes, I did read that part, my take on it was they felt it was more plant protein than meat protein which gave it the lower rating. I do give Ambi canned food, in addition to the dry food so I think she is covered there. Although I think I heard that most of the "meat" in canned food is really tofu... So I wonder if I should toss in some real meat along with her kibble.

I will start her on both of those, Do you know how to figure out how much fish oil is in the bag. The one complaint I have with NB is that the "ingrediants" list isn't broken down as in other foods. So hard to tell how much of what is in a cup or how many calories.

By contents I mean for example, Glucosamine 600mgs/per cup, etc.
I also just started her on a joint supp that has MSM, Glucosamine, DHA, etc. She was getting Synovi GL but its a little harder to get around here.

Just my 2 cents FWIW, I wouldn't even consider the salmon oil in kibble, as all kibble is baked at fairly high temps, and would basically destroys most of what is good about it.
Just supplement a liquid daily, along with your Vit. E.

Is there a reason you want to put a 2 year old on a glucosamine supplement?

Also, you commented that canned foods contain mostly tofu? Where did you get this info?
I have never heard this, and think its not true. JMO.

As for the calories and content in Natural Balance, it's all on the label on the back of the bag of food Jodi.
Or you can go to NB website, it's all on there.

 Quote: Jodi Moen

Although I think I heard that most of the "meat" in canned food is really tofu... So I wonder if I should toss in some real meat along with her kibble.

The ingredient list on the can is where you find out what's in it.

Only the lowest grade canned foods (and some "vegetarian" dog foods) substitute soy for meat.

Canned foods can be much better than kibbles can be because they don't require the starchy ingredients that kibbles do for extrusion.

The best canned foods are far better than the best kibbles, because canning means that the food can contain lots of meat and as little starchy carb as desired. Kibble cannot.


This puts it far more mildly than I would:
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/canned-or-dry-dog-food/
QUOTE: They typically contain more meat protein than their dry counterparts.
And they’re made with fewer carbohydrates.... END QUOTE

Also http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/dog-food-ten-scary-truths/
QUOTE: Kibble is not better than canned. ... Whereas canned food is preserved by the process of canning, most kibble is preserved artificially. (Ever contemplate how much preservative must be required to retard spoilage of food left out all day?) Kibble begins as a dry cooked meal whereas canned food is canned fresh. Kibble is exposed to more heat than canned (destroying nutrients). Worse yet, kibble is linked to kidney and bladder problems in cats, and to bloat, a deadly problem especially for large, broad-chested dogs. It’s also dehydrating. Of course, canned isn’t perfect either. Fresh is best, raw or cooked. Next best is frozen prepared food and then dehydrated and freeze dried foods, all available at better pet stores. END QUOTE

Also, http://dogaware.com/diet/cannedfood.html#canned (Mary Strauss's site)
QUOTE: There are several reasons why canned food may be a better choice than kibble if you are feeding your dog a commercial food. First, canned foods contain far fewer chemical additives than dry foods. Artificial colors and flavors are much less common, and preservatives are unnecessary due to the canning process itself (however, this also means that canned food will quickly spoil if left out at room temperature). Second, canned foods generally have much less grain than dry foods. Kibble must be at least 50% carbohydrates in order to be extruded without gumming up the machinery; canned foods have no such requirement. Fewer carbs also means more protein and fat, both of which are good for most dogs. And third, canned food has more moisture and is better for the kidneys, which makes it easier to digest -- you can achieve the same result with kibble by soaking it first, but remember that soaked kibble will also spoil quickly if left out at room temperature. END QUOTE

IMO, after a couple of decades of reading ingredients lists and guaranteed analyses, there are definite tiers of quality among the kinds of dog foods. Of course, the bottom level of one type is going go lower than the top level of the next type, so this is strictly as a whole, and in general:

Among commercial foods, after frozen commercial raw, the best are going to fall into the dehydrated-at-low-temps category of foods like THK. Next are canned. (Yes, there are some low-level crap canned foods, but the next-best foods after dehydrated foods are going to fall into the canned group.)

 Quote: Joyce Salazar

Just my 2 cents FWIW, I wouldn't even consider the salmon oil in kibble, as all kibble is baked at fairly high temps, and would basically destroys most of what is good about it.
Just supplement a liquid daily, along with your Vit. E.

Is there a reason you want to put a 2 year old on a glucosamine supplement?

Yes, I agree about the fish oil exposed to kibble temps.

Also curious about glucosamine for a young dog. Does the dog have OA?

BTW, how is your head? How did you get a concussion?