American Natural Premium Dog Food Review

American Natural Premium, or ANP, manufactures all of their products to meet three specific criteria: quality, taste, and price. Unlike many of the other natural pet foods out there, the people behind ANP go to great lengths to ensure that they are not beating their customers over the head with an exorbitantly high price, but also make sure that they do not sacrifice any quality to put out a less expensive product. To this end, ANP is one of the most well-balanced options on the market today.

ANP manufactures a wide range of formulas to fit a variety of life stages and even budgets. For this review, we’re analyzing their higher end Endurance Plus formula.

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Quality of Ingredients

ANP prides itself on the high quality of its ingredients, promising that all of its foods are manufactured at a USDA-inspected plant and are all quality checked by experts before they go into the ovens. Furthermore, the company says that all of the packages sold are made with care in small batches to ensure maximum taste, nutritional-density, and digestibility.

None of the foods manufactured by ANP have any corn, wheat, or soy in them, and the company promises that none of the ingredients used in their food comes from China, which has a notoriously shoddy record of providing extremely subpar and even dangerous ingredients. They also add healthy probiotics and vitamins to many of their foods, making them even more beneficial for your pup’s health.

Having more probiotic bacteria will speed along digestion and reduce congestion, flatulence, and bloating. If not on the ingredient list, probiotics can be added to dogs’ food, so if you ever wondered can dogs have sauerkraut, they can. But, we recommend doing some research before you put it into your pup’s bowl.

Full Ingredients and Analysis

Analyzing the first 10 ingredients in a dog food is a great way to understand the overall nutrient content of the dog food because AAFCO requires all dog food ingredients to be listed in order of predominance by their weight. Here’s a closer look at what’s inside American Natural Premium Endurance Plus Dry Dog Food.

This dog food was found to have a healthy nutrient breakdown.

Ingredients You May Wonder About:

• Mixed tocopherols: Tocopherol may sound like a nasty chemical, but it’s actually a naturally occuring organic chemical compound and a type of Vitamin E. Tocopherol can be derived from various nuts and vegetable oils. These serve as a natural preservative for dog foods.
• Flax: Flaxseed or flaxseed oil is a great source of healthy fats for your dog. It has a variety of health benefits including anti-inflammatory properties and helps maintain a healthy coat and skin. ^Reference
• Fish meal: Fish meal is typically made from caught fish not used for human consumption. ^Reference
• Niacin: Also known as Vitamin B3.
• Calcium pantothenate: This is another B Vitamin that’s healthy for your dog and considered a requirement for a complete diet by the AAFCO. ^Reference
• L-ascorbyl: A source of Vitamin C.
• Thiamine mononitrate: This is a scientific name for Vitamin B1. Too little Vitamin B1 can cause a variety of health issues and any excess is easily flushed from the body. Most manufacturers add this dog food to stay in line with AAFCO guidelines. ^Reference
• Pyridoxine: Also known as Vitamin B6, a healthy part of your dog’s diet. ^Reference
• Copper: Copper is found in nearly all living things and is required in the diet to keep a dog healthy. As a result, nearly all dog foods add small levels of copper in accordance to AAFCO guidelines.
• Copper: Copper is found in nearly all living things and is required in the diet to keep a dog healthy. As a result, nearly all dog foods add small levels of copper in accordance to AAFCO guidelines.
• Lactobacillus acidophilus: Lactobacillus Acidophilus is a probiotic added to help promote a healthy stomach and digestion in your dog.

Dry Dog Food Product Line

ANP makes a wide variety of dog food products, as well as treats, for your pet to enjoy. For the sake of being convenient, however, we will look at their most stand-out lines, rather than examine each of their more than a dozen different formulas individually.

Original

The original recipe is probably the company’s best seller, and has protein sourced from chicken meal, pork meal, fish meal and whole eggs, as well as carbohydrates from brown rice, barley and oat flour to keep your dog running at peak efficiency all day. Additional probiotics are also added into the mix, to help ensure a healthy digestive tract and to decrease stool odor, and the formula is advertised as being good for all life stages, from pup to senior.

Endurance

Designed for active and working dogs, this high protein, high fat blend provides what on-the-go animals need most in their diet. Created from a mix of protein from chicken meal, pork meal, fish meal, whole eggs and chicken liver, as well as natural and proteinated minerals and vitamins, this really packs a punch in the energy department. The company also advises that this food is an excellent choice for both puppies and nursing mothers, both of whom need the extra nutrition during those periods to keep them running and growing in the healthiest ways possible.

Exhibitors Choice

Made with the needs of show dogs in mind, Exhibitor’s Choice is packed full of Omega-3-rich salmon oil, as well protein from chicken meal, salmon oil and whole egg to help increase the shine, thickness and color of your pet’s coat. Add this to a blend of antioxidant-rich vegetables such as carrots, lettuce and celery that support immunity and fight free radicals, and you’ve got a perfectly balanced formula that will help your dog perform to the best of their abilities whether at a show or around the house.

Basic

Basic is a weight loss formula which draw much of its nutrition from chicken meal and pork meal, as well as healthy grains and a number of vitamins and minerals that have been added in to the mix. This food has lower fat and protein levels in comparison to the other formulas to help dogs maintain a healthy weight, and is made specifically without peas or potatoes for any animals that might have an allergy to those foods.

Sensitive Care

Crafted for dogs with sensitive skin or stomach issues, Sensitive Care is made with highly-digestible ingredients such as chicken meal, oatmeal, oat flour, potato, brown rice, whole egg and flaxseed. It also has tomato pomace added in to aid digestion, as well as prebiotic like chicory root to not only support the stomach but also boost the immune system. Sensitive Care also has a lower fat and protein level than most of the other formulas, making this a good choice for older or overweight animals.

Grain Free

As the name suggests, this is the companies grain free line and comes in three different flavors for dogs: Ocean fish & potato, duck & pork, and pork. These are great not only for owners who want to avoid grains, but are also good for dogs with chicken allergies, as the company promises no chicken protein, fat, or cartilage in any of these formulas. The pork one, however, does have egg, so if this is an issue make sure to keep that in mind.

About American Natural Premium

American Natural Premium was founded in 1998 by Gene Large and Jennifer Burlo, who owned the Riverview Kennel in rural Wisconsin. Gene and Jennifer, according to company legend, were looking for a way to provide a high-quality pet food to their customers at an affordable price, and thus American Natural Premium was born.

From their manufacturing facility in the Midwest, the company has steadily grown over the last couple decades, building a bigger spot in the natural pet food world for itself year after year and now establishing themselves in a number of retail shops nationwide.

Where to Buy

American Natural Premium products are primarily sold in the Midwest, although a select number of retailers outside of their home region have started to carry the brand in recent years. The best place for those outside the Midwest to get their hands on a bag of ANP, however, is definitely to order it online, and the product is readily available through the company website, as well as on most other sites where pet foods are sold.