California Natural is a limited ingredient, organic pet food that is produced according to the company motto, “pure and simple.” Because of the low ingredient diet, this food is a great choice for animals with certain sensitivities, but the company promises that this is not their only target market, and dogs of all sorts can benefit from their tested and proven formulas.
About California Natural
California Natural has been on the market for several years and began life under the Natura label. After initial commercial success, the company caught the eye of international conglomerate Procter and Gamble, who was looking for a high-quality product to let them enter into the natural dog food space.
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In 2013, Procter and Gamble finalized its move to purchase California Natural, which angered several investors and customers who feared the mega-corporation might reduce the quality of the food in order to cut costs, at the expense of dogs and their owners. Despite the panic, however, there has been little evidence that Procter and Gamble tampered with the original recipes, and today the food is still considered to be an above-average product by most of the top reviewers.
Quality of Ingredients
California Natural prides itself on using only 3-6 key ingredients in all of their foods and ensures that all of these ingredients are of top quality. As with most of the other high-end dog foods, protein is always the #1 ingredient, but what is really cool about this company is that their website allows you to see where exactly all of their ingredients come from. Under a tab labeled “Our Ingredient Sourcing,” inquisitive customers can click on the bag of food that they are interested in, and then click on the various ingredients to see where on a map that particular ingredient comes from.
Based on this, we can see that all of the ingredients are American or Australian sourced, and the manufacturing process takes place here in the USA. This helps to ensure the quality of the foods used in each bag and avoids any of the potentially harmful additives that foods grown elsewhere might have in them.
Dry Dog Food Product Line
California Natural has a wide selection of flavors under its name, but it really only divides these into two different lines, Original and Grain Free. All of these, however, are limited ingredients, and the company only focuses on dry foods. This means no canned foods or treats, but the number of flavors is usually enough to ensure variety for even the pickiest of eaters.
Original
The Original California Natural line has a few different flavors, and all of them are limited ingredient. They are typically chicken or lamb based, but there is a herring variety as well, and each of them also come in a formula specifically designed for the needs of different dogs. For example, there is a weight management version for heavier pups, small bites for the little guys, and a couple of puppy formulas that provide the extra fats, proteins, and other nutrients that puppies need to help them grow. Some of these foods have as few as 3 main ingredients, and none have more than 6, plus several vitamins and minerals.
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Grain Free
The Grain-Free variety, as the name suggests, are all made without any grains and really focus on the proteins that go into each bag. These ones also make use of some rather unusual sources of protein, like kangaroo and venison, to help dogs who might have sensitivities to poultry. There is also a salmon blend, made for dogs who might do better on a fish-based diet. These foods also try to avoid any dairy or eggs, as well as white potatoes, and usually only have 4 or 5 main ingredients, as well as several added vitamins and minerals to help fortify the food and provide a balanced, well-rounded diet for your pet.
Where to Buy
Thanks to being a part of the much larger Procter and Gamble corporation, California Natural has a tremendous distribution network and is available at both smaller specialty shops as well as many of the big-name retailers like Petco and PetSmart. The food is also readily available online from sites like Chewy or Amazon, or it can be purchased directly from the company website. The website also provides customers with a “Where to Buy” store locator, which shows all of the stores in your area that carry California Natural after entering in your zip code. It does note there, however, that not all flavors are available in all locations, and the kangaroo and lentil grain-free blend cannot be shipped to California. Sorry Californians!
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