Is natural balance grain free dog food good? Discover the key benefits for your pet.
Alright, let me tell you about this Natural Balance Grain Free stuff. It all started 'cause my dog, Buster – bless his heart – was just scratching himself ragged. Non-stop. Plus, his digestion seemed kinda funky, you know? Just wasn't right. We'd been on the same food forever, some standard stuff the vet originally recommended ages ago.
So, I got thinking, maybe it’s the food. Heard a lot about grain-free diets being better for some dogs, especially ones with itchy skin or sensitive stomachs. Did a bit of poking around online, asked a neighbor whose dog used to have similar problems. She mentioned trying a grain-free diet and pointed me towards a couple of brands. Natural Balance was one she brought up, said her finicky little terrier actually ate it without a fuss.
Finding and Trying It
Went down to that big pet supply store over on Maple Street – you know the one. Took me a while wandering the aisles, so many options, it's kind of overwhelming. Found the Natural Balance section. Grabbed a bag of their Grain Free formula, I think it was the sweet potato and fish one first? Sounded decent, figured fish might be good for his coat too.
Got home, opened the bag. Didn't smell too bad, which is always a plus. Now, the tricky part – switching him over. Didn't want to upset his stomach more, so I did it real slow. Started mixing just a tiny bit, like maybe a quarter cup, into his old food. Did that for a few days.
- Day 1-3: Mostly old food, just a sprinkle of the new stuff.
- Day 4-6: Maybe half and half. Kept a close eye on him, you know, checking his uh... output.
- Day 7-10: Mostly the Natural Balance, just a bit of the old kibble left.
He actually ate it, no problem. Buster can be picky, sometimes he just sniffs food and walks away, real diva. But he munched this down okay. That was the first hurdle passed.
What Happened Next
Here's the thing: after maybe two or three weeks of him being fully on the Natural Balance Grain Free, I genuinely started noticing less scratching. It wasn't like magic, boom, cured overnight. But it was definitely better. He wasn't waking us up in the middle of the night digging at his ears constantly. That was a huge relief for everyone.
His energy seemed pretty good too. Coat maybe looked a bit shinier? Hard to say for sure if it was just the food, but it didn't look worse, that's for sure. And the tummy issues? Seemed to settle down quite a bit. Things just seemed more... regular. Which, as any dog owner knows, is a good sign.
We stuck with that Natural Balance Grain Free for a good long while after that. Tried a couple of their different flavors eventually, just for variety. It seemed to agree with him, and honestly, finding something that works and your dog actually eats without a fight? That's a win. It just simplified things, took one worry off the table. So yeah, that was my whole process with it. Just wanted to share how it went for us.
