Most natural dry dog food: how to actually judge it
Natural is a word with no fixed legal meaning on a dog food label, unlike a term such as complete or complementary, which are defined. That does not make it meaningless, but it does mean the word on the front of the bag tells you far less than the ingredient list on the back. The honest way to judge how natural a dry dog food actually is comes down to reading what is in it, in what order, and how much of it is genuinely recognisable.
What natural is meant to signal
In practice, natural is generally used to mean a recipe built around recognisable whole-food ingredients, with minimal use of artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, and often a shorter overall ingredient list than a heavily processed budget food. It is a marketing term describing an approach rather than a certified standard with an independent body checking it.
That means two foods can both be labelled natural and differ quite a lot in actual quality, so the label alone should be treated as a starting point for reading further rather than the final word on whether a food suits your dog.
Reading the ingredient list properly
Ingredients are listed by weight, so a named meat or fish appearing first, ahead of cereals or generic meat derivatives, is a more useful signal than the word natural anywhere on the pack. A shorter list with recognisable ingredients, rather than a long string of chemical-sounding additives, tends to align with what most people mean by natural, whether or not the word is actually printed.
Protein and fat percentages are worth checking too, but they measure nutritional content rather than how natural the ingredients are, so a high-protein food is not automatically a more natural one, and a lower-protein food is not automatically less so. Watching for vague terms like meat derivatives or animal fat, without any named source, is a more useful habit than scanning for the word natural itself.
What natural does not guarantee
A natural food is not automatically the healthiest choice for every dog, and it is not a claim that the food treats or prevents any health condition. Some dogs do better on a food with specific added nutrients or a particular formulation that would not necessarily be marketed as natural at all.
If your dog has a diagnosed condition or a known sensitivity, following your vet's specific dietary guidance matters more than choosing a food on the strength of the word natural on the front of the bag.
Our picks, and why
Everything below is in stock with us, priced with delivery worked out, and packed and posted by hand in the UK.
Forthglade Cold Pressed Natural Turkey
Cold-pressed turkey kibble for dogs from 2 months, soft enough to mix with water for young pups
£45.99
Forthglade Cold Pressed Grain Free Salmon
Cold-pressed grain-free dry food for dogs, built on fresh and dried salmon
From£16.99
Forthglade Cold Pressed Grain Free Duck
Cold-pressed grain-free duck food with fruit and botanicals, in two bag sizes
From£16.99
Forthglade Cold Pressed Grain Free Chicken
Cold-pressed grain-free chicken food with fruit and botanicals, in three bag sizes
From£16.99
Forthglade Complete Meal Lightly Baked Turkey
A lightly baked complete dry food, 50% turkey, for adult dogs of any breed
From£12.49
Forthglade Complete Meal Lightly Baked Chicken
A grain-free complete dry food for adult dogs, lightly baked and built on 50% chicken
From£12.49
Forthglade Cold Pressed Small Dog Turkey
Cold-pressed grain-free dry food for small dogs and puppies, built on turkey
£16.99
Forthglade Complete Meal Lightly Baked Lamb
A lightly baked complete dry food, 50% lamb, for adult dogs of any breed
From£12.49
Forthglade Cold Pressed Grain Free Turkey
Grain-free cold-pressed turkey kibble for dogs, gentle on sensitive stomachs
£69.69
Harringtons Puppy Turkey & Rice
Complete turkey puppy food with 30% protein and feeding bands by adult weight
£6.49
Harringtons Adult Dog Turkey Veg
Complete dry food for adult dogs with turkey, chicken and salmon oil, 21% protein
From£3.39
Harringtons Adult Dog Salmon & Potato
Complete salmon and potato dry dog food with 21% protein in a 1.7KG bag
£6.25
Common questions
- Is natural dog food better than regular dog food?
- Not automatically. Natural describes an approach to ingredients rather than a guarantee of quality or suitability, and a well-formulated food without the word natural on the label can suit a dog just as well as one that carries it.
- Does natural mean grain-free?
- No, the two are unrelated. A natural food can contain grains, and a grain-free food is not automatically more natural. Always check the actual ingredient list rather than assuming one label term implies another.
- What should I look for instead of the word natural?
- A named meat or fish as the first ingredient, a reasonably short overall ingredient list, and minimal use of artificial colours, flavours or preservatives are more useful signals than the word natural printed anywhere on the pack.
- Can a natural dog food still contain preservatives?
- Yes, most dry foods need some form of preservation to stay safe over the shelf life of the bag. Naturally derived preservatives such as vitamin E, sometimes listed as mixed tocopherols, are common even in foods marketed as natural.
Related
Written by Matt Garnett, who runs Giddy Pets and is a lifelong pet owner — not a vet. This is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your animal. How we write these guides.