Nutrience SubZero dog food review
Nutrience SubZero is a Canadian brand comparable to Orijen and Acana which are both highly rated and highly respected, but this brand has a twist!
In our Nutrience SubZero dog food review we’ll find out how good the ingredients are, whether this is good for your dog, and we’ll discuss what they mean by SubZero.
Nutrience SubZero dog food review review
What the marketing says
Nutrience SubZero dog food is marketed as “a canine ancestral diet which combines the convenience of kibble with the nutritional benefits of raw”. There are two parts to this food – a “high protein grain free kibble” plus a “nutriboost” (a trademarked term).
Nutrience source their meat ingredients locally in Canada, using fresh meats rather than frozen.
There are four strands of formula in the range, Fraser Valley based on white-meats, Prairie Red based on red meats, Canadian Pacific based on fish (targeted at skin and coat health), and Northern Lakes which is a combo of duck, lamb, and fish.
All formulas contain an element of fish and whole eggs which is great to see.
They have a “No Bad Anything” promise, which means no fillers like corn, wheat, soy, by-products, or artificial additives like colors, flavors, or preservatives.
To top it off, Nutrience SubZero pet food is made in a certified SQF level 3 facility (which to you and me means a high grade production facility).
Enough about the marketing (there’s a video down below which covers this in more detail), let’s take a look at the ingredients and find our what this dog food is really all about.
What the label really says
Firstly, the ingredients list is huge! It boggles the eyes just looking at it.
Thankfully, from picking through the list there are absolutely no bad ingredients. They’re all very well chosen with a wide range of nutritional benefit for your dog. Nutrience SubZero dog food is definitely up there with the best – perhaps even better.
The composition of 38% minimum protein and 18% minimum fat is excellent (almost double the protein and fat of an average supermarket brand). This means carbohydrates are kept to a bare minimum, with the only carbohydrates being beneficial rather than an unnecessary excess.
What I love most about this dog food is the huge range of meat, fish, and organs. It’s very species-appropriate, and literally all the main ingredients are from prey animals.
This is exactly what a dog food should be made out of.
Let’s summarise – chicken, turkey, more chicken, more turkey, salmon, chicken liver, chicken heart, turkey liver, turkey heart, herring, cod, cod liver.
Simply fantastic.
We find a select number of non-meat ingredients which have been added for nutritional merit rather than bulking up the food to keep costs down. These are peas and red lentils, and in a smaller portion sweet potato and chickpeas. Given the huge range of meat and fish in the food we can be assured these ingredients are in a beneficial moderation.
The minor ingredients are staggering. We find whole eggs as a complete amino-acid ingredient (which means it contains all required proteins), a long list of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Of specific mention turmeric as a wonderful ingredient for health and warding off cancer.
We find not just one oil included, but three! They’re not substandard oils either, they’re high quality inclusions – salmon oil, herring oil, and coconut oil.
I’m astounded. They’ve really gone all out with Nutrience SubZero dog food!
Hold on, what about the SubZero part?
It’s amazing writing a dog food review as glowing as the above, and we haven’t even got to the good part yet.
The Nutrience SubZero dog food range has a wonderful twist which we don’t find in other premium brands, and that’s the free-dried “nutriboost” part.
Freeze-drying is a process which dates back to WW2, and something we’re finding more common in modern pet foods as an excellent way to extend shelf life while keeping the nutritional aspect of raw ingredients intact. The freeze-drying process is a way of removing moisture from a food, which is the part which causes a food to go off or mouldy. Unlike kibble which is cooked (often multiple times) at high temperatures, freeze-drying is far more delicate.
The ingredients list doesn’t separate the two components of the product (kibble + air-dried), but for convenience the freeze-dried component of the Fraser Valley formula is as follows:
Freeze dried: chicken, pumpkin, chicken liver, green mussels, cod liver, and kelp.
These are all fantastic, and it’s especially good to see a raw inclusion of liver which is fundamental to canine health. It’s great to see green mussels too which are a rich source of omega 3 and 6 for heart health, skin, and coat.
Should I feed my dog Nutrience SubZero?
The answer is a resounding yes. This is a brilliant species-appropriate dog food. No corners have been cut, and all ingredients are included for the benefit to your dog, not to extend profit margins.
So what’s the catch?
The catch is the price tag. You can argue you get what you pay for, which is very true, but for many of us on a budget it’s not viable to feed such a dog food all the time.
As a recommendation – feed Nutrience SubZero as part of your dog’s diet. Whether you feed it alongside a cheaper kibble, fresh or raw ingredients, BARF, or so forth, a food such as this will always be a boost to the health of your dog.
Where to buy Nutrience SubZero?
Useful videos
The following is a Nutrience SubZero marketing video. It discusses the production, various formulas, and company ethics:
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Nutrience SubZero suitable for puppies?
Yes. All formulas in the SubZero range meet AAFCO requirements for all life stages, so inclusive of the puppy growth phase.
That said, it would be recommended to feed the Nutrience SubZero Puppy Fraser Valley formula which goes over and above the minimum requirements.
Is Nutrience SubZero suitable for small breeds?
Yes. The Nutrience SubZero dog food range includes Small Breed formulas. These formulas are tailored towards smaller breeds under 20lbs with a more appropriate kibble size.
Is Nutrience SubZero suitable for large breeds?
Yes. The Nutrience SubZero dog food range includes Large Breed formulas. These formulas are tailored towards larger breeds with a more appropriate kibble size.
Ingredients
Ingredients of Nutrience SubZero dog food (Fraser Valley formula):
Deboned chicken, deboned turkey, chicken meal, turkey meal, salmon, chicken liver, chicken heart, turkey liver, turkey heart, herring, cod, cod liver, peas, red lentils, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), sweet potatoes, chickpeas, whole eggs, natural chicken flavor, sun-cured alfalfa meal, freeze-dried chicken, freeze-dried pumpkin, freeze-dried chicken liver, freeze-dried green mussels, freeze-dried cod liver, freeze-dried kelp, salmon oil, herring oil, coconut oil, pumpkin, butternut squash, carrots, spinach, broccoli, apples, blueberries, cranberries, pomegranate, juniper berry extract, ginger, fennel, chamomile, peppermint leaf, licorice root, turmeric, vitamins [vitamin E supplement, vitamin A supplement, niacin, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid], minerals [zinc sulfate, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, ferrous sulfate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], salt, potassium chloride, choline chloride, L-lysine, DL-methionine, chicory root extract, yucca schidigera extract, yeast extract, thyme extract, glucosamine hydrochloride, rosemary extract, taurine, chondroitin sulfate, L-carnitine, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium bifidum fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product.
Guaranteed Analysis
Guaranteed analysis of Nutrience SubZero dog food (Fraser Valley formula):
| Protein | (min) 38% |
| Fat | (min) 18% |
| Crude Fibre | (max) 3.5% |
| Carbohydrates * | Estimated 26% |
