Holistic Select Grain Free Dog Food Review
- Decent ingredients in general
| Website | Holistic Select |
| Available from | Pet Circle My Pet Warehouse |
Holistic Select has been one of the better foods I’ve found readily available in Australia, so if you live near City Farmers or PetBarn then this could be a good choice. It’s pricier than other foods, but you’re paying for better ingredients. This review is for their Turkey & Lentil recipe, which is grain free and also potato free which is unusual.
Deboned Turkey and Turkey Meal make up the first ingredients which is great to see. Turkey is a decent lean meat, and the protein level is high in this food at 32%.
Next we find peas, lentils, and chick peas which will bulk up the protein levels in the food and also the amount of fibre, which can help both diarrhea and constipation, as well as promoting weight loss and reducing the risk of colon cancer. They’re good ingredients, but it’s worth noting these legumes will likely outweigh the meat content.
Other Holistic Select recipes seem to contain decent oils, such as Menhaden Fish Oil, but this seems to be lacking in this recipe. Brewers yeast is a by-product of beer brewing and is historically thought of as a waste product, although in recent years it’s been proved to have some nutritional merit.
Overall this is a solid food, and cheaper than the more premium Earthborn from the same manufacturer.
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Ingredients
Deboned Turkey, Turkey Meal, Peas, Lentils, Chickpeas, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Tomato Pomace, Pea Protein, Pork Meal, Flaxseed, Natural Fish Flavor, Pumpkin, Cranberries, Apples, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Papaya, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid], Minerals [Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate], Blueberries, Pomegranate, Calcium Carbonate, Inulin, Mixed Tocopherols added to preserve freshness, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Fennel, Ground Peppermint, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Product, Dried Trichoderma reesei Fermentation Product, Dried Rhizopus oryzae Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract, Green Tea Extract.
With this product being made in USA, what treatment does it go through to be available in Australia? I have heard a lot of pet products go through irradiation to pass quarantine standards but the consequences of this has resulted in cat food banned from being imported due to severe neurological impairment and fatales. (guessing being a smaller animal impacts more??) The company does not have to acknowledge what process they used to get the product into Australia – Does anyone know the answer? (I have a puppy with allergies and this appears the only product available to us with not poultry…)
Hi Kat, I’m pretty sure no major brand imports are irradiated these days.
An overseas dog food manufacturer requires an inspection of their facility in order to import food to Australia. They can opt out of this requirement by having food irradiated on import. For this reason I would be wary of imports from small manufacturers, but commercial brands such as this should not be irradiated.
Ah awesome thank you 🙂 (lol just realised I quoted one of your FAQ lol) – my pup is having some allergies (yeast ear infections and papules/red skin/itchiness) and we’re starting at the food end of the scale, I was recommended this brand in the adult/puppy poultry/grain free product to start with – we couldn’t find any other puppy mix that was poultry free…. I think you know your stuff so any recommendations appreciated 🙂
HI Kat, have a look at Clean Label Project they test American pet foods link below Holistic select has tested very high for toxcins, I wonder my my IBD boy became unwell after eating Holistic Select-Salmon, Earthborn Holistic-Ocean Fusion, Wellness-Whitefish, & TOTW-Salmon all these American dog foods rated very high with Toxins click on the “Brand Report Card” link on my link on the CLP site, . Look at Meals For Mutts, Stay Loyal, Ivory Coat Australian made kibble or feeding a raw diet your dog will be healthier eating a raw diet or feed kibble for 1 meal & raw for his other meal & bath your pup in “Malaseb” medicated shampoo twice a week or weekly so you wash off any allergens on his skin, Malaseb shampoo is for yeasty itchy skin & allergies, your dog probably has environment allergies & also could have a food sensitivities that causes yeasty skin, Sudocrem is excellent its in the baby section the Sudocrem acts as a barrier & protects the skin form allergens I apply cream before Patch goes on walks & I also use the Huggie Baby Wipes, Coconut Oil wipes to wipe off the allergens on his skin after being outside.. http://www.cleanlabelproject.org/pet-food-study-2-0/
Thankyou so much – will try get some today, you have a wealth of knowledge that has just made my pups and my life so much easier and safer lol – thanks 🙂
Hi Susan , Thanks for the Clean Label link, I had a look & TOTW only got 1 star that’s looks bad & Canidae scored quite good.
I know you use TOTW for Patch will you change to something else now.
I think Australian food would be quite a lot cleaner for our pets
It’ll be hard to find something else for Patch there is a lot he can’t have I think what’s best is to try and keep the kibble to a minimum and feed as much fresh whole foods as you possibly can.
I’ve gone this route with Rusty.
how about reviewing the holistic select rabbit and lamb grain free. there aremore grain free than the one you have reviewed and I’d like to see reviews on the others. I don’t want chicken fat in a food as some dogs can be allergic to it so the rabbit is a better choice but still would lie to know how it rates
Hi Vicki, there are simply too many foods for us to review but generally formulas within a range are very similar and this review will encompass it. Rabbit and Lamb is a great choice for dogs intolerant of chicken or as part of a rotation.
Could I add fish oil to the meal? Can you tell me if canned tuna in spring oil is good for dogs and easily digestible please?
Sorry, another question. Do you do reviews on canned wet food as well?
Thankyou so much
Rosie
Not at the moment Rosie, sorry. But if I rate a dry food highly then their corresponding wet food should be of similar quality.
You can add fish oil in moderation. As for cans of tuna as an occasional treat you’re better off feeding tuna in spring water as a lower fat option. Just be careful of fish bones.
Sorry I meant tuna in spring water
Thank you
Holistic Select has brought out another grain free kibble Rabbit & Lamb meal….Excellent for dogs that have a chicken or potato intolerance & are on vet diets or even if you just want to feed Rabbit, there’s no other kibbles sold in Australia that have rabbit as an ingredient….
http://holisticselect.com.au/recipes.aspx?pet=dog
Brewers yeast is for gut microflora health and contains easily bioavailable b vitamins.
Thanks for the reviews. You give an awesome unbias review.
Hi Bek, yes you’re right about brewers yeast. Traditionally it’s been thought of as a waste product but does have nutritional merit.
I’ve recently switched my dog over to this food from Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch (it was becoming ridiculously hard to get a hold of in a country area).
Quite happy with how he’s going, but I am worried about the lack of oils in this food. I supplement his feed with raw meaty bones, eggs etc, but I think I might add a can of sardines in natural oil weekly. He used to just get them every now and then, but I might do it regularly, as there was a definite improvement in his coat on the Coastal Catch and I don’t want to lose that.
Hi Lisa, quality meat ingredients contain omega fats for a shiny coat, as will chicken fat. It’s not always necessary for a food to contain additional oils to provide these nutrients, although it’s always a welcome inclusion.
Thanks, an update with this food.
Overall he was going quiet well on it, even had a good increase in muscle mass, but after a while his stools started becoming slightly looser and larger (although not runny, and nothing that would be normally concerning), but he ended up needing to have his anal glands expressed, which is not ordinary for him. So we are now getting some samples of the new Meals for Mutts High Performance formula sent out to try.
Oh and I did not end up adding the extra fish.
Hi the Omega-3 in the “Holistic Select” Adult/Puppy Salmon, Anchovy & Sardine grain free formula is quiet good, Omega-3=150% & Omega-6 = 200%. that’s pretty good, always read the omega 3 & 6, Omega-3 should be 1/2 of what the Omega-6% is…..A lot of kibbles are very high in Omega-6 & very low in Omega-3 & are not balanced properly causing skin problems & inflammatory health problems,
Love your reviews, can you advise your thoughts on the new holistic dog and puppy grain free – http://www.holisticselect.com.au/product.aspx?pet=dog&cat=5&pid=71
Hi Gillian, that looks pretty good to me. My only concern is the amount of potato. It has 2 potato ingredients in the top 5, and potato is relatively high GI.