| Website | Earthborn Holistic |
| Available from | Pet Circle |
05/05/2022 – Consider this a cautionary alert. Earthborn issued a voluntary recall in 2021 which was investigated by the FDA. The FDA has now terminated the recall alert, but a list of recalled batches can be found here.
The recall is in relation to elevated levels of aflatoxin, with a particular reference to corn.
More information from the FDA can be found on the alert here and the investigation here.
Earthborn Holistic are high protein, low carb foods, and the premium version of Holistic Select. Let’s take a look at the Primitive Natural formula…
Firstly, the protein percentage is a whopping 38% and 20% fat. That’s one of the highest protein/fat ratios in all dog foods sold Australia-wide, and means the carbohydrates (sugars) are an absolute minimum. Dogs are essentially carnivores, so a high meat protein diet is exactly what they should be fed.
Chicken meal is the first and by far the most significant ingredient in the food. That’s why it’s expensive (or more realistically why supermarket foods packed with wheat are so cheap). We also find whitefish meal as the fourth ingredient to further boost the animal protein.
Potato is the main source of carbs, and the only real flaw with the food. It’s kept to a minimum though, and all kibbles have carbs of some sort. I’d prefer to see the lower GI alternative of sweet potato.
Eggs as the 5th ingredient are good to see. We also have a range of fruits and veggies which are a sign of a quality product.
It’s nice to see Taurine included for a healthy heart, brain, and eyes. Although it naturally occurs in meat and offal it isn’t often added specifically to dog foods.
I’d definitely recommend this as a high quality dog food.
Ingredients
Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Whitefish Meal, Egg, Tomatoes, Peas, Blueberry Fiber, Cranberry Fiber, Apples, Blueberries, Carrots, Spinach, Cranberries, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Taurine, Beta-Carotene, L-Carnitine, Yucca, Rosemary, Vitamins, Minerals, Probiotics.
Thanks for the interesting review of Earthborn, had this recommended as I have a German shepherd with yucky ears, and it appears to be grin. former Blackhawk, so see what gain free Earthborn grain fee goes. Good info in your review. Recall hmmm we move on
I’ve heard Earthborn just be recalled in 2021 but I just don’t know is 100% true and why Australian retailers can still sell that?
Hi Tiffany, I understand the FDA has terminated the recall after an investigation and action by the manufacturer. I’ve added a cautionary warning at the top of the review with a link to affected batches.
The ingredients in this review are different to the bag of primitive natural i have here. Here are the first few ingredients, ingredients after that are the same as posted in review, GA is still the same.
Chicken meal, whitefish meal,potatoes, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E),
My 6yo Samoyed always love this brand with his slightly picky appetite.
However its large bag seal is having a poor design. It comes with resealable zip but the zip is so securely sealed that you have to cut thru it to open the bag, and once it’s cut the whole bag could not be re-sealed. With such large bag the freshness of dry food is doubtful.
I have bought the products for couple of years and they haven’t improved this disappointing design.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c9616fcd0350d57eef7273210035c5f1a4a9ca22f91c2dde94705ade57492788.jpg
I’ve had so many issues with sealing of so many different foods I just wish they made them better. K9 Natural the tripe bag the seal doesn’t work it broke off haha.
If the bag isn’t the big one you could maybe transfer it to a plastic bin even though glass is best I have never actually seen any.
Some brands I buy don’t have seals so I have to use the container.
The weight control food gave Rusty a pancreatic attack, he was in a huge amount of pain and I think it was the fibre content that may have done it as I read somewhere about that being a possibility, well either that or some other ingredient.
I should just stick to giving him what I know he does well on rather than playing around with new things, unecessary things to say the least.
The vet asked he be put on low protein, low fat and high carbs for the time being, I’ve also read this isn’t the best approach.
Still so long until I can buy this! Ugh! It’s driving me crazy!
I got the Artemis like 2 months ago based on my comment and the container is still half full… This is going to take forever!
I was thinking of giving the kibble to someone but than I remembered coconut oil treatment and can’t give Totw because Anja loves it… No choices whatsoever.
Just have to fight through the pain!
Which to some degree I’m actually doing as I’ve given myself a flare up and it’s pretty bad and it’s not going to go away easy.
Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Whitefish Meal, Egg, Tomatoes, Peas, Blueberry Fiber, Cranberry Fiber, Apples, Blueberries, Carrots, Spinach, Cranberries, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Taurine, Beta-Carotene, L-Carnitine, Yucca, Rosemary, Vitamins, Minerals, Probiotics.
Ingredients are a little different now than written here, it appears the garlic was removed as well as the cheese and that fibers were added.
Including some ingredients swapping places among other things.
Protein and fat values have stayed the same.
I have 9-1/2 year old Airedale and have had her on Earthborn Holistic for 2 years now and is a healthy happy girl.. I couldn’t be happier with this dry food.
I wondered how you got your reading for ash at 8 per cent I emailed the company and was told it is 12 per cent. A friend of mine was told it is 14 per cent. I will not feed this to my dogs with such a high ash content. I would not feed any thing over an ash of 7 per cent. I dislike the way dog food companies do not need to label their ash content. A lot of the time your wasting your money on high premium dog foods. They just use bone as a filler which to me is worse than the grains everyone is so against. Thanks
Hi Carol, not many manufacturers list ash content which is why I use an average of 8% to obtain an estimated carbohydrate percentage. If it’s 12% then that’s high. I agree with your sentiment that these figures should be listed, but unfortunately they’re not.
Hi
I am currently feeding my dog canidae, which is a great food and my dog loved it at first, but she is so picky, she gets sick of the taste of anything I giver her, so I have rotated and gone through every flavor, and she only seems to like the Sky flavor, but again she does get sick of the taste, I am currently feeding her the one with bison flavor, but a week after she actually seemed to be scared of the food! I would carry it out to her and she would cower and look absolutely terrified, so the only way I can feed it to her is at the end of the day when she would be really hungry from not eating all day.. it is a real battle and I’m looking for another brand to feed her for a bit, Earthborn sound good, but I was concerned about the tomato pomace because I’ve heard it is an allergen for dogs, is that true?
My dogs just wouldn’t eat biscuits so I use some fresh (then frozen) chicken with hot water to make like a soup and then add the biscuits. Not a lot, just enough for it all to taste like chicken. Also, if your dog isn’t interested in the food, it’s likely you’re feeding it too much.
Hi Liana, tomato pomace is found in most foods and I wouldn’t be concerned about it as an allergen. Try one of the other foods on the best rated list to see if they help – https://www.petfoodreviews.com.au/dry-dog-food/best-dry-dog-food/
Thanks for your excellent reviews. I am interested in this very positive review of the Earthborn Holistic product, but note you say it’s good for younger dogs. We have a 10 year old Spoodle (about 15 Kgs) and an 8 year old Maltese/Shitzu (about 8 Kg). Are they too old for this product and, if so, what would you recommend instead? Thanks in advance for your advice.
Hi Rod, if budget isn’t an issue then it’s definitely worth a go. The Earthborn products are very good but accordingly expensive due to the high meat content (it’s mostly chicken meal).
Hi
I notice that the first ingredient of Primitive Natural sold in the USA is turkey meal, followed by chicken meal. Here we get only chicken meal.
I find this slightly disappointing, although the protein level is the same.
Do you think the product is much inferior to that in its home country?
hi
i am in the process of changing my 5 month old mini schnauzer over to the grain free earthborn
from black hawk as i was told how great it is … but she has had really bad wind i have been slowly introducing it
over two weeks…not sure if i should go back to black hawk
feeling very confused just want to give her the best biscuit???
advice needed
regards
jo
Hi Jo, Earthborn is quite rich. The choice is up to you – if Black Hawk works then stick with that, or try one of the other best rated foods.
Hi,
Firstly, thank you so much for your fantastic reviews! It has made this so much easier!
Secondly, I recently put my two boxers on Earthborn Holistic (the grain free one). My eldest one Zoey will eat anything put in front of her (she is slightly overweight, I’m working on that), and my other Zara, is extremely picky. However they both love love the taste of this food, which is such a hard to thing for me to achieve!
I have been transitioning there food over for the past 3 weeks, but they are both producing the most deadly gas I think I think I have ever smelt! Their stools also resemble those of cows, which certainly never used to be the case – and I’m just wondering if this is a normal transition or should I be concerned?
I have also always feed them chicken necks with their kibble, but as there is such as high protein content already, should they still be getting this? Or just the kibble alone?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Hi Nicole, if the gas doesn’t settle down in the next two weeks it might be worth trying a different food.
I’d definitely keep feeding the chicken necks. Variety is a good thing.