Instinct Raw Boost Grain-Free Recipe with Real Chicken for Skin & Coat Dry Dog Food
The first five ingredients are Chicken, Menhaden Fish Meal, Chicken Meal, Peas, Tapioca. 3 of them are a named animal protein. We put the starch at 31.3%, below the 38.51% average across the foods we hold.
High protein once the water is taken out, and a low share of the bag left over as starch.
How we got to 81
Five things, one hundred points, and the reason for every one. We would rather show our working than ask you to trust a number.
26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.
Estimated, 6% ash assumed.
Count of named animal proteins.
Matched against the flag list.
Manufacturer, not recipe.
The numbers, without the water
Percentages on a bag include the water in the food, so a wet food always looks lower than a dry one. Taking the water out puts any two foods on the same footing. This one is 91% dry matter.
That is 7.2 points below average, so proportionally less of the bag is starch.
Everything on the label
Printed exactly as the manufacturer lists it, heaviest ingredient first. A dog food needs very little salt, so the 22 ingredients listed after salt are present in even smaller amounts. That is the salt divider, and it is why we only weigh the top of the list.
Chicken, Menhaden Fish Meal, Chicken Meal, Peas, Tapioca, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Ground Flaxseed, Egg Product, Freeze-Dried Chicken (including Ground Chicken Bone), Natural Flavor, Freeze-Dried Chicken Liver, Ground Chia Seed, Cranberries, Salmon Oil, Salt*The Salt Divider. Ingredients are listed heaviest first, and a dog food needs very little salt, so everything after this point is present in an even smaller amount., Yeast Extract, Pumpkinseeds, Potassium Chloride, Freeze-Dried Chicken Heart, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin), Carrots, Apples, Freeze-Dried Cod, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide), Hydrolyzed Yeast, Yeast Culture, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus oryzaeFermentation Extract, Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Extract, Beet Juice (color), Brewers Dried Yeast, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Montmorillonite Clay, Rosemary Extract
What those first ingredients actually are
The top of the list is most of the food by weight, so it is worth knowing what each one is. Green marks a named animal protein.
Chicken
The clean flesh of the chicken, with or without skin, used fresh. Roughly 70% of its weight is water, most of which is driven off during…
Menhaden Fish Meal
A concentrated meal rendered from menhaden, a small oily fish caught specifically for oil and meal.
Chicken Meal
Chicken that has been cooked, dried and ground into a concentrated meal, with most of the water and fat removed.
Peas
The seed of the pea plant, used whole, split or dried as a carbohydrate and plant protein source.
Tapioca
A starch extracted from the root of the cassava plant.
How much of this to feed
A starting point, worked out from the resting energy formula vets use and this food's own calorie density. Every dog is different, so watch their weight and adjust. Your vet's advice beats a calculator.
How it compares
Same figures, same method, put next to another recipe from Instinct and the archive average.
| Metric | This recipe | Instinct Original Grain-Free Recipe with… | Archive average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Score | 81 | 90 | -- |
| Protein, water out | 35.7% | 40.0% | -- |
| Starch, water out | 31.3% | 27.2% | 38.51% |
| Named in first five | 3 of 5 | 4 of 5 | -- |
Recall history
Recalls are matched to the manufacturer, not this exact recipe. A recall on a different product still tells you something about the plant it came from.
We have not matched any FDA recall to Instinct. We check the feed daily and this page updates when that changes.
Other flavors
More from Instinct, scored the same way.