Re: "Ultra is the greatest holistic food on the market". I think NOT! Pros: First and fifth ingredients are named meat products. Cons: Minimum acceptable meat content, fat of unidentifiable origin, low quality grain and other controversial filler. The first and fifth ingredients in this food are named meat products, both in meal form. There is a further meat meal ingredient in the food (Salmon meal) 9th on the ingredient list, though this is too far down to make a substantial contribution to the meat content of the food. Note that the manufacturer does not claim to use ethoxyquin-free fish sources (ethoxyquin is a chemical preservative commonly added to fish destined for meal, and is believed to be carcinogenic). The second, third and sixth ingredients in the food are rice and this is almost certainly the primary ingredient in the food. Rice in the whole form is a good quality grain that is low-allergenic and a good source of carbohydrates and additional protein. Rice bran, however, is a grain fragment and filler. More importantly, the combined rice products likely exceed the meat content of this food. I believe that any dog food should be based on meat rather than grains, but have limited confidence in the amount of meat product in this food. Corn gluten meal is a further grain product in the top ingredients, which further diminishes my confidence in the meat content of the food. The use of corn is a significant negative. It is a difficult to digest grain with limited value. Corn gluten meal is defined as "the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm". In plain English, that which remains after all the nutritious bits have been removed. Sunflower oil is a good quality source of linoleic acid. Poultry fat is a low quality ingredient rarely found in anything but very low quality foods. Poultry fat is an ingredient of unidentified origin for which it is impossible to determine source or quality. Unidentified ingredients are usually very low quality. AAFCO define this as obtained from the tissues of poultry in the commercial processes of rendering or extracting. It consists predominantly of glyceride esters of fatty acids and contains no additions of free fatty acids. If an antioxidant is used, the common name or names must be indicated, followed by the words "used as a preservative" Flaxseed is an excellent source Omega 6 and Omega 3 essential fatty acids. Alfalfa contains a range of vitamins and minerals. Oatmeal is a good quality grain, but tomato pomace is filler. Beet pulp is another low quality ingredient and filler. It is a by-product, being dried residue from sugar beets which has been cleaned and extracted in the process of manufacturing sugar. It is a controversial ingredient in dog food, claimed by some manufacturers to be a good source of fibre, and derided by others as an ingredient added to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats and causing stress to kidney and liver in the process. Note that beet pulp is an ingredient that commonly causes problems for dogs, including allergies and ear infections, and prefer not to see it used in dog food. There are less controversial products around if additional fibre is required. Would prefer to see the use of whole eggs rather than egg product in this food, but the range of probiotics is appreciated.

your logic doesn't make any sense. Having mars own a dog food company does not guarantee any kind of improvement. This food cannot possibly be considered "holistic" with ingredients like poultry fat and corn gluten meal. The term "holistic" is thrown around and used to deceive people to buy below premium quality pet foods. Ignore what the bag says and shows and read the actual ingredient list which is listed by weight from heaviest to lighest ingredient.

I can say what I want to say, because?? This is America. Grow up. When you have a college degree in animals sciences, you can challenge the experts.... k? Until then, keep sounding ignorant.