At long last, we're happy to announce the creation of Nautica, Virtue's deep sea herring-based diet boasting over 500 kilocalories per cup, and totally FREE OF: poultry, eggs, white potato, flax, legumes and of course gluten, corn, soy, and wheat. With a synergistic blend of quality fat sources high in Omega 3s, Nautica is a great formula for moderately active to highly active dogs of all breeds and sizes who thrive on a fish-based diet and higher fat levels for skin and coat health.
INGREDIENTS:
Herring meal, Whole Oats, Whole Brown Rice, Herring Oil, Sunflower Oil, Brewer’s Yeast, Beet Pulp, Sweet Potato, *Vitamins & Minerals
VITAMINS & MINERALS: Salt, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Propionate, Monosodium Phosphate, Lecithin, Choline Chloride, DL Methionine, Yucca Schidigera, Carnitine, L-Lysine Hydrochloride, Inactivated Yeast, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, l-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplements, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Zinc Methionine, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Manganese Methionine, Copper Lysine, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Sulfate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid.
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS:
Protein: 30% min.
Fat: 20% min.
Fiber: 4% max.
Moisture: 10% max.
METABOLIZABLE ENERGY (ME) (Calculated using Modified Atwater)
3800kcal/kg
135g/cup
513kcal/cup
ENERGY SOURCES:
Fat: 44.7% of total energy or 1700kcal/kg
Protein: 27.6% of total energy or 1050kcal/kg
NFE (carbohydrates/starches): 27.6% of total energy or 1050kcal/kg
An important word about suitability and life stages...
While Nautica has a nutrient panel which conforms to the AAFCO dog food nutrient profiles for "all life stages including growth of large size dogs," it is our belief that these parameters are still too loose for optimal growth of those large and giant breed puppies especially susceptible to developmental orthopedic disorders (DOD), as the upper limit of calcium is 4.5g/1000kcal for a food to be labeled suitable for large breed puppies.
We at Virtue prefer to keep these levels below 4g/1000kcal for these puppies. Nautica typically tests at or just below 4g/1000kcal, thus, we prefer to have our larger puppies grow up on our formula which was designed specifically for them, K-9 Octane, and reserve Nautica for when they are a little older and better able to regulate their calcium absorption, and this is the reason that Nautica is labeled a maintenance food as opposed to an All Life Stages (ALS) food.
Please feel welcome to reach out with any questions about this recommendation. We are happy to answer any questions about this labeling decision made out of an abundance of caution and concern for our large breed puppy friends.