Tuscan Natural Dog Food: 2023 Reviews, Recalls & Coupons

Looking for an in-depth Tuscan Natural Dog Food Review? Read on.

Tuscan Natural Dog food makes healthy batches of dog food with a secret ingredient, Olive Oil. The company claims that the natural fats of olive oil help ease digestion and improve the absorption of essential vitamins and minerals.

Tuscan Natural claims to have the most olive oil of any dog food on the market, but how does the rest of their nutrition hold up? Let’s break down Tuscan Natural’s different lines of dog foods to see if it could be the answer for your furry companion.

Brand Quick Look

• Parent Company: Pyramid Pet Products
• Founded in: 2009
• Made in: USA
• Made by: CJ Foods
• Available at:  Chewy, Amazon
• Types of Food: Dry, canned
• Real Meat in First 5 Ingredients? : Yes
• Recalled in Past? : No

 

Behind the Brand

The founders of Tuscan Natural were shocked to find out how big-name pet food companies keep prices low and still rake in profits. Industry secrets such as splitting ingredients or using unnamed meat parts are common ways dog food companies trick you into thinking foods were better than they actually were.

Enter Tuscan Naturals. While on a trip to Italy, the founders got the idea of adding healthy amounts of olive oils to their natural, healthy pet food recipes as a way to increase digestion efficiency and provide healthy fats for dogs.

Tuscan Naturals was able to work with Ph.D. nutritionists to create a food that’s not only premium but also uses 15 ounces of olive oil in each 30-pound bag. That translates to about a spoonful per serving of dog food, just the right amount.

Olive Oil helps your pet absorb protein better, which means the high protein levels in dog food won’t end up in your pet’s stool, wasted. A critical study from Granada convinced the team to add olive oil, not as a marketing scheme, but as a way to help pets maintain a healthy weight and eat less overall.

Tuscan Natural Dog Food Reviews

Reviewed Tuscan Natural Dog Foods

1. Tuscan Natural Simply Pure Lamb Meal
2. Tuscan Natural Harvest Turkey & Chicken
3. Tuscan Natural Grain-Free Carne Turkey
4. Tuscan Natural Simply Pure Lamb (Canned)
5. Tuscan Natural Carne Turkey & Chicken (Canned)

1. Tuscan Natural Simply Pure Lamb Kibble

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

First Five Ingredients:

• Lamb Meal
• Brown Rice
• Rice
• Canola Oil from Canola Plants
• Olive Oil

Simply Pure Lamb Kibble is an excellent recipe for people looking to limit the ingredients for allergy reasons. It’s suitable for dogs that have a poultry allergy and doesn’t contain any potatoes, peas, or lentils (ingredients recently linked to a higher risk of an enlarged heart).

The food uses healthy servings of olive oil to help keep dog’s weight down and to improve overall digestion. This is based on a study that shows the health benefits of olive oil not only for humans but also for pets.

The company uses no artificial flavors or colors, which sometimes cause allergic reactions or encourage dogs to overeat. There are no cheap fillers either.

The food isn’t cheap, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. We know many of you are on a budget, but to help offset the cost, you can feed a little bit less than you would your bargain food.

The company recommends reducing servings by 20% and keeping watch on your dog. If your dog maintains a healthy weight, you can keep up those servings and possibly offset a small part of the cost.

Overall, it’s a really good food to change to whether you believe the olive oil claims or not. All premium ingredients help your dog build health and well-being for life.

2. Tuscan Natural Harvest Turkey & Chicken

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

First Five Ingredients:

• Turkey
• Chicken
• Chicken Meal
• Lentils
• Yellow Peas

The Tuscan Natural Harvest range is focused on providing dogs with multiple protein sources mixed with fruits and vegetables. The meats came from animals that were humanely-raised while the produce are all sustainably-farmed. The Tuscan Natural trademark extra virgin olive oil comes from old growth trees.

As mentioned detailed in the list above, this formulation is rich in animal protein sources. The first three in the list are a combination of fresh meat and meat meals from poultry animals. A fourth (listed in the sixth slot) meat ingredient is whitefish meal. All four combine to bring the protein level up to a good 24%.

The carbohydrate content comes from a mix of legumes and grains. Lentils, yellow peas, brown rice, and rice bring dogs some much-needed energy and fiber. Aside from carbs and fiber, lentils are low-calorie and a great source of iron.

Yellow peas contain lots of protein. White rice is not so low in calories, but it’s highly digestible and easy on the tummy. Lastly, brown rice is chock full of vitamins and minerals.

There’s a good helping of veggies and fruits here aside from those already discussed, and some are even considered superfoods. Apples, blueberries, carrots, and peas give the food some naturally-sourced nutrients aside from what is supplemented by the brand.

Overall, this is a wholesome formulation that relies on high-quality ingredients with a tendency towards natural and sustainable. It’s not cheap, which is its only drawback, but it is worth every penny.

3. Tuscan Natural Grain-Free Carne Turkey

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

First Five Ingredients:

• Turkey
• Chicken
• Turkey Meal
• Chicken Meal
• Russet Burbank Potatoes

Carne is Italian for meat. The Tuscan Natural Carne range is focused on giving canines a meat-based food with no grains, just the way their ancestors ate. Like with all of the brand’s dog food offerings, the meats come from animals that were raised humanely and the produce from farms that grew them responsibly.

There are many meat sources in this recipe. The first few ingredients are the most important, of course, because they make up the bulk of the kibbles. But there are also other meat ingredients further down the list, like herring meal and whitefish meal. Because the recipe follows an ancient dog’s diet that is mostly made up of meat, the crude protein content is at a high 35%.

The fat (chicken fat) is also higher. At 20%, this may seem a bit much when compared with the usual 10-15% of other formulations. However, if your dog is highly active (or picky, because high fat diets are more palatable for dogs) or is a working dog, the high fat content is ideal. Intense workouts can burn a lot of calories and the fat gives them the energy that they need to perform.

As for the fiber and carbohydrates, it’s provided by the Russet Burbank potatoes and peas. Green peas contain a significant amount of fiber. Potatoes do, too if the skin is included, but it also has vitamins and minerals. Both have ample carbs that dogs can quickly convert into energy when needed.

How about the olive oil? Why does Tuscan add it to all of their dog food? Extra virgin olive oil not only helps dogs absorb protein better, but it also contributes a good helping of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, antioxidants, and monounsaturated fats to the meal.

This formulation is a little pricier than Tuscan Natural’s other recipes, but it makes up for it with a bountiful supply of nutrients for a complete holistic approach that touches on everything from a dog’s hair to his digestion.

4. Tuscan Natural Simply Pure Lamb (Canned)

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

First Five Ingredients:

• Lamb
• Lamb Liver
• Lamb Broth
• Olive Oil
• Peas

This Simply Pure recipe follows an old-world nutrition for canines that’s up to this current world’s standards. This grain-free wet dog food has limited ingredients to make it safer for pups who are struggling with various food sensitivities. The single protein source design helps reduce the chances of allergies for pooches.

Lamb and lamb liver contribute the most significant amount of proteins in the food and also make up the majority of the diet. The crude protein content is 10%, a suitable level for canned food.

In case you’re wondering why the big difference in dry food and wet food protein content, it’s because wet food only uses fresh meat. (Fresh meat is composed of more than 50% water.)

Organ meats should ideally be a part of every balanced diet you can feed your dog. Liver, in particular, is a source of vitamins A, B1, B12, and K. It also has trace elements of manganese, selenium, choline, cobalt, and cysteine.

With the inclusion of lamb liver, the level of naturally-sourced nutrients has gone up even with such a limited number of ingredients.

Since it’s a limited diet, the core ingredients number five only. The rest are made up of thickeners and supplemental vitamins and minerals. It is a delicious and complete meal on its own, but you can also give it to your sensitive pups as a topper on their kibbles.

5. Tuscan Natural Carne Turkey & Chicken (Canned)

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

First Five Ingredients:

• Turkey
• Turkey Broth
• Chicken
• Turkey Liver
• Olive Oil

Tuscan Natural Carne is more focused on meat. And this recipe, like its Simply Pure canned food counterpart, is also a limited ingredient diet that only has six key ingredients. It’s completely grain-free so even food sensitive pups can enjoy it with abandon.

Since it’s a limited ingredient diet, all ingredients have been carefully selected to maximize the nutrition that dogs will get from each feeding. The inclusion of liver is not surprising because organs contain far more nutrients than any muscle meat.

The first four ingredients are animal-based, which fits the line’s position on feeding meals that mimic an ancestral diet. The high-quality proteins supply all the amino acids necessary for the building and maintenance of tendons, cartilages, muscles, skin, and more.

Although plants can also provide proteins, animal-based ones are much better with providing all the essential amino acids that dogs require.

The extra virgin olive oil helps the protein absorb better so that nothing is wasted, and it’s also responsible for improving the health of your fur buddy’s coat and skin. 

This is a good recipe that you can use as a full meal on its own or which you can add to your pet’s kibbles as toppers. It has no corn, soy, or wheat. The formula is also crafted in a way to make it easy to digest for pooches of all life stages.

Best Tuscan Natural Food Recipes

Tuscan Naturals Foods are well made and provide critical nutrition no matter what line you choose. However, we have three favorites that could help you get started.

1. Carne Turkey and Chicken Recipe

The Carne offering has two sources of quality protein in both whole and meal forms. Chicken and turkey are excellent lean proteins that are highly digestible and help your pet maintain muscle mass and a healthy weight.

With plenty of whole fruits and vegetables, plus healthy fats, it’s an excellent way to provide dense nutrition for your dog without adding in cheap fillers, grains, or artificial flavors and colors.

2. Simply Pure Lamb Canned Food

Simple Pure is a limited ingredient recipe, and the wet food could be a great way to help aging seniors maintain proper digestion without hurting sensitive jaws and teeth.

It uses whole lamb as the primary protein source with sufficient moisture and balanced blends of fats and carbohydrates. The company doesn’t make life stage-specific foods, but this could be a good alternative for dogs at different stages in their lives.

3. Harvest Chicken and Turkey

Harvest Chicken and Turkey recipe uses a blend of lean, quality proteins with a range of superfoods designed to help build health and wellness. It has an excellent omnivore’s recipe that uses no artificial ingredients or cheap fillers.

It’s an excellent all-purpose food for dogs that don’t have any massive allergy issues or difficulties digesting food, but it does still have olive oil to help make sure digestion is spot on.

What types of dog food does Tuscan Natural offer?

Tuscan Natural offers dry kibbles filled with premium ingredients, and of course, olive oil. They also make canned foods, but those can be trickier to find unless you have a local store that sells them.

For kibble, the company uses named meat meals (i.e. “lamb meal”) to provide denser sources of protein. The addition of olive oil (in the first five ingredients) helps your pet make better use of this concentrated protein. Healthy fats and a blend of fruits and vegetables round out the nutrition benefits, giving your dog essential vitamins and minerals plus energy all day long.

The company doesn’t offer any life stage-specific foods, so check with your veterinarian before switching over a puppy or senior dog. It also doesn’t make foods intended for breed sizes so some of their foods may be more difficult for tiny dogs to chew. It’s probably not suitable for the growing needs of a large breed puppy, but again, check with your vet.

Simply Pure

The Simply Pure line is a limited ingredient diet filled with natural ingredients such as humanely raised, grass-fed lamb. It has a good balance of carbohydrates plus vitamins and minerals to give your pet energy. It’s grain free and designed to alleviate pesky food allergies.

• Lamb Meal
• Chicken Meal
• Ocean Extreme
• Lamb Meal Canned Food

Harvest

The single Harvest offering is simple food that uses only premium ingredients such as humanely raised turkey and sustainably sourced fruits and vegetables. It’s designed to balance your dog’s nutrition and provide all-day energy.

• Harvest Turkey and Chicken Recipe

Carne

The Carne line ups the meat and protein factor to more closely mimic your dog’s ancestral diet. It uses only both whole meats and meat meals for incredible amounts of protein along with the same olive oil that makes the other foods easier to digest. It’s grain free and should help alleviate some of your dog’s persistent food allergies.

• Carne Turkey and Chicken
• Carne Turkey and Chicken Recipe Canned Food

 

The Tuscan Natural Recall History List

Tuscan Natural has never been recalled. They use regular facility inspections and follow strict protocols to make sure their foods aren’t contaminated or compromised.

The manufacturing facility has a well-established reputation, so even though the company hasn’t been in business too long, there is a good chance that it will continue to provide high-quality manufacturing.

Customer Reviews

Customers who’ve tried Tuscan Naturals tend to be big fans of the way their dog’s slim up and seem to digest foods more efficiently. It’s not cheap food, but for some, the trade-off of a healthier dog with fewer veterinarian trips is an excellent benefit of paying more in this case

What do people like and dislike about Tuscan Natural food?

Most people’s dogs seemed to like the taste although there are always dogs that aren’t happy no matter what you feed them. Dogs don’t usually have trouble with the kibble, making it an excellent all-purpose size for your pets.

Most pet owners saw a good improvement in their dog’s overall health and response to allergies. Those who switched from cheap, commercial dog foods saw improvements in their dogs’ skin and coat as well as a reduction in itchiness.

The trade-off with some of the higher proteins is that some dogs experienced more gas as a result. While not fun, there isn’t anything necessarily wrong with having more gas.

As usual, some dogs weren’t happy about the taste or may have displayed some signs of irregular bowels at first. It’s important to transition your dog slowly from the old food to the new to help this transition go more smoothly.

Positive

• “We just bought the lamb and rice line for our silver lab who is very allergic to chicken…She has been on this new food for a couple weeks now, and words cannot describe the difference it has made. Her fur is already growing back in the places she had itched herself bald, and she has a lot more energy…” Ally, chewy.com

Negative

• “I have a Sheltie and ordered this food since he has so many allergies. My dog is not a picky eater by any means. He normally scarfs down his food. I introduced him to the food and he kept on spitting it out. He just left the food in his bowl.” SarahSheltie, chewy.com