Nulo Dog Food Review 2024

Frontrunner, MedalSeries, Challenger — it’s clear from the names of some of Nulo’s product ranges that this is a brand that wants dogs to be in peak physical condition. And we’re happy to say that Nulo dog food more than lives up to this ambition.

And boy, there are a lot of different recipes to choose from. Not only is there a wide variety of dry and wet food for dogs of different sizes and life stages, but there are limited-ingredient and weight-management formulas, too. Nulo even makes broth to add to dry meals and treats that will have your pet obeying your every command.

Is Nulo a good dog food? We certainly believe so, as you’ll see from our Nulo dog food review below.

Nulo has a large range of different recipes tailored to dogs’ different life stages, dietary requirements and preferences when it comes to flavors.

Nulo Freestyle

Nulo FreeStyle dog food is the company’s biggest and best-known category. The large collection contains high-protein kibble, wet food, freeze-fried raw recipes, broth, and treats.

What unites them all is the high meat content, with each product containing between 80 and 87% animal-based protein, which is great for providing dogs with vital amino acids. All recipes are also grain-free, which can be helpful for dogs with sensitive stomachs. 

Finally, all of the Nulo freestyle grain-free adult kibble recipes are free from chicken or egg protein, which, again, is useful for parents trying to feed dogs with poultry allergies. Some of the wet products use chicken as the predominant ingredient, though.

Nulo MedalSeries

There isn’t a huge amount of difference between MedalSeries and FreeStyle. MedalSeries also covers a wide range of products — kibble, canned food and broth-based meals — and these are similarly abundant when it comes to meat, with the recipes all including between 77% and 85% animal-based protein.

Like FreeStyle, there are some grain-free products, but some of the recipes include ancient grains in the ingredient list. There are also kibble recipes with chicken and egg-based protein, unlike FreeStyle.

Nulo Frontrunner

This is one of Nulo’s smallest ranges and only includes six kibble recipes — four of these are for adults, one for puppies and another for small breeds.

As is the Nulo way, these all contain a lot of meat, with real meat or fish the first-listed ingredient in each product and 77% of the protein coming from animal-derived sources — just as a dog’s ancestors’ diet would have looked like.

Nulo Challenger

This is the subset of Nulo dog food that contains the highest amount of protein from animal-derived sources — up to a mammoth 90% in some recipes. This also leads to some impressive crude protein levels of up to 35%. These figures are excellent for dogs that exercise a lot and need their energy levels replenished ahead of another day’s adventures.

Like Frontrunner, the Challenger range is a little smaller than the FreeStyle and Medalseries, only encompassing six dry Nulo dog food recipes (including ones for both small and large breeds) and three stew-style wet foods (which use human-grade ingredients).

Along with real meat as the first-listed ingredients, the Challenger recipes include organic ancient grains and probiotics for immune and digestive health. The levels of DHA and Omega fatty acids are up to scratch, too.

One key feature of the Challenger products is that it’s part of the TerraCycle recycling programme — customers can request an envelope in which to send off used packaging to be saved from landfill.

Nulo Gently Cooked

One of Nulo’s newest additions is the Gently Cooked collection. These six recipes are a mix of ground meat, broth, vegetables, fruit and grains, which are all gently cooked to retain as much nutritional goodness as possible.

These homecooked-style recipes are a close relative to the myriad fresh dog food companies that have sprung up in recent years, in that the Gently Cooked meals are also highly digestible and great for gut health.

However, they differ in that there’s no subscription model and the products can be stored in the cupboard rather than the refrigerator.

The variety is phenomenal

If you can’t find a meal for your dog in Nulo’s collection, you’re not looking hard enough. As well as Nulo puppy food and Nulo senior dog food, there’s Nulo small breed dog food and alternatives for large breeds, plus meals for weight management and some including a limited number of ingredients.

The choice of flavors is equally impressive

If you’re the parent of a picky pup, you won’t have to worry about finding a Nulo dog food to their taste. There’s a wide array of recipes using different meats and grains, which come in either dry, wet or freeze-dried formulas.

The protein content is excellent

The founder behind Nulo wanted to create a dog food that was heavy on animal-based protein, rather than the plant-derived alternatives or carby filler ingredients he all too commonly saw in dog food. One look at the numbers on the packaging just goes to show how successful this effort has been.

The food is jam-packed with nutrients

As well as a plentiful amount of protein, the recipes are full of Omega fatty acids and probiotics — this helps boost your pet’s immune, digestive and skin health.

Some of the wet recipes are made in Thailand

While the majority of the recipes are manufactured in the USA, some of the products are made in Thailand.

The price is slightly higher than other brands

As is often the case with more premium dog food that uses better-quality ingredients, this comes at a cost. 

The FreeStyle collection is the cheapest Nulo dog food and this still works at $3.35 per pound for the biggest bag available. At the other end of the scale, the Gently Baked pouches are currently around $55 for eight.

While these aren’t the most expensive dog food options on the market, they might be out of reach for parents on a budget.

The majority of the company is owned by a private equity firm as of 2021

While Nulo began in 2010 as an independent business, it came under majority control of private equity firm Apax Partners in 2021. With this new investment, the CEO of Nulo has stated that they wish to “achieve our ambitious growth plans, offering our innovative food products to more pet parents, in more locations around the world.”

“My two dals love this kibble, I mix it in with other supplements and they took to this food right away. They are usually very picky and I have had a difficult time finding a good kibble that isn't just chicken or beef and this one checked all the boxes. They have good bowel movements, and are full of energy daily!! Highly recommend this brand. It's hard to find locally so I'm [grateful] Chewy has it in stock. Try it out if you're considering!!”

“I recently went back to foods with grain, and this one seems to work with my pup well. The kibble sizes seem a bit large for my fox terrier, but it forces him to slow down and chew when eating, so it works out!”

“I cannot recommend this kibble enough! It is so high-quality and includes oats, barley, and brown rice together with the meats. Dogs need grains and…it’s hard to find good quality kibble these days because so many brands focus on grain-free. Once you open the bag, you already know it’s chicken-and-turkey-heavy because it smells great! Very aromatic, unlike our previous brand which smelled like stale crackers. What’s even more of a testimony is that our cat, who is super-picky and has excellent taste, tries to steal this kibble from our dog. She loves this stuff! Meanwhile, our dog, who usually goes for his wet food first at mealtime, actually goes for his kibble first now that we’ve switched him to this Nulo kibble! Believe it or not, I swear this is [true]... Cannot recommend more highly. Please never discontinue this fine product!”

Read more reviews at Chewy.

Nulo is the story of one man and his dog — Michael Landa and his black Labrador, Max. Landa initially started a pet-care business after he failed to find somebody to look after his dog throughout a work trip and he ended up having to take his pet with him on the long car journey instead.

In 2010, Nulo dog food was born and in the years since, the company has grown and grown, picking up ardent admirers for the quality of the ingredients and impressive nutritional stats.

There has been no Nulo dog food recall during the company’s operation.