ProBalance Dog Food

The ProBalance Dog Food Review: Tested & Evaluated 2025

Written By Eloisa Thomas | Canine Coach, Double M.A in Anthropology.
Edited & Fact Checked By Renae Soppe | B.A Journalism & Science. 
Last Updated: 2nd January 2025

Are you looking to switch up your pup’s diet? We teamed up with veterinarians, canine nutritionists, and devoted dog parents alike to form an independent panel of experts to research ProBalance's entire line of dog food. After months of testing and many, many empty dog food bowls later, our experts were able to compile this ultimate ProBalance Dog Food review so you can make the right choice. Is this the brand for you and your dog? Here’s what you should know.

  • ProBalance is one of Pet Barn’s home brands. They offer a wide range of dog food: kibble, chilled and even treats.
  • Recipes use natural ingredients, without harmful preservatives or weird additives.
  • They add prebiotics to all recipes, and it’s a relatively affordable option for the ingredient quality.

Quick Pick - Our Best Rated Dog Food

Petzyo Dog Food

Our Number 1 Pick
Petzyo Dog Food

  • Ethically sourced Kangaroo, Chicken or Salmon, sweet potato & superfood extras
  • Iron-rich & low fat proteins
  • Three Omega-3 and -6 rich oils with a well balanced 11% fat content
  • Made in Australia


Australia's ProBalance Dog Food Reviewed

ProBalance - 3.5 Star Rating

  • Ingredients -Dry Chicken kibble recipe: Poultry Meal, Sorghum, Rice, Field Peas, Beef Tallow, Beet Pulp, Sunflower Oil, Salt, Vitamins & Minerals (Vitamins A, D3, E, K, C, B1, B2, Niacin, B5, B6, Folic Acid, Biotin, B12, Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc, Iron, Manganese, Copper, Iodine, Selenium), Flaxseed Oil, Choline Chloride, Chicory Root Inulin (Prebiotic), Fish Oil, DHA, Yeast Extract, L-Threonine, Lucerne Meal, Vegetable & Fruit Extracts (Tomato Powder, Spinach Powder, Pumpkin Powder + more.
  • Named Protein First: No, but meal is OK.
  • Dog Food Type: Dry kibble, chilled rolls, treats and dental treats.
  • Recipe Range: Chicken, fish, and kangaroo dry kibble recipes for adults and puppies. Chilled rolls also come in chicken, fish and kangaroo options. Treats for large and small dogs, as well as puppies, are available.
  • Suitable For: Adults and puppies, depending on the recipe. Large-breed puppies and seniors can also have it if you have stricter control of their portions.
  • Cost: $
  • Australian Owned: Yes. ProBalance is one of Pet barn’s home brands. Pet barn is part of Greencross Holdings, an Australian-owned company that dominates Australasia’s pet industry.


Taste

Ingredients

Protein content

Additives

Variety

Price

ProBalance is relatively affordable and easy to get. Should you switch your dog? Here’s what our team of independent experts think you should know about their dog food range.

Taste 4/5

Overall, most dog owners on our panel mentioned that their pups like the taste of this food. However, if you or your pup are sensitive to strong smells, stay away from the chilled kangaroo roll. Being wild game meat, kangaroo has a naturally stronger scent than traditional chicken, turkey or even fish. Regardless, some owners complain about the chilled kangaroo recipe having a very strong smell and their dogs refusing to eat it.

If you’ve never tried kangaroo to feed your pup, maybe try a dry kibble recipe first. Despite the strong smell, we think it’s an advantage that ProBalance chose to keep the original smell instead of masking it with additives.

Regardless, this food was generally well received by our testers so we give ProBalance 4 out or 5 for taste.

Ingredients 3/5

ProBalance offers both dry and wet food recipes, and these have to be examined separately.

Their dry food always starts with a named protein, which is an asset in any dog food. Following the meat, dry recipes have sorghum, rice and field peas. Although the brand doesn’t include exact percentages on their ingredient lists, as a general rule the first three to four ingredients in dog food are in more or less the same proportion. This means that, although poultry is the first ingredient, sorghum rice and field peas make up the bulk of the food at a 1 to 3 ratio.

This doesn’t mean the food is bad or harmful for your dog, it’s just misleading labeling. In general, carbs shouldn’t make up more than 40% of your dog’s diet, so with this food, it’s a good idea to supplement with a little more extra protein.

The lipids content in this food is reasonably good, and the sources are quite good: beef tallow and sunflower oil. Both of these ingredients are healthy and will provide the lipids your dog needs to stay healthy and happy. The dry kibble recipes include flaxseed oil as well, which is high in Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidant compounds that might prevent chronic conditions.

The chilled food recipes are another story. Although the first ingredient is still a named protein, the second and third are tapioca and potato starch in all recipes. Our team of independent experts don’t love the use of starch. This is probably used to reduce costs and make the food appear more substantial instead of adding actual potatoes. Plus, plain starch is a very processed carbohydrate that offers no extra nutritional value beyond energy. 

It would be better to see a less processed option like plain potato, rice, peas or other veggies. On the positive side, they don’t add gelatine, guar gum or xanthan gum. These are common extras to provide consistency but they can potentially harm your dog’s microbiome in the long term. [1]

Overall, the ingredients in ProBalance food are reasonable, but because of the higher carb percentage in the kibble and the high percentage of starch in their chilled food, we’re giving them 3 out of 5.

Protein content 3.5/5

A named protein is the first ingredient in all ProBalance recipes, and all recipes have around 25% of protein content. This is slightly above the minimum 18% recommended by the AAFCO for dogs.

Of course, the remainder 75% of the food comes from other sources, so supplementing with a bit of extra protein is a good idea.

A positive point about this brand is they use locally-sourced food. The chicken, kangaroo and fish recipes all use Australian protein, which is always good to see! It’s also nice that they include a meal-form of animal protein. According to the AAFCO, poultry meal is the rendered product from flesh and other soft tissues, without any nasties like feathers, heads or feet. This provides high-quality protein with a good balance of fats and micronutrients. [2]

We would have liked to see slightly higher protein content and maybe some internal organs to add even more micronutrients to the mix. Since this is a respectable composition, our panel is giving ProBalance 3.5 out of 5.

Additives 4/5

Overall, this brand does well with the extra goodies thrown into the recipes. Of course, all of these ingredients make up a very small part of the entire recipe but can help round up your dog’s diet. Of course, ProBalance includes a balanced mix of vitamins and minerals that are named. This is great since it indicates they at least know the specific composition of their mix.

Next, we have fish and flaxseed oil that provide Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. According to our team of independent experts, these are essential to keep your pup’s health and their coat shiny. ProBalance also adds DHA, another type of Omega-3. DHA plays a key role in brain and eye health. DHA is especially important for puppies and older dogs. [3] In fact, according to research, DHA could help older dogs to stay sharp and active for longer [4].

Other goodies include both prebiotics (as chicory root inulin) to ensure their gut stays healthy.

Overall, the extras in ProBalance recipes are nice to see and will provide many of the micronutrients your dog needs. We’re giving this brand 4 out of 5 in this category.

Variety 4/5

Since this is a Pet Barn home brand, it’s no surprise to see ProBalance has plenty of recipes to choose from. As we already mentioned, they offer both dry kibble and chilled dog food. Treats are also included in the offer, although those are considered supplemental.

This brand offers both adult and puppy lines, although there are no senior specialty foods. Of course, their adult recipes are also labelled as “all life stages”, so with a bit of portion tweaking, you can easily adapt it to puppies and older dogs.

Some of the chilled recipes are labelled as better for sensitive skin, healthier joints, healthier digestion and healthy weight. Comparing the recipes, there is no major difference among them besides the different main protein.

Our panel agreed to giving this brand 4 out of 5, mainly because of the misleading marketing on their chilled food line.

Price 5/5

Since this is a house brand, it’s no surprise that it is also relatively affordable. This food line is smack in the middle of mid-range, with a pretty decent composition for the price. Overall, this is a nice price point if you’re feeding a larger pack or just have a very hungry pup. We also like there are some savings options when buying online, like 20% off if you buy two items.

We’re giving 5 out of 5 to ProBalance in this category.


Do not buy if…

While we would say this is a reasonable option, our team of experts suggest you might want to look elsewhere if you:

  • Don’t want to supplement or rotate your dog’s food: The perfect dog food doesn’t exist, but some of them need more supplementation than others. The high percentage of carbs in ProBalance kibble means it would be ideal to top your dog’s plate with some extra meat or raw food. It’s also a good idea to use this food and mix it with other brands that have a different composition. If you’d rather avoid the extra prep, maybe this isn’t the right choice for you.
  • Your dog needs to avoid poultry: Even though they are labelled as if they were single-meat, all recipes have protein from different sources and mostly poultry. This isn’t a problem for most dogs, but some pups are more sensitive and might need to avoid chicken or turkey. If that’s you, this isn’t a good option.

Final Thoughts

Overall, our team of independent experts would say this is a nice mid-range food. Of course, there are some issues with the carb content, and it would be nice to see more vegetables mixed into the ingredient list.

Nevertheless, we like that ProBalance avoids preservatives, artificial colours and weird additives. The recipes are simple and easy to understand. This is an easy to find food that will fit most budgets and paired with extra toppings it’s a great option.

Want to read more dog food brand reviews? Check out the below:

References

  1. Seals, J. July 4, 2023. "Unraveling the Safety of Guar Gum in Dog Food: A Comprehensive Guide". Bable Bark. Retrieved September 10, 2023. https://babelbark.com/unraveling-the-safety-of-guar-gum-in-dog-food-a-comprehensive-guide/
  2. "What's in the ingredients list?" Association of American Feed Control Officials. Retrieved September 10, 2023. https://www.aafco.org/consumers/understanding-pet-food/whats-in-the-ingredients-list/
  3. Arford, K. May 29, 2020. "Fish Oil for Dogs". American Kennel Club.  Retrieved September 10, 2023. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/fish-oil-for-dogs/ 
  4. Arauhjo.J. et al (2022). "Sphingolipids and DHA Improve Cognitive Deficits in Aged Beagle Dogs". Frontiers Veterinary Sciences, Volume 9, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.646451

Eloisa Thomas


Eloisa Thomas is Gentle Dog Trainers Canine Coach & Anthropologist.

With a double master's degree in Anthropology and awarded a Chancellor's International Scholarship to pursue a PhD in History at the University of Warwick (UK), she's well equipped to write well written and factual canine information that will actually help people understand their dogs better.

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