Now Dog Food Reviews (Ratings, Recalls, Ingredients!)
About the Company
Now Dry Dog Food is made by Petcurean, a family owned business, started in 1999 by two friends. It’s headquartered in Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada. The company manufactures their dry pet food and SPIKE Treat Bars in Ontario, Canada, as well as most of their canned pet products. The rest of the canned food is made in the USA, in New Jersey, and the SPIKE Jerky Treats are made in Georgia.
All the ingredients are from North America too, except the lamb and venison, which is from Australia and New Zealand, where they also have good food and farming practices. They try to source everything as close to their facilities as possible to reduce environmental emissions and ensure freshness.
Petcurean Puts Pets First
I also like that in 2016, Petcurean was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Small and Medium Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc. They were listed because of their excellent work environment and human resource policies. Their website says the foundation of their business is, “quality first, pets first without compromise.”
Adult Dog Food
Adult Recipe Dry Dog Food with turkey, salmon and duck. Crude protein (min) 26%, Crude fat (min) 16%, Crude fibre (max) 3.5%.
Adult Red Meat Recipe Dry Dog Food with lamb, venison and pork. Crude protein (min) 24%,Crude fat (min) 16%, Crude fibre (max) 4%.
Adult Fish Recipe Dry Dog Food with trout, salmon and herring. Crude protein (min) 24%, Crude fat (min) 14%, Crude fibre (max) 4%.
Small Breed Adult Recipe Dry Dog Food with turkey, salmon and duck. Crude protein (min) 27%, Crude fat (min), 17%, Crude fibre (max) 4%.
Large Breed Adult Recipe Dry Dog Food with turkey, salmon, duck and New Zealand green mussels. Taurine and L-Carnitine are added too, for the heart and metabolism. Glucosamine is included too for healthy hips and joints. Crude protein (min) 27%, Crude fat (min) 13%, Crude fibre (max) 3%.
Puppy Food
Fresh Grain Free Puppy Food with turkey, salmon and duck. DHA/EPA is added with the usual Omega 3 & 6 oils from coconuts and canola. They support the development of growing puppy brains. Crude protein (min) 28%, Crude fat (min) 18%, Crude fibre (max) 3%.
Large Breed Puppy Food with turkey, salmon, duck and New Zealand green mussels. Also has added Taurine and L-Carnitine, as well as Calcium and phosphorus to support growth. Crude protein (min) 29%, Crude fat (min) 16%, Crude fibre (max) 2.5%.
Senior Dog Food
Senior Dog Food with turkey, salmon and duck, as well as added L-Carnitine and Glucosamine. It's also good for weight management. Crude protein (min) 24%, Crude fat (min) 10, Crude fibre (max) 6%.
Large Breed Senior Weight Management Recipe Dry Dog Food with turkey, salmon, duck and New Zealand green mussels. L-Carnitine is added for the heart and metabolism, as well as Glucosamine to help maintain the hips and joints. Crude protein (min) 25%, Crude fat (min) 11%, Crude fibre (max) 4.5%.
Rating
Now Dog Food Reviews
I like how all of Petcurean recipes, including the Now fresh line are developed by their in-house qualified nutritionists. The ingredients are high in quality, and the company uses best industry practices when creating their products.
Now Dog Food makes kibble for puppies, adults and seniors, as well as special recipes for small and large breeds or weight management. As a company, they want to create a recipe that is specifically formulated as perfect for every pet’s individual needs, not one-size-fits-all products.
Pros
Now dog food ingredients focus on freshness. There are no rendered meat or by-products. Their meat, meat meal, fruit and vegetables are even passed as fit for human consumption by the CFIA, before entering their facilities. The fish are tested for heavy metals too.
China isn’t involved in any company processing, and no ingredients come from there.
All preservatives are natural, vitamin E rich tocopherols, rather than artificial, chemical preservatives like ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT. There are no artificial colours or flavours either. High-temperature baking is also avoided, which robs ingredients of natural, vital nutrients.
All Petcurean's manufacturing plants are certified by the EU, FDA and CFIA for sanitation, cleanliness and other industry standards. The British Retail Consortium also does independent audits. The ingredients are tested on arrival, at each stage of production, and before shipment. They also keep samples for tracking if there was ever a problem.
Human Resources Manager, Cari McClelland says that everyone at the company is like family. That must even include the animals! Any testing during pet food development actually includes Petcurean employees' family pets, for things like palatability, stool consistency and urine pH. Any additional test animals aren’t kept in lab cages either. This is food created in a loving way by pet owners, for pet owners.
Even the poultry in Petcurean pet food is cage-free. And, because it’s all from Canada, you don’t have to worry about hormones and steroids, since they're illegal there in poultry farming.
Cons
Petcurean doesn't make a canned food in the Now Dog pet food line. That might send consumers the message that dogs don’t really need canned food to meet their moisture needs or to be more like their natural diet. The dry dog foods only have a 10 percent maximum moisture content, which is typical in the industry.
Now Dry Dog Food recipes aren’t made for rotation diets, with different protein sources that are all balanced the same way. And, some types of dogs will have more protein choices than others.
The recipes are even made to for better oral health and breath! They're grain-free, without gluten, wheat, corn or soy. Beef isn’t used either, not even in the red-meat formula, because it’s a common allergen for dogs. The small breed and puppy food also have a smaller kibble shape, to make them easier to chew too.
Now Dog Food Recall History
There hasn’t been a recall of Now Dog Food in the last two years. The last recall issue with Petcurean was in their Go! Natural pet food line. However, the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine reclassified it as a market withdrawal in 2004, which means the company only had a minor violation, and no legal action from the FDA was required.
Final Thoughts
Now dog food ingredients are great. The protein comes from named sources that are the same quality as human food, and the fruit and vegetables are too. I’m comfortable with the safety of their products and where they come from. The only downside seems to be that they aren’t balanced for rotation feeding and the formulations for seniors, puppies and different breed sizes don’t have different protein choices.
