Now Fresh Dog Food Review

Now Fresh is a Canadian dog food brand, produced by Petcurean.

Petcurean has been around for 20 years — and has established itself as a reputable, trustworthy, and innovative pet food manufacturer.

Now Fresh is their second-largest brand of dog food. The focus of this brand is on natural, fresh ingredients.

In this Now Fresh dog food review, we’ll find out if Petcurean successfully provided complete dog nutrition with fresh foods and how they measure up.

About Now Fresh

Now Fresh is a medium-sized brand of Petcurean pet food.

The brand is designed to have premium-quality, natural ingredients and cater to different breed sizes and dogs’ life stages.

The brand is made with 100% fresh meat and fresh oil. Other ingredients are minimally processed. Now Fresh products have no rendered ingredients, by-products, or meat meals.

The brand is both grain-free and gluten-free. There are no artificial colors, artificial flavors, or preservatives.

Now Fresh Dog Food Review

Now Fresh dog food range includes both dry dog food and wet options.

The range is divided into several brand lines corresponding to different life stages and breed sizes.

Some of these products overlap within two or more brand lines. For example, you can find the Adult Large Breed recipe in the Adult and Large Breed categories.

All the products within the range meet the AAFCO nutritional requirements.

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Now Fresh Adult Dog Food

The Now Fresh Adult formulas provide complete and balanced nutrition for adult dogs. There are three adult formulas for all breeds and two for specific breed sizes:

• Now Fresh Grain-Free Adult Turkey Recipe
• Now Fresh Grain-Free Adult Red Meat Recipe
• Now Fresh Grain-Free Adult Fish Recipe
• Now Fresh Grain-Free Small Breed Adult Recipe
• Now Fresh Grain-Free Large Breed Adult Recipe

The crude protein content is 24-26%, and it comes from whole meat or fish. That is plenty of animal protein to support your canine’s everyday activities.

These formulas are rich in superfoods — various fresh veggies and fruits for added antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Not to mention a better taste for your furry friend.

The recipes also include L-carnitine, taurine, and coconut oil. These ingredients are super important for weight management, heart health, and shiny fur.

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Now Fresh Large Breed Dog Food

The Large Breed line has one recipe for each life stage: Puppy, Adult, and Senior.

The dry dog food recipes are formulated to meet specific dietary needs of each life stage — and large breeds in general.

For example, the Puppy formula has more protein and fat than the Adult and Senior formulas. Puppies need more of these for sustained healthy growth and development.

The Adult and Senior formulas for large breeds focus instead on weight management and joint health support.

They contain L-carnitine, live probiotics, and green tea extract for efficient digestion. Additionally, these recipes have green mussels — a natural source of chondroitin and glucosamine sulfate, for healthier cartilage.

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Now Fresh Small Breed Dog Food

Similar to large breed recipes, Now Fresh for small breeds contains a formula for each life stage: Puppy, Adult, and Senior.

The main difference is that small breed dry dog food is a small kibble. Smaller bites mean more enjoyment — your little furball doesn’t have to struggle with the ginormous kibble when they’re hungry.

Formulas’ primary goal, however, is to provide complete nutrition tailored to small breeds’ various life stages.

Like in the other formulas, fresh whole meats supply enough protein.

The Puppy formula has the biggest percentage, but the Adult and Senior formulas are not that far behind (27% and 24%, respectively). This is enough for your pooch to keep jumping around.

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Now Fresh Puppy Dog Food

There are three Puppy formulas, divided by breeds’ size into All Breeds, Large, and Small.

Since most of the growth and brain development occurs within the first year of a dog’s life, Puppy formulas are specifically designed to provide complete and balanced nutrition during that crucial period.

They provide enough protein and minerals for bones, muscles, and the brain. They also have plenty of superfoods, such as blueberries, cranberries, papaya, and bananas. These are potent antioxidants. They will protect the immune system as the puppy grows.

Finally, the size of the kibble matches the breeds’ size. So small breeds puppy formulas will have small kibble, whereas large breeds can munch on a large one.

All breeds formula has a medium kibble.

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Now Fresh Senior Dog Food

In the same vein as the Puppy formulas, Now Fresh Senior recipes are formulated for different breed sizes: All Breeds, Small and Large.

The size of the kibble is adjusted for each breed size. Small seniors get a small kibble, large senior formulas are a large kibble, and recipes for all breeds are a medium one. This way, the seniors don’t have to struggle while chewing food.

Senior formulas provide complete nutrition for senior dogs. But, they also help with weight management and nourish joint health.

All the formulas are enriched with L-carnitine, taurine, and live probiotics. These promote healthy weight, heart health, and proper digestion.

The formulas also have New Zealand green mussels as a natural chondroitin and glucosamine sulfate source. These two compounds are the building blocks of cartilage, so they will slow down the natural wear and tear of joints as dogs age.

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Now Fresh Wet Stew Recipes

Now Fresh Wet Stew formulas come in two flavors:

• Now Fresh Grain-Free Pork Stew
• Now Fresh Grain-Free Turkey Stew

You can serve canned food as a treat, a topper, or a complete meal. And your dog will enjoy it.

The stew is made with whole meats — either fresh pork or fresh turkey — and salmon. Besides tasting great, the meat/fish combo provides a healthy dose of protein and healthy Omega-3 fatty acids.

If that weren’t enough, there is also a bone broth — for great consistency, added collagen, and extra minerals.

Wet Stew formulas are meant for all life stages and breed sizes. They are grain-free, non-GMO, and with no artificial colors or flavors.

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Now Fresh Wet Shredded Recipes

Now Fresh Shredded recipes are the second line of wet dog food. This line includes 3 formulas:

• Now Fresh Grain-Free Shredded Chicken Recipe
• Now Fresh Grain-Free Small Breed Shredded Turkey
• Now Fresh Grain-Free Shredded Lamb

The formulas provide complete nutrition for all life stages and breed sizes. The crude protein content is 8–8.5% on a wet matter basis, which is enough protein for canines.

The main ingredients are delicious whole meats — chicken, turkey, or lamb. The meat is complemented with chicken/turkey bone broth and chicken liver for additional protein and minerals.

Did we mention it’s quite a palatable combination for your pooch?

Finally, all the Now Fresh wet dog food, including Shredded recipes, is packed in reclosable Tetra Pak packaging. Not only is this practical, but Tetra Pak is a more sustainable alternative to standard packaging.

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Ingredient Quality

Now Fresh dog food has some great ingredients. In fact, most of them are fit for human consumption and taste great.

You should pay attention to a few ingredients, especially if your dog is prone to allergies.

So let’s see what’s on the plate with this brand.

Proteins

Now Fresh recipes’ main portion of proteins comes from fresh meats — like fresh salmon and de-boned turkey. Lean meat is always a good choice for a healthy and happy dog. 

The primary meats’ nutritional value is completed by either other whole meats or named meat meals. These provide additional protein, minerals, and fiber in some cases.

Whole dried egg is commonly used as well. The egg is a complete protein and great fat source, but be careful if your dog is allergic to it.

There are no by-product meals. If by-products do appear, they are specified — like chicken liver, for example. The liver is a source of extra nutrients and an excellent addition to existing animal sources.

Fats

The fats in the formulas come from two sources: canola oil and coconut oil.

Canola oil is a debated ingredient. Though it provides enough fat for your dog, it’s also considered potentially GMO.

Petcurean and Now Fresh state that their products are non-GMO — and they have strict regulations in place. We reached out to Petcurean customer service and asked if the canola oil in their recipes is GMO.

The Petcurean care representative explained that the GMO component is found only in canola proteins: 

Canola used in Now Fresh formulas is stripped of all the protein before it’s processed. So no GMO element enters the recipe.

On the other hand, coconut oil is a somewhat novel ingredient in pet foods — and not many pet food companies use it. It is highly rich in healthy fatty acids and generally considered safe for dogs.

However, bear in mind that some dogs may be allergic to it — and that any fat, if taken in excess, contributes to pancreatitis.

Several formulas also include flaxseed. Combined with salmon, these provide healthy and complete Omega-3 fatty acids.

Most pet foods opt for chicken fat as the primary fat source. Animal fat is more easily digestible and better accessible to dogs.

Fiber & Carbs

All the Now Fresh formulas are grain-free, so they don’t contain any grains.

Instead, the recipes include sweet potatoes and peas, with their derivatives. By these, we mean potato flour, pea flour, and pea fiber.

Such ingredients are pretty standard for grain-free dog food. In addition to supplying enough carbs, they also provide dietary fiber. Fiber is crucial for a healthy dog’s digestive system.

Is the ratio good? It would seem so since many formulas list sweet potatoes and peas before the derivatives.

Ingredients to Consider

Most dogs will benefit from the ingredients Now Fresh, but you should pay attention to a few.

Some Now Fresh formulas use natural flavor and, specifically, fruit juice. Natural flavor is a broad term covering all sorts of things, like hydrolyzed protein, essential oil, fruit juice, and others. If your dog is allergic to any of these, it could pose a problem.

Fruit juice is very high in sugar and brings its own problems. High sugar intake can contribute to weight gain, obesity, and even pancreatitis in some cases.

Additionally, several formulas use cassia gum and guar gum. These are thickening agents, often seen in wet dog food. But, they might induce allergic reactions in some dogs.

Several formulas in Now Fresh include sodium tripolyphosphate. This ingredient is seen in dental sticks and some dry dog foods. It contributes to good dental hygiene, but it also causes skin irritation in some dogs.

The formulas do not contain artificial preservatives — they use mixed tocopherols instead (a complex of vitamin E forms). There are no artificial colors.

Notable Ingredients

The first thing you will notice on Now Fresh ingredient lists is the profusion of fresh vegetables and fruits. Some of these are pretty interesting, like papaya, bananas, blackberries, pomegranate, and squash. These superfoods are antioxidants and will bring in plenty of good ol’ vitamin C and other vitamins.

The formulas also contain standard vitamins and minerals. The vitamin A, D3, vitamin E supplement, B-vitamins, and chelated minerals are vital for any dog’s health.

Now Fresh features dried chicory root, alfalfa sprouts, and live probiotics as well. The prebiotics and probiotics keep digestion running smoothly.

Finally, as with many grain-free diets, the recipes also have taurine. Taurine is not an essential nutrient for dogs, but many pet food companies add it for dogs’ heart health.

Now Fresh Dog Food Recalls

To date, there have been no recalls of Now Fresh.

This is great since it instills confidence in Petcurean’s quality control.

FDA website regularly updates their database of dog food recalls. The database is freely available to all pet owners. 

Now Fresh Dog Food Reviews

Now Fresh dog food reviews are overwhelmingly positive.

Dog owners say that their canines love the taste, even the picky eaters. They also praise the adjusted kibble size.

“My dog is normally a very picky eater, but he loves this food! As soon as it came in the mail, he wouldn’t leave it alone! He also usually just grazes in his food all day, but this food he eats all in one sitting. We highly recommend it!”

You can read more Now Fresh dog food reviews on Chewy.

A minor portion of the customers complained that their dogs wouldn’t eat the food. Even after many failed attempts. Also, some mention that morsels are too big for small breeds — and that they struggle to chew them:

“My dogs have now been eating this for a week with their normal food. They do enjoy it and have had no issues that I’ve notice arise since eating it. However, the morsels are rather large. I have small dogs (around 25lbs), one older one younger. It’s a bit of a struggle for them to eat them as they are hard as well. No soft bits in there. Overall they like it; I just wish they were smaller or had a softer morsel mixed in with it.”

You can read more Now Fresh dog food reviews on Chewy.

Our Verdict

Now Fresh is a great dog food brand that dog lovers will surely appreciate.

Both dry dog food and wet formulas offer some wonderful ingredients and complete and balanced pet nutrition.

Furthermore, Petcurean’s sustainable and practical packaging, in our opinion, seals the deal.

Now Fresh is definitely a dog food you should try out.

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