NOW! Grain Free

Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on this food from petcurean. I see that as a grain free food its much lower in protein that Orijen and EVO at 26% protein and 16% fat.

Anyone know when this will be coming out?

Right now my pups are on Go! Chicken Fruit & Veg and Go! Wild Salmon. I'd be interested in trialing the Now! and possibly rotating it with the other foods they eat for variety. There are so many choices out there now as far as kibbles go. :thumbs up

Here are the ingredients for NOW ! Grain Free:


INGREDIENTS

De-boned Turkey, Potato Flour, Pea, Apple, Whole Dried Egg, Pea Fibre, Tomato, Potato, Flaxseed, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E) , Natural Flavors, De-boned Salmon, De-boned Duck, Sun Dried Alfalfa, Coconut Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Lecithin, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Fruit: ( pumpkin, bananas, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, papaya, pineapple), Vegetables: ( carrots, lentil beans, broccoli, spinach, alfalfa sprouts, garlic), cottage cheese, zeolite, Vitamins: ( vitamin A, vitamin E, Vitamin C, niacin: source of Vitamin B3 thiamine mononitrate: source of Vitamin B1, pyridoxine hydrochloride: source of Vitamin B6, Riboflavin : source of Vitamin B2, Vitamin K, beta-carotene, inositol: source of Vitamin B8, d-calcium panthothenate, vitamin D3, folic acid: (source of vitamin B9) biotin, source of vitamin B7 or H, vitamin B12) , Minerals: (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite) , Prebiotics: (chicory root extract, mannanoligosaccharides), Probiotics: lactobacillus acidophilus, lactobacillus casei, enterococcus faecium, bifido bacterium thermophilum), Ascorbyl-Polyphosphate, Digestive Enzymes: ( dried trichoderma viride fermentation extract, dried aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract) , Kelp, Taurine, DL Methionine, L-lysine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Marigold Extract,L-Carnitine, Dried Rosemary.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS

Crude Protein (min) 26%
Crude Fat (min) 16%
Crude Fiber (max) 4%
Moisture (max) 10%
Calcium (min) 1.2%
Phosphorus (min) .8%
*Omega 6 Fatty Acids (min) 2.5%
*Omega 3 Fatty Acids (min) .5%


*not recognized as an essential nutrient by the A.A.F.C.O. dog food nutrient profile.


The deboned turkey, salmon and duck include the water weight so this formula doesn't include much meat at all. It would be much better to have turkey meal as the first ingredient and salmon & duck meals in the top five ingredients. This is what Linda Arndt has to say about fresh meat versus meat meal:

Using "fresh, whole, or deboned" chicken as a protein source sounds good to the public, but in fact it is a marketing gimmick. Why?.... because in the industry, ingredients are listed on the bags in the order of their weight before cooking. Therefore, whole, fresh or deboned chicken (which has a large amount of water) is listed first on the label. Yet when whole meats are cooked down, they are actually much less in their protein content, than when one uses a meal, which is already cooked and water removed.

So the end results is, a food using fresh, whole or deboned meats, is a food that is really a grain based diet and not a meat based diet at all.

This is exactly what you don't want to use, especially when allergies and systemic yeast infections are the biggest health problems in canines. Using a super premium meat based (meat meal) diet is critical to good health for your pet. Several brands that market their products as natural or holistic foods are in fact grain based foods, but because of how they market them and list them on the label, the public thinks they are a "meat based" diet. Two examples of this are Wellness and Chicken Soup.

Remember, you get more protein "bang for your buck" from a nutritional standpoint, when using a specific meat meal (lamb, beef, chicken, turkey, buffalo, duck, pork, venison etc.).


Potato Flour is a thickening agent. Why don't they use whole potatos instead? :rolleyes:

Dried egg product loses protein in the drying process. Why don't they use whole eggs instead? :rolleyes:

But, I do like the inclusion of coconut oil as an ingredient. :thumbs up


Their orignal GO! Grain Free formula was much better IMO:

INGREDIENTS

Chicken Meal, Chicken, Turkey, Turkey Meal, Potato, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols (vit. E), Herring Meal, Potatoes, Peas, Tomato Pomace, Natural Flavour, Salmon, Duck, Salmon Meal, Duck Meal, Salmon Oil, Whole Dried Egg, Flax Seed Oil, Brewer’s Yeast, Pea Fibre, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Taurine, Choline Chloride, Chicory Root Extract, Mannanoligosaccharides, Pumpkin, Apples, Carrots, Bananas, Blueberries, Cranberries, Lentil Beans, Broccoli, Spinach, Cottage Cheese, Alfalfa Sprouts, Protease, Lipase, Garlic, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Lactobacillus Casei, Enterococcus Faecium, Bifido-bacterium Thermophilum, Vitamins (vit. E, vit. C, niacin, inositol, vit. A, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, vit. K, beta-carotene, vit. D3, folic acid, biotin, vit. B12), Minerals (zinc proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), Ascorbyl-polyphosphate, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Rosemary.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS

Crude Protein (min) 42%
Crude Fat (min) 20%
Crude Fiber (max) 2.5%
Moisture (max) 10%
Calcium (min) 1.8%
Phosphorus (min) 1.2%
*Omega 6 Fatty Acids (min) 3%
*Omega 6 Fatty Acids (min) 0.5%

*not recognized as an essential nutrient by the A.A.F.C.O. dog food nutrient profile

I looked at this one too, but I guess in order to get a lower protein they are using meat rather than meal. Some people are freaked out about the high protein.
I guess the render free thing might be a hit too.
I think the potato flour is used as a binder, don't know how potatoes would work in this.

Gypsy Girl, you are most likely right, but I think they should have the deboned turkey, deboned salmon and deboned duck as the first three ingredients so it isn't so carbohydrate heavy.

It wouldn't increase the protein that much since none of them are "meat meals" and their regular formula Chicken, Fruit and Vegetables has protein at 24% and their Salmon & Oatmeal is at 22%. The GO! Grain Free is at 42% so, to me, they should compromise with a protein level in the low thirty percent range. :shrug:

Rainbow you are so wise. I agree with you. However I still would like to try and introduce different foods into my pups' diets. If anyone else out there has tried it or knows when it's appearing how about letting us know.:D

Maybe with a the water in the meat soem of those other ingredients make a cohesive kibble. I have heard that the processing of no grain diets is more difficult than a regular grain kibble.

I emailed Michele @ Petcurean and she said that they are sending out the dogfood this week to their distributors so look for it soon. It probably won't be my first choice but because my senior samoyed is allergic to chicken but not turkey? it would be nice to have a food that both dogs can eat that's decent quality, & Canadian. :ca:

I was away this weekend and this was sent to me on Friday. Now!dogfood will be available in six weeks in Edmonton. Cheers.

The ingredients look excellent! I've been planning on trying Petcurean's Foundations, but now it's a tough call with this one. I think 26% protein is perfect; I don't like the extremely high protein kibbles (42%). I'm also going to be adding Go! Natural chicken, fruit & vegetables canned, so I think that's plenty of protein.