Earlier this year, I began feeding my dogs fresh dog food. It was a decision that came with a lot of consideration. Based on everything I read, fresh dog food was the best for my dogs, especially considering I had been feeding them kibble for their first four years. After A LOT of painstaking research, I settled on NomNomNow, for reasons I’ll share with you shortly. Six months have passed, and the results have been beyond my highest expectations.
My babies 🙂
A Little Background
My dogs are such a huge part of my family. And like my family, I try to give them the best of everything. But I knew that while the kibble I was feeding them had good reviews, it wasn’t the best. My girl, Sandy, was a little heavy, and my boy, Scout, had periodic skin issues that my vet said could be a result of his food. That was enough for me. I finally decided to see what the options were. My criteria for evaluating these options fell into the following buckets:
- Quality Ingredients – Healthy, real food – no fillers or preservatives
- Track Record – No recalls, proven expertise
- Convenience – No measuring or storing AND delivery to my home
- Variety of Options – Not the same food, day-in and day-out
The final result of my search: NomNomNow was the clear winner.
NomNomNow uses only high-quality, human grade ingredients, and each meal is pre-portioned, made to order, and shipped right to my door. The deciding factor, however, was that NomNomNow recipes are developed by a board certified veterinary nutritionist – much like if you were to have a nutritionist create a meal plan for yourself. Dr. Justin Shmalberg, has put together complete and balanced meals for dogs that also taste great. My dogs love them. I’m a fan, as well. How do I know? Take a look at the video below.
Some Of The Highlights
This journey has been nothing short of amazing. In the beginning, I saw small, subtle changes. But after the first month, things really started to happen!
Day 1 – It Begins!
Check out the video of the 1st shipment unboxing.
The food arrived yesterday. Time to unpack the box and get started. I was very pleased with how it was packed – ice cold – huge considering you’re dealing with fresh, human-grade ingredients. I ordered all 4 recipes : Heartland Beef Mash, Tasty Turkey Fare, Chicken Chow-Wow, and Porkalicious Potluck. For the first week, I’ll be giving my dogs a 50/50 mix of NomNomNow food and their regular kibble. This helps their tummies adjust to the new food. I have to say, I’m really pleased with 1) the small 50% pre-portioned bags and 2) the labels on these bags, which note that they are for the transition period. The food smelled and looked really good. Like something I would eat!
Day 8 – Fully fresh
Now that we are transitioned completely, I thought it would be fun to show you a side by side comparison of the food you get from NomNomNow. So many times the photos we see online are nothing like what we actually get. Now, I’m no photographer and shooting this pic with my phone, but I think that’s good. You be the judge. I am pretty impressed with the quality and appearance of the real food.
NOTE: This photo was taken with my phone. I’m not a photographer. I didn’t try to make it pretty. What you see is how it came out of the bag. Ingredients you can actually see!
Chicken Chow-Wow
Day 15 – Puppy Love
Both dogs definitely seem to be more energized. Puppy-like. They are only 5 years old, but I’ve noticed them bounding around, wrestling, and playing with each other more. A lot more. It’s actually pretty fun to watch.
DAY 35
Just a few days ago, the dogs and I headed over to the vet for a post 30-day follow up. Everything continues to look positive. One key development: after communicating with NomNomNow regarding Sandy and her extra weight, the NomNomNow team reduced her serving size—and they reduced the price too! This really impressed me. This is definitely not a mindless, faceless dog food company. The fact that they’ve customized her meal plan really demonstrates the level of science and care that is behind this.
Let’s talk about stool – sure, no one likes to talk about it, but I believe the healthy, available nutrients in the fresh dog food is the reason I am seeing small, more dense stools, which makes “cleaning up” a lot easier.
DAY 57
Brought the dogs to the vet today for a check-up. He was pretty amazed, noting how great they looked – especially their coats. He also noted that Sandy looked much healthier. This was confirmed when he put her on the scale. She is down over 6 pounds since starting NomNomNow. I didn’t expect these kinds of results! Scout is also down 2 pounds, and while he didn’t really need to lose weight, he is now super fit.
Day 65 – Ongoing Support from NomNomNow
After the last vet visit, Sandy still needed to lose a few pounds. The experts at NomNomNow developed a plan to achieve this goal. We all know it’s not good to be overweight. It increases the potential for bone & joint issues and a myriad of other health problems – not to mention decreased activity levels because of lack of energy. It’s a vicious cycle. Addressing her weight now, while she’s still young, will help to make a huge difference now and as she ages.
Day 80
About 6 months ago, I purchased a robot vacuum to help combat the dog hair. No matter what I did, it seemed like there were always hairballs floating around like tumbleweeds. Today, my daughter noted there seemed to be less dog hair lately. She was right! I know healthier coats are a benefit of a healthy doggy diet, but I never considered this a bonus of NomNomNow. While I’m not a vet and can’t definitively say it’s the food, I can say that after over 5 years of living with the hairy beasts (that I love dearly), there is less shedding. Healthy coat = less shedding? Makes sense to me.
Why Didn’t I Do This Sooner?
If you’ve ever been at a point in your life where you were eating right, getting good sleep, exercising and generally just living well, you’ll understand how my pups feel right now. If only NomNomNow could get MY diet on track! It is human-grade after all…
The changes I’ve seen over the past 6 months have been incredible. I know I am doing everything possible to make my dogs’ lives as healthy and as long as possible. Their quality of life has improved dramatically, which I attribute to NomNomNow.
I just wish I started this journey sooner!
Update: NomNomNow is extending a limited time offer to iHeartDogs readers. Get 50% off your first box!
The post I Switched My Dogs From Kibble To Fresh Food And Documented Everything For 6 Months appeared first on iHeartDogs.com.
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