This post is sponsored by Only Natural Pet and the BlogPaws Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the new Canine PowerFoodTM, but Something Wagging This Way Comes only shares information if we feel it’s useful or interesting to our readers. Only Natural Pet did not dictate or influence this post’s content.
Why would I have Honey try a new dog food?
She loves her current diet. And during every wellness visit, my vet starts by saying, “She looks great! What are you feeding her again?”
It’s about the boat. When we move aboard a sailboat next year, we probably won’t have refrigeration. And we can’t buy Honey’s fresh food every week at the store.
In truth, kibble fits life aboard.
So when the BlogPaws Network asked if I’d be willing to try a new dog food (available for sale on October 6), I became interested.
What’s Up With Only Natural Pet
When I hear a food product is “all natural” my mind goes two ways. If I’m feeling cynical, I think how meaningless the term is without any formal standard. A day-glo orange slush drink from a convenience store could be called “natural” for all that it means today.
But when I have hope for humanity, I assume using the phrase “all natural” means someone is trying to communicate something to me. And I need to find out what.
I checked out the Only Natural Pet website to read about what they’re calling their Canine PowerFood™. I saw whole whitefish and fish meal, garbanzo beans, apples, flaxseed and other ingredients I recognized and eat myself. Even better, I didn’t see unpronounceable preservatives or cheap grain fillers. And it’s made in the USA.
Let’s see what Honey thinks. Because an amazing diet, if Honey won’t eat it, is just makes an expensive maraca out of a Kong.
Transitioning To A New Food
Slowly add a new food to your dog’s diet to avoid stomach upset.
Honey has a sturdy tummy (thank you, universe!). And when I switch Honey from one high-quality food to another, she experiences no difficulties. Luckily, that was the case here.
But I was curious to see if Honey would eat hard, crunchy food as eagerly as she eats her usual soft food. I stuffed her usual food into the bottom of her Kong, added some new kibble, and alternated layers to make a dog food lasagna in a red, rubber food toy.
As she picked up her food toy and knocked it around to dump the food, Honey didn’t discriminate between her soft food and the new, crunchy kibble. She liked them both.
All About The Poop
It comes down to poop. We all watch it to know how our dogs process their diet.
I’m pleased to say Honey’s looks fine with the new diet. But I discovered something cool.
The food, out of the bag, has a pleasant fish smell (if you like fish). It does not smell like dog food.
And after the food has been through Honey, it retains that fresh, fishy smell. Compared to the leavings of our foster puppy, eating a conventional diet, it was more pleasant to pick up.
I don’t see Only Natural Pet adding that to their marketing campaigns, but I thought you’d find it as interesting as I did.
What I Like And Don’t Like
There’s a lot to like about this new PowerFood™:
- Honey likes the taste
- It has whole ingredients
- Made in the USA
And just a few things that made me nuts:
- Hype-y name—PowerFood™, for real?
- Using terms that don’t mean much, like “all natural”
- Uncertainty that the small amounts of so-called power foods coating the kibbles give any real nutritional benefit
But it does seem to be a nutritious options with limited proteins that might be particularly helpful for dogs with sensitivities. I’ll continue to feed it to Honey and it’s a definite contender for a future boat diet.
You can connect with Only Natural Pets on Facebook and Twitter. PowerFood™ will be available for sale starting Monday at Only Natural Pet, Pet360, and PetFoodDirect.
Your Turn: How do you evaluate food for your dog? Do terms like “all natural” make you feel better about buying a food?
The Puppy Is Coming – Switching Gears
That’s great that she likes this as much as her soft food! Especially since she’s so used to eating the soft. I don’t like fish myself, so it’s hard for me to say that it’s a pleasant fish smell lol. Interesting thing about the poop too, I hadn’t noticed that with Shiner yet.
Well if you don’t like fish in the first please, I guess fish processed as dog poop won’t thrilled you too much. So I guess Shiner doesn’t have to worry about your taking a big sniff when you clean up after her. 🙂
Ruby and Boca seemed happy with their transition and I plan to add it to our regular rotation. They both have sturdy stomachs, too, and I’m so thankful for that.
Every time I read about another online friend dealing with their dog’s stomach issues, I send up praises to the heavens. We are very, very lucky to have girls with strong tummies. Hallelujah!
I agree with Ann, I wouldn’t say it’s a good smell, LOL. But it doesn’t bother me. I think it’s worth the smell for the added benefits to the dogs!
I probably wouldn’t have noticed the smell if I wasn’t also feeding more conventional food to our foster puppy (we always keep them on the diet the shelter sends along).
The foster pup’s food smelled meh. But when it made it’s second appearance, it was truly repulsive. It made ONP really stand out. 🙂
With my girls’ sensitive tummies — and my sensitive nose (I hate the smell of fish!) — I better steer clear of any diet changes for now.
I am a big fan of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Stay with what works.
But the smell of fresh fish–yummy! 🙂
Sounds interesting, what a bonus that is smells ok going in and coming out!
I can’t help but think there must be a factory somewhere working on a dog food formula that makes poop smell like bacon or flowers or something. After spending a week with a no-quite-housetrained-puppy, I can definitely see (smell) the need. 🙂
Great review! Miley is enjoying her Poultry Feast, looks like we’re going to have to try the Fish! 🙂
Harley has a sensitive tummy, too much variety causes problems. We rely on our Doodle Doc to recommend a high protein diet for him and so far it’s been great. Weight is incredible and his poop is rarely large. He eats Acana – and as the vet say’s “lots in – little out” I’m happy you’re finding some foods to choose from for Honey when you set sail. Great post also.
So glad to hear she likes it! I’ve started ignoring the labeling on the front of the package and I go right to the ingredient list. I took a nutrition class and learned how lax the terminology is allowed to be. You just can’t trust it! I’ll have to look into this to add to the fluffies rotation.