N&D Pet Food
food focus: N&D
aka natural & delicious, Aka farmina
Every now and then a pet food can show up out of the blue and check all of the boxes. You may not know this but, it is very difficult for pet food companies to get their food into Dolittle’s. Many a salesperson have left crying because they can not get their food on our shelves. Our standards are high and our research game is strong. Shelf space is limited so we want to be sure that the food we have is the absolute best. All of this makes us more picky about food than your cavapoo, or schnoodle.
A few years back a hopeful food representative, Harold, walked into Dolittle’s. He made it past our dubious glances and began his spiel. He wasn’t far along when we began to pick up on some interesting highlights. Harold deftly handled our barrage of needling questions, he had an answer for every one. By the end of the meeting we were 100 percent convinced that this would be a food offered in Dolittle’s. That was in 2016. Today N&D by Farmina is one of our best selling foods.
The thing that hooked us most with N&D was their use of pumpkin in the formula. For several years we had been recommending that customers add a little pumpkin to their dogs diet to help with digestion. Pumpkins are rich in soluble fiber. This means that the body can easily use the fiber to correct problems along the way of digestion. In other words, better poops. Loose stool gets firmed up and compact stool gets moved through. To finally find a food that incorporates pumpkin was great news. For dogs with digestive issues N&D is a great fit.
Our interest in N&D and their use of pumpkin was just the beginning. We found a lot to love about this food. Dog food nerd warning: remember that reference to “all the boxes” well, we have a lot of boxes. We won’t bore you with all of them but will highlight a few of our favorites. Certainly the most basic of our concerns relate to ingredients. N&D takes all the requisite care in finding top quality meats, fruits and vegetables. Their sources are often local (the food is made in Italy) and always GMO free. Even better, the livestock is raised on GMO free, hormone and antibiotic free foods as well. How a pet food is made takes up another dozen or so of our boxes. Their website has a lot more information for you to check out: READ MORE. What struck us with N&D was their twin screw process. We only know of two foods in the US that use the twin screw process, so finding another was very exciting (in a nerdy way). Simply put, this process binds the ingredients better and increases digestibility. With so many dogs having tummy problems this food is sure to make their life better. Another interesting fact about N&D is that in Italy they are a food recommended by veterinarians. When we take a deep dive into the ingredient list and find nothing but good things we can’t help but be a bit jealous of the dogs in Italy on this great “veterinarian recommended” diet. Especially when we compare it to the ingredients in the leading US veterinarian food. We’re looking at you: ground pecan shells.
The pumpkin formulas from N&D all help keep dogs and cats regular. But the line doesn’t stop there. They have formulas specifically for skin and coat problems, and formulas for weight management and digestion. Some of their foods are grain free while others are grain inclusive. In addition to all of these dry food formulas N&D also makes some fantastic can formulas. Harold proudly pops open the cans at trade shows and offers us a bite: “Go on, they’re all made with human grade ingredients.” The dogs we know can’t understand what we don’t take him up on the offer. The truth is we’d rather our dogs eat better than us.