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Fresh dog food is a perfect option for busy dog lovers who prioritise high-quality nutrition with the convenience of home delivery.
An ideal diet for those dogs with sensitive stomachs, plus, you can skip any hygiene concerns you may have over feeding a raw diet.
We checked out rising star Pets Love Fresh, a UK brand shaking up the dog food scene with fresh options.
Their meals are cooked and immediately frozen to lock in nutrients, eliminating the need for preservatives. Plus, the convenience of home delivery means no more hauling heavy bags to and from the car.
⏱ If you're in a rush... With a very high nutritional rating, unique storage solutions and a great value Taster Pack, we think that Pets Love Fresh are well worth a closer look. |
Get 20% OFF Pets Love Fresh
with discount code 20BYSMARTBARK or click here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PETS LOVE FRESH REVIEW
1. Who are Pets Love Fresh ?
Pets Love Fresh are a relatively new dog food company, starting back in 2020 and are part of the current dog food revolution.
They market their fresh dog food as less processed and more closely resembling human diets than the more traditional kibbles and off-the-shelf alternatives.
There are currently only 33 reviews on Trustpilot, but notably 97% of them award Pets Love Fresh with the coveted 5 ⭐️ reviews.
There are lots of positive comments from dog lovers with fussy dogs.
With an 'All About Dog Food' nutritional rating of a very impressive 81%, it's definitely worth considering Pets Love Fresh if you're looking for a high quality fresh dog food alternative to Butternut Box, Marleybones or Different Dog.
Alternatively, it would also make a highly nutritious topper when added to a good grade kibble.
So what did we think in testing ?
2. Pets Love Fresh Review - Ordering
Available online, the Pets Love Fresh website is incredibly simple to use. Just select from the products to build your own customised box. Currently the range consists of 4 proteins -
⭐️ Chicken
⭐️ Beef
⭐️ Pork
⭐️ Duck
To maintain their commitment to ethically sourced ingredients, Pets Love Fresh offers venison only during specific seasons when it's available from UK deer estates.
Each recipe contains simple, high-quality ingredients including single source protein. The food is frozen immediately after cooking so has no preservatives making it ideal if your dog struggles with itchy skin and allergies.
Their recipes are very high in protein, containing at least 62% British meat, organic brown rice, egg and superfoods such as cranberries and seaweed. If you're looking for grain free, select the duck recipe as it contains sweet potato instead of brown rice.
The chicken recipe is the most affordable option, but for optimal nutrition, we recommend rotating different protein sources like beef, pork, and duck into your dog's diet every 8 weeks.
Interestingly, this is the only food we've reviewed that is packaged in a roll or chub. This cylindrical package has the appearance of a sausage with the ends sealed by metal clips.
There are two sizes of chub available - 600g or 1kg, so you have the option to select the size most appropriate for your dog (we should point out that the 1kg chubs work out the best value).
3. Pets Love Fresh Review - The Food
Pets Love Fresh dog food arrives frozen, and you simply defrost one chub at a time, as you need it. Once defrosted, we loved that you simply cut the roll at any point, dice the food and dish up!
Importantly, the remaining food lasts up to 5 days in the fridge.
We think that Pets Love Fresh pack some nifty features, which could make this the best option for you.
Let’s talk about their storage solution. Their clever container fits in your fridge door and is designed to be flexible holding both sizes of chub. In testing, we loved this smart solution as it helps keep your fridge clean and organised whilst maximising the freshness of your dog food.
Their great value Taster Pack includes this fridge storage container and a handy bamboo chopping board. The combination of the storage container and the bamboo board ensures that your food and your dog's food are separated - gem of an idea ! |
It's worth mentioning that the Taster Pack comes with the chicken recipe only, to help ensure a smooth transition to their food without any unnecessary tummy upsets sometimes attributed to changing dog foods.
So we think that Pets Love Fresh nail the storage and preparation, but how about the food ?
The consistency is very different from other fresh dog foods we've tested like Different Dog, Butternut Box or Years.com, appearing more akin to Forthglade wet dog food.
The individual ingredients aren't distinct either, but is this an issue ? It really comes down to personal preference - yours and more importantly your dog's !
If you have a picky pup who tends to turn their nose up at kibble, then you could opt to add Pets Love Fresh as a tasty topper.
A lot of dogs find fresh food to be more palatable than dry kibble, plus fresh food has a high moisture content, which can help keep your dog hydrated.
Doubtless, adding Pets Love Fresh would improve the overall nutritional quality of the meal, whilst adding a very palatable element.
The handy online questionnaire calculates your dog's meal plan prices based on both the 50:50 topper option and complete meal prices so you can choose the best option for your dog and your pocket.
Which brings us neatly onto price.
4. Pets Love Fresh Review - Price
We based our pricing on a 6yr old, active dog who likes a handful of daily treats. As the recipes vary slightly in price, we opted to price Pets Love Fresh using the cheaper chicken recipe only, on a 28 day delivery schedule.
Generally if you chose to feed your dog exclusively on Pets Love Fresh costs are:-
🐾 Small dog (6kg) - £2.77 a day
(based on the smaller 600g chub)
🐾 Medium (12kg) - £4.05 a day
(based on the larger 1kg chub)
🐾 Large (26kg) - £8.10 a day
(based on 14 day delivery, 1kg chub)
NOTE - Large dog food costs are priced on a 14 day delivery schedule (as we thought most large dog-lovers wouldn't have the storage space to cope with 28kg of dog food in one delivery).
So Pets Love Fresh certainly isn't the cheapest dog food on the UK market, but you are getting a fresh, high quality, palatable and nutritious food.
It's also worth highlighting that there are a number of ways you can lower the daily price -
⭐️ Use the Smart Bark discount code for 20% OFF
⭐️ Buy larger quantities as you receive bigger % discounts
⭐️ Buy the larger 1kg Chubs as they work out cheaper per gram than the 600g Chubs
⭐️ Opt for the best value chicken recipe
⭐️ Sign up for the Subscribe & Save (5% OFF total order)
⭐️ Order over £40 for next day FREE delivery
⭐️ Join the Loyalty Scheme
That's about it, save for the fact that we found that the pâté like consistency makes an ideal filler for a Kong, lick mat or slow feeder. If you have a dog that appears to inhale their food, a slow feeder can make all the difference.
Equally for fussy dogs, adding some fun to mealtimes using a slow feeder is a game changer. We filled this SodaPup enrichment tray with Pets Love Fresh pork recipe, cream cheese and blueberries.
VERDICT
Reasons to Buy :
+ High nutritional rating
+ Ideal for fussy pups
+ Great value taster packs available
+ Clever fridge storage
+ Free UK next day delivery
Reasons to Avoid :
- If you have limited freezer space
Behind the Brand: UK fresh dog food brand launched in 2020
Range: Recipes formulated by vets and nutritionists, storage solutions, dog chews, bowls and poop bags
Variety: 4 adult recipes (+ seasonal venison recipe) & a puppy specific recipe
Clarity of Label: Good - list of meat ingredient %
Price: £££
If you’re looking for a fresh dog food, that is at the high end of the nutritional scale, then Pets Love Fresh will certainly fit the bill.
We think that the recipes and texture of their dog food is perfect for picky pups, whether you choose to feed entirely with Pets Love Fresh or add it to your existing kibble as a tasty topper.
Considerable thought has gone into the design of the clever storage solution which we really rate and offering a specific bamboo board to prepare your dog's food is going to go down well with a lot of dog lovers.
The bottom line is that Pets Love Fresh ticks a lot of boxes for us and re recommend you take a closer look at what they have to offer.
Get 20% OFF Pets Love Fresh
with discount code 20BYSMARTBARK or click here
THE RIVALS
Over the years Smart Bark had fully tested, analysed and reviewed several fresh dog foods. If you're interested, we take a look at 5 of the best the UK has to offer including Different Dog, Years, Tuggs, Butternut Box and of course Pets Love Fresh - Best Fresh Dog Foods : Tested & Reviewed
Almost all our products are sent to us by the companies involved and almost always as a result of our request. We only review the products we think are worth reviewing.
Thanks for stopping by and reading our review - Digging into Pets Love Fresh: A Look at Their Fresh Dog Food.
