I and Love and You Dog Food Reviews

I and Love and You produces 7 lines of dog food: 5 lines of dry dog food including Stir & Boom, a freeze dried line, and 2 lines of wet dog food.

Irresist-A-Bowls is a cooked dog food that is the company’s highest scoring wet line and is considered low risk according to our criteria. The Canned line and the Stir & Boom freeze dried line are considered moderate risk.The 4 lines of kibble (Lovingly Simple, Nude Super Food, Baked & Saucy and Naked Essentials) are considered high risk.

I and Love and You positions itself as a premium pet food in the marketplace to offer raw dog food . Yet it only offers one line of freeze dried food that can be considered raw, and there are   several concerns regarding its ingredient quality and safety. With the exception of the single recipe in the Irresist-A-Bowls cooked line, most recipes have high carbohydrate levels with added synthetic vitamins, minerals and amino acids similar to middle-of-the-road brands. It’s preferable that most or all vitamins and minerals come from real foods that are more bioavailable to dogs. 

The company states it doesn’t use rice, corn or wheat and that most products are grain-free. However, that doesn’t mean these are low carbohydrate foods as they include high starch ingredients like sweet potatoes, peas, tapioca, lentils and garbanzo beans. Other than the Canned foods and Irresist-A-Bowls, all other lines have high carbohydrates that average from 32 to 39%. It’s also disappointing to see the freeze dried line with average protein of 29%, and 39% carbohydrates, the highest in all 7 lines. 

Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates but starch is required for extrusion in dry foods. Excessive carbohydrate is an indicator of food quality as it can be used to reduce manufacturing cost. Foods that are high in carbohydrates can raise insulin and cause obesity. Some studies also show that dogs fed a high carbohydrate content have changes to their gut bacteria. 

The company website and packaging notes its products are made with non-GMO produce and protein. That’s favorable, however, these ingredients may still be subject to herbicide and pesticide use as they are not organic. 

The company also states that its fish products are both farmed and wild caught, sourced from the US, Canada and Norway but it doesn’t specify which products. It also states its fish are certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Coalition (sic) from its supplier but there are no certification seals on its packaging or website.

I and Love and You has added probiotics in its dry foods, includes different strains, and guarantees the number of CFUs (colony forming units) that determine their effectiveness. However, this is often in very low amounts. Lovingly Simple has guaranteed CFUs of 10M, Naked Essentials notes a very minimal 1M CFUs, and Baked & Saucy Oven Baked states 10M CFB/lb which is a questionable measurement.

The company sources ingredients globally with the majority of ingredients farmed and produced in the USA or Canada. It also sources some ingredients, and vitamins and minerals from Australia, Argentina, Thailand, and New Zealand. Its vitamins and minerals are blended in the United States by a US company (which doesn’t mean they were manufactured in the US). They state their Thailand products are grass fed, sustainably sourced, and pasture raised but without certification, these are just marketing terms and have no value when determining the quality of pet food ingredients. 

I and Love and You performs feeding trials to meet AAFCO nutritional standards in claiming complete and balanced pet foods.

Most products are manufactured in the USA with the exception of Irresist-A-Bowls that are made in Thailand. It’s not stated whether products are made at a company plant or by a third party manufacturer.

I and Love and You doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their recipes. While this is true of most companies, it’s a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory limit of 30:1. 

The average score of each I and Love and You line is listed below. Click on any line to view the individual foods and scores.