larry

where else can you buy the usa dick van patten's natural balance pet food from aprt from petbarn ?

hi kez-megaderm is quite good, the ' omegamagic' is basically very similar, but about half the price ! ie about $30 for 1L http://www.petfare.com.au/index.php?page=l...mega+Magic+Plus annodam-flax seed oil is a good oil supplement, but a formulated supplement like megaderm or omegamagic is better as it has a balanced omega 6:3 ratio, plus added vitamins (B, A) and zinc-so it should work better.

i was told that the company that owns pets paradise also is the agent for innova, so if you buy innova then you are supporting pets paradise... and their puppy policies......

hi omega 3 oils are not very stable and as such supplements are very useful... a lot of the imported foods have omega 3 oils added to them, however the EPA and DHA components in the omega 3 tend to reduce quickly due to the long transport and shipping times.....so it is better i think to use an australian produced pet food , for example natural balance We have had dog owners we know use a new oil supplement called 'OmegaMagic Plus' omegamagic-online supplier , you can also buy it from vets in WA. This works well as it has the correct omega 3 : 6 ratio, added vitamin B, zinc, and vitamin A to help the skin repair itself.... this works quite well, and is a lot cheaper than the omega 3 supplements many vets sell....I think it's only in WA at this stage, but i'm sure that it should be available in the other states soon through vets...

hi have you tried to reduce the inflamation by using omega 3 supplements ? omega 3 oils are not very stable, and when it is added to dog food then it tends to break down fairly quickly.... a lot of the imported foods have omega 3 oils added to them, however the EPA and DHA components tend to reduce quickly due to the long transport and shipping times.....so it is better i think to use an australian produced pet food , for example natural balance We have had dog owners we know use a new oil supplement called 'OmegaMagic Plus' omegamagic-online supplier , you can also buy it from vets in WA. This works well as it has the correct omega 3 : 6 ratio, added vitamin B, zinc, and vitamin A to help the skin repair itself.... this works quite well, and is a lot cheaper than the omega 3 supplements many vets sell....I think it's only in WA at this stage, but i'm sure that it should be available in the other states soon through vets...

hi one thing that can help with itchy skin is an omega 3 supplement also a dog food with a high omega 3 level is helpful , however omega 3 oils are not very stable, and when it is added to dog food then it tends to break down fairly quickly.... a lot of the imported foods have omega 3 oils added to them, however the EPA and DHA components tend to reduce quickly due to the long transport and shipping times.....so it is better i think to use an australian produced pet food , for example natural balance We have had dog owners we know use a new oil supplement called 'OmegaMagic Plus' omegamagic-online supplier , you can also buy it from vets in WA. This works well as it has the correct omega 3 : 6 ratio, added vitamin B, zinc, and vitamin A to help the skin repair itself.... this works quite well, and is a lot cheaper than the omega 3 supplements many vets sell....I think it's only in WA at this stage, but i'm sure that it should be available in the other states soon through vets...

hi an omega 3 supplement can help with skin problems a dog food with a high omega 3 level is also good, however omega 3 oils are not very stable, and when it is added to dog food then it tends to break down fairly quickly.... a lot of the imported foods have omega 3 oils added to them, however the EPA and DHA components tend to reduce quickly due to the long transport and shipping times.....so it is better i think to use an australian produced pet food , for example natural balance they also have retailers that ship interstate like priceless pets We have had dog owners we know use a new oil supplement called 'OmegaMagic Plus' omegamagic-online supplier , you can also buy it from vets in WA. This works well as it has the correct omega 3 : 6 ratio, added vitamin B, zinc, and vitamin A to help the skin repair itself.... this works quite well, and is a lot cheaper than the omega 3 supplements many vets sell....I think it's only in WA at this stage, but i'm sure that it should be available in the other states soon through vets...

the western australian Natural Balance natural balance is made from lamb, there is a natural balance made in america-but i would prefer an australian made food. I would assume the usa food would be more expensive, it certainly would not be as fresh..... I prefer a food made from lamb, as the living environment of lambs is a lot better than that of chickens... plus chicken get fed a lot of additives....

hi buster, tallow-why is tallow bad ? tallow is fat from cows, and if a dog eats beef then you get tallow in that ? after all dogs need fat in their diet... rice being first is not a problem, what's important is the protein/fat %'s you want for your dog's food, and the quality of the ingredients. If two different dog foods have the same protein %, they can list the ingredients in different ways-wheat, or wheat+wheat bran, etc and split up ingredients into different components if they want that particular ingredient to not come first. Plus if a company uses raw meat slurry, then they count the weight of the water in the meat, so it's easy to put meat first (however you lose the water when you cook the biscuits), where if a company uses meat meal, because the water has been removed from the meat already, the weight of the meat meal (where the meat has been cooked) is a lot less, so meat won't be the first ingredient by weight. They are two different methods, but you can still end up with the same protein % in the final biscuit.

hi dogcop, i haven't heard of that brand before .... I would be very surprised if the various superpremium dog foods don't have higher digestibility %'s than 34% ? Maybe that figure is true for the cheaper dog foods ? I was told in the past that the protein digestibility of the Natural Balance we feed our dogs was about 85% and that seems to show they use good quality ingredients ? http://www.naturalbalance.net.au/ Canned food has a LOT of water due to the various starches and soya protein that most brands tend to add into canned food to bulk it up, so a lot of the weight you buy in cans is just water..... I'm sure there are good dog foods from overseas, but i would prefer to buy a dog food that is fresher in that it's made in australia, plus support our local farmers... don't you think australian meat and grains are safer to use than those from europe-especially after all the 'mad cow' problems ?

Hi ellieb, i know what you mean about animal testing, I am really against invasive animal testing, i also read in the past about iams getting in the news in the UK regarding that....I thought peta was involved ? We feed our dogs Natural Balance,it's a 100% natural lamb and rice formula, so it's easily digestible and it's made here in WA, and rice is less likely to cause allergies. I don't like chicken based foods so much due to all the drugs they put into chickens....(and the oil blend is really good for their coats) I prefer to buy a food made fresh here in australia, it's about $75 per 15kg bag http://www.naturalbalance.net.au and you can ask for a sample We checked in the past that Natural Balance doesn't do any invasive animal testing if you are in the east coast you can get it from here http://www.pricelesspets.com.au/natural_balance.php3 for $69 (+$5.50 freight) for a 15kg bag

We feed our dogs natural balance lite energy, we used to feed them regular but one is a bit overweight so we put them all on lite energy :-) it's a 100% natural lamb and rice formula, so it's easily digestible and it's made here in WA (and the oil blend is really good for their coats) I prefer to get a food that is made fresh here in australia http://www.naturalbalance.net.au we used to cook our own food for our dogs in the start but their poos used to be very wet and smelly, where with the nat bal even if they poo inside the poo doesn't smell or stick to the carpet which does happen at times when it's cold outside in the winter and they don't want to go outside :-) if you are in the east coast you can get it from here http://www.pricelesspets.com.au/natural_balance.php3 for $69 (+$5.50 freight) for a 15kg bag larry

hi cavsrcute, you must be in the united states ? I think in australia the natural balance made here is about $25 for 3kg and $80 for 15kg (thats australian dollars) While i do think that the usa makes some good pet foods, it seems very wasteful to the environment to import dog food to australia (and use all the energy with transport) when we have good quality pet foods made here. (plus after all the problems countries overseas had with mad cow disease, i'd prefer to get pet food made using australian meat) Ann, From my understanding, vitamin E and a rosemary extract are natural preservatives that are used in pet and human food, if your dog is allergic to either then thats quite bad luck.....but i haven't read of any dogs getting seizures from the rosemary extract, mind you that would be different to whole rosemary..... Grain allergies-yes i've read that the most common grain allergy in the usa is corn, and the most common allergy in australia is wheat, so if your dog has a wheat allergy, then you need to use a food that doesn't contain wheat, i understand that this is why the natural balance is made with rice....but pets can also be allergic to a lot of other things..eg dust, dust mites, pollen, grass, various garden plants, etc

hi kitkat, no worries..... It really impresses me how many more people over time care more about what their dogs eat....I think for a lot of us here the pets are part of their family, and they want the best for them... I think our dogs are very lucky.... they have a very good life in our home, and are taken care of with a lot of love, and they give a lot of love back in return..... they make our house very 'homey'

Priceless Pets seem to be the cheapest .... i notice that they are linked to a vet clinic, so you should be able to get other products possibly in the future if you ask ? I like that they are linked to a vet clinic, and are not just someone selling products that they have no knowledge about......

hi miranda, from my understanding dry pet food can either be made with a) using a meat slurry and grains, and then it is extruded into biscuits, or b) with meat meal and grains and then extruded into biscuits. (extruding means cooking with steam) (a meat slurry is when meat is ground up and mixed with water, this would have to be kept at a cool temp to keep bacteria growth low...) If you make a dog food using a meat slurry then meat will be the number one ingredient, as raw meat is about 70-80% water, however meat meal had has most of the water removed, so the total weight of the meat meal will be about one quarter of the weight of raw meat. Meat meal is a more stable ingredient than a raw meat slurry, i don't think that one is better, they are just different manufacturing methods.... What is important is where the meat comes from...... I have been told that all the lamb in the natural balance dog food comes from an export abbatoir that produces lamb for the supermarkets here in WA, so the quality should be good.... I have also been told that they only use natural preservatives in their dry dog food, which should be good.... Also it is made in Western Australia, and NOT imported like hills or eukanuba, and I would think that buying local product that is fresher is a better choice than imported food ? The natural balance inc. food in the usa must be a different product from the WA Natural Balance but they do have similar names...

hi, There is a shop in o'connor 'south street pet supplies' that has a good range of raw and dry foods. larry