blacklabrador Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 For those people who buy Optimum... it is much cheaper at Big W than anywhere else I can find it. Coles and Woolworths have it for $31.99 for an 8kg bag. Big W have it for about $27. More likely to be on sale too. For some reason Woolworths have higher prices on the same pet items than Big W. Same company so I don't know why. In my case they are within the same building so it can't have much to do with demographics or rent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabrador Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 Helen I have never seen the optimum in bulk, I looked at the 2 kilos and thought yeh right, 8 month old rotti pup 2 kilos isnot going far LOL Optiumum is sold in regular supermarkets in an 8kg bag. Produce and pet stores have it in 15 or 20kg bags (can't remember). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pandii Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 Thanks BL he gets Pro Plan but I just thought after reading this thread I would look at optimum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwioz Posted September 11, 2007 Author Share Posted September 11, 2007 This thread has been a fantastic help. Really appreciate all the thoughts and advice. I think I might look at either Bonnie or Optimum. Cal is a bit fussy so that will come into it too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwioz Posted September 11, 2007 Author Share Posted September 11, 2007 Popped into Pet Cafe this afternoon and had a useful chat with the guy in there. He suggested possibly using Bonnie to bulk up our existing food, which may be a good compromise and might help enough financially wise. Got a small pack to see if they'll eat it to start with! Will see how we go with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 I get the 8kg Optimum from the supermarket. We don't have a BigW yet but hopefully some time next year so that is great to know they sell it cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badboyz Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Try Big Dog Pet Foods for pre made raw diet: http://www.bigdogpetfoods.com/index.htm. My dogs are thriving since I've started feeding it. I was also tired of the big dollars for the super premiums. They are doing so much better on the raw food. If you have a freezer and can buy in bulk you can get $20kg for $38. This would last you ages. But still economical if you want to buy in smaller quantities. I've also been trying Great Barko, which is only now available in some places in Brisbane. Very economical at $35 for 22kg and the dogs seem to love it - but I only give a small amount of the dry and mostly the raw as above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Dragon Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 (edited) I feed a mixture of moist and dry food, (about 1 1/2 cups moist, plus 1 cup dry per day, plus chicken frame) but as for the dry, I alternate my dog between Supercoat and Pal and he loves them both. Then again, he's half lab - I'm sure he'd eat anything! Edited October 6, 2010 by Baby Dragon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Bonnie has gone to the crapper in recent times, as has Supercoat. I used to use Purina One and the Frenchies always look 100% on it, I now prefer Optimum to Purina One. They are your two top choices from the supermarket. Optimum is also a good size for smaller dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsD Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Optimum is our food of choice for all our dogs now, we have tried them on lots of different ones & none even come close to Optimum for value or for results. Optimum vs Bonnie or Supercoat or Cobber - there is no contest for us. I used to think my dogs were heathy & had shiny coats etc too until I swapped . And as BL mentioned, you can buy it most cheaply in BigW, large bags (18kgs) are around $60, smaller bags (8kgs) are about $27 from memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarasMum Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 I fed Supercoat and I was forever picking up poo. Not only that but my staffy x had a dry brittle coat which doesnt help with her grass allergies. My GSDs coat was dull and always looked dirty. I now feed them Advance and they look great. The staffy has a very shiny coat and she hardly itches (it is winter though). They also get carcasses for breakfast. I found that feeding necks was very costly because the shep ate so many lol. My last bag of 20kg Advance cost me $83. I have tried Great Barko as well and the dogs liked the first half of the bag but refused to eat it after that. I tend to rate dry foods on the scrappy bits left on the bottom of the bag when its emptied, with Advance I have none but with Supercoat I reckon I had half a kilo of dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owned by Shelties Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 I feed my dogs on Pedigree Natural with Chicken,Rice,Vegies..... plus they have chicken wings twice a week and chicken carcus once a week... Carrot every day.... Poos not to bad I mix the bikkies with human beef regular mince... I find my sheltie thrives on this her coat is so shiny and healthy looking... I'm thinking of changing food for my Jap sptiz though to Optimum... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlb Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 I just did a price comparison betwen EPH (which I feed my dogs) and Optimum. Maths is not my strong point but based on a 15kg bag of EPH at $113 ($7.53/kg) compared to $32 for an 8kg bag of Optimum ($4/kg) the Optimum obviously wins price wise. I then looked at the feeding guide and I would have to feed 4 cups of Optimum a day to my two dogs compared to the 2 cups with the EPH. Therefore both brands actually work out to be almost the same price per kg. Obviously this is looking at dry diet only and does not take into count any extras that you might add. I found it an interesting exercise and as a result will keep budgeting for the EPH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Dragon Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 (edited) Interesting... Does that mean the EPH expands more in the stomach? Or just that it has more nutrients and things your dog needs in less kibble? I've never actually looked at directions lol... I'm terrible. I just followed the menu plan he was getting before I got him. Edited August 16, 2009 by Baby Dragon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldielover Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 EXACTLY! You have a great food with no by-products which costs the same amount per feed as Optimum. Blossom - EP is just a more concentrated food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 jjb - I feed one of my dogs 2 cups of optimum a day, one about 2 1/2 cups a day and one somewhere inbetween. They are larger dogs than yours are, about 16-17 kg, I have never read the pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pandii Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 I have shopped around and still found that Optium per kilo is dearer than Pro Plan per kilo and i feed less Pro Plan per feed Sorry I refuse to pay more for optimum when I can get a better food for less Plus atm our store has various bags of Pro Plan 1/2 price I just picked up a 9 kilo bag of Pro plan for $27.50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andisa Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 Are there any chicken processors near by? I get the dogs food and our own for much less than the shops. I pay $2.00 kg for wings and $1.50 kg for necks. $0.80 kg for frames. These are regular prices. I also get whole size 10 chooks for $3.60 . All the organs are pretty cheap too. If I'm lucky I can get it cheaper, and stock up. I make up my own Barf or use the bought patties. The latter is not cheap if feeding big or many dogs. It doesn't take much time to make your own and you know what is in it. At a discount butcher I buy lamb necks on special for $3.99 for 4 neck pieces. Lamb flaps and brisket when on special. It doesn't take much time or effort to run a bit of fruit and veggies through the food processor, add it to the minced meat/bones, put it in meal size containers and put into the freezer. Do you have the freezer space to stock up on fresh stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwioz Posted September 15, 2007 Author Share Posted September 15, 2007 This has been a really interesting read. At the moment we're trialling mixing Bonnie with their current food (royal canin and eukanuba respectively) and that seems to be going ok. They're eating it, which is a good start (especially for fussy cal) and poos seem ok. OH noticed a funny one the other day but nothing too major. Will see how it goes - definitely better cost wise. Also signed up for the challenge thing on the optimum site which gives us a cash back offer for our first bag so may try that out too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsD Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 (edited) jjb - I feed one of my dogs 2 cups of optimum a day, one about 2 1/2 cups a day and one somewhere inbetween. They are larger dogs than yours are, about 16-17 kg, I have never read the pack. Similar to me then Helen, Jarrah is around 16kgs & is very active (read - he never stops ) & he gets around 2 1/2 cups per day. Jonty gets just over a cup. I have shopped around and still found that Optium per kilo is dearer than Pro Plan per kilo and i feed less Pro Plan per feedSorry I refuse to pay more for optimum when I can get a better food for less Plus atm our store has various bags of Pro Plan 1/2 price I just picked up a 9 kilo bag of Pro plan for $27.50 If you have tried both & your dogs do better on one than the other then that's great, I'd be sticking to it . But I think your maths is a bit out going on your prices, your half price bag of Pro-Plan is a similar price to a regular bag of Optimum ie $27 for 8 kgs. ETA - I feed the small & medium breed Optimum to my dogs, don't know if that makes a difference to how much you feed, Ebony the GSD gets the large breed but Im not sure how much she gets, guessing about 4 cups? (she's 30kgs). It's hard because we just have a scoop that we use, have never really measured by cups or taken notice of what's on the bag as Helen said :shug: . ETA 2 - just measured & Ebony does indeed get 4 cups of Optimum Large Breed (so for a 30kg dog). Edited September 15, 2007 by MrsD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now