Uncle Albers/great Barko

[KitKat]

I'm looking to try these foods and have just started switching the boys from what they were on to the Uncle Albers/Great Barko - have heard some great stuff about it and some not so great stuff - but i could say that for every dry food

So...anyone else out there using it? happy with it? not happy with it?

[baifra]

i have never heard of it. What kind of food is it?

[KitKat]

It's a dry food made down south Aus - i'll dig up the link - here it is

Uncle Alber's is formulated from a selection of the following ingredients. Cooked meat or meat by-products derived from beef, lamb, poultry or pork. Cooked fish or fish by-products. Fat, cooked cereals and wheaten bran. Products derived from canola and soyabeans. Lysine, methionine, antioxidant, bentonite, vitamins and minerals.

Great Barko is formulated from a selection of the following ingredients. Cooked meat or meat by-products derived from beef, lamb, chicken, pork, cooked fish or fish by-products, fat, cooked cereals, wheaten bran. Canola and soy products derived from them. Lysine, methionine, antioxidant, bentonite, vitamins and minerals.

Goes for about $35-$30 for a 22kg bag.

Edited May 9, 2008 by KitKat

[baifra]

It's a dry food made down south Aus - i'll dig up the link - here it is

Thanks for that, I'll check it out.

[Rysup]

I have been using both for about 18 months - 2 years now. I have no preference of one over the other, I use both, just alternate between them.

Its one of the few foods that all of my dogs LOVE and will eat every meal. I had real problems with my dogs going off a brand of food after a few days. And with a large number of dogs buying Premium foods for them all is prohibitive. So this is a great compromise. The dogs do well on it, I have no complaints, except that one of the old boys got fat, but he has always had that tendency, and now that he eats every day, well he piled the weight on a bit.

My two puppies are showing signs on it not agreeing with them, so I have just the last few days switched them to a premium food to see if there is a change, as I am not sure if its their food or something else causing the problem.

But anyway the moral here is my dogs LOVE it and do well on it, and I have no reason to change!

[cavNrott]

Too many byproducts. There is no way of knowing what those byproducts are. I wouldn't feed either of these foods to my dogs.

I believe you get what you pay for in dog food. If it's cheap then the ingredients are of poor quality.

[Eridor]

I tried Great Barko with one of my smooths it was the only dry food he would eat and continue to eat. He did really well on it. I dont feed solely a dry food diet so it worked well for us.

Jacq

[KitKat]

Too many byproducts. There is no way of knowing what those byproducts are. I wouldn't feed either of these foods to my dogs.

I believe you get what you pay for in dog food. If it's cheap then the ingredients are of poor quality.

To a point...it's made in Aus so you aren't paying import/shipping costs etc - nor paying for the name/advertising.

But...i'm of the idea still that 'The best food for your dog is the food your dog does best on'

[Poodle wrangler]

I tried Great Barko.

IS very cheap- about $30 for an 18kg bag, I think. So, you won't lose anything by trying it out. I'm sure a rescue would be happy to take it if it doesn't agree with your dog(s).

Would say it was better for my larger dog (25kg standard poodle) than Supercoat, but poos not as firm as when raw foods also added or if just on Purina One dry food.

Both dogs quite liked it, but weren't crazy about it. Fine by me as I'd rather keep them lean, anyway. I didn't like the smell of it much (personal thing).

Wasn't a bad food but is "semidry"-9more like GoodO's (if anyone remembers them?).

Pack I bought had lots of "dust" in the bottom, but this might have been a storage issue??

[ish]

I've been using it for a few months - I pay $26 for a 22kg bag of Great Barko. With the exception of one, all my dogs like it and are holding their weight well on it. One of my GSD bitches, who has always been a bit fussy, doesn't like it much and will only eat it with lots of chicken mince mixed in. The greyhounds are getting fat on it!

Its quite a heavy food (I still soak it, just in case) so you don't feed as much as you would most dry foods. Seems to be quite fatty so introduce it slowly if your dogs have sensitive tums, and its helping bring out really nice coats here too.