Vip Pet Food - Any Good?

[poochmad]

So, I ask hubby to buy some meat for Henschke to add to his kibble. I just like to add meat to his diet to give him a varied diet.

What does hubby do? He comes back with a tub of VIP Pet Food - Meaty Chunks. It says it has beef, liver, chicken, egg, vegetables and pasta. I can see chicken, carrot, corn and pasta. The rest of it looks like dog food.

Is this good food to use? (I was thinking of only adding a tiny bit to his kibble and vegies to make it more inviting.)

Or is it ok, but not a preference?

Or is it just plain rubbish and I should throw it away?

Edited January 24, 2009 by poochmad

[The Spotted Devil]

I don't know the brand personally but I'm not fussed on those types of "roll" thingies......personally, if it doesn't contain preservatives/colours (which would stir up Zig's coat) I would cut it up into tiny chunks and use it as training treats......if he likes it that is

[ellz]

Like any food, it has its place.

I personally use it in preference to most canned foods and usually only when I can't feed my usual meat for some reason, not defrosted, not available or even when I'm travelling because it is a lot easier to cart about and prepare if you aren't at home.

It's kind of like a "snack food" alternative to real meat. The Maccas of the dog world perhaps? OK from time to time as part of a balanced diet but I wouldn't feed it as a staple.

[Tilly]

I was given a sample of the rolls and my boy wouldn't even touch it ... and this is a dog that normally eats anything

[New Age Outlaw]

Mine love it but it makes Ziggy fart uncontrollably!!!

[Dogsfevr]

there are better brands around .Eco roll is far better

[oze50]

I use the VIP rolls whenever we travel away to shows and if I haven't defrosted their normal Barf stuff, I have no problems with it but wouldn't do it all the time. As somebody else said, like the Maccas of dog food. I don't take bones and stuff away as the dogs end up a bit constipated so the VIP keeps them going to the toilet ok but not loose. You can't beat fresh meat, veges and raw meaty bones at home, raw chicken carcasses are great too.

[kobblyness]

My dogs eat it and so did my old girl, who lived to be a ripe old age of 14. I also feed Brisket bones, chicken necks and wings.

As for it being any good. I have no idea, only that my dogs have very shiny coats and I don't wash them (their bath is a swim in the dam)

[poochmad]

Thanks for your replies. I thought as much and will use it sparingly until finished.

[Guest belgian.blue]

So, I ask hubby to buy some meat for Henschke to add to his kibble. I just like to add meat to his diet to give him a varied diet.

Were you intending on adding fresh raw meat to his kibble?

[~Shepherd~]

So, I ask hubby to buy some meat for Henschke to add to his kibble. I just like to add meat to his diet to give him a varied diet.

Were you intending on adding fresh raw meat to his kibble?

I am sure they know not to feed both together, but in seperate meals.

People feed what they can afford at the end of the day. I wish more people were as focused on what chemical cocktails they put in their own mouths in the first instance, creating better moods and a more active lifestyle for their whole family including their dogs.

being too fussy and anal about dog food causes a fusspot dog who cant tolerate a broader range of foods. As with everything in life, balance is the key to optimum health in both animal and human. Elliot has been on mid range kibble with a bit of this and that fresh, since bonnie went crook. he will be 17 mid year and is a goldie. All dogs are different and have different flora in their guts what some cope with, others wont.

Edited January 25, 2009 by ~CHEWBACCA~

[stormie]

So, I ask hubby to buy some meat for Henschke to add to his kibble. I just like to add meat to his diet to give him a varied diet.

Were you intending on adding fresh raw meat to his kibble?

I am sure they know not to feed both together, but in seperate meals.

Can someone please explain why meat should not be fed with kibble? The body doesn't store everything up to digest at all the same time. The meat would have been digested long before the kibble would - it doesn't sit there waiting for the kibble to be digested first. Otherwise feeding something like a chicken wing would be just as bad, as the bone takes longer to digest than the meat.

Edited January 25, 2009 by stormie

[oakway]

Most people just mix chicken mince in with the dry food and feed it.

In fact lots of people around the world mix their particular food in with the dry then feed it to the dogs.

[fainty_girl]

I have fed my dogs the Vip lamb chunkers a couple of times and they seemed to like them (but they are not fussy with food anyway).

The first time she ate them, Tilly stunk out the house so bad afterwards with wind!

[poochmad]

So, I ask hubby to buy some meat for Henschke to add to his kibble. I just like to add meat to his diet to give him a varied diet.

Were you intending on adding fresh raw meat to his kibble?

I am sure they know not to feed both together, but in seperate meals.

Can someone please explain why meat should not be fed with kibble? The body doesn't store everything up to digest at all the same time. The meat would have been digested long before the kibble would - it doesn't sit there waiting for the kibble to be digested first. Otherwise feeding something like a chicken wing would be just as bad, as the bone takes longer to digest than the meat.

Thanks Stormie, I'm confused too.

Yes, I was going to add fresh meat to his kibble, just like I add egg sometimes and fresh carrots and heated (frozen) vegetables. I've never heard of feeding the two separate - I can't imagine that he would eat the meat AND then eat the kibble on its own...that's why it's mixed in so he eats it all.

Although people may not agree on what we're feeding him, we've had nothing but compliments on how great he's looking from breeders and showies alike...

[ellz]

IMO there are WAAAAY too many food Nazis around. I daresay what I feed my dogs would be HIGHLY frowned upon by the zealots. However it is what they do well on and it is what I can afford to feed them without having to chop and change according to my budget for the week. Like the skinkids, they don't go without.

Yes, maybe they WOULD do better on something different/more expensive/less chemicals/less grains/more meat.....whatever. But then again, they might not too and I'm not going to go upsetting the balance to prove or disprove the theory.

Feed what your dog eats/does well on/suits your pocket book/suits your "environment"/and you are happy to clean up after and let the food Nazis argue each other to death and not actually achieve anything much by doing it except piss people off and get warnings!!

[Crisovar]

IMO there are WAAAAY too many food Nazis around. I daresay what I feed my dogs would be HIGHLY frowned upon by the zealots. However it is what they do well on and it is what I can afford to feed them without having to chop and change according to my budget for the week. Like the skinkids, they don't go without.

Yes, maybe they WOULD do better on something different/more expensive/less chemicals/less grains/more meat.....whatever. But then again, they might not too and I'm not going to go upsetting the balance to prove or disprove the theory.

Feed what your dog eats/does well on/suits your pocket book/suits your "environment"/and you are happy to clean up after and let the food Nazis argue each other to death and not actually achieve anything much by doing it except piss people off and get warnings!!

Ain't that the truth Ellz!!!

[Jed]

Those VIP rolls can't be TOO bad, friend showed her dog to about 1300 points on them!!

I was waiting for Chewbacca to come back and quality her statement, but she seems to have disappeared. The reason for not feeding dry with fresh meat is that dry is digested more slowly than fresh. One of the reasons dogs aren't as subject to food poisoning as people is because meat etc. is in the stomach for a short time. Dry food is digested slowly, so if the meat is off, or contains organisms which may upset the dog, because it is being digested more slowly with the dry, the meal is more likely to cause upsets.

poochmad, if my dog didn't like his food - as yours appears not to - and he was the typical "if it stays still, eat it" spaniel, I would be re-considering what I fed him. He might prefer another brand?

[stormie]

Those VIP rolls can't be TOO bad, friend showed her dog to about 1300 points on them!!

I was waiting for Chewbacca to come back and quality her statement, but she seems to have disappeared. The reason for not feeding dry with fresh meat is that dry is digested more slowly than fresh. One of the reasons dogs aren't as subject to food poisoning as people is because meat etc. is in the stomach for a short time. Dry food is digested slowly, so if the meat is off, or contains organisms which may upset the dog, because it is being digested more slowly with the dry, the meal is more likely to cause upsets.

poochmad, if my dog didn't like his food - as yours appears not to - and he was the typical "if it stays still, eat it" spaniel, I would be re-considering what I fed him. He might prefer another brand?

This is what doesn't make sense to me. I'm not sure why people think that foods determine the rate at which other foods are digested. Meat would be digested at exactly the same rate, whether its fed with bone, dry or even plastic! If say it takes 30mins for meat to be broken down by the digestive juices, that is still going to be the case, no matter what it is fed with.

[badboyz]

I've always fed dry and raw together and never found it an issue. Perhaps it is more of an issue with large breeds who are more prone to bloat.

I actually find the dogs eat better with the combination. If fed dry alone they can gulp too fast and it has been known to block the airway. Meat alone is also gulped. When mixed they seem to slow down and chew the crunchy bits.

As for the VIP - I'd feed use it sparingly, mixed with other foods. Variety is good for dogs and makes life much more interesting. When my meat supplier closed down over christmas earlier than I expected - so I did not get to stock up - my dogs had to make do with a fair bit of variety in their diet for a few weeks. At least the dry was consistent. They did not fade away or break out in spots or anything and accepted it with a sniff and good grace.

Edited January 27, 2009 by badboyz