Freeze Dried Food

[pch]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has tried K9 Naturals freeze dried food and what they thought of it.

pch

[sas]

I did see it but the price was HUGE so I decided against it.....have you?

[Mr R & NR]

I have used their treats but not the food. The food smells like real meat. The dogs love the treats (mind you there is not much they don't love in the way of treats). I feed raw and don't feel the need to use the food. If I was travelling, or for some reason could not feed raw I would certainly use their food. I might actually consider getting some for them when they go in to the boarding kennel later in the year. Make up some frozen raw but also they could have the K9 Naturals food in between.

[Tintin Jac]

Love it (well, I haven't actually tried it but you get the idea)! I feed raw as well. It's pretty pricey but gets hoovered down in no time, which makes a welcome change. I am now really happy with Tintin's diet. No more fiddling...for now.

Am hoping that they bring in the other varieties soon.

[Sagittarian]

I recently introduced it to Evie's diet and she adores it. While it is on the high side price wise, I don't mind paying under $26 for the equiv. of 2kg when some premiums are more than that. Just the benefit of the ingredients and the convenience, let alone how much she loves it, makes it worth keeping a bag in her food bin.

Sags

[k9katz]

I have tried a bag to see what it was like but whilst the dogs enjoy it, I was dissapointed with the product after soaking it as per the manufacturers instructions. All I ended up with was water in a bowl with the food floating in it! I thought it was meant to reconstitute which to me meant I should have ended up with the product in its pre-freeze dried state. I have to say that probably a 1/4 of the bag was just dust also and this still didnt absorb any water. Maybe I got a dodgy bag, would be interested to hear how others find it reconstitutes.

[sas]

I recently introduced it to Evie's diet and she adores it. While it is on the high side price wise, I don't mind paying under $26 for the equiv. of 2kg when some premiums are more than that. Just the benefit of the ingredients and the convenience, let alone how much she loves it, makes it worth keeping a bag in her food bin.

Sags

So why are you using exactly when you could be buying raw meat at under $5 kg.

I can understand buying kibble by not hugely price infated freezer dried meat?

It wasn't made to be eaten everyday, it was for people who like to feed raw but might be out camping or something that doesn't have a fridge.

Which Premimum Kibble costs more than $26 for 2 kgs?

[Mas1981]

I recently introduced it to Evie's diet and she adores it. While it is on the high side price wise, I don't mind paying under $26 for the equiv. of 2kg when some premiums are more than that. Just the benefit of the ingredients and the convenience, let alone how much she loves it, makes it worth keeping a bag in her food bin.

Sags

So why are you using exactly when you could be buying raw meat at under $5 kg.

I can understand buying kibble by not hugely price infated freezer dried meat?

It wasn't made to be eaten everyday, it was for people who like to feed raw but might be out camping or something that doesn't have a fridge.

Which Premimum Kibble costs more than $26 for 2 kgs?

I bought a small bag of EP holistic select last week, it was $38 for 2,7Kg

[JRzipper]

I took 2 of my Bullmastiffs to Sydney to show over Easter and thought I'd give it the K9 Naturals freeze dried food a go since taking the dogs' normal raw food, RMBs etc can get a bit messy.

I had to have a stiff drink to settle my heart palpitations at the price (which worked out to 2 days food for my two girls) but after trying it, I do think it is a very good product. My dogs are normally quite wary of "new food" but dived straight into this food and licked their bowls clean. It smelt great and there were no upset tummies or any probs at all. I soaked it for about 10 mins before giving it to the dogs and although it didn't seem to absorb all the water, it didn't worry the dogs at all. They ate it all and lapped up any remaining liquid in the bottom.

It is not something I would use unless I'm going away with the dogs for a couple of days, but it is excellent for that. The price is pretty outrageous but when I think of the convenience and extra room in the car (no eskies, ice packs etc) I think it's still worth it for the odd trip away.

JR

[Skruffy n Flea]

i agree about the price and the convenience

i recently trialled it with my two swf dogs because i anticipate a dog-friendly holiday towards the end of the year ... i feed them mostly raw and i also baulked at the price but wanted an equivalent as an alternative!

neither of my two flinched at the vile looking stuff sitting beneath their usual swill and neither of them left a crumb in their bowl ... licked clean! that's good advertising in my book

i have to agree tho with k9katz in that when i opened the bag i was horrified at the dry, crumbly grey mess with random big bits and adding the required amount of water seemed to do sweet FA as far as reconstitution went ... that bothered me and i wondered whether i would end up with bloated unhappy dogs some time during the night but all went well apparently!

i also frowned at the lack of 'other' colour and wanted to add vegies to it...

[Sagittarian]

I recently introduced it to Evie's diet and she adores it. While it is on the high side price wise, I don't mind paying under $26 for the equiv. of 2kg when some premiums are more than that. Just the benefit of the ingredients and the convenience, let alone how much she loves it, makes it worth keeping a bag in her food bin.

Sags

So why are you using exactly when you could be buying raw meat at under $5 kg.

I can understand buying kibble by not hugely price infated freezer dried meat?

It wasn't made to be eaten everyday, it was for people who like to feed raw but might be out camping or something that doesn't have a fridge.

Which Premimum Kibble costs more than $26 for 2 kgs?

Our dogs (St Bernards) always have a wide variety of food, and over the years, this has included full raw diets and complete dry diets, depending upon the dog in question. We have continuously adjusted our feeding approach so as to get the best outcome for the individual. This has not been undertaken without good nutritional knowledge.

Now we have only one. Evie, who at 10 plus is still fit and healthy and active. She has slowed down and her ability to digest as efficiently as she once did has changed. Certainly her interest in food is different. I don't intend to have her lose condition, particularly hindquarter muscle, as is common in aging Saints.

Meat on its own is not a complete diet, so that 1 kg (which for her is 1 day of feeding) still only forms a part of her daily intake. And she gets fresh meat several days each week. Evie cannot digest bones well, so a fully raw diet is not possible now.

I think you'll find that the makers of K9 Natural do intend it to be a complete diet, no different from the makers of Holistic Select, Artemis, Eukanuba etc do. It wouldn't work for me (because I prefer the wide profile of nutrients that a broader diet offers), but I imagine that particularly in NZ, there are people feeding it solely.

As I mentioned in my first post, this product is now part of her feeding regime - not all of it.

As far a pricing, someone mentioned Holistic Select. Keeping in mind that small bags cost more per kilo than bulk bags, there certainly are a range of foods in the high $20 for 2kg. The new Earthborn Holistic range is substantially dearer, but again, for many people it isn't about price.

Sags

[sas]

I recently introduced it to Evie's diet and she adores it. While it is on the high side price wise, I don't mind paying under $26 for the equiv. of 2kg when some premiums are more than that. Just the benefit of the ingredients and the convenience, let alone how much she loves it, makes it worth keeping a bag in her food bin.

Sags

So why are you using exactly when you could be buying raw meat at under $5 kg.

I can understand buying kibble by not hugely price infated freezer dried meat?

It wasn't made to be eaten everyday, it was for people who like to feed raw but might be out camping or something that doesn't have a fridge.

Which Premimum Kibble costs more than $26 for 2 kgs?

I bought a small bag of EP holistic select last week, it was $38 for 2,7Kg

That's insane, I've brought a 15 kilo of the same product that works out less than what you have stated.

[stormie]

2.7kg of the EP Holistic is about $27 WHOLESALE from memory. So once you add GST and markup, about $38 sounds right...

[karly101]

My ferrets and dog love the treats (and they smell so lamby too!).. I haven't tried the normal version due to price and I'm not sure how good it would be as a diet anyway.. even the treats were quite expensive.

I didn't think much of reconstituting it either (nor did the ferrets). I was imagining it would absorb the water (it didnt!) and become more palatable to them.. but they really preferred it dry.

[Tintin Jac]

I was dissapointed with the product after soaking it as per the manufacturers instructions. All I ended up with was water in a bowl with the food floating in it! I thought it was meant to reconstitute which to me meant I should have ended up with the product in its pre-freeze dried state. I have to say that probably a 1/4 of the bag was just dust also and this still didnt absorb any water. Maybe I got a dodgy bag, would be interested to hear how others find it reconstitutes.

I had the same issue. I contacted the manufacturer and they advised to reconstitute in warm water. On the small pack, it says to reconstitute in cold water...on the large pack, it says to use warm water. I guess you'd have to be careful that the water wasn't so warm that it "cooked" the food.

If I break up the chunky bits with a fork and use slightly warm water, it seems to absorb the water pretty well. Although Tintin goes bonkers while he is waiting for it to be ready as he can smell it. Poor bloke