Dry Food / Kibble

[sheena]

I try to feed mostly barf but also use kibble (mostly for training and in boredom buster toys); I like Holistic Select and Taste of the Wild.

However I'd like to use something Australian made, so have been resorting to Advance or Nutro lately.

I'd be interested in giving Stay Loyal a go (I must confess to never having heard of it before). Why do you think BH ingredients are better Sheena? I had a quick glance at both and they seem fairly similar, the only main difference (that I noticed) being Emu Oil in BH (and can't seem to find any info on its nutritional benefits).

The Stay Loyal is 30% protein & 16% fat...I've got no idea if protein that high is a good thing or a bad thing. The BH Fish & Potato is 22% Protein to 14% fat. The SL main ingredients are a mixture of beef, chicken & tuna, then comes potatoes & beet pulp. The BH's main ingredients are Anchovy, Ocean fish & salmon meal, followed by sweet potatoes & ground brown rice. I would rather have sweet potatoes than just potatoes & I am not to keen on beet pulp. The price of the SL is $137 for 15 kilos while the BH sells for around $107 for 20 kilos. They both look like good products, but I just think the BH is better value, if that is the sort of kibble you wanted to feed. My two dogs are currently on the Black Hawk Fish & Potato. If you wanted to compare the two yourself then here are the links to both Stay Loyal & Black Hawk Fish & Potato :)

[fbaudry]

Thank you Sheena! I shall have a look at BH next time I go to the pet store. I'd really like to support a good quality Australian made food (that isn't just a branch of a big multinational!)...

[kelpiecuddles]

Can I ask what people who's dog can be food aggressive feed instead of bones? Unfortunately my basset gets quite cranky if Sascha comes too close while she is eating and I am so short on time at the moment so don't have the time to stand over them or seperate them while they gnaw away at slow foods like bones. I am usually feeding them five minutes before I walk out the door in the morning so it needs to be eaten and gone. My kelpie won't eat chicken(not even expensive free range chicken breast!) which makes it even harder as I can't use small bones like chicken necks

[Maddy]

Can I ask what people who's dog can be food aggressive feed instead of bones? Unfortunately my basset gets quite cranky if Sascha comes too close while she is eating and I am so short on time at the moment so don't have the time to stand over them or seperate them while they gnaw away at slow foods like bones. I am usually feeding them five minutes before I walk out the door in the morning so it needs to be eaten and gone. My kelpie won't eat chicken(not even expensive free range chicken breast!) which makes it even harder as I can't use small bones like chicken necks

I use lamb flaps. They're a soft bone (they don't bear any weight) and even greyhounds with their long but fairly weak jaws can make short work of them. I cut off the fat and fell (the greasy tissue layer beneath the skin) and usually feed them as whole sections but you could easily slice between ribs to make smaller sections for quicker feeds.

[kelpiecuddles]

Where do you get your lamb flaps from? The supermarket here only sells mixed bones which are often very fatty and there are many quite chunky bones in the bags. I might go and chat to the one local butcher and see if he can help at all

[Maddy]

Where do you get your lamb flaps from? The supermarket here only sells mixed bones which are often very fatty and there are many quite chunky bones in the bags. I might go and chat to the one local butcher and see if he can help at all

I get my sheep slaughtered to order but most butchers would probably have them. I found that the closer you get to the source of the meat, the more unusual bits and pieces you can actually get. Trying to source green tripe from a butcher was a nightmare, getting it direct from an abattoir was really easy (and very cheap, too).

Beef brisket might also work but the bones are obviously a lot heavier. Most of my greys have trouble getting through beef brisket.

[sheena]

Both my guys are not keen on chicken, but wont knock it back. They much prefer turkey necks, maybe it has a much gamier flavour & not so bland. If I give them lamb brisket bones I like to be able to cut the brisket up myself, so there are a few complete bones to each section. Last time I bought it the butcher already had it cut into smaller pieces & one dog nearly choked on it, so never again. I get my turkey necks or wings from Woolies.

[Maddy]

Both my guys are not keen on chicken, but wont knock it back. They much prefer turkey necks, maybe it has a much gamier flavour & not so bland. If I give them lamb brisket bones I like to be able to cut the brisket up myself, so there are a few complete bones to each section. Last time I bought it the butcher already had it cut into smaller pieces & one dog nearly choked on it, so never again. I get my turkey necks or wings from Woolies.

I've noticed a lot of butchers cut across the bone for briskets, turning them into neat little choking squares. That's why I'd rather get whole flaps and cut them up myself, I've never had problems feeding out ribs that have been cut between the bones.

[kelpiecuddles]

thanks guys, going to try a couple of butchers. No abattoirs around here, just coles/woolies and a couple of chain type butchers in town and one local butcher and that's it.

[Maddy]

thanks guys, going to try a couple of butchers. No abattoirs around here, just coles/woolies and a couple of chain type butchers in town and one local butcher and that's it.

Roo tails might also be a good option. Lots of places sell them here (for soup, sort of like ox tail) and they're quick and easy to chew through.

[sheena]

Both my guys are not keen on chicken, but wont knock it back. They much prefer turkey necks, maybe it has a much gamier flavour & not so bland. If I give them lamb brisket bones I like to be able to cut the brisket up myself, so there are a few complete bones to each section. Last time I bought it the butcher already had it cut into smaller pieces & one dog nearly choked on it, so never again. I get my turkey necks or wings from Woolies.

I've noticed a lot of butchers cut across the bone for briskets, turning them into neat little choking squares. That's why I'd rather get whole flaps and cut them up myself, I've never had problems feeding out ribs that have been cut between the bones.

Agree....I wish that I could find a butcher that would just leave them alone.....Obviously these butchers that cut them up into nice little choking squares don't have dogs of their own.

[luvsdogs]

I've only ever bought lamb flaps that have about 6 ribs as a whole piece & give Tilba about 3 ribs & 2 to Panda. Years ago when Sooty was a baby I gave her a single rib & she swallowed it whole, yelped in pain & that was that. I worried about it at the time but those strong doggy juices must have dissolved it. Never again would I feed them singly. I also take off as much fat as I can. My dogs mostly get chicken legs, turkey wings & chunks of beef & the occasional lamb meal.

I've recently bought Earthborn Holistic fish which doesn't have any beet pulp in it, which I've read can affect dogs that have a tearing problem with their eyes which Panda does. Haven't tried it yet, he only gets raw meaty bones because of his teeth, unless oh gives him things he shouldn't have, gggrrrrr. If I don't have enough bones for both dogs I usually give Tilba a kibble meal so Panda can have his raw.

[blakkjackal]

Both my guys are not keen on chicken, but wont knock it back. They much prefer turkey necks, maybe it has a much gamier flavour & not so bland. If I give them lamb brisket bones I like to be able to cut the brisket up myself, so there are a few complete bones to each section. Last time I bought it the butcher already had it cut into smaller pieces & one dog nearly choked on it, so never again. I get my turkey necks or wings from Woolies.

I've noticed a lot of butchers cut across the bone for briskets, turning them into neat little choking squares. That's why I'd rather get whole flaps and cut them up myself, I've never had problems feeding out ribs that have been cut between the bones.

Agree....I wish that I could find a butcher that would just leave them alone.....Obviously these butchers that cut them up into nice little choking squares don't have dogs of their own.

I used to ask mine to leave them whole and he would do so.

[kelpiecuddles]

Wll I managed to find a butcher in town who was kind enough to pick the lamb flaps out of the $1.99/kg assorted mixed bones for me. :) So I have 4 kg of lamb flaps, a few tins of sardines and an endless supply of eggs. I don't want to fully convert to raw because they do look great already and do well on their current food, I just want to tweak it to make it even better and with Sascha being picky I don't want to change things too much. So I am thinking 2-3 lamb flaps, some kibble and either sardines or eggs 5 nights and just the kibble and flaps the other two nights. Any other suggestions greatly appreciated. They do get sometimes a small amount of dog suitable leftovers but we don't tend to have much leftovers as no one here is fussy so everything is usually eaten.

[Rebanne]

I feed lamb flaps as an extra to put weight on. If I fed them as an ordinary meal that would be all they got for the day.

I feed my dogs twice a day, minced chicken carcass one meal and dry the other. If I was feeding once a day they would get one or the other.

If using lamb flaps they would get them 2 or 3 times a week and dry for the rest and add in eggs or sardines as I thought of them.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Rebanne

[heathjer22]

Hi .... back in February I got a 10yo rescue collie that had only been fed raw chicken and offal I believe. I had a lot of trouble getting him to eat different dry foods as part of a morning meal ... he would either refuse or get sick of it half way through 3kg bag . I feel really comfortable feeding BH Fish and Potato ... he loves it and Dr B's chicken BARF at night with a couple of chicken giblet thingies thrown in ... he's happy and I feel I am doing the right thing. I'm still a bit suspicious of the US dry foods as saw a doco on SBS on what US humans are being fed let alone dogs.

Happy here.

[Scottsmum]

Met the "Stay Loyal" guy tray at the expo. Maybe he was tired, but he wasn't particularly interested in speaking to me. Anyone using the product?