Black Hawk Vs Royal Canin Dog Food

[DeltaCharlie]

I didn't think BH was Australian anymore?

[denali]

My dogs did not do well on BH at all, my previous dogs were fed on RC for a long time and it worked very well for them. Anzac the Cav (cav variety) and Indi the GSD (gsd food.). Excellent muscle tone, and coat shine. They also got raw bones often.

I Now feed my current 3 fully raw and they are even better than my previous in terms of coat lustre, muscle and the clean teeth.

But i know this diet doesn't work for everyone. It is more time consuming.

I didn't think BH was Australian anymore?

I didnt think so either..

I could be wrong though but i thought i recalled a thread of sad DOL'ers

[sheena]

I didn't think BH was Australian anymore?

BH is still being made in Victoria & using 100% Australian produce. The business of whether or not you would still call it Australian Owned is a tricky one. It was sold to the Australian sister company of a New Zealand Company & is registered on the Australian Stock Exchange. The people making it & running the show are still the same as are the recipes. :)

[denali]

I didn't think BH was Australian anymore?

BH is still being made in Victoria & using 100% Australian produce. The business of whether or not you would still call it Australian Owned is a tricky one. It was sold to the Australian sister company of a New Zealand Company & is registered on the Australian Stock Exchange. The people making it & running the show are still the same as are the recipes. :)

Interesting! Thanks for clearing that up Sheena :)

[Salukifan]

The "better" food will be the one your dogs find most palatable and do better on. Price would not be my top priority.

Myth.

Your dog could have good poos and survive on the lowest quality food i.e. 2 minute noodles > this is not the best food for the dog.

Some foods are too rich for dogs, some dogs (most) have food intolerance, so it's finding a good quality food that is going to have positive gene expression (Nutrigenomics) and sit well with your dogs tummy. We need to stop promoting "the best food is what your dog does best on" because people often only consider the 'now' not the future and usually only consider what comes out of their dog at the 'now'. Nutrition is much bigger picture, and we know this already in regards to our own bodies but for some reason we choose to ignore it for canines maybe because cost is prohibitive or we don't have the same want for our dogs when it comes to health and longevity that we do for our human families or are we under the incorrect assumption that good poos means the dog is on the best food?

Palatable is certainly important but it needs to be considered where this is coming from, is it from high quality bio available proteins or artificial methods / low quality proteins lacking bio availability?

It's certainly true that one dog may thrive on Blackhawk Fish & Potato and another may not, I think it's logical in terms of individuals no matter what species.

Dog guardians should consider the terms "Thrive" "Survive" "Do well on" carefully. As canine guardians we need to become experts in what goes into our dogs bodies and not just go for brands or packaging. Some of the more well known kibbles out there such as RC and Advance have some of the lowest quality ingredients in some of their lines. The ingredients panel is in clear view for all canine guardians to read, it's our job to understand what those ingredients are and what they do to our dogs bodies now and in the future.

Thanks for the inference that I haven't. I feed a food fed for many years by a lot of people I respect that have dogs that have produced happy healthy litters and lived long healthy lives.

If others choose to view it as "crap" that is their prerogative. It works well for me and many people I know.

But I certainly don't rate a food based solely by the fecal matter it produces. Give me some credit.

Edited March 24, 2015 by Haredown Whippets

[Sandra777]

Interesting info about SOME grainfree products...

[Sandra777]

Dog guardians should consider the terms "Thrive" "Survive" "Do well on" carefully. As canine guardians we need to become experts in what goes into our dogs bodies and not just go for brands or packaging. Some of the more well known kibbles out there such as RC and Advance have some of the lowest quality ingredients in some of their lines. The ingredients panel is in clear view for all canine guardians to read, it's our job to understand what those ingredients are and what they do to our dogs bodies now and in the future.

Phew, I'm exempt from reading or understanding as I own my dogs, I am not their "guardian". Will continue to feed mine the cr@p I do ;-)

[skip]

I fed rc after my puppy school vet nurse suggested it. Dogs loved it and even my littlies would have it as a treat. Not usual for them to munch dry.

So i swapped. Tried bh recently as reccommended and cheaper, oz made too.

Dogs not as keen and one little dog got a really funny coat happening. So went back to rc.

Feed a lot of raw too and treats raw. Vets all natural cause we win it and they love it.

Interesting post. Thanks

[dotdashdot]

I didn't think BH was Australian anymore?

BH is still being made in Victoria & using 100% Australian produce. The business of whether or not you would still call it Australian Owned is a tricky one. It was sold to the Australian sister company of a New Zealand Company & is registered on the Australian Stock Exchange. The people making it & running the show are still the same as are the recipes. :)

Production has moved to NSW now, according to our rep. She had no samples for us last time because their machine had been dismantled and moved to Smeaton Grange.

I personally prefer BH to RC, sure there are even better options out there, but they are quickly becoming unaffordable (even at staff discounted rates!)

[Staffyluv]

Interesting info about SOME grainfree products...

That is an interesting read Sandra, thanks.

I will check the EB Holistic that I give Zig tomorrow and see peas are added to that.

If so, I will be checking for an alternative product.

[Taliecat]

Interesting info about SOME grainfree products...

That's really interesting.. Peas are a major component of ivory coat, and that's the food that coincides with Dozer's yeast issues.

[J...]

Production has moved to NSW now, according to our rep. She had no samples for us last time because their machine had been dismantled and moved to Smeaton Grange.

I personally prefer BH to RC, sure there are even better options out there, but they are quickly becoming unaffordable (even at staff discounted rates!)

Something has changed with the BH as the size is different. My last bag had a heap of fines and broken pieces in it, and as I only buy it for training treats I'll finish the bag and give something else a try.

[Dave-o]

Interesting info about SOME grainfree products...

Interesting, but...

Lectins are in many ingredients, not only peas. They're found in wheat, corn, soy, potato, beans, and so on. They're also substantially cooked-off during the kibble making process, making it far less of a risk in a kibble than feeding such ingredients raw.

I'm not disputing the article - lots of relatively harmless ingredients can become toxic or cause intolerances if fed in substantial quantities over a prolonged period of time. But in any case, if lectins cause difficulties with the intestines then usually changing the diet will solve the problem relatively quickly.

[Little Gifts]

We are BH users and due to location ours costs us about $85 on auto delivery with Pet Circle. Our older dog (husky/shep) started losing weight on the chicken and rice version and the vet recommended we move to a seniors type of kibble. After that bag finished though we were buying the fish and rice version and her weight has been fine on it (and the lamb and rice we are now getting). We also have a pei and her skin has generally been great (some contact allergy issues here and there) so what we feed her is important. All ours get kibble morning and night with some other stuff added.

I did get one BH chicken and rice once with a contaminant in it. Was not happy. The company did not replace it. Apparently it was some other stuff off the production machinery that got missed during cleaning and it was all green and a bunch of the kibble had stuck to it and was turning green too. I threw that whole bag out and considered switching back to Canidae but stayed with BH because it works for our dogs.

[RedFeather]

We got some RC from our breeder...our puppy liked it well enough and did fine on it...I however couldn't stand the smell of it! Or the greasy texture. We've switched over to Meals for Pups at the moment, which pups will also eat quite happily and he's doing fine. It smells better and isn't greasy and gross. Since we fill a lot of chew toys, the fact I couldn't stand to touch it or smell it was a big deal for me.

We are in the fortunate position of having a family member who works at a pet store and gives us a nice discount :)

[Dave-o]

The "better" food will be the one your dogs find most palatable and do better on. Price would not be my top priority.

Myth.

Your dog could have good poos and survive on the lowest quality food i.e. 2 minute noodles > this is not the best food for the dog.

Some foods are too rich for dogs, some dogs (most) have food intolerance, so it's finding a good quality food that is going to have positive gene expression (Nutrigenomics) and sit well with your dogs tummy. We need to stop promoting "the best food is what your dog does best on" because people often only consider the 'now' not the future and usually only consider what comes out of their dog at the 'now'. Nutrition is much bigger picture, and we know this already in regards to our own bodies but for some reason we choose to ignore it for canines maybe because cost is prohibitive or we don't have the same want for our dogs when it comes to health and longevity that we do for our human families or are we under the incorrect assumption that good poos means the dog is on the best food?

Palatable is certainly important but it needs to be considered where this is coming from, is it from high quality bio available proteins or artificial methods / low quality proteins lacking bio availability?

It's certainly true that one dog may thrive on Blackhawk Fish & Potato and another may not, I think it's logical in terms of individuals no matter what species.

Dog guardians should consider the terms "Thrive" "Survive" "Do well on" carefully. As canine guardians we need to become experts in what goes into our dogs bodies and not just go for brands or packaging. Some of the more well known kibbles out there such as RC and Advance have some of the lowest quality ingredients in some of their lines. The ingredients panel is in clear view for all canine guardians to read, it's our job to understand what those ingredients are and what they do to our dogs bodies now and in the future.

Although I agree somewhat to the "what works best for your dog" sentiment, I 100% agree with what sas says. Very well said :)

[HazyWal]

We are BH users and due to location ours costs us about $85 on auto delivery with Pet Circle. Our older dog (husky/shep) started losing weight on the chicken and rice version and the vet recommended we move to a seniors type of kibble. After that bag finished though we were buying the fish and rice version and her weight has been fine on it (and the lamb and rice we are now getting). We also have a pei and her skin has generally been great (some contact allergy issues here and there) so what we feed her is important. All ours get kibble morning and night with some other stuff added.

I did get one BH chicken and rice once with a contaminant in it. Was not happy. The company did not replace it. Apparently it was some other stuff off the production machinery that got missed during cleaning and it was all green and a bunch of the kibble had stuck to it and was turning green too. I threw that whole bag out and considered switching back to Canidae but stayed with BH because it works for our dogs.

That's poor form not to replace or refund.

[Dave-o]

I did get one BH chicken and rice once with a contaminant in it. Was not happy. The company did not replace it. Apparently it was some other stuff off the production machinery that got missed during cleaning and it was all green and a bunch of the kibble had stuck to it and was turning green too. I threw that whole bag out and considered switching back to Canidae but stayed with BH because it works for our dogs.

Did you request a refund from Black Hawk direct or PetCircle? You're entitled to a refund... and a profuse apology!

[Little Gifts]

I contacted Pet Circle and a rep from BH contacted me. The rep said it was just leftovers from another run of kibble that hadn't been picked up during the cleaning process and it was all fine and wouldn't hurt my dogs. He declined a photo of it. He was fairly 'whatever' about my concerns and no refund offer was made and I didn't ask for one. Our pei can't eat beef and of course I was worried there was more of the same in the bag and that it could've contained beef so I made the decision to discard it all. I was disappointed at the time but just let it go. I figured it was just one crappy bag out of all the hundreds of others I've purchased and been happy with.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Little Gifts