Diet Help

[catbrit]

I have been feeding Alfie (7 month old Brittany) on Big Dog barf patties - when he came to us he had ear infections, UTI and gut flora inbalance so we moved him from Proplan biccies to the big dog patties as we were advised. He seems to enjoy this diet and all go his medical issues have been resolved. However recent developments with my 4 year old and the problems the company my husband works for means that we need to make adjustments to his diet to make it more cost effective. We have already my adjustments to many other things in the house hold before coming to this.

Can anyone advise me on some quality foods which don't cost an arm and a leg?

So far I have looked at Wellness Core food - I was thinking of mixing both wet and dry food. I would like to try to stay grain free

[persephone]

have a look at this thread~ grab a few cups of coffee ...dive in!

I would suggest starting simple - using a meaty bone such as turkey neck or chicken carcass as a base ..

[JulesP]

Quite a lot of people have had success with VIP Natures Goodness, a grain free kibble from the supermarket. Yes the supermarket!

It does depend on what was causing your dog's issues as to what will work for him.

[sas]

Quite a lot of people have had success with VIP Natures Goodness, a grain free kibble from the supermarket. Yes the supermarket!

It does depend on what was causing your dog's issues as to what will work for him.

It's actually just as low-mid qualify as the kibbles that sit next to it off the shelf. Clever marketing and front of pack graphics, in the end the ingredients panel is what tells the truth.

Lot's of grainfrees are actually quite low-mid in quality, lot's of low quality fillers.

TOP 4 INGREDIENTS

Meat (Poulty meat & meat,duck & meat meals) | 'Meat' = vague.

Vegetables & vegetables meals (including potato, peas, carrots, pumpkin) | Cheap Filler & Binding agent. Potato and Peas are common fillers/binding agents in Grainfrees

Potato & Tapioca starch, Tallows & oils (Poultry and Vegetable), | Starch is pretty useless to dogs. Tallows & Oils > rendered/cheap.

Beet Pulp,

So really far from 'quality' if we were to compare to the likes of BARF Patties. Results now vs results 5-10 years down the track are what I personally look for > bio available quality proteins that add to my dogs long term health (species appropriate food).

To the OP

I would advise to instead consider preparing your own BARF, you'll find it cheaper.

http://www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm

http://rawfeddogs.org/rawguide.html

If you want to go for a quality kibble at a great price i.e. $5 per kilo then Canidae All Life Stages is outstanding quality for the price vs just over $5 a kilo for this low-mid quality VIP supermarket food.

Canidae All Life Stages (Limited grain) Top 4 ingredients:

Chicken meal

turkey meal

lamb meal

brown rice

The comparison speaks volumes.

Sounds like your dog could also benefit from a Digestive Aid such as Protexin Blue if you get problems again when you change diet but this isn't going to be budget friendly, it's a little pricey.

Without an elimination diet or Nutriscan test it will be near impossible to find out of your dog has a sensativity - when feeding kibbles there are too many ingredients to be able to narrow down what the issue could have been.

You also need to consider the dog wasn't always yours and the problems it had could have simply improved just with a different environment, care and just better quality food (not necc to do with grains).

From memory Big Dog Barf Patties work out to around $7 per kilo so not too bad actually but it just depends on what your budget is going to be going forward.

Edited July 13, 2015 by sas

[BullBreedBoy]

My neighbour is on a fairly tight budget and feeds Applaws It's All Good. It seems pretty good value for money from looking at the pack ingredients and analysis (compared to other kibbles)

I would look into making your own Barf though, which is actually not that hard and can be very cost effective if you buy smart.

Edited July 13, 2015 by BullBreedBoy

[~Rumour~]

If you are going to have a look at feeding some raw in the diet I highly recommend heading to Instincto located at Capalaba

They have a great range and their prices are very good :)

Edited July 13, 2015 by ~Rumour~

[catbrit]

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions.

I'll be looking at all option and figure out the best for him and us (hopefully) soon

[YippeeGirl]

We have three adult German Shepherds on the Wellness Core dry food. Two get the 'Original Formula', and one who has issues with yeast and allergies is on the 'Ocean Fish Formula'. They pnly get about two cups of food a day, along with some mince meat and their various supplements, and they are doing great on it.

It isn't a cheap food, but with other foods we've had to feed a lot more to keep the weight on.

Unfortunately feeding a raw only diet here isn't possible. However, I've had no reason to complain about the Wellness Core kibble, and based on my experience with it, I would recommend it. The range is really quite extensive and there are also the grain-free topper cans etc. you can mix through as you mentioned looking at feeding wet and dry.