Kibble Recommendations Please

[kamuzz]

Thanks Scottsmum.

Not sure I want to try a 32kg dog on food that comes in 3kg bags!

kamuzz you might like to consider Meals For Mutts if you are seeking a quality grain free kibble in 20kg bags.

Meals For Mutts

Thanks RuralPug. Not sure I want to start paying $140 for a bag of dog food... I'm sure the price of dog food has gone up faster than other groceries.

[sueang]

I havn't fed kibble for years, i prefer raw, ( roo, or chicken with VANS) .

However i have a new dog who really doesn't like the VANS , and is now walking away from it rather than eating, even after only adding a tablespoon to the meat.

She is an ex breeding bitch who is 3, and her breeder fed her red meat, kibble ( supercoat or VIP), with brown rice.

I think i am going to suck it up and get some kibble to go with the roo and chicken mince i have been giving her , but reading all the food reviews is doing my head in!

BT's are prone to skin problems, so i don't want to get anything that will cause an issue ( the breeder did mention she may get hotspots if i feed roo as its rich, so i am feeding chicken mince alternately)

So, i don't want to go high end and find its actually full of fillers and rubbish etc, which reading reviews paying more doesn't always mean good.

i could just feed the kibble the breeder fed, but i always thought both were not great?

So far from reading reviews, Black Hawk grain free is my top pick?

My other option is to add to the meat she happily eats to make a complete balanced meal, just not sure where to start?

"MEALS FOR MUTTS" is excellent for Skin problems, MfM is Gluten, Dairy & Sugar FREE here's their site http://www.mealsformutts.com.au/index.html email MfM & ask for a few grain free samples Salmon & Sardines, Duck & Turkey & the Turkey HP.....Black Hawk gave Patch red itchy paws, itchy ears, since Black Hawk was sold they reckon they haven't changed their ingredients but I think ingredients are of lower quality something is wrong.... also another kibble I use & rotate is "Taste Of The Wild" my itchy Patch is doing really well on the Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb, We are going to try Canidae Pure Land Bison next everyone recommend the "Pure Sea" for dogs with skin problems.....

[sueang]

PS - just looked it up on the woolies website - the 3kg bags are on sale this week but the 7kg bags still work out better value @ $30.60 per bag.

...just saw it, that's - on sale price - $ 0.46 / 100 g...the Applaws is (on sale price) 0.50 / 100 g...the Applaws is - on paper - slightly higher quality; we use both (I don't want to rely just on one kibble) and she likes both.

Be careful with Applaws the cat& dog kibble I bought had red & blue plastic thru the kibbles then the Applaws Dog kibble had the same bits of blue plastic thru the whole bag Applaws...Applaws were nice & refunded my money but what I didn't like Applaws just kept all the bad batches of kibble cat & dog on special in the supermarkets Coles & Woolworths that's why I bought Applaws to begin with cause it was on special.....Applaws didn't pull them off the shelves, if that was in American & an American brand they would of had a recall.... also the fiber is very high in all Applaws kibbles means a lot of plant matter....

[DZaak]

PS - just looked it up on the woolies website - the 3kg bags are on sale this week but the 7kg bags still work out better value @ $30.60 per bag.

...just saw it, that's - on sale price - $ 0.46 / 100 g...the Applaws is (on sale price) 0.50 / 100 g...the Applaws is - on paper - slightly higher quality; we use both (I don't want to rely just on one kibble) and she likes both.

Be careful with Applaws the cat& dog kibble I bought had red & blue plastic thru the kibbles then the Applaws Dog kibble had the same bits of blue plastic thru the whole bag Applaws...Applaws were nice & refunded my money but what I didn't like Applaws just kept all the bad batches of kibble cat & dog on special in the supermarkets Coles & Woolworths that's why I bought Applaws to begin with cause it was on special.....Applaws didn't pull them off the shelves, if that was in American & an American brand they would of had a recall.... also the fiber is very high in all Applaws kibbles means a lot of plant matter....

I've started Izzy on Applaws and haven't had issues. It alarmed me seeing your post, so I checked the kibble and broke it aprt. There was no plastic. It looks like one bad batch. Moving forward, I'm sure their kibble is fine. That being said, I agree with you that it is bad practice for them to keep the kibble on the shelves and not do a recall. Being pet food, I'm sure there isn't any legal obligation, unlike human food, however this is just awful practice.

If I take that criticism out of it and look purely at the quality of food, Applaws ticks all the boxes in the ingredients section. It looks very high quality, especially for the price. As I am yet to see any issue with plastic, etc, I will continue to use them due to great value for money. I do have other bags when I see them on special.

Other brands I have ready to go are Blackhawk (used to be my primary option), Meals for Mutts and Wellness (Half price at Petbarn and expiry date is in Jun 2017). I had to highlight that as Petbarn was woing wellness, but 1 GET TWO FREE not too long ago, and the product was about to expire in 1 week's time. That is just despicable.

[Papillon Kisses]

I got a voucher from Petbarn which gave me a free pack of Wellness Complete Diet for toy breeds with no purchase necessary, though again it did expire in about 2 weeks from collecting it. I'm still feeding it to my boy though as it seems to be fine? Interestingly he now doesn't want to eat his other kibble unless super hungry!

[sueang]

Yes, Pet Barn Newcastle has all out of date kibbles, supplements raw meat, K-9 Natural frozen.... I'm always checking the use by dates, I have even shown the staff that certain supplements were 1 year out of date, I went back the next week & they were still on the shelves, when any Kibble is nilly out of date they are suppose to be 1/2 the price, as soon as they're out of date they're 75% off marked price... I have picked up some bargins, I'm always looking at use by date when I want to try a new kibble, I got a $80 bag of Wellness Small Breed for $18, you have to ask for 1/2 price or 75% off or they just mark them down $5 I noticed..... I've been shopping online now, the kibbles are fresher & have longer use by dates, cause they are sold quicker...

Edited April 18, 2016 by sueang

[DZaak]

I got a voucher from Petbarn which gave me a free pack of Wellness Complete Diet for toy breeds with no purchase necessary, though again it did expire in about 2 weeks from collecting it. I'm still feeding it to my boy though as it seems to be fine? Interestingly he now doesn't want to eat his other kibble unless super hungry!

Yes, wellness is incredibly high quality. Your pup would love it! Petbarn just have a problem selling it because it is so expensive. They're justn ot wel equipped as sales people to sell the Wellness brand on it's merits and the reason why it's so expensive. That being said, there is very very high quality kibble for cheaper, ie. Blackhawk. Depending on sales going on, Ivory Coat can be had for good prices too if you're keeping to the Aussie Brands.

[Dave-o]

There's a pet food review website in Australia which discusses all of these foods. It's called http://www.petfoodreviews.com.au :D

Be careful with Applaws the cat& dog kibble I bought had red & blue plastic thru the kibbles then the Applaws Dog kibble had the same bits of blue plastic thru the whole bag Applaws...Applaws were nice & refunded my money but what I didn't like Applaws just kept all the bad batches of kibble cat & dog on special in the supermarkets Coles & Woolworths that's why I bought Applaws to begin with cause it was on special.....Applaws didn't pull them off the shelves, if that was in American & an American brand they would of had a recall.... also the fiber is very high in all Applaws kibbles means a lot of plant matter....

Yep, they had a problem with a supplier but it's all been sorted now. They cut the supplier immediately. Applaws are proactively trying to increase the meat content in their foods in Aus. Their UK equivalent has much more meat, with the reason being UK manufacturers have more advanced extruder (kibble making) machinery.

[DZaak]

There's a pet food review website in Australia which discusses all of these foods. It's called http://www.petfoodreviews.com.au :D

Be careful with Applaws the cat& dog kibble I bought had red & blue plastic thru the kibbles then the Applaws Dog kibble had the same bits of blue plastic thru the whole bag Applaws...Applaws were nice & refunded my money but what I didn't like Applaws just kept all the bad batches of kibble cat & dog on special in the supermarkets Coles & Woolworths that's why I bought Applaws to begin with cause it was on special.....Applaws didn't pull them off the shelves, if that was in American & an American brand they would of had a recall.... also the fiber is very high in all Applaws kibbles means a lot of plant matter....

Yep, they had a problem with a supplier but it's all been sorted now. They cut the supplier immediately. Applaws are proactively trying to increase the meat content in their foods in Aus. Their UK equivalent has much more meat, with the reason being UK manufacturers have more advanced extruder (kibble making) machinery.

That's great to hear. Applaws protein content is a little low at 24%. By normal standards that's fine, but considering it is a grain free food, most are 26% and above. I'm really rooting for Applaws because they are the best value high quality food in Australia.

By the way, I've started my dog on Meals for Mutts and I'm VERY happy with it so far. She has slowly become more picky with her food and I haven't had trouble with this one. It's also 30% protein which is quite high (I believe the 2nd highest protein content in dry food in Australia after Ivory Coat, correct me if I'm wrong).

Right now I rank the brands I've tried as follows.

- Meals for Mutts

- Ivory Coat

- Black Hawk

- Applaws

- Wellness (taking value for money into account)

[Airedaler]

I've been using the Nature's Domain grain free from Costco. I'm told it is the same as Taste of the Wild

Cost is $60 for 15.8kg bag.

I've always found they have long use by dates. The one downside is supply can be a bit hap hazard although I have found it better recently.

[J...]

I was using Ivory Coat for training treats until I opened a bag and found it full of mould

Same batch and date bag on the shelf of where I purchased it was also showing early signs of mould growth - was harder to spot (very easy to miss and still feed).

Contacted Ivory Coat who refunded my money but they were pretty casual about it - blamed it on transport and storage (the bag of food still had 12 months best before on it). A friend bought a bag (different batch/different dates) which was also mouldy.

Store I purchased it from also got a pretty casual response from the rep in store. Mould and the subsequent toxins moulds can produce may be present but not detectable except by testing, and even back in the days of feeding Coprice and Bonnie to the working dogs as a kid - never seen mould in a dry food before. I'd love to send the samples off for mycoxtoxins to prove a point (they told me they don't need to use any kind of mycotoxin preventative because their ration is grain free, and that's where the mycotoxins come from - wrong, there are many sources of mycotoxins!!) but at $300 a test I'll just walk away from their product. Shame because I liked the idea of it being Australian made and owned, and was a great size for training with.

Tried to go to Canidae Grain Free but was finding it too hard to find and the lack of stock was concerning, so now using Taste of the Wild Lamb. Good size for training (which is all I really use it for) and the dogs love it.

I also bought some Canidae Grain Free treats, some Sunday Pets biscuits for the occasional meal away from home and some ZiwiPeak for treats as well - the dogs love them all :D

I only buy small bags because of how little I use at a time, once I open a bag I split it up into the big 8.5 L Decor storage containers which are occasionally on special at Safeway etc - not quite as fresh as just opened but as fresh as I can keep it.

[sueang]

I was using Ivory Coat for training treats until I opened a bag and found it full of mould

Same batch and date bag on the shelf of where I purchased it was also showing early signs of mould growth - was harder to spot (very easy to miss and still feed).

Contacted Ivory Coat who refunded my money but they were pretty casual about it - blamed it on transport and storage (the bag of food still had 12 months best before on it). A friend bought a bag (different batch/different dates) which was also mouldy.

Store I purchased it from also got a pretty casual response from the rep in store. Mould and the subsequent toxins moulds can produce may be present but not detectable except by testing, and even back in the days of feeding Coprice and Bonnie to the working dogs as a kid - never seen mould in a dry food before. I'd love to send the samples off for mycoxtoxins to prove a point (they told me they don't need to use any kind of mycotoxin preventative because their ration is grain free, and that's where the mycotoxins come from - wrong, there are many sources of mycotoxins!!) but at $300 a test I'll just walk away from their product. Shame because I liked the idea of it being Australian made and owned, and was a great size for training with.

Tried to go to Canidae Grain Free but was finding it too hard to find and the lack of stock was concerning, so now using Taste of the Wild Lamb. Good size for training (which is all I really use it for) and the dogs love it.

I also bought some Canidae Grain Free treats, some Sunday Pets biscuits for the occasional meal away from home and some ZiwiPeak for treats as well - the dogs love them all :D

I only buy small bags because of how little I use at a time, once I open a bag I split it up into the big 8.5 L Decor storage containers which are occasionally on special at Safeway etc - not quite as fresh as just opened but as fresh as I can keep it.

Another good kibble is the Canidae Life Stages, All Life Stages Formula, first 3 ingredients are Chicken Meal. Turkey Meal Lamb Meal then it has Ocean Fish in there as well further down the ingredient list.... Canidae Life Stages was on special at Pet Circle $99 for 20kgs, that's pretty good specially if you have a few large dogs, I rotate between Taste Of The Wild Roasted Lamb & the Canidae Life Stages All Life Stages formula at the moment....Patch is looking beautiful nice shinny coat & he only needs 2 cups a day of the Canidae even when I feed TOTW for Breakfast & the Canidae life stages for Dinner..

[juice]

Thought i would update as it got bumped up anyway.

I decided to go with the VIP as she liked it, with roo one night chicken the next ( breeder said i might get hotspots if i fed roo too much, she has had 2 appear on her back ,so cutting down the roo), with 2 cups of VIP.

Now that we seem to have settled down, and crazy destructo dog has finally settled into a good routine i decided to start weaning down the kibble, it makes her poop pretty smelly and not as firm as i would like. ( not sure that a good reason not to use it :laugh: )

So i have gradually been adding boiled rice , reducing the kibble, but mixing in a tablespoon of the VANS , and so far so good, we are now down to just 3/4 of a cup of kibble , cup of rice , meat and 2 tablespoons of VANS.

[Scottsmum]

Great update :)

[juice]

I think i just expected too much of her, ( and got a bit breed blind for a while too), i thought she would be as easy to integrate as my last bully and she wasn't.

But all good now, and i'm happy with just feeding a small amount of kibble if thats what it takes.

[Scottsmum]

I think i just expected too much of her, ( and got a bit breed blind for a while too), i thought she would be as easy to integrate as my last bully and she wasn't.

But all good now, and i'm happy with just feeding a small amount of kibble if thats what it takes.

Yep. Dog before Scottie was also a B&W foxie & That's where the similarities stop.

Glad she's slowly settling :)