Kevin Chen Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Hi all, greetings from Taiwan. I've been feeding my 3-year-old Mini Poodle, Vontae, a raw food diet that alternates between two Aussie brands - Big Dog and Dr.B's BARF - with a bit of K9 Natural raw thrown in once in a while. How are the reputations of Big Dog and Dr.B BARF in Australia? We don't have too many commerical raw food choices here in Taiwan, so I definitely would appreciate any feedback on these brands. Vontae seems to be doing well on this combo diet so far, but I wanna make sure that these brands have strong long-term reputations and results. Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks! Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul777 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 G'day Kevin, greetings from Aus. : ) Can't say that I've heard of those brands. Every Aussie that I've known who feeds a raw diet, including myself, actually feeds things like chicken carcasses, turkey necks, green tripe, lamb brisket for e.g. The benefits include a healthy gut, teeth & gums. Not only is it healthier than commercial products, it's also cheaper. Check out www.rawmeatybones.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roova Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) I've heard of those brands and have used Big Dog Combo myself for years. I've offered most of the pre-made raw options out there but find Big Dog is eaten with gusto every time and it actually smells good which some of them don't. For Ingredients (below) and ease of use I'm really happy with it. Meaty bones for teeth and gums are fed on top and I dehydrate my own meats for treats. The only way to know for sure if any diet is working would be to have bloods done at the vet and see if the dog comes back as deficient anywhere. I haven't done this myself but have considered it a few times. So far I'm banking on the dogs visually looking in good condition with great skin, teeth and coats. Im sure your poodle will do great on this too! Beef, finely ground beef bone & cartilage, chicken, finely ground chicken bone & cartilage, beef & lamb heart, beef & lamb liver, beef & lamb kidney, whole fish (salmon & sardines), seasonal fruits, vege & herbs (kale, spinach, broccoli, bok choy, silver beet, carrots, celery, beetroot, lettuce, cucumber, capsicum, apple, orange, pear, tomato, strawberry, ginger & parsley), cold pressed ground flaxseed, whole egg, alfalfa powder, kelp powder (brown seaweed), brewers yeast, wheatgrass, live probiotics, prebiotics, garlic. Edited January 24, 2017 by Roova Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stitch Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Quote Yes....what Roova said! Big Dog is great. They also make the Leading Raw BARF for the Guide Dogs recipe which is the one I buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackiemad Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 I've used both and both have agreed with my dog. I believe they were developed by the same two guys who then had irreconcilable differences - essentially I think the mixes are pretty well the same, though the Dr b's barf seems wetter than the big dog barf. I use them in conjunction with an excellent grain free kibble, meals for mutts. They're available in most pet supply stores here in Aus in the freezer section and seem to sell well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 6 hours ago, Paul777 said: G'day Kevin, greetings from Aus. : ) Can't say that I've heard of those brands. Every Aussie that I've known who feeds a raw diet, including myself, actually feeds things like chicken carcasses, turkey necks, green tripe, lamb brisket for e.g. The benefits include a healthy gut, teeth & gums. Not only is it healthier than commercial products, it's also cheaper. Check out www.rawmeatybones.com Really? You're not familiar with the brand of food sold by Dr. Ian Billinghurst, one of the people responsible for making BARF and raw diets as mainstream and popular as they are now? Whether or not "homemade" raw is "healthier" than commercially produced raw is questionable, at best. Just because something has been produced in a factory, that doesn't mean it's somehow tainted with malevolent commercial-therefore-bad germs, you know. Personally, I stick with homemade because firstly, my dogs don't eat vegetables (and unfortunately, most prepared BARF meals are heavy on vegetables) and secondly, because I'm often feeding multiple dogs with different fat requirements so it's easier for me to adjust diet in response to their weight and how they're doing. To answer the OP, if your dog is doing well on those foods,I'd stick with them. I'm not sure on the availability of safe, inspected raw "pet" grade meats over there but I imagine it's probably not as easy as we have it here. Personally, I'd stick with imported commercial if I couldn't be sure that raw meat was coming from a processor who inspected for all the things we consider standard. The only thing I'd suggest is adding actual bones to chew because the barf/raw minces won't do anything for your dog's teeth. That said, bones or no, teeth still need to be cared for and brushed as needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boronia Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 6 hours ago, Paul777 said: G'day Kevin, greetings from Aus. : ) Can't say that I've heard of those brands. Every Aussie that I've known who feeds a raw diet, including myself, actually feeds things like chicken carcasses, turkey necks, green tripe, lamb brisket for e.g. The benefits include a healthy gut, teeth & gums. Not only is it healthier than commercial products, it's also cheaper. Check out www.rawmeatybones.com Info for Paul777 http://bigdogpetfoods.com/raw-food-for-dogs/ http://barfaustralia.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappi&Monty Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 We usually feed home-made raw for dinner and a high quality kibble for breakfast. But a few times we have used Big Dog BARF and found it really awesome. It's definitely handy to grab a sealed up patty and defrost it the night before and have it ready to go. Although it did take me half a box of it to figure out it had a peely bit to open hahaha I'd been cutting it the whole time. We've had the fish and the rabbit, both are good and I like to buy flavours that have meats that aren't cheaply/readily available at the supermarket. As mentioned before, I'm not sure what the quality or price of meat in Taiwan is. I'm not sure if they outsource? Do you live in the city? I haven't been to Taiwan, but have been to HK. If I recall correctly they had the Chinese butchers which sold all the fun & weird "bits" haha. Raw pigs ears, all sorts of guts, trotters, chicken feet, duck (yum! Costs a lot here ) etc. Although not sure of the regulations there if they might use hormones in the animals which could get in your dogs diet. As an occasional treat it would be good though. Edible bones are definitely important to include though, things like chicken necks (if your dog can handle those), chicken feet/wings/drumsticks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Chen Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 Thanks for all the replies - definitely reassuring to hear that the brands have a good reputation back in Australia. Vontae has been on both Big Dog and Dr.B since I got him a year ago, and he's due for his annual physical next month, so we'll see what the blood test shows. But visually he seems to be doing great, more active than when I first got him - although I'm not sure if that's due to the food, the lifestyle (I hike/swim/play frisbee with him pretty much everyday), or a combination of the two. We do have some locally made commercial raw food brands here in Taiwan and their ingredients look good - one, which I've fed off and on, even publishes the actual sources of where their meats and veggies come from (farms, some organic, here in Taiwan). But at the end of the day, I don't quite feel as comfortable with local Taiwan brands because they have not been in the market that long and have not established a track record of safety and success. Here's a video of my boy Thanks again for all the feedback and advice. Kevin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 Oh that's an adorable video! Vontae looks like a very loved member of your family and it's great to see him included in all the fun. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roova Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 Great video, what a lucky dog and what a lovely family you have! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Chen Posted January 26, 2017 Author Share Posted January 26, 2017 On 2017/1/24 at 6:55 AM, Stitch said: I just found out that there are vendors in Taiwan who carry the Leading Raw BARF, so I'm thinking about also giving this a try. But Leading Raw doesn't seem to have its ingredients clearly stated - i.e. no nutritional breakdown by %. I know the brand says the breakdown is different depending on the life stage of the food, but still it would be nice to see the different % for different life stages. Or am I missing something? Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roova Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Can you contact the company and ask for specifics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjosa Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Just coming in here to thank you for that video of your beautiful family which of course includes your magnificent four legged member. He is so much part of the family. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trishm Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 Beautiful family and video ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Chen Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 Thanks for all the kind words! Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ari.g Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 What a lovely family video! And lucky Vontae to be part of your family! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Kevin thanks so much for posting your beautiful family - they are really gorgeous - 2 and 4 legged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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