Blackhawk best?

[allnatural]

Hi Guys,

 

I have recently just adopted a 9 year old lhasa apso dog and am wondering what is best to feed her - she used to be on Pedigree however I am really wanting something more natural to feed to her. I've heard a lot of great things about Blackhawk but I am wondering what it is that makes it so great?! I have concerns that it is owned by a large corporation and am wondering if since their take over has anyone noticed a change in the quality? I'd also love to know a bit about how it started if anyone knows? Loved the idea of it being Australian owned but dont think thats the case anymore? Does anyone know when the brand started? Cant find much about where it came from! 

 

Really keen to learn everything I can about natural brands to ensure I look after my first dog as well as possible

 

Edited July 18, 2017 by allnatural

[Rascalmyshadow]

Hi welcome to the forum.

I would look at a better option I know some people have had good success with it but I tried it and it was the worst food I have ever used, the dogs dropped muscle tone, had dull coats and lots of dandruff and lacked energy, it took me a while to realise it was the food, then I started to find more people that had the same issues.

 

Different dogs do well on different foods, we have four little dogs (three coated) we use Canidae dry and a combination of Ziwipeak and Holistic select tinned, (except for the poodle he needs sensitivity tinned) and they all have beautiful coats, good muscle tone and plenty of energy.

[Panto]

Hi + welcome

 

If you search on this forum you will find many many threads and posts on blackhawk. It used to be great in my opinion, we used to use it. Manufacturing and ingredients changed, it is not as good. 

 

Have a read about raw feeding and where their theories come from - it provides a basis for wanting to feed more natural and why.

 

Kibbles to consider: ivory coat, meals for mutts, ziwipeak. 

 

I am sure others will have other suggestions too.

[Rebanne]

no dry food is natural. Is your new girl in good health with a good coat? If so no real reason to change her food. You could add chicken necks for instance to her meals if you don't want to feed just dry food.

[mackiemad]

I used to use it exclusively but added in some holistic select and meals for mutts into my dog's diet (same time we added in half raw as he has contact grass allergies and the raw seems to help).

 

For what it's worth I haven't noticed a decline and my dog still prefers it over other kibbles. He'll tolerate meals for mutts (aussie owned and made, I feed the grain free duck and turkey) and holistic select (I like the idea of the probiotics, he has the rabbit and lamb) but he wouldn't go near canidae or ivory coat no matter how I dressed it up!

 

He always had the lamb and rice but I recently got the grain free roo variety (I was interested to see if he'd like it) and he's gobbling it down happily

[Scrappi&Monty]

Check out this website:

http://www.petfoodreviews.com.au/

 

and also have a read about raw feeding here:

https://perfectlyrawsome.com/

https://www.rawfeedingmiami.com/

http://www.vetsallnatural.com.au/

 

And just have a general Google around about it. Search something like DOL raw feeding and it'll find loads of threads.  

 

We usually feed raw for dinner and kibble for breakfast. We used Black Hawk for around 2-3 years, and it works really well for our boys. Some people don't think it's good but it seemed to work well for my pair. Definitely a vast improvement from supermarket pet food for Scrappi and the RSPCA had Monty on Hills Science Diet (which smelled like Doritos there was so much corn in it!!) 

The emu oil in BH seems to be good for their coat. 

We were previously feeding just crappy super market foods until we found out that they were really bad and the cause of the bad coat and skin Scrappi had! 

Recently tried Meals For Mutts (Sardine & salmon, but not the grain free one) because the ingredients are really good quality & it's a great food, the dogs love the kibble and we've used samples of it for training before. Except they didn't do very well on the MfM, made them stinky and have stinky breath, and their poops were bigger and I think I switched too suddenly as it made their tummies a bit upset.

 

The bag we just finished was SavourLife Kangaroo, that worked really well for our dogs, just as well as BH did. They donate half of the profits to rescue!!  

 

I haven't tried BH Grainfree yet (the brand new one) but the ingredients, although grain free, seem to be not as good as they used to. The emu oil (selling point of the brand) is much lower down the ingredients list, but they have added fish oil & coconut oil too so that's good. 

So since we haven't tried it I'm not sure how good it is.

The reason we tried them on new foods recently after feeding Black Hawk for years is because of the company's change of hands and I'm not sure if the ingredients have been changed. I don't think they have if you buy the old packaging, but I think they might be about to. 

 

We also feed this:

http://bigdogpetfoods.com/

Edited July 18, 2017 by Scrappi&Monty

[allnatural]

Hi All,

 

Wow thank you for such a great response! I really had not considered raw before but am definitely intrigued about this. I had considered Ivory Coat however now they have been acquired by TRPC I am wondering if their commitment to Australian farming and natural will be adjusted. Will be interesting to see. 

 

She is still in good health I guess I am just conscious about her age and wanting to make sure she has the best whilst getting older. I have also been suggested Purina's Pro Plan too but think this is more science based rather than natural health. 

 

Will definitely be looking in to raw food. I am interested by meals for mutts too I haven't heard a lot about them before - do you know if they sell in all major pet specialty stores? if not I think i found some to buy online

 

Thanks again guys!

 

 

[_PL_]

I couldn't find any Meals for Mutts at PetO's but got it easily online.  My dogs love it although they only get a little bit as a treat, so I can't really say how good it is as a larger % of diet. 

[Scrappi&Monty]

@allnatural 

in my opinion Pro Plan isn't that good. Better than super market food but not brilliant. Check out the reviews on Pet Food Reviews AU. Very informative website!  

 

I can get Meals For Mutts at our local pet shops; Pet Quaters and Pet Barn (I think), and Pet Stock. You can order it online from plenty of websites with usually free shipping!  

[Panto]

Hi All,
 
Wow thank you for such a great response! I really had not considered raw before but am definitely intrigued about this. I had considered Ivory Coat however now they have been acquired by TRPC I am wondering if their commitment to Australian farming and natural will be adjusted. Will be interesting to see. 
 
She is still in good health I guess I am just conscious about her age and wanting to make sure she has the best whilst getting older. I have also been suggested Purina's Pro Plan too but think this is more science based rather than natural health. 
 
Will definitely be looking in to raw food. I am interested by meals for mutts too I haven't heard a lot about them before - do you know if they sell in all major pet specialty stores? if not I think i found some to buy online
 
Thanks again guys! [emoji4][emoji4]
 
 

You sound well more researched than most posters asking about pet food already! Do you work in the pet industy?? Surprised you haven't heard of Meals for
mutts but already knew about the TRPC acquisition!

What's the basis about the Purina suggestion? Is that grocery or specialty?

Please post a photo of your new baby, we love photos!!!





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JulesP]

[allnatural]

12 hours ago, Panto said:

 

You sound well more researched than most posters asking about pet food already! Do you work in the pet industy?? Surprised you haven't heard of Meals for
mutts but already knew about the TRPC acquisition!

What's the basis about the Purina suggestion? Is that grocery or specialty?

Please post a photo of your new baby, we love photos!!!





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

My cousin works in the pet industry hence the acquisition knowledge! But doesnt own a pet herself so wanted to get some feedback on foods from real dog lovers Pro plan had been suggested by a friend but looking at the packaging it seems very scientific so I am guessing it is speciality only? Photo to come soon! 

[sheena]

I was one of the original distributors for Black Hawk, way back when it was being packaged in plain white bags.  My dogs have been on it for most of their life ( 8 to 9 years) as the main part of their diet.  I also give them raw food, eggs, yogurt, sardines, mackerel, turkey necks, kangaroo mince, cooked left over vegies etc etc.  I no longer distribute it but I have no intentions of changing to any other brand.  It all depends on what you feel your dogs are doing well on...& for me...that is Black Hawk. Sometimes I buy them the lamb, but mostly it is the Fish & (sweet) Potato.

[Panto]

3 hours ago, allnatural said:

My cousin works in the pet industry hence the acquisition knowledge! But doesnt own a pet herself so wanted to get some feedback on foods from real dog lovers Pro plan had been suggested by a friend but looking at the packaging it seems very scientific so I am guessing it is speciality only? Photo to come soon! 

Interesting! What other insider knowledge can you share?!  Almost sounded like she could have written it herself with all that lingo!  

Seen plenty try go undercover for free market research. oops! 

 

The friend that feeds pro plan, is that what they use? 

 

What's your dog's name and where did you get it from? What are you currently feeding while you're researching? How active is she? don't forget your photo!! 

[allnatural]

17 hours ago, Panto said:

46 minutes ago, Panto said:

Interesting! What other insider knowledge can you share?!  Almost sounded like she could have written it herself with all that lingo!  

Seen plenty try go undercover for free market research. oops! 

 

The friend that feeds pro plan, is that what they use? 

 

What's your dog's name and where did you get it from? What are you currently feeding while you're researching? How active is she? don't forget your photo!! 

No other inside knowledge it simply came up in conversation over the weekend when talking about different brands to go for - not really sure what lingo you're actually referring to there... Dog's name is minnie and I adopted her from a family friends, they brought her over from england 4 years ago and they are now moving to the US again (he travels alot with work) and they want the dog to stay here at least until they decide if they definitely want to stay over in the US because she is quite nervous and they dont want her to have to go through quarantine again

I think I have attached a photo.. But anyway I dont really appreciate sarcastic comments when i have simply been asking for help help which has been really great by the way

 

17 hours ago, Panto said:

 

 

17 hours ago, Panto said:

46 minutes ago, Panto said:

Interesting! What other insider knowledge can you share?!  Almost sounded like she could have written it herself with all that lingo!  

Seen plenty try go undercover for free market research. oops! 

 

The friend that feeds pro plan, is that what they use? 

 

What's your dog's name and where did you get it from? What are you currently feeding while you're researching? How active is she? don't forget your photo!! 

You sound well more researched than most posters asking about pet food already! Do you work in the pet industy?? Surprised you haven't heard of Meals for
mutts but already knew about the TRPC acquisition!

What's the basis about the Purina suggestion? Is that grocery or specialty?

Please post a photo of your new baby, we love photos!!!

 

45 minutes ago, Panto said:

Interesting! What other insider knowledge can you share?!  Almost sounded like she could have written it herself with all that lingo!  

Seen plenty try go undercover for free market research. oops! 

 

The friend that feeds pro plan, is that what they use? 

 

What's your dog's name and where did you get it from? What are you currently feeding while you're researching? How active is she? don't forget your photo!! 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

[Rascalmyshadow]

Cute!!! Looks so much like my Rascal, he's a Lhasa x silky.

[Maddy]

On 7/18/2017 at 10:55 AM, Rascalmyshadow said:

Hi welcome to the forum.

I would look at a better option I know some people have had good success with it but I tried it and it was the worst food I have ever used, the dogs dropped muscle tone, had dull coats and lots of dandruff and lacked energy, it took me a while to realise it was the food, then I started to find more people that had the same issues.

 

Different dogs do well on different foods, we have four little dogs (three coated) we use Canidae dry and a combination of Ziwipeak and Holistic select tinned, (except for the poodle he needs sensitivity tinned) and they all have beautiful coats, good muscle tone and plenty of energy.

I had a similar but sort of.. opposite experience with BH. Dogs seemed to be constantly ravenously hungry all the time but were bouncing off the walls, like kids after a huge bag of lollies. Output was pretty unpleasant, also. And this was back when BH was still a "local" company and very respected. I'd never feed it again.

 

My dogs are mostly raw fed but if we do need kibble, it's either Ziwipeak (mostly used for training treats) or Taste of the Wild. ToTW is our reliable go-to food for dogs who need to be weaned off kibble and onto raw. Never had a dog refuse it and it's an acceptable substitute for dogs I adopt out to homes that don't want to raw feed. They seem to maintain a reasonable condition and scurf/kennel coat doesn't seem to be a problem (although in winter it can still happen if they aren't getting the right amount of fats). 

We've also tried Ivory Coat but found palatability was below average and in all other respects, it seemed just.. average. Average, but quite expensive to get down here.

 

Personally, I'd always go with a mostly raw diet if possible. It can be daunting to get into and the internet can make it seem a lot harder than it actually is, with so many different opinions about what dogs need to be eating. There are the people who use products like VAN, the people who believe dogs need pulped vegetables, the people who believe everything needs to be carefully weighed out into ratios, the pro cottage cheese people, the anti cottage cheese people, BARF, cooked human-grade, prey model, the probiotics/assorted magical powders people.. and so on and so forth. Personally, I just feed my dog fresh meat and bone (from a local pet meat abattoir) in whatever quantities equals roughly one kilo per day, per dog. It might be a stack of fresh roo tails one day, and then beef and mutton pieces the next. No vegetables, no powders, lotions, potions or cottage cheese, and they do great. Might not work for the next person though, it's really trial and error.