The Least Expensive Super Premium Food

[cavNrott]

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Edited May 7, 2009 by cavNrott

[Sayreovi]

Haha cool, i was reading but obviously wasnt paying attention to what i was reading oops, my bad

Thanks for that Anne

[KOE]

Except the other night....the dam horse knocked the dogs feed bucket over - would of had about 5 kg of dog food in it....not anymore. A couple of fat doggies that night that didnt get any food.

If that was my horses there would not be fat labs cause they would not have got near it horses would have ate the lot

[MissMonaro]

If that was my horses there would not be fat labs cause they would not have got near it horses would have ate the lot

Hahaha..I'm not so sure the horse probably didnt help them share it. The dog food is kept under the pergola but she obviously decided she would come in there and hang out with the dogs for awhile.

She managed to stand on one of their dog bowls and bent it. Then I noticed other things that had been put up out of the dogs reach suddenly were all around the yard.

We have now put a temp fence up to keep her out of the pergola and moved the dog food inside.

I remember 12 years ago we had a shetland pony and one night there was a ruckus out on the front patio of the acreage rental house we were in, and the pony had come up the front stairs to eat the dog food.

He would eat anything !!

[Guest Tess32]

We feed Bonnie too - suits them well and never had any problems

Nat

[chezzyr]

I am at a loss what dry food to get next. Rosie at Supercoat (Adult) for a few days (off and on) but now wont touch it. I have no idea why??? At first she wouldnt touch the meatybites (gift) but now has them off and on. I think she used to eat Bonnie but Id have to find a stockist. What size packs does Bonnie come in?

I am really hesitant to buy big packs of anything in case she goes off them.

Is there anywhere I can get samples of a range of dry?

When I was living in SA some of the large supermarkets had a great bulk section where it was self serve for lollies, nibblies and even dry dog food (various kinds). Not sure if they do that anywhere in Victoria.......

[Guest Tess32]

I've never seen Bonnie in small packs - we get it from Mornington Stockfeed as they sell in bulk. Lasts a good while cos we don't feed much dry food anyway.

If you buy a large pack of Bonnie and she goes off it don't worry, I'll buy it off you

Nat

[Sayreovi]

I know where you can (or used to havent been for awhile) get samples of Royal Canin if that interests you?

[EllieB]

I am sure this has been posted on this site before, but whilst we were in England recently we were made aware of a web site with the most graphic & horrifying pictures of animals undergoing a variety of testing and unbelievable proceedures, supposedly in the name of improving food quality for animals. The site is www.iamskills.com and I just checked it out again and it seems they've removed the pics. Any wonder, I didn't know whether to throw up or cry when I saw photos of Beagles with sections of their leg cut away to check for muscle development, and numerous other "take your breath away" horrifying images. In fact I couldn't even look at them all, it was too distressing. Since then I wouldn't buy those brands no matter what. Make up your own minds with what you're comfortable with.

Generally speaking, as in all facets of life, you get what you pay for.

We go with BARF as it seems more natural and closer to what people eat and we seem to get a better run for our money than the dogs of the world ! We do feed a little dry food a couple of times a week just to supplement the natural vegies etc, but it plays a very minimal part in our diet.

[larry]

Hi ellieb,

i know what you mean about animal testing, I am really against invasive animal testing, i also read in the past about iams getting in the news in the UK regarding that....I thought peta was involved ?

We feed our dogs Natural Balance,it's a 100% natural lamb and rice formula,

so it's easily digestible and it's made here in WA, and rice is less likely to cause allergies. I don't like chicken based foods so much due to all the drugs they put into chickens....(and the oil blend is really good for their coats)

I prefer to buy a food made fresh here in australia, it's about $75 per 15kg bag

http://www.naturalbalance.net.au and you can ask for a sample

We checked in the past that Natural Balance doesn't do any invasive animal testing

if you are in the east coast you can get it from here

http://www.pricelesspets.com.au/natural_balance.php3

for $69 (+$5.50 freight) for a 15kg bag

Edited July 29, 2005 by larry

[ablenath]

We feed our saint on proplan, yes it costs $105 a bag but you get 22.5 kgs and she only needs 3 cups a day......which is about 280g.......so the bag lasts for 80 feeds and works out to cost us $1.30 a day to feed her.......thats less than $10.00 a week

Kellie

[greyhoundangel]

I hope you don't use any products from any of the companies listed on the following site:

http://www.allforanimals.com/cruel1.htm

Although I am sure many of us do...

Mel

Edited July 29, 2005 by greyhoundangel

[greyhoundangel]

Interesting site on why feeding BARF can be dangerous:

http://www.workingdogs.com/vcbarf.htm

More:

http://secondchanceranch.org/training/raw_meat/

More again:

http://www.parkvets.com/petsandvets-barf.html

I just want to say that I have nothing against people feeding BARF or incorporating it into their dogs meals, but it's good to show all sides

Mel

[holly]

im looking for another premium food that doesnt cost 100bucks a bag does anyone know of any that i dont know about ..these are the ones i know and i reckon are to expensive Royal canin,Eukanuba,Science Diet is there any other ones at around 60 bucks a bag i think eagle pack was 60 bucks a 15kg bag not long ago but theyve gone up to 90 any info would be helpfull...thanks

HI DoberDave

I have not read the rest of the replies, as I am doing this on the fly, but I did a cost comparism and found Advance Breeders Bags the most cost affective. If you want to PM me I can give you details.

I have all of mine on this. One has allergies and was put on to Euk FP, but at over $110 for 13kg and being a very active country dog was looking terrible, I found the Large Breed Advance has worked wonders with all of them and 20kg at $95 is far cheaper, you can get a frequent buyers cards with Advance too, where the 9th bag is free.

[ellz]

I am really hesitant to buy big packs of anything in case she goes off them.

Buy her a good quality dry food and don't give her anything else. Dogs don't "enjoy" or need variety in their diets, they just need quality. Chopping and changing all the time encourages finicky eating.

If she's hungry enough, she'll eat it. Put her food down, if it isn't eaten in max 15 minutes, remove it until time for the next meal. Dogs do not intentionally starve themselves so she will eat when she's sure that there won't BE a next meal unless she does!

[peterb]

We go with BARF as it seems more natural and closer to what people eat and we seem to get a better run for our money than the dogs of the world !  We do feed a little dry food a couple of times a week just to supplement the natural vegies etc, but it plays a very minimal part in our diet.

Hi Ellie,

we own 2 young labs (nearly 10months old) and when I looked into the BARF method maybe 6 months ago, the main thing stopping me was the amount of preparation time. Additionally you can't just feed vegetables without pulverising them. Dogs digesive systems don't break down the cell walls in the vegetable matter which means that they won't get to absorb all the important vitamins and minerals.

quoting from [1] "In addition pulped vegetables and fruits are also added to mimic the stomach contents of prey animals that would have been eaten in the past."

quoting from [2] "Vegetables needs to be blended into a pulp so dogs can digest them. Dogs are carnivores and are incapable of breaking down the cellulose that makes up the cell wall of all plant cells. If they are not pureed then what goes in will come out the same way, completely undigested because the dog's body is unable to pull the nutrients from inside each cell. In the wild when carnivores would hunt and consume herbivores they would digest some of the contents of their preys stomach and intestines where the animals stomach enzymes had already broken down the cellulose making it digestable to the carnivore. This is why it is absolutely essential to puree all vegetables and fruits"

So be aware that just because you feed them lots of vegies, doesn't mean they are actually providing much more than fibre/roughage.

regards

Peter

[1] Parkvets Barf Diets - Goodness or Garbage

[2] BARF DIET

[peterb]

I forgot to say that we feed our two labs (Simba and Nessa) on Hill's Science Diet Large puppy breed. I agree that's it's pretty expensive . After our 15% membership discount, we get an 18kg bag for $93.

regards

Peter,

[Cairo1]

Hi DobermanDave,

I had four borzoi, a GSD and a Sheltie. As you can imagine I had to be carefull with what I fed them or they would have eaten me out of house and home. I was showing the borzoi and so a good diet was imperative. After a few years of trying various brands, I finally settled for Bonnie (I think it is about $32 for 20Kg here in Tassie).

I used to agonise about winning dogs in the show ring being fed on Eukanuba and other expensive diets and in the end, my dogs looked just as good and did very well in their own right!

So, I like Bonnie but I do give chicken frames, shin bones and vegetables when I can so they do get a balanced diet anyway.

I had the same agony finding a decent dry food for cats. It is easier to feed them the expensive brands because they eat less. However I spent weeks reading the various labels on the bags and the differences in content was very small. I have now settled with Supercoat and of course the obligatory chicken necks.

I don't know if this helps and but this has worked for me. Good luck with your investigations

Cheers

Cairo1

[goldielover]

chezzyr,

Go for one of the brands who will give you your money back if your dog won't eat it at any stage. I buy my Purina Pro Plan from Robbo's pet barn in Dandenong. It's currently on special there ($88 for a 17.5kg puppy pack). If you ask for an itemised receipt and your dog won't eat it (even after quite some time) Purina will refund your money. Good to know!

[goldielover]

P.S. Another thing you can try if your dog won't eat it, is put some shredded cheese or ham through it - works for my fussy girl!