Dog food that's good quality, but not too expensive

TonyFella

I got a good deal today on dogfooddirect.ie today 30kg of royal canin maxi adult for 94euro saved around 50euro compaird to my local petshop they are doing deals on other royal cainin food. Good to see price competiton in this day and age. hope this helps

Millem

Ayla wrote: »

We've fed this to our 3 dogs for the last 6 weeks or so & have had pretty good experience with it. Any thoughts on it?

I know it's not perfect, but pretty good for a 5yr old Dane, a 10 mo old GSD & a 10 mo old Rottie. The Dane can eat anything, but the other two have sensitive bellies (no pork anything for the GSD and no lamb anything for the Rottie). 2 bags last a month, but now I'm seeing that dogfooddirect.ie's special offer on the bulk buying has ended

Any suggestions for alternatives?

andreac wrote: »

Im feeding 2 rotties, male and female. My female is always starving but thats just her. Shes mad for her food 24/7 so its nothing to do with the quality of the food.

Hehehe, this made me chuckle - our female Rottie is *exactly* the same! Drives us nuts - part of me thinks she's part-sheep, part-dumpster, part-hoover

It's a pity they can't have the lamb flavour as it is soo much cheaper! Seeing as you go through loads of food you should contact Arden grange and ask can you buy breeder bags (I think they are €40ish and free delivery but you need to buy in bulk) I met them at pet expo and because I have 3 dogs they would let me get breeder bags.

Lambo28

Ive her on Pedigree puppy food for the last month but for the last week she's not eating it.

Anyone recommend another brand?

Whispered

Thinking of changing ours again. So a few questions please;

What do you think of this?

http://www.pero-petfood.com/index.php/default/dog-food/pero-beef-rings-15kg.html


What are "extruded cereals"?

Is there a huge difference between "working" dog food and normal food?

bfocusd

I get all mine in dog food depo, it's at cookstown on the blegard road, my two eat barking heads, they usually have good deals on all different types of food.

The only con I will say is steer well clear from the tins of Ben, minding a dog at the moment and she was being fed it when she first arrived, well I never smelt farts so bad, it runs the life out of her, to add to it, my two were given some to try (not by me) and it's rotten, three dogs, dihereea and a weak stomach is lethal!

Her owners have no sense of smell, the dogs have all been switched to better stuff now thank god

Otherwise its great for bulk buying

toadfly

Hi bfocusd, how much are the 12kg of barking heads there?

bfocusd

TillyGirl wrote: »

Hi bfocusd, how much are the 12kg of barking heads there?

42 for the pup and 48 for the grandma bag IIRC, not 100% sure, it's definitely in the 40 range.

They do different deals all the time, but if you get the barking heads and your dogs not interested in it you can bring the bag back! My two were on red mills leader and the lad gave me loads of samples for them to try first, they ate like wolves! They were eating 4 sample packs a day each! Their coats are amazing too and theirs a little bounce to the older ladies step too since I've switched.

They're new enough so don't have a website, but they're on facebook

kylith

I'm a bit confused at the moment. Due to necessity I've been forced to get 2kg of Lidl food for my pair and, well, Rani's like a new dog. She has so much more energy and is really enjoying her walks for the first time in months. I know it's probably just hyperactivity from all the additives, but it's so nice having the old (young) Rani back. On the down side she has started running laps of the living room at full speed if she gets excited.

I know that in the long run it's bad for her, but it's so nice to see her running around rather than slinging at my heels on a walk.

Jimmy Bottlehead

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

Well you sold me on it
Ordered 12kg so hopefully it'll go well! I'll let you guys know how it's received by the dogs.

Just to update, the dogs (especially Jake) love the new food Even the cat enjoys the odd bit as a treat!
Worked it out and it's roughly the same price as buying smaller bags/boxes in Tesco. Recommended.

PieForPi

Would the Pet Connection Salmon & Potato be suitable for a very large golden retriever?

Ayla

Whispered wrote: »

What do you think of this?

http://www.pero-petfood.com/index.php/default/dog-food/pero-beef-rings-15kg.html

I'm not an expert by any stretch, but considering these are the main ingredients:

Vegetable Proteins, Animal Fats, Fish Meal, Vegetable Oils, Vitamins and Minerals,

I would steer clear of this. Yes the price is attractive, but exactly what is any of the above? Very unclear, very vague, and very variable. Meaning that each bag will have different components, and not much of anything that is of any nutritional benefit to your dog.

Anytime the ingredients are generalised (i.e.: proteins, fats, oils, meal, cereal) then what is actually included is anyone's guess. What type of veg (and what part of the veg?); fats from what animal (and why?); fish meal = all the leftover bits after the good stuff's removed (think sausages), etc...

Just my 2cents, for what it's worth. I would think that the grocery store brands have better nutritional value than this particular product.

Gael23

When choosing a food is it the higher protein/meat content the better and lower corn content?

Lemlin

Have ye seen the threda about Skinners dog food -

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056512736

Graces7

Feeding raw chicken and meat/vegetable/ bread etc here and it is cheap, easy and loved.

Eggs mixed in sometimes.

Both dogs are healthy and fit. Add cod liver oil and glucosamine for collie.

I think there is more to feeding dogs than the ingredients. As many here are aware.

But each to his own; we tend to trust LIDL and ALDI also; use a very occasional tin in emergency and usually LIDL or Dunne;s or Tesco.

Cats the same; raw chicken, fish, eggs.. if a tin, then diluted with oats and raw egg. Never dry food for any of them; cat cannot tolerate wheat.

meoklmrk91

heartofwhite wrote: »

I have a 2 year old Boxer and up until the age of one I only fed her Beta which I found really great. It worked out at 36 euro for a 15kg bag and that did me about two months while feeding her twice a day.

My girlfriend did an animal care course in Carlow I.T. last year and as part of the course they got a food comparison chart for all the leading brands. Lidl and Aldi dried food came out on top. My girlfriend told me that they contain all the necessary ingredients at the right ratios. Since then I have been feeding the dog the food from Lidl. It works out about 10 euro for a 10kg bag.

My dog loves it and she is very fit and healthy and her coat shines.

I'm sorry but that is complete rubbish, I also did a animal care course and Lidl and Aldi food ranked among some of the worst, particularly due to their high salt content. While you might not see any effects in a 2 year old dog, high salt can cause kidney damage over a long period of time, I would much rather pay more now on food than 5+ years down the line when you get a prognosis of kidney failure and have to watch your faithful friend suffer from a horrible disease.

Graces7

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

I'm sorry but that is complete rubbish, I also did a animal care course and Lidl and Aldi food ranked among some of the worst, particularly due to their high salt content. While you might not see any effects in a 2 year old dog, high salt can cause kidney damage over a long period of time, I would much rather pay more now on food than 5+ years down the line when you get a prognosis of kidney failure and have to watch your faithful friend suffer from a horrible disease.

Two different courses and two different opinions? Phrases like "can cause..."

Your choice who you believe....

This is why we feed raw and home cooked.

iguana

PieForPi wrote: »

Would the Pet Connection Salmon & Potato be suitable for a very large golden retriever?

I don't see why not, though obviously a big dog will need to eat a bigger portion.

meoklmrk91

Graces7 wrote: »

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

I'm sorry but that is complete rubbish, I also did a animal care course and Lidl and Aldi food ranked among some of the worst, particularly due to their high salt content. While you might not see any effects in a 2 year old dog, high salt can cause kidney damage over a long period of time, I would much rather pay more now on food than 5+ years down the line when you get a prognosis of kidney failure and have to watch your faithful friend suffer from a horrible disease.

Two different courses and two different opinions? Phrases like "can cause..."

Your choice who you believe....

This is why we feed raw and home cooked.

It's small animal care level 5, which is done a good few colleges around the country including Carlow IT, do its the same curriculum.

Of course it would come down to differing opinions sonewhat however I will say that we must have spent well over a month on nutrition, this included dry, BARF and RAW, and everything you could possibly think of in between, we were given the info and discussed in class, we drew our own conclusions from that.


protein 23%
fat 8%
fibre 2.5%
ash 7.5%


Protein : 21%
Oil : 7.5%
Fibre: 2.5%
Ash : 7%

These two sets of analysis are fairly similar, so you would think that there is very little difference in them.

Ingredients list if the first food,
cereal
veg derivavtives
meat and animal derivatives 4% beef
oils
fats
minerals
veg 4% peas
yeast
vitamins A,D3,E
copper
E320/321 antioxidants

Ingredients list of the second food
Brown Rice, Oats, Salmon
Carrots, Green Beans, Spinach
Broccolli, Seaweed, Sage
Oregano, Green Tea, Parsley
Chicory, Spearmint

First food is lidls brand orlando, the second is Robbies. My point is that you cannot determine if a food is any good or not from just looking at the analysis, so I think it is quite silly to say that lidl and aldi foods are the best based on this. And that is not a difference of opinion its just the truth.

ferretone

Mo60 wrote: »

I asked the poster what qualification they had because of their criticism of various professionally qualified people.

I have investigated dry foods on the internet and have come accross the statement, often repeated on this forum, that some foods are comparable to MacDonalds. All I can say is that all my previous dogs, six in total, lived beyond 15 years. If I want to survive as long, in human terms, maybe I should start eating MacDonalds.:)

I did not discuss diet with my vet. As he said that all my animals were healthy I presume that their diet is adequate, especially as I have had no problems in the past.

So, you were asking me to trot out qualifications to trump those of people who actually hold no qualification in that particular field. Even though you have never actually consulted them on that point either?

And let it be known, I'm not criticising vets in their area of professional qualification. Just trying to help fellow boardsies to draw the lines of where these areas fall.

And finally, one thing is obvious: you are in no position to give any comparison of petfoods, as by your own admission you have never bothered to feed anything but cheap, supermarket food.

Of course, no one person can own anywhere near enough dogs in a lifetime to give a significant study, but if you were really interested in dog nutrition that would be obvious to you.

Now please, just have a nice day, and let other people get on with making their dogs' lives better, thank you.

PieForPi

iguana wrote: »

I don't see why not, though obviously a big dog will need to eat a bigger portion.

Thanks iguana

Graces7

kylith wrote: »

I'm a bit confused at the moment. Due to necessity I've been forced to get 2kg of Lidl food for my pair and, well, Rani's like a new dog. She has so much more energy and is really enjoying her walks for the first time in months. I know it's probably just hyperactivity from all the additives, but it's so nice having the old (young) Rani back. On the down side she has started running laps of the living room at full speed if she gets excited.

I know that in the long run it's bad for her, but it's so nice to see her running around rather than slinging at my heels on a walk.

I don't see that it is bad for her. We trust LIDL as they are a firm with a good reputation. This idea that supermarket food is bad because cheap is bizarre; it is cheaper as they work in huge quantities and do not waste money on window dressing etc.

If the food works for your dog, fine. Feeding a dog - or a human - is not like putting petrol in a car. As we are different, so are dogs and a good owner will learn, often the hard way, what their dog thrives on. Wee dog here goes hyper at any red meat. Girlcat cannot have any dry food, not even the urinary diet, which cost a bomb, without getting severe cystitis.

We fed the tinned and dried foods for years then changed to home cooked and raw, which does not take time or effort. NB we bought LIDL and tesco and ASDA for cost also.

We do not eat any processed foods either,,,

Cost matters greatly these days on a small pension.

It does not either need to be strict adherence to any one scheme etc.

The critters are happy and healthy and enjoy their food hugely.

Reminds me too of an old couple we know. She eats so carefully but has very high cholesterol. He eats all the high chol food and has very low cholestesterol. We are not machines.

Our choice and no guilt needs happen for caring choices.

Mo60

ferretone wrote: »

So, you were asking me to trot out qualifications to trump those of people who actually hold no qualification in that particular field. Even though you have never actually consulted them on that point either?

And let it be known, I'm not criticising vets in their area of professional qualification. Just trying to help fellow boardsies to draw the lines of where these areas fall.

And finally, one thing is obvious: you are in no position to give any comparison of petfoods, as by your own admission you have never bothered to feed anything but cheap, supermarket food.

Of course, no one person can own anywhere near enough dogs in a lifetime to give a significant study, but if you were really interested in dog nutrition that would be obvious to you.

Now please, just have a nice day, and let other people get on with making their dogs' lives better, thank you.

So you have no qualification in the field of pet nutrition then?

I think my vet, having 40 years of experience in both farming and small animals, is more qualified than you to give an opinion as to whether my animals are healthy due to their diet or otherwise.

I have fed my animals on so called premium animal food in the past and have found no difference. If you think it makes a dogs life better carry on, after all its only a matter of opinion.

Your condescending post did you no favours by the way. Have a nice day!

deandean

After several weeks of trials I let my dog have the final decision.

We had him on Royal Canin: - too expensive at 65/bag.

i changed to Connollys Leader 'cos it's 24 a bag cheaper.

Our dog never took to Connollys, he'd bark at his bowl even with food left in it and he lost weight - I could see his ribs.

Then I tried Lidlaldi premium foods - no much better.

Then I tried Tesco Premium - a bit better.

Then per a previous post I came across a deal with dogfooddirect.ie where they had 30Kg of Royal Canin for about 95 Euro, this works out at about the same as Connollys. I bought the 30Kg of Royal Canin and our dog just loves it; in 2 or 3 days I can see he has put the weight back on and he really loves the food.

Summary of my experience: I tried the rest, and want back to Royal Canin; but I did so because it was on a good offer from dogfooddirect.ie

Mo60

deandean wrote: »

After several weeks of trials I let my dog have the final decision.

We had him on Royal Canin: - too expensive at 65/bag.

i changed to Connollys Leader 'cos it's 24 a bag cheaper.

Our dog never took to Connollys, he'd bark at his bowl even with food left in it and he lost weight - I could see his ribs.

Then I tried Lidlaldi premium foods - no much better.

Then I tried Tesco Premium - a bit better.

Then per a previous post I came across a deal with dogfooddirect.ie where they had 30Kg of Royal Canin for about 95 Euro, this works out at about the same as Connollys. I bought the 30Kg of Royal Canin and our dog just loves it; in 2 or 3 days I can see he has put the weight back on and he really loves the food.

Summary of my experience: I tried the rest, and want back to Royal Canin; but I did so because it was on a good offer from dogfooddirect.ie

Fair play for giving different foods a try and not prejudging just because one is cheaper than another. As long as the animal is happy and healthy on their diet that is all that matters.

Lambo28

Ive had awful trouble with getting the right food that our dog would like.

She was on Bakers when we got her(rescue from the DSCPA) they said to change it once she was settled as basically it was crap but thats all the afford there.
So then changed her to Pedigree, was grand for a bit but went off it, then tried her with Iams, point blank refused that, there was another one but cant remember.

Ive her on Royal Canin young adult and shes great on it. Ive been throwing in some ham or meat from our dinner aswell!!

KingIsabella

If you're in cork, 16 quid in finbar callaghans for a 15kg bag of most red mills!

andreac

KingIsabella wrote: »

If you're in cork, 16 quid in finbar callaghans for a 15kg bag of most red mills!

That's prob the lower quality one like star which is awful stuff. If it's,that cheap it's not the leader or leader supreme.

KingIsabella

There's a red mills bag with a greyhound on it? :P high protein in amongst the star, theres another bag, i think leader could be in there, they just point at the big pile of bags and say that they're all 16 notes.

warder6161

Graces7 wrote: »

Feeding raw chicken and meat/vegetable/ bread etc here and it is cheap, easy and loved.

Eggs mixed in sometimes.

Both dogs are healthy and fit. Add cod liver oil and glucosamine for collie.

I think there is more to feeding dogs than the ingredients. As many here are aware.

But each to his own; we tend to trust LIDL and ALDI also; use a very occasional tin in emergency and usually LIDL or Dunne;s or Tesco.

Cats the same; raw chicken, fish, eggs.. if a tin, then diluted with oats and raw egg. Never dry food for any of them; cat cannot tolerate wheat.

what amounts/type of raw food do you give them