Aldi Earls dog food

Theimprover

I have an 11 month old gsd with a 2 yr old Mal rescue joining us tomorrow, I have fed my gsd with Royal Canin until he was about 8 months, he seems to be a fine healthy dog weighing 90 pounds. I have been feeding him the Earls Aldi food with the last 2-3 months with a small tin of tuna mixed in with it and he likes it only as I can not afford to be feeding him the RC as my circumstances have changed some what and with the Mal joining us it would be just way too much expense.

I am just wondering what are peoples thoughts on the Aldi Earls food?

andreac

Anything sold in a supermarket is very poor quality to be honest. Aldi and lidl dog food wouldn't be great now at all.
What is your monthly budget for a big bag of food? You are better off buying a big bag, 15kg as it will be more economical that way.

You could then get something a bit better in quality then.

Theimprover

I suppose about €50 a month for the two dogs for just the dry food, the tuna then costs me 89c a tin, even with the tuna added in, would it still not be great for him??

muddypaws

When you say Mal, do you mean malamute or malinois? The reason I ask is that malamutes would be similar to huskies, and eat less than you'd expect for a dog of their size.

andreac

No not really. You would prob be better off getting a good quality food and add some fish oil instead of buying loads of tuna. Even tuna once or twice a week would be enough.

50 is more than enough to get a good quality food. With a better quality food you feed a lot less of it so it goes further.

Theimprover

muddypaws wrote: »

When you say Mal, do you mean malamute or malinois? The reason I ask is that malamutes would be similar to huskies, and eat less than you'd expect for a dog of their size.

Ya sorry, a Malamute and she is a bitch, a very nervous one at that but we will get her right

Theimprover

andreac wrote: »

No not really. You would prob be better off getting a good quality food and add some fish oil instead of buying loads of tuna. Even tuna once or twice a week would be enough.

50 is more than enough to get a good quality food. With a better quality food you feed a lot less of it so it goes further.

Can you recommend some that would suit the two of them please as the RC is €60 a 15kg bag if i remember correctly.

mistress_gi

Why not give markus mulle food a try its cheap and good quality from what I've been reading. I buy mine here

http://www.zooplus.de/shop/hunde/hundefutter_trockenfutter/markus_muehle

snoman

mistress_gi wrote: »

Why not give markus mulle food a try its cheap and good quality from what I've been reading. I buy mine here

http://www.zooplus.de/shop/hunde/hundefutter_trockenfutter/markus_muehle

This post provides you with loads of info, I also use Markus Muhle and find with 2 medium/large dogs I feed 15kg bag per month. http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057050200/3/#post86812049

Theimprover

Going to go for the Markus Muhle, going by the feeding guidelines for a GSD it works out about €2 a day to feed 2 dogs at the special €74.99 for 2 x 15kg bags, I should get about 35 days out of it if there guidelines are pretty close, thanks for the info.

Lemlin

There are also other ways you can save money. Talk to your local butcher about getting off cuts and bones once or twice a week.

Also, tinned tuna can be expensive. Tesco for example had a deal where you could get 4 whole mackerel (about 1kg) for €1.80 for a while there.

At the minute, Aldi have a deal where 1kg of chicken thighs is €2. Those are great for your dog.

Also check the bargain meat section in Tesco or whatever supermarket you use. Sausages and other meat are often heavily discounted if they go off that day.

Hooked

Theimprover wrote: »

Going to go for the Markus Muhle, going by the feeding guidelines for a GSD it works out about €2 a day to feed 2 dogs at the special €74.99 for 2 x 15kg bags, I should get about 35 days out of it if there guidelines are pretty close, thanks for the info.

We're feeding our 2 Huskies MM in the mornings, with raw feeding in the afternoon. Both dogs doing great on MM

ZiabR

Get Markus Mulle. It is great food for the price. You only have to feed a small amount aswell so a 15kg bag goes a long way.

Tranceypoo

I'll vote for the Markus Muhle as well, I feed my 2 medium/large dogs on it and they love it and one is a fussy eater, I add a raw egg once a week, sometimes a tin of sardines, sometimes some natural live yoghurt for a bit of variety and for their coats/digestion - a 15kg bag lasts about a month, they've been doing a deal of 2 bags for €75 for ages now plus free delivery, also another poster on here, Snoman, recommended feeding a bit less than their recommended amounts and I did cut down a bit for both of them (about 10g less than the rec amount) and their weight is perfect now, they had put on a couple of pounds on it initially, however you might need to put a bit of weight on your rescue Mal when you first get her?

Theimprover

Tranceypoo wrote: »

I'll vote for the Markus Muhle as well, I feed my 2 medium/large dogs on it and they love it and one is a fussy eater, I add a raw egg once a week, sometimes a tin of sardines, sometimes some natural live yoghurt for a bit of variety and for their coats/digestion - a 15kg bag lasts about a month, they've been doing a deal of 2 bags for €75 for ages now plus free delivery, also another poster on here, Snoman, recommended feeding a bit less than their recommended amounts and I did cut down a bit for both of them (about 10g less than the rec amount) and their weight is perfect now, they had put on a couple of pounds on it initially, however you might need to put a bit of weight on your rescue Mal when you first get her?

If anything my rescue mal might need to loose some , have a look

Theimprover

The fella I got my rescue from recommended a food called Trustfull, cant find any info on it, but like the rest he said all that Aldi type dog food is no good for them and full of preservatives, he feeds most of his on this Trustfull.

muddypaws

Never heard of it, but looking at that label, I'd say the Aldi food would be better.

andreac

Awful ingredients, stay well clear.

Theimprover

andreac wrote: »

Awful ingredients, stay well clear.

Can you expand on this please

cocker5

Theimprover wrote: »

Can you expand on this please

AndreaC is right really poor dog food ...

Ingredients cereals, animals derivatives , sodium chloride ...
Aldi food would better and aldi dog food is of really low quality.

Any dog food where the first ingredients are cereals and derivatives , is pure muck I'm afraid!

I don't see anywhere where it states any actual meat / protein !

Theimprover

What about Gain Crunchy, it's just these are supplied locally and would be handy for me.
http://www.petconnection.ie/acatalog/Gain_Crunchy.html

cocker5

Theimprover wrote: »

What about Gain Crunchy http://www.petconnection.ie/acatalog/Gain_Crunchy.html

Click on the ingredients .. First cereals then animal derivatives ..
No protein / meat - again very poor quality personally I'd steer clear.

You'd be better to give your budget and people can recommend a decent brand.

But tbh 15 kg for like €15 is an indication of the ingredients and quality.

I'm not saying you have to spend 100's or anything but to get decent food IMO you looking at from €45-€65 per 15 kg

Theimprover

Came across this thread and the Gain greyhound seems to be pretty good and @ €15 it is a steal as mentioned in the thread, dont know if its still the same price but going to check it out.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=84049114

Stheno

Theimprover wrote: »

Came across this thread and the Gain greyhound seems to be pretty good and @ €15 it is a steal as mentioned in the thread, dont know if its still the same price but going to check it out.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=84049114

I'd not be a fan.

I feed my dogs including a gsd with a very sensitive stomach Autarky

http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews/0323/autarky-adult-chicken

Ingredients list is

Maize, chicken meat meal, rice, chicken fat, green vegetables, carrots, whole linseed, prairie meal, yeast, herbs, spices, seaweed, yucca extract, with EC permitted antioxidants: mixed tocopherols, vitamin C and rosemary extract.

It may not be a premium food, but at about 37e a bag it's great value and good quality.

I buy it from a northern ireland based site, and they deliver three bags at a time foc.

If you are looking to compromise on a quality food at a low cost imo it's probably the best option out there

KittyKat76

I wouldn't feed my dog aldi brand food anymore, or any other value retailer food. There is a reason they are so cheap. I used to use dog food tins out of Tesco, thought I was getting them for really good value. But when you actually do the calculations, you are much better off getting a 15kg bag of dog food specific for your dog. At least then you know that it is getting what it needs and not just cheap ingredients that are thrown in to fill a tin. Using Royal Canin dog food, my estimated feeding costs are just over 70cent per day when i get it online with an online discount from petworld website. you can get extra 10% off at the til when you put in PETWORLD01. Makes a big difference.

andreac

Improver all those cheap feeds are cheap for a reason, poor ingredients, very little meat content, lots of cereals eugh.

Anything that has cereal as the first ingredient is a big no no. Anything that's cheap will have cereals as the main ingredient as it's basically a cheap way to make the food and bulk it up and can cause major problems in some dogs.

Theimprover

Stheno wrote: »

I'd not be a fan.

I feed my dogs including a gsd with a very sensitive stomach Autarky

http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews/0323/autarky-adult-chicken

Ingredients list is



It may not be a premium food, but at about 37e a bag it's great value and good quality.

I buy it from a northern ireland based site, and they deliver three bags at a time foc.

If you are looking to compromise on a quality food at a low cost imo it's probably the best option out there

But would you not be better off with getting the Markus Muhle when spending €37 a bag?

I might just end up going for this but would rather if I could get it locally and my local co op do the Gain retired Greyhound food.

Stheno

Theimprover wrote: »

But would you not be better off with getting the Markus Muhle when spending €37 a bag?

I might just end up going for this but would rather if I could get it locally and my local co op do the Gain retired Greyhound food.

I've no idea how much the Markus Muhle costs tbh, and after having had a few dogs with serious digestion issues I stick with what works now

I know it's maize as a primary ingredient, but I've no squits, the dogs are all a good weight, enjoy their food etc.

If the Markus Muhle is a similar price and the ingredients higher quality, I'd go for that.

How much protein is in the retired greyhound food?

Theimprover

andreac wrote: »

Improver all those cheap feeds are cheap for a reason, poor ingredients, very little meat content, lots of cereals eugh.

Anything that has cereal as the first ingredient is a big no no. Anything that's cheap will have cereals as the main ingredient as it's basically a cheap way to make the food and bulk it up and can cause major problems in some dogs.

Tbh I never really knew what ingredients were bad for them and glad I know now what to look out for.

In the thread I linked above they really like the Gain food.

muddypaws

Theimprover wrote: »

What about Gain Crunchy, it's just these are supplied locally and would be handy for me.
http://www.petconnection.ie/acatalog/Gain_Crunchy.html

That has a very low fat content for a malamute, only 9%.

Have a look on a bag and see how much it recommends you feed, then compare that to a more expensive food, I think you'll be surprised. Also bear in mind that the more you put in one end, the more comes out the other

Theimprover

Stheno wrote: »

I've no idea how much the Markus Muhle costs tbh, and after having had a few dogs with serious digestion issues I stick with what works now

I know it's maize as a primary ingredient, but I've no squits, the dogs are all a good weight, enjoy their food etc.

If the Markus Muhle is a similar price and the ingredients higher quality, I'd go for that.

How much protein is in the retired greyhound food?

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/markus_muehle/128238

20% protein http://gainfeeds.com/greyhound/greyhound-feeds/

Gloomastic in this thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=84049114 swears by it and he says it has the exact same ingredients too what ever he was using before, was costing him €49 a bag so his previous food you would imagine was a premium food and he is using Gains with a few years http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056406786