Aldi Earls dog food

odckdo

I see there is a new food on Zooplus called Greenwoods in the same price range as Markus Muhle but in 12kg rather 15kg. I wonder is it a Zooplus brand?

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/greenwoods

The ingredients seem alright - choice of lamb, turkey or fish in Adult.

Ingredients:
34% lamb (lamb meal, freshly prepared lamb, lamb fat and lamb gravy), 20% brown rice, 16% white rice, 16% barley, whole linseed, alfalfa, minerals, vitamins, natural seaweed, omega 3 supplement, chicory extract, calcium carbonate, yucca extract, dandelion

muddypaws

Theimprover wrote: »

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

A pre-packed, frozen lasagne from Lidl would have the same ingredients pretty much as one bought in a top quality restaurant, but obviously it is not the same. Premium foods would use good quality meat and cereals, the cheaper food obviously would use cheaper cuts of meat and cereals etc.

I used to feed my huskies and mal greyhound food, as I thought the same, not anymore. One thing about greyhound food is that it is VAT reduced, so it does tend to be cheaper in that respect but most greyhound trainers supplement kibble with meat. Greyhounds sprint for very short distances, so their food is made to give short bursts of energy, not release nutrients over a longer time.

Magenta

OP, a tin of tuna every day is a LOT of mercury. Just an FYI- better to alternate with other meats.

Theimprover

Magenta wrote: »

OP, a tin of tuna every day is a LOT of mercury. Just an FYI- better to alternate with other meats.

There only the small tins, 185g and 130g drained, I have cut down on it, only really been using it for extra taste and for there coats but I will be changing to fish oils.

I find my gsd gets bored of the food even now getting bored of the tuna mixed in, he hasn't been eating his full amount but I think that has been down to the weather (humidity), I have been mixing it up a bit lately, sometimes he has been getting some of our own food, chicken, rice, pasta even some potato, I get him bones too from the butchers, he had lamb bones last wk but going to cut them out as they shatter, going to get the knuckle bones and he loves Ham bones.

Tried both today with a raw egg mixed in with there feed and they scoffed it but I wonder how many eggs is too much?? The Mal has had a few smelly ones tonight so might keep her away from the eggs or she will end up having the house to herself lol

Theimprover

@ muddypaws, what would be an ideal weight for a Mal, she is between 2-3 years, she does look a bit on the chubby size, might have a job trying to weigh her atm as she still a bit nervous.

muddypaws

Theimprover wrote: »

@ muddypaws, what would be an ideal weight for a Mal, she is between 2-3 years, she does look a bit on the chubby size, might have a job trying to weigh her atm as she still a bit nervous.

Females up to about 34kgs, but it depends on her overall size, my mal is small. Because they have such a thick coat, they can look fatter than they actually are, if you lay your hand flat, run the fingers from your other hand across your knuckles, you can feel the bone but there is a layer of fat above them, that is how your dog's ribs should feel. If you put your hand into a fist, you can feel the knuckles really well, and if thats how the ribs feel, your dog is too thin, if you can't feel the ribs, then she is overweight.

Tranceypoo

Theimprover wrote: »

I find my gsd gets bored of the food even now getting bored of the tuna mixed in,

Tried both today with a raw egg mixed in with there feed and they scoffed it but I wonder how many eggs is too much?? The Mal has had a few smelly ones tonight so might keep her away from the eggs or she will end up having the house to herself lol

I found this with my fussy eater, she would get bored with the food, I had them on Barking Heads, then Whites, then Burns and honestly she was just 'meh' about all of them, but there must be some sort of magical ingredient in M.M. she still hops up and down for it and they've been on it well over a year now.

With the raw eggs I usually give once a week at the most, never had any trumps from them after it and fusspot has quite the sensitive tum, maybe it's too much variety for them at once between the tuna, the egg, leftovers etc? I usually do something twice a week, ie an egg once a week and some natural yog or tin of sardines/mackerel in oil once a week.

By the way your mal is lovely, a bit 'big-boned' maybe....:D

ElKavo

I moved my original dog over to a higher quality fish and potato food after getting a rescue in who was intolerant to wheat ( as best we can tell ) the difference in her coat and general health has been great. Good firm poos to which help with the baggies!! It costs about €50 a 15kg bag and does both of them the month. 1 is a 38 kg rottie and one is a 25kg rottie x. So you should have plenty in that bag. Its by champion. If you would like I can pm you the details, as I'm not sure I can post them here.

Into The Blue

wthax.org/5tq3WB.jpg

Can I get members opinions on this?
I'm a newbie, so can't attach the pic.

Thanks.

Nody

Into The Blue wrote: »

wthax.org/5tq3WB.jpg

Can I get members opinions on this?
I'm a newbie, so can't attach the pic.

Thanks.

Link does not appear to work for me either; are you sure it's the complete link or could you post the exact name of the food to let us google it?

andreac

An opinion on what? Can't see anything?

Into The Blue

Edit; leave it with me..
I'll get a working link.

ElKavo

The requested URL /5tq3WB.jpg was not found on this server.

Into The Blue

Getting there!!

omg.wthax.org/8pQR43.jpg

Thanks.

Nody

Into The Blue wrote: »

Getting there!!

omg.wthax.org/8pQR43.jpg

Thanks.

Poor. Wheat as primary, Chicken meal as secondary (you never want meat as meal) and then on beet pulp etc. and only 22% protein. If it was being bought around 1 EUR / kg it's priced about right; anything beyond that is probably overpriced.

And to save people time here's the summary information:

Protein 22%
Fibre 2.5%
Ash 6%

Ingredients
Wheat, Chicken meat meal, Chicken Fat, Wheatfeed, Beet pulp, pods etc.

Recommended feeding:
1 - 3 kg, resting 25 - 57g, active 33 - 75g
3 - 5kg, resting 57 - 86g, active 75 - 112g

muddypaws

Into The Blue wrote: »

Getting there!!

omg.wthax.org/8pQR43.jpg

Thanks.

Massbrook, which is it, the silver? My dogs have been fed Massbrook, the trial and working dog, beefy crunch and the chicken and rice and have done okay on it.

ElKavo

Better than some, but wheat is still your first ingredient. Good to see that it isn't animal derivatives isn't on the list either.

andreac

Ah, see it now. Its not great to be honest, Wheat being the main ingredient isnt too good.

Nody

ElKavo wrote: »

Better than some, but wheat is still your first ingredient. Good to see that it isn't animal derivatives isn't on the list either.

Yea but chicken meal is not much better.

Lisa Pierson graduated from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1984, article Learn How to Read a Pet Food Ingredient Label wrote:

"Chicken meal" is technically a muscle meat but the term "meal" denotes that it has been rendered (cooked for a long time at very high temperatures) and is lower quality than meat that has not been as heavily processed.

muddypaws

Nody wrote: »

Poor. Wheat as primary, Chicken meal flour as secondary (you never want meat as flour) and then on beet pulp etc. and only 22% protein. If it was being bought around 1 EUR / kg it's priced about right; anything beyond that is probably overpriced.

And to save people time here's the summary information:

What do you mean chicken meal flour? Its chicken meat meal, which is ground up, dried chicken.

Nody

muddypaws wrote: »

What do you mean chicken meal flour? Its chicken meat meal, which is ground up, dried chicken.

Sorry I was thinking bone meal (my wife is finally coming around to the idea of raw feeding so spending way too much time reading about dead animals and differences between wild and tame quality, what to mix in the grinder etc.). Anyway; it's still poor quality meat (but better than derivatives in general) and in terms of quality it's around the same level as this one which is 90c / kg (add 10c for the slightly better meat quality) which is the basis for my pricing.

Into The Blue

Thanks all for the replies..
plenty of food for thought!!

o.O

andreac

Have a look at the other thread about the Rottweiler and his skin condition. And people wonder why we dont recommend to feed this food....

maggiepip

Nody wrote: »

Poor. Wheat as primary, Chicken meal as secondary (you never want meat as meal) and then on beet pulp etc. and only 22% protein. If it was being bought around 1 EUR / kg it's priced about right; anything beyond that is probably overpriced.

And to save people time here's the summary information:

Meat as meatmeal is just basically dried meat so the moisture has been taken out of it. Dont think theres anything terrible about it.

Nody

maggiepip wrote: »

Meat as meatmeal is just basically dried meat so the moisture has been taken out of it. Dont think theres anything terrible about it.

See my above post; this one is from Wikipedia.

Meat and bone meal (MBM) is a product of the rendering industry. It is typically about 48–52% protein, 33–35% ash, 8–12% fat, and 4–7% moisture. It is primarily used in the formulation of animal feed to improve the amino acid profile of the feed. Feeding of MBM to cattle is thought to have been responsible for the spread of BSE (mad cow disease). In most parts of the world, MBM is no longer allowed in feed for ruminant animals. However, MBM is still used to feed monogastric animals. It is widely used in the United States as a low-cost meat in dog food and cat food.[1]

This one is from www.dogfoodadvisor.com

Of course, not all meat meals are created equal. Some are of very high quality while others are positively awful.
It all boils down to the stew’s contents — the raw materials. And one critically important principle…
No meal product can ever be better than the raw materials that were used to make it.
Better meals are typically made from the meat of clearly identified sources. Low-grade meals come from anonymous materials like slaughterhouse waste and spoiled supermarket meats — even diseased or dying cattle — or dead zoo animals.

Avoid dog foods containing any meat meal that:
Includes the words “by-products” in its nae
Fails to identify the specific source animal:
Here are some examples of inferior meat-based protein ingredients. Notice the generic nature of the phrases:
Meat meal
Animal meal
Chicken by-product meal
Meat and bone meal
Glandular meal
Poultry meal
Blood meal

When you see ingredients like these in any recipe, it’s a sign you’re probably looking at a lower quality dog food.

It is not as good as normal meat; it's not as bad as derivatives but it's in no way a quality product. Oh and if you're really not sure why that might be bad enjoy this article.

boomerang

But there's no flour in bonemeal? It's just ground bone.

A named meat meal (e.g. lamb meal, duck meal, chicken meal) is the next best thing to seeing the meat source listed as say 'chicken' or 'fresh chicken' in the ingredients.

knipex

I have had mixed results with Marcus muhle. One dog thrived on it but another lost weight. Royal Canin had a similar effect. .

Have them both on nature's way now and both thriving. Different dogs different results..

maggiepip

Also America has different regulations that I dont know too much about, but all dogfood produced in the EU must come from animals fit for human consumption, the byproducts of these animals must be classed unfit for human consumption but they are still coming from healthy animals. Derivatives and by-products in dogfood can simply be innards too like heart,lung etc which are actually good for dogs, the trick is trying to find out exactly what they actually are. You certianly dont get dying sick animals put into European dogfood.

muddypaws

maggiepip wrote: »

Also America has different regulations that I dont know too much about, but all dogfood produced in the EU must come from animals fit for human consumption, the byproducts of these animals must be classed unfit for human consumption but they are still coming from healthy animals. Derivatives and by-products in dogfood can simply be innards too like heart,lung etc which are actually good for dogs, the trick is trying to find out exactly what they actually are. You certianly dont get dying sick animals put into European dogfood.

Would you ever go away with your sensible posts

boomerang

maggiepip wrote: »

Derivatives and by-products in dogfood can simply be innards too like heart,lung etc which are actually good for dogs, the trick is trying to find out exactly what they actually are. You certianly dont get dying sick animals put into European dogfood.

The only thing is, all parts of the animal are used for human consumption (in the case of beef) so generally what offal is put aside for the pet food market is not very wholesome - e.g. it has the lesions/infections/the parasitised bits cut off and the good parts kept. Bit gross, but doesn't mean the meat isn't safe for our dogs to eat.

At least to the best of my knowledge.