Dog Food

Wainwright09

Does anyone here feed Brillys choice? I've heard great things about it.Thinking of buying the muesli,so just wondering what is in it,is it as good as the other blends by Brilly and should i supplement it with something else or is it a complete Dog Food? Also is it as good as the more expensive blends like Hills etc ?

cocker5

Wainwright09 wrote: »

Does anyone here feed Brillys choice? I've heard great things about it.Thinking of buying the muesli,so just wondering what is in it,is it as good as the other blends by Brilly and should i supplement it with something else or is it a complete Dog Food? Also is it as good as the more expensive blends like Hills etc ?

Although i havent used it for my dog.... i use burns..I beleive its a complete dog food... and its mainly for working dogs... what breed is your dog?

Wainwright09

Thanks for reply.I've got a couple of collie crosses.Fair bit of lab in them i reckon.They do no work so dont know if this food would be suitable.

DogsFirst

Wainwright09 wrote: »

Does anyone here feed Brillys choice? I've heard great things about it.Thinking of buying the muesli,so just wondering what is in it,is it as good as the other blends by Brilly and should i supplement it with something else or is it a complete Dog Food? Also is it as good as the more expensive blends like Hills etc ?

Hmmm....it's kept in a clear plastic bag....considering the fats are sprayed on the outside of pelleted food anytime in the last 6-12months I would be asking the manufacturer how they stop the fats from going rancid? Sunlight is fat's number one enemy. Further pelleted food kept indoors, in sealed dark bags is shown to to lose Vitamin E and C at a rate of 30% in 6 months, ask them how they prevent this is in a clear plastic bag? (see Hoffmann La Rodue, F. T. (1995). Paper presented at the science and technology Centre, Hills Pet Nutrition, Inc., Topeka, K.S., on vitamin stability in canned and extruded pet food, for details)

Their lead products are "hypoallergenic" but contain barley (gluten) and chicken meal (twice cooked, powdered protein, proven to be antigenic in some dogs). You need to ask them what they mean by hypoallergenic.

They say extensive research has gone into determining the best ingredients so ask them how they came to a dog requiring 50% cereals in the form of rice, barley, corn and beet pulp? Seems a bit of an unusual requirement for a carnivore.

Have a look at their products here, their contact details are also there. If they can answer the above questions satisfactorily you're on to a winner.

http://brillyschoicedogfood.com/categories/Hypoallergenic-Foods/

paultf

DogsFirst wrote: »

Have a look at their products here, their contact details are also there. If they can answer the above questions satisfactorily you're on to a winner.

http://brillyschoicedogfood.com/categories/Hypoallergenic-Foods/

DogsFirst, with the current climate there seems to be a number of individuals selling 'budget' type foods. They set up a website, their costs are low and they can sell the food cheaply.

Yet I have found when you ask questions, like what company manufactuers the food for them, information about ingredients - they are very vague.

Are there any good independent, low cost, budget type foods? Or is it possible for an individual to produce a good food compared to the bigger manufactuers?

(Other than making your own/BARF!!)

DogsFirst

paultf wrote: »

DogsFirst, with the current climate there seems to be a number of individuals selling 'budget' type foods. They set up a website, their costs are low and they can sell the food cheaply.

Yet I have found when you ask questions, like what company manufactuers the food for them, information about ingredients - they are very vague.

Are there any good independent, low cost, budget type foods? Or is it possible for an individual to produce a good food compared to the bigger manufactuers?

(Other than making your own/BARF!!)

Yep you're right, that's why I gave the questions to ask them. Their level of research involves reading the other guys site and off they go. But try them anyway, then post their responses on boards for all to see, helps everyone.

Other than making your own food......in my opinion, there is no other option!! I'm a nutritionist, for reasons of nutrition, health and cost I could never recommend any of those products. I mean if we're talking economy there was a poster on another dog food thread there that cosied up to their butcher and is now feeding their dog at €1.30/kg! Can you even find a dry food in existence that is cheaper than that!

To be simply safe (let alone nutritious, and miles from "complete") your budget food needs, in the very least, to contain no wheat/barley/rye, no chemicals, vitamins at an optimum as opposed to a "minimum required for growth", minerals such as calcium and salt or simply the ash content at a safe limit. Cheap economy food never satisfy this criteria and if they don't it will ultimately send your dog to the vet in a couple of years with skin / digestive / cancer / kidney / behavioural issues, ultimately costing you a fortune. This is the hidden cost of cheap food, as we see in humans.

To be nutritious (the next level say) dry food needs to have as much animal protein as possible and as little carbohydrates as possible. This is far out of reach of economy brands. Only the very best brands reach this level (Orijen etc) as it is simply too expensive to produce a dry food of this quality. The word nutritious should not be used for all brands below this except in the loosest sense of the word, such as flour is nutritious, it is, just not as a sole food source for life.

I have yet to encounter a cheap food (<30 euro) that would qualify as even a cheap base to add some fresh ingredients to.

As a base (to which you should add the cheapest fresh meat you can find - fish heads, off cuts from butchers, spoils) you should be looking for a dry food (not in a clear bag) that uses no gluten (wheat / barley / rye) and as little chemicals as possible. This is about the best I can recommend.

If anyone finds one, please let us all know.

Hope this helps.