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

Jimmy Bottlehead

Hi all.

With the two dogs at the moment, I figure I might be as well to buy a pretty big bag of dog food. The local pet shop seems pricey enough, so what websites would people recommend?

Also any recommendations for a brand that is good quality, but won't break the bank?

Outkast_IRE

I have been buying lukullus for the last year it agrees well with my dog

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/lukullus/156093

andreac

Whats your budget and what kind of dog do you have? How long does your usual bag last and what are you feeding at the mo?

barbiegirl

We feed Robbies, and it works out at €10 a week between the 2 dogs, it's just under €60 a big bag, but lasts us 6 weeks, with a retriever cross and a jack russell cross.

Jimmy Bottlehead

andreac wrote: »

Whats your budget and what kind of dog do you have? How long does your usual bag last?

Budget? Umm.... hard to say. When we had Molly, a 3kg box would last maybe 2 weeks or so? We got her Bakers, which is about €5 a box I think.

Anyways, we've Jake and Molly now. My budget is reasonable. I'd prefer them to cost €5 or less each a week if possible, but I'm very open to suggestions.

andreac

Oh god, Bakers is awful stuff, prob the worst you can feed, along with Pedigree...

You are better off going with a big bag, 15kg, and that will last a lot longer. Plus, even though you are spending a bit more on it, it will go much further as you dont have to feed as much with a better food.

What breeds are they? Big or small?

A 15kg bag of Clinivet lasts my rottweilers about 3 weeks.

Why not go for something like Redmills Leader, that costs around €40 for a 15kg bag.

Jimmy Bottlehead

andreac wrote: »

Oh god, Bakers is awful stuff, prob the worst you can feed, along with Pedigree...

You are better off going with a big bag, 15kg, and that will last a lot longer. Plus, even though you are spending a bit more on it, it will go much further as you dont have to feed as much with a better food.

What breeds are they? Big or small?

A 15kg bag of Clinivet lasts my rottweilers about 3 weeks.

Why not go for something like Redmills Leader, that costs around €40 for a 15kg bag.

Molly & Jake would be small-medium dogs.

What sites are good for ordering?

andreac

Well then a 15kg bag would def be ok. You can get a plastic or metal bin to put the food in to keep it fresh.

andreac

Dogfooddirect.ie have a great range of food at good prices with some offers so have a look at their website. Financially its better to buy a big bag as you are saving money in the long run.

looksee

I discovered by accident that my cats like Tesco own brand dry food better than the more expensive stuff I was giving them. About half the price I was paying. Presumably they do own brand dog food.

andreac

looksee wrote: »

I discovered by accident that my cats like Tesco own brand dry food better than the more expensive stuff I was giving them. About half the price I was paying. Presumably they do own brand dog food.

Yes they would, but with terrible, terrible ingredients which i would never recommend feeding to anyones dog... unless you were on a serious budget and couldnt afford to feed a better food.

Rommie

You should try the Champion Premium range from Dogfooddirect.ie. 30quid for the 15kg of the chicken one and it has pretty good ingredients and glucosamine for joints

Millem

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

Hi all.

With the two dogs at the moment, I figure I might be as well to buy a pretty big bag of dog food. The local pet shop seems pricey enough, so what websites would people recommend?

Also any recommendations for a brand that is good quality, but won't break the bank?

I have been feeding my 3 Burns for years but recently switched to this food
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B003EGMHL2/ref=mp_s_a_2?qid=1341916636&sr=8-2
The ingredients are virtually indentical to Burns, and am feeding the same amounts. Check out all the zooplus websites fr, es, de etc.
Other good websites are
www.nutrecare.co.uk
www.medicanimal.co.uk
www.vetuk.co.uk

Outkast_IRE

Rommie wrote: »

You should try the Champion Premium range from Dogfooddirect.ie. 30quid for the 15kg of the chicken one and it has pretty good ingredients and glucosamine for joints

Im a bid of a follower of the grain free style of foods, i personally dont think wheat, maize etc should be part of a dogs diet.

Dirk Gently

I'd also recommend 15kg bags from dog food direct. next day or sometimes even same day delivery and cheaper than the pet stores. Have my two on the champion at the moment.

paultf

dogfooddirect sell a new food by Gain (Glanbia) called Elite SmallDog - €34/15kg. http://www.gainfeeds.com/pet/SmallDogs_Adult

"We believe it is the comparable with the very best dog foods on the market, and probably superior to most. We have a couple of unique ingredients such as Glanbia’s TruCal and high quality Omega-3 linseed. TruCal is a highly available source of Calcium and Phosphorous extracted from milk, mainly used for the human diet. All the ingredients are the best quality available. We excluded wheat but we included maize due to its high energy content. We also included porridge oats and rice. The beet pulp is included to provide digestible fibres that aid the digestive process. The results of our feeding trials prior to the launch showed that the digestibility was extremely high, with small dry stools. When developing these diets, it became evident that dogs less than 20kg had different nutritional requirements to larger dogs, so we developed Gain SmallDogs and Gain BigDogs. In Gain SmallDogs we increased the protein and fat and we have more emphasis on the prebiotics for their smaller sensitive stomachs etc."

I wouldn't agree with all of Gain SmallDogs ingredients though. Aswell as that the feeding guidelines are higher.

Red Mills Leader would be another option as it's around the 40 mark. I tried it before and my dogs liked it but stools weren't great. Again feeding guidelines are higher.

My dogs are on Burns and a 15kg lasts 6 weeks for 3 medium sized dogs. If you were willing to buy from ZooPlus, 2 bags would be around 40ish each.

There is another thread about Skinners. Through Amazon its €25/15kg bag and the ingredients/feeding guidelines are similar to Burns.

kylith

No problems here with Creavens. 12kg for €34, and it lasts my two terriers about 2 months.

looksee

andreac wrote: »

Yes they would, but with terrible, terrible ingredients which i would never recommend feeding to anyones dog... unless you were on a serious budget and couldnt afford to feed a better food.

What do you base that statement on? I had my cats at the vets getting their shots within the last few days and he said they were in excellent condition.

I am not arguing the quality of the ingredients, but I would be interested to know what they are compared with other foods. (I am assuming the same quality of ingredients would apply to both cat and dog foods).

andreac

looksee wrote: »

What do you base that statement on? I had my cats at the vets getting their shots within the last few days and he said they were in excellent condition.

I am not arguing the quality of the ingredients, but I would be interested to know what they are compared with other foods. (I am assuming the same quality of ingredients would apply to both cat and dog foods).

Im basing it on the facts and the ingredients on the packs. Ive seen the ingredients and i wouldnt choose to feed my dogs meat and animal derivitives and artificial colours and flavourings if there was a better alternative out there which is what the better foods have.
They are based on good quality meat and ingredients and not made up of cheap fillers.

kylith

looksee wrote: »

What do you base that statement on? I had my cats at the vets getting their shots within the last few days and he said they were in excellent condition.

I am not arguing the quality of the ingredients, but I would be interested to know what they are compared with other foods. (I am assuming the same quality of ingredients would apply to both cat and dog foods).

They use a lot of colourings which are completely useless, and can cause hyperactivity, and generally have worse quality meat/meat derivatives. They also use a lot more cereal fillers, which are completely pointless as they're pretty much indigestible. In general they wind up more expensive to feed too.

You could feed kids on McDonalds and manage it so that they're not overweight, but they still wouldn't be getting the high quality nutrients that are in less processed foods.

paultf

looksee wrote: »

What do you base that statement on? I had my cats at the vets getting their shots within the last few days and he said they were in excellent condition.

I am not arguing the quality of the ingredients, but I would be interested to know what they are compared with other foods. (I am assuming the same quality of ingredients would apply to both cat and dog foods).

Below is some information I got on a well known dog food that would cost €40/15kg in a pet shop.

It seems manufacturers of dog foods in Europe if they choose, can legally label their food cereal/anaimal deriviatives, which means they can add whatever ingredient they like. See the link below on animal byproducts.

Some people argue that its OK to give this type of food. It depends on what way you look at it. But its often being said before on this forum that 'a good food with quality ingredients' would still work out better for the dog (and your pocket!) than the cheaper version in the long run.

"Regarding your enquiry, firstly I would like to explain a bit more about animal derivatives.
The material of animal origin used by the pet food industry comprises are those parts of animals which are either deemed surplus to human consumption or are not normally consumed by people in the UK, and derived from animals inspected and passed as fit for human consumption prior to slaughter. Animal material of this nature, which is not intended for human consumption, is classified as "animal by-products" under the EC Regulation on Animal By-Products for which Defra is responsible, and assigned the lowest risk rating. This rating requires that the material be free of any transmissible disease, which therefore excludes material from dying, diseased or disabled animals.
To find out more about this, please see the Defra website http://www.defra.gov.uk/food-farm/byproducts/ .

Regarding your question on labeling requirements, I would like to clarify that these legislations are all set and controlled by the EU and UK authorities and not by PFMA. For more information about the EU regulations, I suggest referring to the website of FEDIAf which has lots of useful information on this issue: http://www.fediaf.org/legislation/ .

If you would like to see the labeling legislation, which is currently in force and all our members need to follow, please see Regulation 767/2009/EC on the marketing and use of feed, from the following link. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:229:0001:0028:EN:PDF"

Mo60

looksee wrote: »

I discovered by accident that my cats like Tesco own brand dry food better than the more expensive stuff I was giving them. About half the price I was paying. Presumably they do own brand dog food.

I am feeding my dogs Tesco own brand dry food at the moment because they like it. All my dogs have lived to a good age in the past being fed on inexpensive dry food.

My vet has told me all my animals, cats and dogs, are in good health. If an animal is happy and healthy on what they are being fed I would see no reason in changing their diet.

Rommie

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Im a bid of a follower of the grain free style of foods, i personally dont think wheat, maize etc should be part of a dogs diet.

To be honest I completely agree with you and I feed a half raw, half dry diet using an all natural dry food with no cereals in it. But the champion seems to be a good price for what's in it; you'd find the same ingredients in royal canin which is about thirty euro dearer!

Jimmy Bottlehead

Can someone have a peek at this food and see if it's decent? The reviews are good but I'd like some more experienced opinions.

andreac

What food??

Jimmy Bottlehead

andreac wrote: »

What food??

Argh. Brain-Fail!

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/dog-food-petuk-dog-food-c-1024_831/petuk-adult-dog-food-15kg-p-5669

andreac

Def not, it says it has all the same ingredients as Pedigree etc which are not good!! Ive never heard of that food either so i suggest going for one of the more well known brands.

Oh it doesnt list the actual ingredients which would be of concern for me...

iguana

Take a look through the Pet Connection own brand premium range. There is some decent dog food there, especially the salmon and potato,* for fairly reasonable prices, though not as great a bargain as the exchange rate is returning to more normal levels. It works out best if you buy 2 (or maybe 3) bags at once as the delivery charge is split.

*Ingredients
Fresh salmon (min 26%), potato (min 26%), oats, maize, salmon
meal, beet pulp, refined poultry fat, dicalcium phosphate, salmon oil, minerals and vitamins.

http://www.petconnection.ie/acatalog/Pet_Connection_Premium_Dog_Food.html

Outkast_IRE

Rommie wrote: »

To be honest I completely agree with you and I feed a half raw, half dry diet using an all natural dry food with no cereals in it. But the champion seems to be a good price for what's in it; you'd find the same ingredients in royal canin which is about thirty euro dearer!

Did you look at the food i linked to , i have my very active collie cross on it and shes doing great i just supplement it with some table scraps etc.

i get 2x13.5kg bags for 90 odd usually , sometimes cheaper, this keeps my dog going for up to 6 months, as with other good quality foods you feed a smaller quantity daily, so it does last .

kylith

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

Argh. Brain-Fail!

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/dog-food-petuk-dog-food-c-1024_831/petuk-adult-dog-food-15kg-p-5669

I'd say that the protein is a bit high. There's no actual ingredient list so you can't be sure what's in it. Any ingredients listed as 'cereals' or 'meat' are to be avoided because it tends to be whatever is cheapest at the time of manufacture so if your dog has an allergy you can't be sure that wheat, or whatever, won't be in the mix next time you buy it.

As andreac said; Pedigree and Bakers aren't good food at all, so I'd be wary of any food promoted as 'just like' them.

Millem

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

andreac wrote: »

Whats your budget and what kind of dog do you have? How long does your usual bag last?

Budget? Umm.... hard to say. When we had Molly, a 3kg box would last maybe 2 weeks or so? We got her Bakers, which is about €5 a box I think.

Anyways, we've Jake and Molly now. My budget is reasonable. I'd prefer them to cost €5 or less each a week if possible, but I'm very open to suggestions.

Jimmy what weights are dogs? I just did a rough calculation if they get 200g each per day for a week you are looking to buy a 15kg for around the €25-€30 mark and it would cost between €4.60-€5.60 per week. With better quality foods you feed less so although at first they look expensive you feed less! The lighter the dog the less you feed them. If they are neutered you decrease food by 10%.

heartofwhite

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.

ferretone

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'd love to see the criteria that were used for that study. I'd imagine just the most basic analysis of protein/fat/carbs etc, and frankly, outmoded recommendations of those at that.

Those foods have unnamed cereals as the first listed ingredients, and while the pricing is very attractive, I'll grant you, modern ideas of dog nutrition would not regard such foods as a suitable diet at all. I'm surprised any accredited college is teaching such ideas in this day and age, or there again, perhaps not :rolleyes:

ETA: Mind you, I'm not saying Beta is any better, I think it's fairly comparable, but that's not a recommendation by any means.

dmg10

I use Skinners Field & Trial for mine. Get it via K9 Catering in Cork. I'm not sure of other suppliers in Ireland, you'd probably need to do a google on it. Their coats are in fantastic condition, good stools etc. They're both collie crosses so fairly high energy.

I had my 2yr old on their maintenance product for the past year after using Royal Canin etc. she's thrived on it for half the price. I had the pup on Gain puppy food for a few weeks and she was a bit runny on it so switched her to Skinners puppy and she's been great since & a lot more regular. Approx €30 a bag depending on the product. I get about 2 - 2.5 mths out of a 15kg bag for 1 dog, depending on the level of activity as I'll often have to feed up or down a bit.

Bakers? My friend visited & was feeding her dogs that stuff, I had to walk outside for fresh air it stank so much urrrgh

Edit: Just looked at Amazon UK, priced really well with free delivery... Have a look at the Skinners UK site to see what product would suit & try amazon for prices then

Gael23

Can I ask whats so bad about Pedigree? We have given it to our guy for close on 13 years now and it doesn't seem to do him and harm

falabo

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.

what kind of course is it ? I wouldn't trust it for one minute.
LIDL and ALDI ingredients, from what I can remember, had a look once a twice and nearly had a stroke: animal DERITATIVES, cereals, colourings, 4% meat etc ...

TheMilkyPirate

andreac wrote: »

Oh god, Bakers is awful stuff, prob the worst you can feed, along with Pedigree...

You are better off going with a big bag, 15kg, and that will last a lot longer. Plus, even though you are spending a bit more on it, it will go much further as you dont have to feed as much with a better food.

What breeds are they? Big or small?

A 15kg bag of Clinivet lasts my rottweilers about 3 weeks.

Why not go for something like Redmills Leader, that costs around €40 for a 15kg bag.

You are the difference.

ferretone

ryanf1 wrote: »

Can I ask whats so bad about Pedigree? We have given it to our guy for close on 13 years now and it doesn't seem to do him and harm

Read the ingredients list. Pedigree is often likened to the McDonalds of the dog food world. Dogs like it, but the ingredients in it are basically rubbish. For what you pay to feed pedigree, which funds their advertising more than what goes in the food, you could get a lot better food for that price.

The argument that somebody's pet has been healthy all their lives on X food, so therefore it's fine, is a common one, and does not prove anything except that they've been lucky. A lot of pets do get problems caused by their bad diet, and you don't know that your fella might not have been even healthier, shinier and livelier if he'd been fed a better food.

kylith

ferretone wrote: »

Read the ingredients list. Pedigree is often likened to the McDonalds of the dog food world. Dogs like it, but the ingredients in it are basically rubbish. For what you pay to feed pedigree, which funds their advertising more than what goes in the food, you could get a lot better food for that price.

The ingredients are impossible to find on their website, but I found them on Yahoo:
"Pedigree Complete Nutrition" adult dry dog food:
Ground yellow corn, meat and bone meal, corn gluten meal, chicken by-product meal, animal fat (preserved with bha/bht), wheat mill run, natural poultry flavor, rice, salt, potassium chloride, caramel color, wheat flour, wheat gluten, vegetable oil, vitamins (choline chloride, dl-alpha tocopherol acetate [source of vitamin e], l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate [source of vitamin c*], vitamin a supplement, thiamine mononitrate [vitamin b1], biotin, d-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement [vitamin b2], vitamin d3 supplement, vitamin b12 supplement), trace minerals (zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide).

As you can see, corn is both the first and third ingredient; meat should be the first ingredient, and not in 'meal' form as it's very low quality. There's also wheat, which is a common allergen for dogs. Also apparently the preservatives BHA and BHT are carcinogens banned from use in human food.

In comparison here's the list of ingredients from the food Iguana recommended:
*Ingredients
Fresh salmon (min 26%), potato (min 26%), oats, maize, salmon
meal, beet pulp, refined poultry fat, dicalcium phosphate, salmon oil, minerals and vitamins.

Jimmy Bottlehead

iguana wrote: »

Take a look through the Pet Connection own brand premium range. There is some decent dog food there, especially the salmon and potato,* for fairly reasonable prices, though not as great a bargain as the exchange rate is returning to more normal levels. It works out best if you buy 2 (or maybe 3) bags at once as the delivery charge is split.

*Ingredients
Fresh salmon (min 26%), potato (min 26%), oats, maize, salmon
meal, beet pulp, refined poultry fat, dicalcium phosphate, salmon oil, minerals and vitamins.

http://www.petconnection.ie/acatalog/Pet_Connection_Premium_Dog_Food.html

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.

iguana

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.

Fingerscrossed your girls like it. Mine love fish so they gobble it down.

ferretone

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.

Great to hear you've made a sensible choice! I read your thread about the new doggy, so knew you had your heart in the right place anyway Hope the 2 of them like the food.

I feed Acana Grasslands myself, but didn't recommend it, as it's outside your price range. My girl's a dobie tho, and a rescue one of unknown origin at that, so I need to invest a bit more to avoid health problems other than the ones I know she's at risk of already :rolleyes:

spatchco

what is the best for my schnauzer,she is betweenr 6-7 years old

ferretone

You've seen a fair few recommendations in this thread. It really depends a lot on your budget, and the time and effort you are prepared to devote too. Lots would say feed raw, but this takes knowledge, time and effort. Commercial foods that would be anything like as good tend to be quite expensive, although as has been said already, not as much more expensive as simply converting weight-for-weight from cheap commercial food, as you generally have to feed considerably less of a good quality food than one which is loaded with zero-nutrition fillers.

I tend to recommend the Origen and Acana brands, the grain-free ones at least, but they are quite expensive. Lots of others recommend Burns, which use brown rice rather than cereals, there is a bit of a dichotomy among owners as to which of these foods is the better choice, and I won't get into that. The food finally chosen by the OP appears to be a decent compromise: it does have maize and oats, but they only come into the list after over 50% of the compostion has been accounted for

Eoin087

Holy shít! Didn't realise there was so much to take into account when buying dog food.
A friend recommended burns high energy lamb for my 5 1/2 month old gsd pup would it be the same feeding him the Pet Connection Premium food or is there more of a benefit feeding him the burns food? I'm feeding him hills science plan at the mo, he doesn't seem to like it though!

ferretone

Eoin087 wrote: »

Holy shít! Didn't realise there was so much to take into account when buying dog food.
A friend recommended burns high energy lamb for my 5 1/2 month old gsd pup would it be the same feeding him the Pet Connection Premium food or is there more of a benefit feeding him the burns food? I'm feeding him hills science plan at the mo, he doesn't seem to like it though!

Absolutely, Hills is a very over-priced food, and gets an undeserved boost in many people's estimation, because so many vets recommend it, as it's the prescription food that they stock. Actually it contains wheat, corn gluten and soya, which cause problems for a great many dogs, and either Burns or Pet Connection Salmon and Potato would both be preferable in my opinion.

Mo60

ferretone wrote: »

The argument that somebody's pet has been healthy all their lives on X food, so therefore it's fine, is a common one, and does not prove anything except that they've been lucky. A lot of pets do get problems caused by their bad diet, and you don't know that your fella might not have been even healthier, shinier and livelier if he'd been fed a better food.

I must be extra lucky then. All my dogs have lived to at least the age of 15 years, the last one died last April at the age of 17 years.

I always feed them on dog food I have bought in the supermarket. A lot of dogs get problems even if they are fed on so called better food. Mine are all in good health, as confirmed by my vet.

ferretone

Long may your luck continue, Mo60. It still won't stop others giving good nutritional advice to other owners though

Mo60

ferretone wrote: »

Long may your luck continue, Mo60. It still won't stop others giving good nutritional advice to other owners though

Each to their own I say - if you think its better so be it.

Cork24

Royal Cannin and a tea spoon of Cod Liver Oil ontop of the Nuts

keep their joints really healthy.

ferretone

Royal Canin also lands in the category of over-priced, containing gluten, and over-estimated because of the link with the prescription products the vets stock.

In all honesty, pet nutrition suffers from the same misconception that vets are experts in it as with training and behaviour. Their expertise is veterinary medicine, and should be deferred to in all aspects of that. Training, behaviourism and nutrition are all areas that don't have enough coverage in the basic veterinary degree to make them expert. A vet who has extensively studied one of these aspects subsequently is another matter, but otherwise I wouldn't be deferring to their knowledge on them.