Best dry dog food available in Ireland?

katepaws · 19-06-2015 10:47pm #1

My budget is €50 for a 15kg bag and I am looking for the best food for that price. I have 8 dogs and they all eat gain elite and we go trough a 15kg bag a week.

I know a lot of people like taste of the wild, Orijen, James Wellbeloved, etc, but they're all out of my price range.

I know I need a food with a high meat content and very little cereal and meat derivatives. I came across Markus Muhle Black Angus, which looks good, though I'm not sure if it's even better than the gain. I will post ingredients below.

Any feedback and/or better suggestions are much appreciated.

Gain ingredients: Dried Chicken & Turkey (min 30%), Rice (20%), Wholegrain Maize, Dehulled Oats, Poultry Fat, Maize Gluten, Sugar Beet Pulp, Chicken Gravy, Fish Meal, Egg, Linseed, Fish Oil, Potassium Chloride, Fructooligosaccharides (0.3%), TruCal Milk Mineral Complex, Products from Processing Plants.

Markus Muhle ingredients: Ground dried Black Angus meat (17.3%), ground brown wholegrain rice, ground dried duck meat (9.7%), ground dried herring (6.6%), ground millet, ground amaranth, fresh green herbs, linseed, algae mix, herring oil, cold pressed vegetable oil mix, beet pulp, gelatine, dry peat (2%), dried ground yucca schidigera, milk thistle seeds, fennel seeds, dried blueberries, powdered egg yolk, siliceous earth (1.5%), muscle meat extract from green-lipped mussels (1.5%), sea mollusc protein from green-lipped mussels (1%), green mineral soil.

Knine · 19-06-2015 11:02pm

There is no best food in Ireland as such. Its more a case of the best food that suits my dog & my pocket. I have tried loads of different foods. I found Gain Elite very good, did not particularly like Markus Muhle. It is cold compressed & only found it ok.

I started using Champion Grain Free from Dogfooddirect.ie & am really happy with it. Dogs are much easier to clean after & they all look fab. I have raised a litter of 7 terrier puppies on it with & they look fantastic. I also feed a lot of raw food too with it.

It really is a case of trial & error to find out which agrees with your dog. Everyone will have different opinions.

katepaws · 19-06-2015 11:24pm

Knine wrote: »

I started using Champion Grain Free from Dogfooddirect.ie & am really happy with it. Dogs are much easier to clean after & they all look fab. I have raised a litter of 7 terrier puppies on it with & they look fantastic. I also feed a lot of raw food too with it.

.

Thanks Knine.
I did look at Champion Grain Free and it looks great but I found it repackaged else where online, under a different brand name (Walking the dog grain free). Apparently it's a generic food that is made by Golden Acres. I thought that was strange, so it put me off. But if that's a normal thing with dog food, I would definitely consider Champion Grain Free as I've ordered from Dogfooddirect.ie before.

thehouses · 19-06-2015 11:39pm

I would stay with the Gain Elite feed.

kylith · 19-06-2015 11:41pm

Mine did really well on Markus Muhle.

Crimsonforce · 19-06-2015 11:42pm

I've been using barking heads food for my 18 year old . High is salmon, rice,chicken and glucosamine

andreac · 19-06-2015 11:42pm

I use the champion grain free too. The duck and potato one. They have a high meat content one too but it's a smaller bag, only 12kg sl not as good value but it would be slightly better quality.

tayto lover · 19-06-2015 11:44pm

Is the stuff out of Aldi or Lidl any good lads?

andreac · 19-06-2015 11:58pm

tayto lover wrote: »

Is the stuff out of Aldi or Lidl any good lads?

Eh no. Far from it. Awful stuff actually. Along with nearly all supermarket sold dog foods. All very poor quality so I would stay well away.

katepaws · 20-06-2015 12:11am

Would Lukullus be better than the Gain Elite / Markus Muhle? Also, would the Champion Grain Free last longer because it's better quality?

Lukullus ingredients: Dried chicken meat ground (26%), whole-grain ground rice (26%), dried and ground salmon (6%), dried and ground potatoes, cold-pressed rapeseed oil (5%), dried seaweed, dried alfalfa, rice germ, beet pulp, dried herbs (3.5%), dried pears (2%), dried apples (2%), dried egg yolk, caraway, linseed oil (1.5%), dried and ground carob, powdered mineral clay, diatomaceous earth, dried and ground yucca schidigera, dried blueberries (0.3%).

Gain ingredients: Dried Chicken & Turkey (min 30%), Rice (20%), Wholegrain Maize, Dehulled Oats, Poultry Fat, Maize Gluten, Sugar Beet Pulp, Chicken Gravy, Fish Meal, Egg, Linseed, Fish Oil, Potassium Chloride, Fructooligosaccharides (0.3%), TruCal Milk Mineral Complex, Products from Processing Plants.

Markus Muhle ingredients: Ground dried Black Angus meat (17.3%), ground brown wholegrain rice, ground dried duck meat (9.7%), ground dried herring (6.6%), ground millet, ground amaranth, fresh green herbs, linseed, algae mix, herring oil, cold pressed vegetable oil mix, beet pulp, gelatine, dry peat (2%), dried ground yucca schidigera, milk thistle seeds, fennel seeds, dried blueberries, powdered egg yolk, siliceous earth (1.5%), muscle meat extract from green-lipped mussels (1.5%), sea mollusc protein from green-lipped mussels (1%), green mineral soil

Champion Grain Free ingrediants:
Salmon & Trout 50% (including 30% Freshly Prepared Salmon & Trout), 12% Dried Salmon, 6% Salmon Oil, 2% Fish Stock, Sweet Potato, Peas, Potato, Beet Pulp, Linseed, Vitamins & Minerals, Vegetable Digest, Asparagus (equivalent to 7.5g per Kg of product), FOS (92 mg/kg), MOS (23 mg/kg). Nutritional Additives per kg Vitamins: E672 Vitamin A 15,000 IU, E671 Vitamin D3 2,250 IU

Dtp1979 · 20-06-2015 12:15am

andreac wrote: »

I use the champion grain free too. The duck and potato one. They have a high meat content one too but it's a smaller bag, only 12kg sl not as good value but it would be slightly better quality.

Second that about champion. Switched my dog onto it about 6 months ago. She's 8, is a different dog and her coat is fantastic since the food changed

Springwell · 20-06-2015 8:46am

I'd use Champion or Lukullus. Lukullus often works out cheaper with the deals and vouchers on zoo plus.

katepaws · 20-06-2015 11:56pm

After searching and searching, one of my friends suggested weighing my dogs and measuring out the daily amounts and working out how much it would cost to feed one of the better foods. I found out that I can feed my eight dogs on Orijen (80% meat, 20% veg and other good stuff) for only €40 a week, which is even lower than my budget. I have ordered it from zooplus and am so excited. Thanks for all of your help.

tayto lover · 21-06-2015 12:02am

andreac wrote: »

Eh no. Far from it. Awful stuff actually. Along with nearly all supermarket sold dog foods. All very poor quality so I would stay well away.

Thanks. By the way where can I get the good stuff as i don't see it in supermarkets?

Tropheus · 21-06-2015 12:15am

Currently use Lukullus for our Beagle and can't complain. Just under €80 for 30kg delivered from Zooplus is very good value. Would second staying well clear of the supermarket brands. Pure crap.

katepaws · 21-06-2015 4:43am

tayto lover wrote: »

Thanks. By the way where can I get the good stuff as i don't see it in supermarkets?

Pet shops like Petmania, Petworld, Maxizoo. Or online on websites like zooplus.ie or dogfooddirect.ie

muddypaws · 21-06-2015 12:54pm

katepaws wrote: »

Thanks Knine.
I did look at Champion Grain Free and it looks great but I found it repackaged else where online, under a different brand name (Walking the dog grain free). Apparently it's a generic food that is made by Golden Acres. I thought that was strange, so it put me off. But if that's a normal thing with dog food, I would definitely consider Champion Grain Free as I've ordered from Dogfooddirect.ie before.

Yeah, a lot of companies and shops get their food made at GA. Pet Stop sell the same food, they're usually cheap. The packaging used to be silver bags with red paw prints on, its changed now. There is nothing wrong with food made like this, but it is the same food, just with different labels on. Its not cost effective for a small company or pet retailer to have their own factory to make food, so GA is the best known one in the UK. Its the same as supermarkets' own brand food, they don't have their own factories for each product, just buy from a factory who label it for them.

Lia_lia · 21-06-2015 7:49pm

I get Skinners from Amazon. Quite cheap, and the dog loves it and does well on it!

Dtp1979 · 21-06-2015 8:25pm

Lia_lia wrote: »

I get Skinners from Amazon. Quite cheap, and the dog loves it and does well on it!

Is it grain free?

scudzilla · 21-06-2015 8:42pm

Anyone have any opinions on Beta? Ours like it, heard it's supposed to be good

Lia_lia · 21-06-2015 8:56pm

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Is it grain free?

Sorry, missed the grain free bit! No, it wouldn't be grain free. The one I get is rice based. It is "free from wheat gluten, maize gluten, barley gluten, soya and dairy products".

Whole rice (40%), duck meat meal (20%), oats, peas, whole linseed, sunflower oil, beet pulp, vitamins and minerals.

Duck and Rice Skinners.

Macker1 · 21-06-2015 9:22pm

Is the Select Gold brand from Maxizoo any good. I know that Dogs Trust use that brand.

Rommie · 21-06-2015 11:11pm

scudzilla wrote: »

Anyone have any opinions on Beta? Ours like it, heard it's supposed to be good

Beta isn't great, none of the Purina foods (owned by Nestle and same crowd who make Bakers) are very good. It's also really overpriced for what's in it, just have a look at the ingredients, the meat content is fairly low in it and far as I can remember, it's derivatives rather than a named meat source and only 4% of the actual meat is chicken whereas this is the Beta Adult Chicken recipe

Ingredients:
Cereals (wholegrain 20%), Meat and animal derivatives (meat 14%, chicken 4%), Vegetable protein extracts, Oils and fats, Derivatives of vegetable origin (dried beet pulp 1.1%), Vegetables (dried chicory root 1.1%), Minerals.

Dtp1979 · 21-06-2015 11:12pm

Lia_lia wrote: »

Sorry, missed the grain free bit! No, it wouldn't be grain free. The one I get is rice based. It is "free from wheat gluten, maize gluten, barley gluten, soya and dairy products".

Whole rice (40%), duck meat meal (20%), oats, peas, whole linseed, sunflower oil, beet pulp, vitamins and minerals.

Duck and Rice Skinners.

Is grain free made out to be better than it is or is it actually good for the dog?

Nody · 22-06-2015 6:51am

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Is grain free made out to be better than it is or is it actually good for the dog?

Grains is a filler for dogs; it's used to make the food cheaper by bulking it out but the nutritional value is very very low and it's one big driver behind allergies etc. It only became part of the food scene for dogs once companies started to actually make commercial food because it's a way to lower the cost (same way they add vegetable protein rather than animal protein).

smilerf · 22-06-2015 8:28am

I get a 12 kg bag of Arden Grange from Amazon or James Wellbeloved. My fella ain't fussy

54and56 · 22-06-2015 8:51am

Hi all,

I've a 6 month old 50% Newfoundland, 25% Rottweiler & 25% Northern Innuit cross breed. She's 22kg and this weight predictor http://www.enpevet.de/CalculateWeight.aspx suggests she's going to be circa 32kg. This has been a consistent prediction for the last 3 months as I weigh her weekly to see how she's progressing. I was also concerned she might end up being closer to the full 65kg Newfoundland size but thankfully that's not looking likely.

ATM she is on Royal Canin Maxi Junior - http://about.royalcanin.co.uk/catalogue/size-health-nutrition/maxi-junior23599 which is quite expensive.

I'd be interested in getting her a good quality but also value for money alternative possibly delivered in bulk (say 30kg or 45kg in total) but don't know much about what product would suit her best.

Any suggestions as to what product to buy and where to buy it?

This is probably the best looking deal I can find online - http://dogfooddirect.ie/modules/shop/products/gain-bigdogs-puppy-30kg-special-offer/

Nody · 22-06-2015 9:17am

Well you have Taste of the Wild (use Chrome with auto translate) which is grain free; more cost up front but you're likely to save it back because you serve less of it basically. On the cheaper side you have Lukullus Junior which is cold pressed or Markus Muhle NaturNah.

e.r · 22-06-2015 9:22am

Anybody got opinions on science plan?

Nody · 22-06-2015 10:11am

e.r wrote: »

Anybody got opinions on science plan?

Overpriced and poor to medium quality at best. It's in the same class as RC with usually meat not being even the primary ingredient.

For example:

Hill's Adult Advanced Fitness Large Breed with Lamb & Rice wrote:

Maize, lamb meal, (min. 26% lamb), soybean meal, corn gluten meal, animal fat, rice (min. 4% rice), digest, vegetable oil, flaxseed, potassium chloride, sodium chloride.

So you're looking at ~75% non meat based products in there...

Or how about this one:

Hill's Science Plan Adult Performance Chicken wrote:

Corn, poultry meal (min. chicken 35%), animal fats, beet pulp, digest, vegetable oil, dried whole egg, potassium chloride, sodium chloride.

Chicken being the cheapest of cheap meats and still 65% non meat...

For about the same price per kilo (4.19 EUR / kg) vs. 4.30 EUR you can get this with Taste of the Wild:

Lamb, lamb meal, sweet potatoes, potatoes, peas, rapeseed oil, egg, roast lamb, tomato pomace, natural aromas, salt, choline chloride, mixed tcopherols (natural preservatives and source of vitamin E), dried chicory root, taurine, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries,...

Notice how there is no maize, corn or rice listed in it yet it cost basically the same (most likely cheaper once you add in portion sizes to be honest)?

greengold9999 · 22-06-2015 10:12am

the german zooplus site (zooplus.de) does a special offer on taste of the wild - 2 high prairie 13.6Kg bags for €104.

http://www.zooplus.de/esearch.htm#q=taste%20of%20the%20wild

Best dry dog food available in Ireland?

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