Best dry dog food available in Ireland?

highbury1913 · 12-06-2016 11:49am

muddypaws wrote: »

That might be a prescription food though, so, whilst it is expensive, it may not be as bad as it seems, if it is helping to keep a medical condition under control. Although there are some non prescription foods on sale in Irish pet shops for around €90 for 15kg

No, I was taking my dog for his yearly booster. No medical condition. His coat was already in good condition.

I agree, some of those vet foods are hugely expensive, but as I said, for a dog of my size getting 115g a day from a 12kg bag for 53 euros, that is great value. With a measuring cup from the vet, that lasts over 3 months.

PucaMama · 12-06-2016 12:04pm

Try autarky it's surprisingly good for the price I got a 15kg bag for 32 euro but I've 4 dogs to feed on a budget

Cortina_MK_IV · 12-06-2016 12:10pm

The Orijen I tried my (then) pup on is €99.35 in Equipet. They have another Orijen (6 Fish) at €117.79 for 13kg.

smilerf · 12-06-2016 12:43pm

My lads been on Arden Grange for 8 years. 12kg off Amazon 42 euro. He likes it and he strong as an ox

muddypaws · 12-06-2016 3:13pm

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Are they any better than the likes of taste of the wild/Orijen and similar?

Same kind of food, whether you think they are better, is open to interpretation

highbury1913 wrote: »

No, I was taking my dog for his yearly booster. No medical condition. His coat was already in good condition.

I agree, some of those vet foods are hugely expensive, but as I said, for a dog of my size getting 115g a day from a 12kg bag for 53 euros, that is great value. With a measuring cup from the vet, that lasts over 3 months.

I was replying to a different poster, I quoted it in my reply

Bobthefireman · 12-06-2016 3:17pm

I can't quite remember the name but it was something like Pro Science or Science Plus or something. My dog had anal something-or-others (kept scratching her bum) so vet recommended the mature dog version of it. Another thing he said was to not ever put water in it.

mad muffin · 12-06-2016 4:00pm

I've had my dog on Markus Mühle. Then on Call of the Wild. I now have him on James Wellbeloved duck and rice. €55 for 15kg from zooplus.

It's been by far the best of the ones I listed. Fewer poops than the other two. And his coat whilst it's always been really good. Is even better if that's possible. :eek:

It's even shinier and now he has zero dandruff. Very happy with the food.

01-07-2016 10:08am

Jeeez just went on to order the 2 x 13kg bags of Orijen. It has gone up to €93-99 per bag!!!!!

WTF????? I nee a new alternative. Something just as good but not as expensive...

Any suggestions?

mad muffin · 01-07-2016 10:16am

I swear by James Wellbeloved duck and rice. It's €54 per 15kg and zoo plus do 2x bags for about €100.

01-07-2016 10:28am

Thanks Mad Muffin
I should have said though that I want a complete grain free food.

Dogs: German Shepherd and Terrier

Pickpocket · 01-07-2016 10:36am

Any opinions on the new Red Mills Leader Supreme?

My local pet store are giving it a big push, saying that the new ingredients, packaging, etc is all an effort to compete with the likes of Royal Canin.

It certainly looks the part but what's your experience with it? Although by the looks of it the new range was only launched within the past month or two.

simdan · 01-07-2016 10:46am

TheTorment wrote:

Jeeez just went on to order the 2 x 13kg bags of Orijen. It has gone up to â‚¬93-99 per bag!!!!!

TheTorment wrote:

WTF????? I nee a new alternative. Something just as good but not as expensive...

I thought it's been this price for a while now? The regional version is over 100 a bag, luckily my two don't like it

I go through at least 2 bags a month:)

Nody · 01-07-2016 10:50am

TheTorment wrote: »

Any suggestions?

To lazy to look up if there are new ones but Acana, Taste of the Wild, Nutrivet and Wolf of the Wilderness.

muddypaws · 01-07-2016 11:10am

Nody wrote: »

To lazy to look up if there are new ones but Acana, Taste of the Wild, Nutrivet and Wolf of the Wilderness.

Has anyone used this one, Wolf of the Wilderness? I have a guest staying at the moment that is on it, and I think it is very dry. I know that probably sounds odd for a dry food, but I would have expected it to be a bit more oily.

SillyMangoX · 01-07-2016 2:33pm

Pickpocket wrote: »

Any opinions on the new Red Mills Leader Supreme?

My local pet store are giving it a big push, saying that the new ingredients, packaging, etc is all an effort to compete with the likes of Royal Canin.

It certainly looks the part but what's your experience with it? Although by the looks of it the new range was only launched within the past month or two.

It came out around mid May, just before I finished working in the pet shop I was in so I got the training talk from red mills. They've taken out the beet pulp in their foods, upped the meat content but are now using smaller bag sizes at the same price. Quality wise I'd place it above Royal Canin etc but not as good as a lot of the grain free foods out there!

Bandana boy · 01-07-2016 2:47pm

katepaws wrote: »

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.

You must have tiny dogs !

stokesdiva · 04-07-2016 1:38pm

I have a staffie who is turning 1 this week, he,s on RC was thinking of changing his food to gain as I can get 2x 15kg bags for the price of 1 4kg bag is it worth the hassle of changing him because of value for money. He doing well on the rc coat in good condition and weighs 21kg good solid dog. Someone told me that gain crunch is good.

SillyMangoX · 04-07-2016 2:08pm

If you're going for gain the only one I'd recommend is the gain elite. Crunch, buddy or original are all very cheap filler loaded foods so would be a step down from RC, elite would be more on par but still not bad price wise, around €40 for 15kg compared to €60/70 for 15kg RC.

stokesdiva · 04-07-2016 2:36pm

SillyMangoX wrote: »

If you're going for gain the only one I'd recommend is the gain elite. Crunch, buddy or original are all very cheap filler loaded foods so would be a step down from RC, elite would be more on par but still not bad price wise, around €40 for 15kg compared to €60/70 for 15kg RC.

I'll try that, I thought I'd get a small bag first and do the change over gradually to see how he is before getting big bag. Thanks

muddypaws · 04-07-2016 2:38pm

Check how much you have to feed of all of the different foods, whilst it may seem cheaper, if you have to feed more of it, it might not actually work out to have any saving.

stokesdiva · 04-07-2016 2:59pm

Never thought of that, he's 12 mths now and getting fed twice a day when he turns 13mths its once a day onto medium adult but never looked to see how much more or less food he has to be given I must have a look.

mooseknunkle · 06-07-2016 12:26pm

I have my dog on a mixture of Gain big puppy food and Pedigree tinned food,but i was talking to a dog trainer about his excessive barking at strangers and they said one of the things would be to look at his food,so im going to change it for him and after reading through this thread i think ill go with Origen puppy,anyone here have any thoughts on it,good or bad is it worth the money?

Cortina_MK_IV · 06-07-2016 1:36pm

@mooseknuckle. - I tried my G. Retriever on Orijen and he didn't take to it at all and I ended up mixing in Caesar just to shift it. Have him on Concept for Life now and he wolfs it down.

cocker5 · 06-07-2016 2:35pm

mooseknunkle wrote: »

I have my dog on a mixture of Gain big puppy food and Pedigree tinned food,but i was talking to a dog trainer about his excessive barking at strangers and they said one of the things would be to look at his food,so im going to change it for him and after reading through this thread i think ill go with Origen puppy,anyone here have any thoughts on it,good or bad is it worth the money?

Just on this.. Pedigree (and 99% of supermarket branded food) is pure muck... can lead to hyperness in most dogs .. speaking from experience.

on the food id go with TOTW, what age is your pup?:

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/taste_of_the_wild/puppy/409318

its good quality food grain free also.

Stay away from tinned food unless its a high quality, some poster on here may be bale to recommend decent tinned food.

Change over the food over a period of a week add a little of the new food each day.

As you've been feeding pedigree in all honesty your dog probably wont like just the dried food alone BUT OP persevere over a few weeks he will learn to love his new food.

tk123 · 06-07-2016 3:11pm

You can get Barking Heads, Simpsons and Vets Kitchen in our Tescos now - all with grain free options.. If you don't want to buy online and have a MaxiZoo near you they have €12 for €20 vouchers every few months on livingsocial so you could save a few €€'s!

Bunnyslippers · 06-07-2016 6:19pm

I use the Bluegrass dog delight nuggets for my lot, tried the gain stuff when we first moved here as all I could get locally, all my dogs had major jelly like runny poop for weeks, and we'd very gradually introduced it with their old biscuits, even my chickens wouldn't eat it! The bluegrass is pretty good as a maintenance feed for my 6 mutts - 3 terriers, a spaniel, a ridgeback and an ovcharka, obviously I wouldn't put a growing pup on it. But it's pretty good price wise too, if you buy half a pallet which is 24 bags I think, it works out at 12 euro a 15kg bag or something, we get through 1 a week as well as bones from the butcher and mine are all bouncing on it!
I have used james wellbeloved and orijen in the past which are great but price wise they are just mad, would be fine if I just had one dog!

g6fdyotp5nj2l7 · 06-07-2016 8:38pm

Would this food http://m.zooplus.ie/detailsInfo/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/taste_of_the_wild/231920#description
be better quality than this
http://www.petshoponline.ie/index.php/red-mills-leader-adult-sensitive-15kg.html
Thanks

mooseknunkle · 06-07-2016 10:41pm

cocker5 wrote: »

Just on this.. Pedigree (and 99% of supermarket branded food) is pure muck... can lead to hyperness in most dogs .. speaking from experience.

on the food id go with TOTW, what age is your pup?:

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/taste_of_the_wild/puppy/409318

its good quality food grain free also.

Stay away from tinned food unless its a high quality, some poster on here may be bale to recommend decent tinned food.

Change over the food over a period of a week add a little of the new food each day.

As you've been feeding pedigree in all honesty your dog probably wont like just the dried food alone BUT OP persevere over a few weeks he will learn to love his new food.

He's just over 8 months old a German Shepard cross,ive been feeding him the tinned stuff because when i got him from the pound at 8 weeks old thats what they had been giving him, when i got him home he wouldn't eat the dry food so i gradually started adding it to the wet and just kept doing it,but have wanted to get him off it for a while he has eaten just dry food a couple of times so hopefully he will get used to only that.

Nody · 07-07-2016 9:17am

Talon Silly Punch wrote: »

Would this food http://m.zooplus.ie/detailsInfo/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/taste_of_the_wild/231920#description
be better quality than this
http://www.petshoponline.ie/index.php/red-mills-leader-adult-sensitive-15kg.html
Thanks

ToTW is the better of the two due to the lack of rice and higher meat content (ToTW is 80% if memory serves while Red Mills is only 28% and with 32% protein vs 23% protein I'd guess the feeding amounts would be lower as well).

g6fdyotp5nj2l7 · 07-07-2016 9:23am

Nody wrote:

ToTW is the better of the two due to the lack of rice and higher meat content (ToTW is 80% if memory serves while Red Mills is only 28% and with 32% protein vs 23% protein I'd guess the feeding amounts would be lower as well).

Thanks that's what I though but wasn't sure.

07-07-2016 10:55pm

Herself has investigated and has come up with Gentle Dog food.

Anyone use/hear about it?

Cherry Blossom · 07-07-2016 11:53pm

I had to Google it. It looks like a middle of the road food, high rice content and contains maize which would put me off. Cold compressed foods have a shorter shelf life and go off quicker when opened. I think Lukullus from zooplus would be a better quality cold compressed food.

Where would you get it from? Website says it's exclusive to the UK.

15-10-2016 7:53am

TheTorment wrote: »

Herself has investigated and has come up with Gentle Dog food.

Anyone use/hear about it?

Just an update on this Gentle Dog Food.

I bought it direct from UK supplier...worked out at about €150 incl delivery, I think.

Anyway, the food is strong smelling, the dogs loved the smell and they also loved the food. No problems with a transition from Orijen.

However...after a few months I've noticed that BOTH dogs but especially the German Shepherd have been scratching themselves. I wonder is the food irritating them as they never behaved like that before. Both dogs are regularly washed and flea drops applied.

I've decided to switch back to Orijen.

Nekarsulm · 19-10-2016 12:11pm

Using this stuff for the last year or so. Have a working Collie and a Jack Russell cross (probably a collie cross, hard to know) and they like this food.
Its a mixture of small pellets and slightly moist rolled barley plus flaked maize.
It doesn't result in soft or runny stools, and their coats are in good order.
Cheaper end of the market, at €15 for 15kg, but better than the Lidl/Aldi pelleted stuff.

I don't think there can ever be a "Best" food for dogs, just find one that suits your dogs.

54and56 · 19-10-2016 12:58pm

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

Cold compressed foods have a shorter shelf life and go off quicker when opened. I think Lukullus from zooplus would be a better quality cold compressed food.

Is Lukullus much better than Markus Muehle Naturnah? The Lukullus - Chicken & Northern Wild Salmon (2 x 15kg) is €76 delivered so pretty much the same price as the Markus Muehle I've been feeding my Newfoundland mix (think 32kg black lab) so I'd be happy to switch if it was better quality.

Nody · 19-10-2016 2:24pm

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Is Lukullus much better than Markus Muehle Naturnah? The Lukullus - Chicken & Northern Wild Salmon (2 x 15kg) is €76 delivered so pretty much the same price as the Markus Muehle I've been feeding my Newfoundland mix (think 32kg black lab) so I'd be happy to switch if it was better quality.

They are about the same to be honest once you add up meat content etc. so at that point it's up to your dogs and how they take to it.

n1st · 14-12-2017 3:50pm

For adult Miniature Schnauzers (Medium adult). What do people suggest?
They've been fed "Royal Cannin" for the past 2 years, without issue, at least no issues with digestion or growth. However one has recently developed scabs on his back, so I am thinking of changing dry food to something more oily.
Orijen gets great reviews but it is pricey. I would prefer something closer to 50 euro per 11Kg bag.
http://dogfood.guru/what-is-the-best-dog-food-for-a-miniature-schnauzer/

Cherry Blossom · 14-12-2017 6:50pm

If you want more oils you could just add a spoonful of salmon oil to the food you are using. Did your vet say the dog lacked oil in it's diet or what is their opinion on the skin issue?

n1st · 15-12-2017 12:30pm

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

If you want more oils you could just add a spoonful of salmon oil to the food you are using. Did your vet say the dog lacked oil in it's diet or what is their opinion on the skin issue?

The vet does not know what the issue is yet. A cream to be applied for a week.
However this Dog does lick and chew alot on pays and has more than 2 unexplained skin irritations in the past.
I'll get salmon oil regardless.
But I have to buy food this week, any suggestions?

muddypaws · 15-12-2017 12:38pm

n1st wrote: »

The vet does not know what the issue is yet. A cream to be applied for a week.
However this Dog does lick and chew alot on pays and has more than 2 unexplained skin irritations in the past.
I'll get salmon oil regardless.
But I have to buy food this week, any suggestions?

James wellbeloved is great for dogs with issues as it only contains one protein source. Whichever food you go with, I would suggest not chicken based though

tk123 · 15-12-2017 1:33pm

n1st wrote: »

The vet does not know what the issue is yet. A cream to be applied for a week.
However this Dog does lick and chew alot on pays and has more than 2 unexplained skin irritations in the past.
I'll get salmon oil regardless.
But I have to buy food this week, any suggestions?

If you need food this week you'd need the RC either way so you can slowly transition over? My girl had irritation/scabs on her back like that two - washing her back with malaseb once a week for a few weeks seemed to clear it up - although I was fairly certain it was environmental more than her food for the simple fact that all of us humans were itchy and bitten in the park too! She was getting fish oil capsules too but I recently switched too Healthy Hounds Omegawild - no more wasted capsules flicked out of their bowls lol.

Foodwise they're both raw fed so I can't recommend anything dry. Just bear in mind dry food can have storage mites so may add to the problem.

Cherry Blossom · 15-12-2017 3:00pm

n1st wrote: »

The vet does not know what the issue is yet. A cream to be applied for a week.
However this Dog does lick and chew alot on pays and has more than 2 unexplained skin irritations in the past.
I'll get salmon oil regardless.
But I have to buy food this week, any suggestions?

Anything grain free and chicken free would be best. I feed Acana,.they do lots of different flavours that don't contain chicken.

Ashbx · 15-12-2017 3:31pm

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

Anything grain free and chicken free would be best. I feed Acana,.they do lots of different flavours that don't contain chicken.

Can I ask why chicken free is recommended? Is this purely because other meats would be higher in protein and therefore more beneficial?

I tend to go for Beef flavoured food anyway but would be curious as I have seen this mentioned a few times.

tk123 · 15-12-2017 3:43pm

Chicken and beef are the two proteins dogs can be sensitive most (if I've worded that correctly

). I was convinced Lucy had a chicken allergy so stopped feeding it for a good while but tried her again and no problems.
You could go for a grain free chicken or beef (or whatever protein you've been feeding) and rule out grain first or go for a novel protein i.e. something they haven't had before

n1st · 15-12-2017 5:29pm

I've spoken to a pet shop attendant and he recommended -Taste of the Wild - Pacific Stream Canine.
I've purchased it. Same price as Royal Cannin.
Thanks for the help.

Cherry Blossom · 15-12-2017 6:57pm

Just be aware that you'll probably need to feed a bit less of it than the royal Canin as totw would be better quality and contains no fillers.

tayto lover · 15-12-2017 7:56pm

Anyone any ideas please on how to get a dog off the tinned food and on to the dry food?

Nody · 15-12-2017 9:02pm

tayto lover wrote: »

Anyone any ideas please on how to get a dog off the tinned food and on to the dry food?

Mix the dry with the wet and increase dry to wet quantity over time.

thesaturdayman · 11-08-2018 8:04pm

Any suggestion what best “off the shelf” food would be in terms of nutrition for an adult dog? Bakers seems good value at moment....?

tk123 · 12-08-2018 5:20pm

thesaturdayman wrote: »

Any suggestion what best “off the shelf” food would be in terms of nutrition for an adult dog? Bakers seems good value at moment....?

0.1 / 5! Great value lol
https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews/0012/bakers-complete-adult

Best dry dog food available in Ireland?

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