Best dry dog food available in Ireland?

e.r · 22-06-2015 10:13am

Nody wrote: »

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

Thanks for your reply, any recommendations. I have a 8yo beagle.

Nody · 22-06-2015 10:18am

e.r wrote: »

Thanks for your reply, any recommendations. I have a 8yo beagle.

Taste of the Wild, Purizon, Acana, Lily's Kitchen or Nutrivet or any other grain free option is what I'd recommend

Kaners · 22-06-2015 10:58am

I've switched from Burns hypoallergenic food (very expensive) to Champion from Dogfooddirect.ie Since switching to Champion my lurcher is off all steroids (which he has been on for years) and he has stopped scratching. His coat has never looked better. I would recommend ringing Dog Food Direct and asking their advice.

54and56 · 22-06-2015 12:01pm

Nody wrote: »

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.

Thnaks Nody. I like the look and reviews for Lukullus Chicken and Salmon and Zooplus.ie do 2 X 15kg's for the equivalent of €2.60 per KG - http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/lukullus/156094 and Markus Mühle NaturNah which Zooplus.ie do 2 X 15kg's for the equivalent of €2.50 per KG - http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/markus_muehle/naturnah/128238. Out of the two which do you think is the best and most suitable for my 6 month old Newfoundland/Rottweiler/Northern Innuit mix?

I also have a 10.5 year old Alsatian/Lab/Who know's what mix. She is slowing down so I'd like to switch her to a food which allows her to feel full but won't fatten her up. She has been on Aldi's own brand complete for a number of years (I know I know :-( ) and since the pup has come along she's gone from a healthy fit 19kg to almost 22kg partly because instead of just eating once a day she's now eating (much smaller portions) three times a day with the pup (who will be switching to two feeds a day very soon) but also because from time to time she nips in and scoffs any food the pup doesn't immediately eat.

You seem to be very knowledgeable on this topic so would you mind recommending something which will allow the older dog to feel full but won't fatten her? She's not nearly as energetic as she was so I guess the natural slow down process is also fattening her up as she's burning less calories each day.

Nody · 22-06-2015 3:18pm

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Thnaks Nody. I like the look and reviews for Lukullus Chicken and Salmon and Zooplus.ie do 2 X 15kg's for the equivalent of €2.60 per KG - http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/lukullus/156094 and Markus Mühle NaturNah which Zooplus.ie do 2 X 15kg's for the equivalent of €2.50 per KG - http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/markus_muehle/naturnah/128238. Out of the two which do you think is the best and most suitable for my 6 month old Newfoundland/Rottweiler/Northern Innuit mix?

How long is a piece of string?

The answer is both should work in general but your dog may not for whatever reason work with the food in question. Due to this try to order a smaller bag first to make sure it works with your dog before going for a 2x 15kg order.

I also have a 10.5 year old Alsatian/Lab/Who know's what mix. She is slowing down so I'd like to switch her to a food which allows her to feel full but won't fatten her up. She has been on Aldi's own brand complete for a number of years (I know I know :-( ) and since the pup has come along she's gone from a healthy fit 19kg to almost 22kg partly because instead of just eating once a day she's now eating (much smaller portions) three times a day with the pup (who will be switching to two feeds a day very soon) but also because from time to time she nips in and scoffs any food the pup doesn't immediately eat.

Well for starters weight up her portions rather than eyeing them based on how much she should eat; also make sure to remove the puppies food if they don't finish it. Secondly to help her to stay moving you can look at items such as kong toys etc. for feeding her half her kibble which forces her to move around a bit to get the food and spread out the feeding time. Another big factor is to look at what treats you use and most likely cut them away completely (most tend to be sugar bombs) and switch to the likes of raw carrots or small dried meat treats (pure meat once though and not the likes of pig ears as they are to fatty). It's important to get her down to the right weight as the additional weight will really start to cause damage as she grows older on joints etc.

You seem to be very knowledgeable on this topic so would you mind recommending something which will allow the older dog to feel full but won't fatten her? She's not nearly as energetic as she was so I guess the natural slow down process is also fattening her up as she's burning less calories each day.

I've only picked up things here from the real experts and got a amateur understanding of kibble & feeding in general

greengold9999 · 22-06-2015 3:38pm

I get dried cows ears from zooplus.de - much lower fat than pork

54and56 · 22-06-2015 4:46pm

Nody wrote: »

How long is a piece of string? The answer is both should work in general but your dog may not for whatever reason work with the food in question. Due to this try to order a smaller bag first to make sure it works with your dog before going for a 2x 15kg order.

Good advice. I'll order a small bag of both and see how she gets on with each before buying in bulk.

Nody wrote: »

Well for starters weight up her portions rather than eyeing them based on how much she should eat;

Will do.

Nody wrote: »

also make sure to remove the puppies food if they don't finish it.

We do as a rule but now and again the old dog nips in before we take the left over food away.

Nody wrote: »

Secondly to help her to stay moving you can look at items such as kong toys etc. for feeding her half her kibble which forces her to move around a bit to get the food and spread out the feeding time.

Have the Kong toys all right but feeding some of her food in one would cause major hassle between the two dogs as the pup would nick it or try and nick it from the older dog all the time.

Nody wrote: »

Another big factor is to look at what treats you use and most likely cut them away completely (most tend to be sugar bombs) and switch to the likes of raw carrots or small dried meat treats (pure meat once though and not the likes of pig ears as they are to fatty). It's important to get her down to the right weight as the additional weight will really start to cause damage as she grows older on joints etc.

We don't use any treats at all other than the odd apple or piece of broccoli.

peasant · 22-06-2015 4:47pm

Nody wrote: »

Grains ...only became part of the food scene for dogs once companies started to actually make commercial food ...

Just as an aside ...I think that's a bit of a myth, tbh.

Think back 100, 200 or even 1000 years ..what would the average little man's dog have eaten?

Freshly poached game or salmon, prime pieces of beef or pork?
I think not. The dog would have got what everybody else had ...which was mostly gruel, pap and porridge and a bit of stale bread of a Sunday(wheat, barley,oats). Some dairy products, some fruit & veg (leftovers or bits not fit for human consumption) and on the odd day when there was meat the dog might have had some bone & grizzle, offal and the odd hoof or chicken's foot.

What's new to the industrial diet is possibly rice and corn, definitely preservatives and colourants ...but also additives like vitamins and other "good stuff"

IMO this whole grain is bad theme is mainly marketing for more expensive dog foods.

Not that there is something wrong with feeding your dog a good diet ...but the suggestion that dogs don't eat grain and never have is incorrect.

Nody · 22-06-2015 5:54pm

peasant wrote: »

Just as an aside ...I think that's a bit of a myth, tbh.

Think back 100, 200 or even 1000 years ..what would the average little man's dog have eaten?

Freshly poached game or salmon, prime pieces of beef or pork?
I think not. The dog would have got what everybody else had ...which was mostly gruel, pap and porridge and a bit of stale bread of a Sunday(wheat, barley,oats). Some dairy products, some fruit & veg (leftovers or bits not fit for human consumption) and on the odd day when there was meat the dog might have had some bone & grizzle, offal and the odd hoof or chicken's foot.

What's new to the industrial diet is possibly rice and corn, definitely preservatives and colourants ...but also additives like vitamins and other "good stuff"

IMO this whole grain is bad theme is mainly marketing for more expensive dog foods.

Not that there is something wrong with feeding your dog a good diet ...but the suggestion that dogs don't eat grain and never have is incorrect.

You are forgetting that the dogs would usually also scavenge and have rats etc. around to eat along with the offal etc. thrown out. This of course does not include the fact that a diet of gruel is not suitable for dogs in the first place and there's plenty of scientific data to back that up. Anyway, in regards to the history of dog food this is an excellent link and includes how the commercial dog food came around in the first place (and it's not written by the companies that benefit from it for a change).

Jen44 · 30-06-2015 12:18pm

Origen is a fantastic dog food. Its canadian and can be bought on zooplus. My westie had terrible skin allergy and its the one dog food she has tolerated and loves and believe me i tried many!

Hildred · 05-07-2015 2:46am

Had my two on Bakers Complete, which seemed to be OK for one. The other had some tummy/bowel issues so I did a bit of research on http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/ (which I find to be impartial and honest). For my budget, Markus Mühle Natur-Nah was highly recommended (rating 4.5 or 4.7 out of 5) so I bought a bag to try. That was two years or more ago and my dogs haven't looked back. Great improvement in my border collie's coat, and my darling H57 with a bit of old english or beardie has had almost no tummy problems since.
Feeding amounts are reasonable so 15kg does a month for the two. I have also changed my foster lab x, who happens to have mast cell cancer, from Pedigree dry to it and this, along with a dessert spoonful of olive oil in their feed twice a week, has made a huge difference in coat, tummy and (I believe) overall health. Even foster girl seems incredibly healthy despite the tumors!

kylith · 05-07-2015 9:36am

I have 8 trays of Nature Diet fish and one of Nature Diet Senior if anyone in the Dublin area wants them.

scarepanda · 18-07-2015 1:56pm

What do people think of IAMS (tesco) or premier (Maxi zoo) dog food?

Our dog is pretty fussy with food and generally won't eat dry nuts. I mix some fish, cat food (asked the vet about this) and more recently real nature canned food - depending on what's in the house into the nuts for her and there's rarely any issues.
She's been on IAMS for a while now and is doing great on it. I do however worry about its quality. I use premier on occasion when I get to call into Maxi zoo (their not in my local town).
Were hoping to get a pup soon enough and really want to get it started off on the right track from the get go. When we first got our current dog she was on the likes of Baker's, but we could really see a difference in her behaviour wise more so than anything when we changed her food. Because she's so fussy I'd love to have two reliable, high quality brands that I can alternate between so she doesn't get tired of the one type, while also having piece of mind in what I'm feeding her (and soon to be them)!!

Would love any opinions or suggestion!

Nody · 18-07-2015 2:36pm

IAMS is definitely a no go as is anything else you can find in Tesco or similar stores; can't find anyone even doing a review on content on Maxi's brand which is worrying in itself so I'd say no go there as well. I'd recommend instead any of the no grain brand (Taste of the Wild, Acana, Applaws, Markus Muhle Angus, Purizon etc.) and if they claim it's the best with grain it ignore them and move on (that includes vets outside recovery food etc.). I'd also strongly recommend using Zooplus.ie as they have a way wider selection at better prices on most things you'll ever want to buy.

54and56 · 18-07-2015 5:24pm

Ordered 30kg of Lukullus Dog Food Chicken & Northern Wild Salmon from http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/lukullus/156094 for €78 delivered.

Only had it a few days but it's going down a treat. I'll update again in a few weeks.

Hildred · 19-07-2015 3:49am

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Ordered 30kg of Lukullus Dog Food Chicken & Northern Wild Salmon from http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/lukullus/156094 for €78 delivered.

Only had it a few days but it's going down a treat. I'll update again in a few weeks.

Just a tip if you continue ordering with zooplus. You should be able to get an additional discount for 12 months if you pay a very small amount with your order. There were two options when I signed up a year ago, but I can't recall what the other one was . . . I opted for an additional 5% discount on all orders for 12 months, I think the other might have been for less. I think it cost me something like €5 or €6 so I had recovered it in the space of a couple of orders. I hope they're still doing it, as mine runs out end of August!

tk123 · 19-07-2015 7:41am

Hildred wrote: »

Just a tip if you continue ordering with zooplus. You should be able to get an additional discount for 12 months if you pay a very small amount with your order. There were two options when I signed up a year ago, but I can't recall what the other one was . . . I opted for an additional 5% discount on all orders for 12 months, I think the other might have been for less. I think it cost me something like €5 or €6 so I had recovered it in the space of a couple of orders. I hope they're still doing it, as mine runs out end of August!

Zooplus.de have better discounts! I got 8% when I renewed a while ago

Hildred · 19-07-2015 12:40pm

tk123 wrote: »

Zooplus.de have better discounts! I got 8% when I renewed a while ago

How does it work out after you've paid the shipping? My experience of the .ie vs .de sites was there was about a euro between them, in favour of .de. Of course, I discovered *that* after I'd bought my last order! :eek: If the 8% offer is available on .de, I imagine it'll be available on .ie too. Think I'll do a bit more research before I renew in August.

tk123 · 19-07-2015 12:59pm

Hildred wrote: »

How does it work out after you've paid the shipping? My experience of the .ie vs .de sites was there was about a euro between them, in favour of .de. Of course, I discovered *that* after I'd bought my last order! :eek: If the 8% offer is available on .de, I imagine it'll be available on .ie too. Think I'll do a bit more research before I renew in August.

No on .ie and .co.uk the option was 3% or 5% but .co.uk had 3, 5 or 8% to choose from

The discount works on any of the zooplus sites too so eg you can sign up to the plan on .de and and shop on .ie or .co.uk. I usually add everything to my cart on .ie, .co.uk and .de and go with whatever one is cheapest

Hildred · 20-07-2015 3:40am

tk123 wrote: »

No on .ie and .co.uk the option was 3% or 5% but .co.uk had 3, 5 or 8% to choose from The discount works on any of the zooplus sites too so eg you can sign up to the plan on .de and and shop on .ie or .co.uk. I usually add everything to my cart on .ie, .co.uk and .de and go with whatever one is cheapest

Just discovered the 8% on .de today. Plus if you order over 90 something euro the shipping is free. This month I'll have a bigger order so it'll be over the requirement (whatever it is!

), my Markus Mühle NaturNah has a special offer of 16.5 kg for the price of 15, plus the Dibo tripe in a tub (which my three love) is cheaper so I'll stock up a bit to get the free shipping and my discount will bring the cost down very well. Delighted, thanks tk123!

I've also done the duplicate "shopping" on .ie and .de too, but not on .co.uk because the exchange rate is horrendous. I checked a couple of their other sites out of curiosity: .es & .fr . . . They're way more expensive!! :eek:

tk123 · 24-07-2015 8:46pm

:eek: The size of the dibo tripe tub!!! It's more like a a bucket!! (I was getting some other treats anyways so got some of the tripe for them to try

madaboutdogs1x · 24-07-2015 8:53pm

Arden grange was always recommend to us and our golden retrivers done very well on it but found it too dear when feeding multiple dogs!

Nody · 24-07-2015 8:57pm

madaboutdogs1x wrote: »

Arden grange was always recommend to us and our golden retrivers done very well on it but found it too dear when feeding multiple dogs!

It's better than for example Royal Canin but the rice content is high (25% to 26%) and it contains significant amounts of maize (I'd guess around 15 to 20% mark) and you can pick up for example Taste of the Wild (grain free, 80% meat) or Purizon for cheaper on zooplus.co.uk .

Adult Large Breed wrote:

Composition: Chicken, (chicken meat meal 25%, fresh chicken 5%), rice 25%, maize, refined chicken oil, beet pulp, chicken digest, whole dried egg, yeast, krill, whole linseed, minerals, glucosamine (740mg/kg), MSM (740mg/kg), prebiotic FOS, prebiotic MOS, chondroitin (520mg/kg), yucca extract, cranberries, nucleotides.

e.r · 25-07-2015 9:27am

After following some great advice on here, I ordered from zooplus.
I went with acana wild prairie.

Normally when I put down his science plan mixers, unless he was starving he'd pick at it and see if anything else was on the menu.

Put down the arcana and he inhaled it !!

So I taught maybe he was just hungry this time..... Nope every time I'm serving his dinner he gets excited, and devours it.

And the price works out very close to what I was paying in a big box store.&#55357;&#56397;

Dtp1979 · 25-07-2015 9:48am

e.r wrote: »

After following some great advice on here, I ordered from zooplus.
I went with acana wild prairie.

Normally when I put down his science plan mixers, unless he was starving he'd pick at it and see if anything else was on the menu.

Put down the arcana and he inhaled it !!

So I taught maybe he was just hungry this time..... Nope every time I'm serving his dinner he gets excited, and devours it.

And the price works out very close to what I was paying in a big box store.��

How much is it for a 15kg bag?

e.r · 25-07-2015 10:20am

Dtp1979 wrote: »

How much is it for a 15kg bag?

Was about €58/59 for a 13kg bag that says it will feed a 20kg dog for 70 days.

Dtp1979 · 25-07-2015 10:32am

e.r wrote: »

Was about €58/59 for a 13kg bag that says it will feed a 20kg dog for 70 days.

What are the food measurements for a 20kg dog on the feeding instructions. 70 days for 13kg seems a long time

Nody · 25-07-2015 3:21pm

Dtp1979 wrote: »

What are the food measurements for a 20kg dog on the feeding instructions. 70 days for 13kg seems a long time

270g a day (active) to 180g (less active) for 20kg dog; that's the benefit of feeding quality stuff rather then fillers (i.e. wheat etc.) and why cheaper foods often work out worse in reality once you add in portion size for comparison.

The table is on the Acana website for each bag type as well.

irishlady29 · 25-07-2015 3:43pm

Very interesting thread.

What's peoples view on Burns? Currently feeding my 2 dogs on it. Usually chicken and rice, but, a few weeks back we changed to the burns fish one and one of the dogs has been sick a few times since. She is still in mighty form, just wondering would it be to rich for her, it smells vile !

Nody · 25-07-2015 3:58pm

irishlady29 wrote: »

Very interesting thread.

What's peoples view on Burns? Currently feeding my 2 dogs on it. Usually chicken and rice, but, a few weeks back we changed to the burns fish one and one of the dogs has been sick a few times since. She is still in mighty form, just wondering would it be to rich for her, it smells vile !

Honestly quite poor; while rice is better then wheat it should not look like this:

Composition:
Brown Rice (67%), Chicken Meal (20%), Oats, Peas, Chicken Oil, Sunflower Oil, Seaweed, Vitamins & Minerals.

You always want meat to be the primary ingredient (also look out for brands that will split the rice into white and brown rice to get it down the list for example).

Best dry dog food available in Ireland?

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