ahoops Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 There is lots of information on the top quality comercial dog food for other countrise .Almost all your brands are not available here in Aus.Can somebody tell me what are the best brands available here? I feed my girls Supercoat and other bits and peices and have had no problems .My oldest dog is 14 and still very healthy .What do some of you fellow Aussies feed your dogs ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness_bc Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Raw although Advance is what Ness was on for a few years. I still have a few bags of Advance sitting in the cupboard (left over prize winnings). I do intend to get a bag of Eagle Pack Holistic just to have as a back up if I don't want to feed Raw on a given day however won't get that until the Advance is used up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oz Girls Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 We feed our girls Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken, and for Zoe it has been brilliant. She was typically was a picky and slow eater at meal times, at times chewing each piece of kibble 14 times! Now she can't wait to start her meal and she finishes much faster. Unfortunately she seems to suffer from a irratated stomach/bowel and she was constipated most of the time, however switching to Eagle Pack has eliminated this. Now we just have to identify whether beef is the source of the occasional bouts of diarrhea and vomitting. Late last year I spent some time researching which of the brands recommended on these boards were available in Oz and there were only about three. Unfortunately I can't remember the names of the other brands. Because we are having success with the Eagle Pack and there are a variety of meat types we can rotate through them if we need a change. We did try a few smaller sample packs at the begining - anchoivy, lamb etc and the dogs seemed to like them all. You can buy Eagle Pack at Pet Stock stores. There are a couple in Adelaide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herdcentral Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Mainly raw for the bulk of their diet, but I do feed some supercoat, Advance from agility wins and some Eukanuba restricted calorie for an older girl who can become chunky if I dont watch her diet. If you live in Western Australia there is a local biscuit called Alert, the meat meal added to this comes straight from the local abbatoir and there are no unkown suspect sources according to a friend who should know. I am about to give this a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Basically Supercoat (was Energy, now Junior), half and half with Advance from agility/tracking wins . They do get some chicken wings etc. and a dessertspoonful of yoghurt every day! I'm reasonably happy with how they go on it - no problems with poos (touch wood). I'm too lazy to feed raw, and too mean to pay high end imported prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbies_mumma Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 I feed raw and find Abbie does really well on it. The only annoying thing is remembering to get bones etc out of the freezer! Sometimes Abbie ends up getting an ice pole if I forget! I used to feed supercoat but Abbie did tons of poos while on that, hence my switching her to raw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oz Girls Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 I'm with you Tassie, too lazy to feed raw. And unlike everyone else I don't think we will be winning any agility trials so we wont be eating Advance that way at least. It was actually suggested by one of the trainers at agility that the food we were feeding (Eukanuba) might be contributing to Zoe's total lack of concentration at training, and that changing her food might help her out. Now if it would only stop raining and they could open the fields again we could try and see if she has improved over the last couple of months! If we can identify what causes her upset stomachs maybe raw will be become a possibility. They were regularly getting bones, yoghurt, eggs, pumpkin as well as the kibble but for the near future they are off the menu while Zoe is on the elimination diet. Having her do normal poos consistently seems enough of a relief for her after such a long time of constipation that I am prepared to pay extra. If her stomach was like Jess' I don't know if I would have switched to such an expensive food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herdcentral Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 And unlike everyone else I don't think we will be winning any agility trials so we wont be eating Advance that way at least. It was actually suggested by one of the trainers at agility that the food we were feeding (Eukanuba) might be contributing to Zoe's total lack of concentration at training, and that changing her food might help her out. If we can identify what causes her upset stomachs maybe raw will be become a possibility. They were regularly getting bones, yoghurt, eggs, pumpkin as well as the kibble but for the near future they are off the menu while Zoe is on the elimination diet. Having her do normal poos consistently seems enough of a relief for her after such a long time of constipation that I am prepared to pay extra. If her stomach was like Jess' I don't know if I would have switched to such an expensive food. My agility girl has Eukanuba as part of her diet and she is the dog that wins the Advance that feeds the rest of the pack. No lack of concentration there but she doesnt have food allergies either. My mum has a dog with a very sensitive stomach and she has been including a prescription biscuit that has helped. My last dog had a sensitive stomach and the only biscuit she could tolerate was Eukanuba. Good luck with the elimination diet. Definitely what suits some dogs doesnt suit others. We had a discussion at training the other night and different dogs seem to respond to different things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjk05 Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 We're mostly raw, because its so much easier (throwing a bone takes half as much time as scooping and dishing kibble), cheaper (we get ute loads of bones from the butcher, kill our own sheep and get the odd cow that's had trouble calving) and with 20-something dogs, the amount/type of poo is a big consideration. But sometimes we do use kibble (away at trials etc)- my preference is Advance (which we mainly get given by raw-feeding friends who win a lot of agility trials ), especially for older dogs. We actually feed some of the older trials dogs Advance exclusively before a trial and they seem to have a bit more "go" on it. But for maintenance for young dogs, ours do fine on Cobber (won at sheepdog trials) and Alert Working Dog. They are pretty cheap, not premium at all, but it works for us. I used to use Supercoat when I lived in town and just did agility, and liked it, but I think its changed formula recently. I do think that most agility dogs don't really need the Energy formulations of premium foods, unless they are the sort that's hard to keep weight on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Now if it would only stop raining and they could open the fields again we could try and see if she has improved over the last couple of months! Send some of that rain down our way please. It's incredibly dry here. We actually got 4mm early this morning - quite exciting, But now the wind is getting up again, so that will probably dry everything out again. I know Hobart is the second driest capital city, but this year has been ridiculous. Good luck with the elimination diet - and with the agility when the grounds dry out! mjk05 - I'd be much more inclined to consider feeding raw if I had your source of supply . I'd have to buy dog bones - and there's GST on dog food. Gone are the old days when butchers were a ready source of supply. I agree that most dogs don't need the performance foods - I feed way less than the manufacturers recommend, so I'm comfortable with using them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oz Girls Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Send some of that rain down our way please. Maybe we should come visit. This summer we seem to bring the wet/bad weather with us. We got married just after christmas on Heron Island in QLD during a tropical depression (it would have been classified a cyclone if the water temperature was warmer). Then during our honeymoon in Fiji, cyclone Funa came to visit. Then just to finish it off we came back to Sydney and between the 1st and the 10th of February we had about 175mm of rain (compared to 4.4 mm last year). We really need the rain, so no real complaints here, however it has been so nice this week to see the sun for multiple days in a row. Between December and mid-Feb I think it only come out for about 3 days here in Sydney. Of course the dogs love the cooler, wetter weather as they can tolerate games of fetch for so much longer. We are hoping that the elimination diet will identify what we need to stay away from for Zoe for her general day to day health. However of course it does/may impact what treats we use at agility (or whether we use a ball). And then you start to think about whether her sensitive stomach is why she never really liked taking treats in training (obedience or agility) when she was younger. For us agility is for fun. Which is good as it will be a long process to get to working on the equipment. Zoe is highly distractable and excitable so for the near future the goal is achieving control and calmness in the environment. So all good wishes appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudpups Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 We feed all three of ours raw - kangaroo mince $4.50/kg, Mt Barker (organic) chicken necks which are HUGE, $3.39/kg, lamb hearts, liver, kidney, chicken livers, chicken wings/legs/quarters/frames, tuna tins on special, mackeral (tinned), blue sardines/white bait when I can get them, lamb/beef offcuts, I don't tend to use much beef as Tia (our Shar-Pei with skin and food issues) is highly allergic. They get most of the meals frozen, and it dosn't bother them at all. I do buy Supercoat and they get a couple of handfuls of that per week so it lasts forever - use mostly as kong stuffers. Occasionally I get a roll of Tuckertime (which I think is WA only). Most butchers do sell offcuts - you just have to ask what days/times they have them available. Even most Coles sells good meaty offcuts for $2.50-3.00 a bag (Woolworths and IGA, not so good, they are stingy with the meat and throw in way to much fat). I'm currently looking for abbitoirs or meat processors to see if I can get meat any cheaper...I found a poultry farm that sells broilers for $4.00 each - cut in quarters that's only a $1 a meal. Eukaneuba, Advance, full diet of Supercoat and the Alert brand all caused problems for Tia, and Taj gets stinky sloppy poos if he gets too much kibble of any sort. I do try to keep the meat under $5/kg, its all human consumption meat other than the kangaroo so I get whatever is on special. LOL when we go shopping my husband says "woof" because I spend more time looking for food for my dogs than for us:) My dogs are so healthy looking I can't image ever going back to processed food. Plus, I don't know if they even fart, but we sure can't smell it (not like before, when you needed a gas mask), and their poops are tiny, nicely formed and barely smell at all. Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Maybe we should come visit. This summer we seem to bring the wet/bad weather with us. We got married just after christmas on Heron Island in QLD during a tropical depression (it would have been classified a cyclone if the water temperature was warmer). Then during our honeymoon in Fiji, cyclone Funa came to visit. Then just to finish it off we came back to Sydney and between the 1st and the 10th of February we had about 175mm of rain (compared to 4.4 mm last year). We really need the rain, so no real complaints here, however it has been so nice this week to see the sun for multiple days in a row. Between December and mid-Feb I think it only come out for about 3 days here in Sydney. Of course the dogs love the cooler, wetter weather as they can tolerate games of fetch for so much longer. Well - we actually got a bit of rain this past weekend - 17 mm one night, and then 16mm the next - and quite a good covering of snow on nearby Mt Wellington! But everything is so very dry that the benefits will be gone pretty soon if we don't get follow-up rains. So yes, I think you should plan a trip to Tasmania some time - preferably before the end of autumn. We are hoping that the elimination diet will identify what we need to stay away from for Zoe for her general day to day health. However of course it does/may impact what treats we use at agility (or whether we use a ball). And then you start to think about whether her sensitive stomach is why she never really liked taking treats in training (obedience or agility) when she was younger. That could well be. A friend here has an allergic Aussie. He can only have chicken in one form or another as treats. Oh, and she was suing grapes, but does that very rarely now after reading all the scary stuff about grapes and raisins. Mind you, he's about 8 now, and doesn't seem to have come to any harm. Probably the amounts were small enough not to be a worry. For us agility is for fun. Which is good as it will be a long process to get to working on the equipment. Zoe is highly distractable and excitable so for the near future the goal is achieving control and calmness in the environment. So all good wishes appreciated. Oh, you do have the good wishes. My 6 year old boy Fergus is very much a work in progress. Self-control is definitely lacking in the presence of agility equipment. But the good news is that I don't have to worry about motivation - just getting him to put me in the picture, and tto not try to do everything at warp speed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudpups Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 I hope everyone on the east coast has managed to avoid the worst of the rain, flooding and storm damage. Arn't there a couple of members from Queensland and Sydney? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oz Girls Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Thankfully, last night's storm missed us. That must have been a huge relief for all the people in the area around us that are still waiting to have their roofs fixed after the massive hail storm we had before christmas (the hail was up to 8cm-10cm in diameter). Those people are getting more damage every time the heavy rains come (and this year that seems to be happening every other week!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahoops Posted February 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Thanks everyone for the info .I too feed some raw as in chicken pieces/carcasses tuna and I made the family fishcakes the other night and the dogs had a bit of atlantic salmon (a tiny bit ,mind you )I grabbed a couple of turkey drumsticks I thought would be good but then discovered they had sharp/hard bits ? sinues so I cooked them and took meat off and gave it to them.Has anyone fed these raw? They have regular turkey necks and love them.Havent gone down the offal path yet,a bit sensitive to that LOL PS It hasnt rained here in ages my lawn is a mix of dust and straw so send some rain SA way and I hope all you east coasters are OK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudpups Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 I have given mine turkey drumsticks raw which they loved, the sinues and connective tissue is ok to give the dogs, and I think acts a bit like detal floss;) I'm not keen on the offal either, so what I do is the minimal cut and freese it one flat trays, then just break off bits each day. Chicken livers are the easiest for this because they are thin enough to easiy snap apart when frozen if you lay them out flat in a freezer bag. I tracked dog a pet meat supplier that is only 20 minutes from me...not the nicest place in the world, but minced beef, mutton and kangaroo is only $2.50/kg or $2.10 if you buy 10kg blocks. Plus hearts $2/kg, lamb neck $0.55 each with heaps of meat, enough for one meal. Definitely the way to go, but you do need a dedicated freezer to get it in bulk. My lawn is not doing too good either - 38 degrees yesterday and 39 today. Blech I hate the heat. Of course the east coast flooding and storm damage situation would be worse, so I won't complain! Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiered Posted March 18, 2008 Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 Bonnie has just come off of Royal Canin Puppy Skin & Digest & is now of Royal Canin Medium Adult. I really liked how her coat responded to the R/C Puppy Skin & Digest so I'll have to see if it keeps it's condition with the change of food. My 9 year old Kelpie gets Hills J/D because he has joint problems. He has improved so so much since being on it, the improvements were noticed within the first fortnight with him, he's seriously a new dog. I would highly recommend anyone who has dogs with joint problems to speak with their vet about J/D. It also does wonders for their coats and we often put dogs with skin problems onto it and see great results because of the Omega-3's in it. The downside is that they tend to poo a bit more, and the poo does smell! I think it has to do with the oils in it. But just being able to see my dog run around like a 2 year old again far outweighs any extra poos to pick up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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