Gomez the Norfolk

Gomez was on 3meals a day until he was two, which coincided when we came here and quarantine could not feed him 3 times a day - Now he is back to 3 or 2 a day depending on what the day is like - he loves his mealtimes, so if I can spread itout to 3 times a day, I do, it's like an activity for him!

Larry, a bit more time for your answer now, I just looked up the ingredients of Natural Balance from your link and to give you an idea of how I go through labels I have listed it out below... Ingredients for Adult Regular Energy: Rice, Australian lamb, corn gluten meal, tallow, Omega MagicTM essential oil blend, oat bran, FOS, yucca extract, sodium HMP, natural flavours, vitamins A D3 E K3 B1 B2 B3 B5 B6 B12, Folic Acid, Biotin, Copper (from Sulphate), Copper Chelate, Zinc (from Sulphate), Zinc Chelate, Manganese (from Oxide), Manganese Chelate, Iron (from Sulphate), Iron Chelate, Selenium, Iodine, and Calcium. Product protected by natural mixed tocopherols and rosemary extract. First ingredient is rice, not meat or meat meal - Omega MagicTM essential oil blend = huh? what oils? natural flavours = what kind of flavours and from what source? vitamin K3 (Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex ) is questioned for human consumption, why put it in dog food? Now, you say USA is not the same as Australia, but not all foods sold in Australia are made in Australia, a lot are imported, and the parent company is the same, so again, my argument for quality control, if it's not there, I don't rust the company... As for the restuarants, I will agree with you to a certain extent, however, as a chef, I can tell you that if the restaurant changes the chef, the suppliers and the quality could very well change and a patron may not notice it... And unsafe food, in resto kitchen can very well be produced even with the best ingredients, therefore my argument for across the board quality control... Anyway, I said it before and I will say it again, if your pet is doing well on it's present food, by all means, keep feeding it - however, do try to read labels and analyze them and research them closely as if they were for you - A good reference link here: http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

Larry, if you feed a dog corn kernels, they come out entire out the other end - corn is not digested by dogs - so whatis the point of putting it in food, other than as a filler? I certainly don't want my dog eating useless ingredients

More research done and think I'm going eagle pack - I'm also not impressed with companies doing recalls even if the food in australia is not affected. Both versions of Eagle Packs are good, but I think the Holistic is a bit better, higher grade ingredients and more natural formulations- We will be livingin Sydney by July, so let meknow where you find it!

Here is one place in Sydney: http://www.dogsandthecity.com.au/in_store_shopping.html and another one: http://www.naturalpetstore.com.au/aboutus/ I just did a quick google search and came up with these, there may be more...

Hi Panda, Gomez does not get Ziwipeak exclusively, he eat Eagle Pack Holistic and a bit of canned Ziwi mixed in, so I have not seen any loose movements...

Norksgra, by all means, if you are happy with your food and your dog is doing well on it, DO NOT change it!! That's not at all what I am saying here - Hesapandbear, again, like I said, to me it doesn't matter the difference between dry and wet in the recall, it's a question of quality control, and to ME, it's not there, sorry... I have been following this recall very closely as I have the time right now, so I'm familiar with what came form where and where it has gone... It's not all American foods I have a problem with, it's the companies that can't keep track of their ingredients! I have looked into Ziwipeak and it looks great, he is getting a tin a week on his kibble - and Gomez is doing very well on EPH for now and he will stay on that - if something changes, then the food changes... By the way, just now, as I typed it out, I just realized "he's a panda bear"!!! I kept reading it as "hesap and bear" I thougth those were the names of your dogs!!

Their website is where I have gotten my info... Some of their formulas contain "corn gluten meal" which is not something I want to feed Gomez - As for what type of formulas have been recalled - if even one formula, dry, wet, or treat has been recalled form a brand, it's no longer an acceptable brand to me - like I said before, if they cannot keep their control over ingredients in one formulation, I cannot trust that brand with any form of pet food.

Yes it is yuk, isn't it? Regardless, you are still the best judge of what to feed your doggie - any food that you come across, read the labels as if it were food for yourself and your family - then you can make your decision - compare and contrast - most of the brands have ingredients online - I picked Eagle Pack Holistic for Gomez by default - we just arrived in Australia and find there is a limited supply of what I consider acceptable foods - There is a very good one, Innova EVO which is available here, but I think it has too much protein for Gomez - Ziwipeak looks good also, but for now I am happy with how he is doing onthe EPH, so that's what we will go with... Holly is a cutie, by the way!

Not convinced about it... Advance Ingredients: Chicken; liver; beef; crushed bone; rice; egg; gelling agents; lamb; vegetable oil; di-calcium phosphate; vegetable fi bre; pork; caramel; taurine; vitamin E; zinc sulphate; vitamin C; marigold meal; manganese sulphate; thiamine; potassium iodide; tomato powder; lucerne meal; calcium pantothenate; pyridoxine. Crushed bone - whose bones? Where are they getting them? Gelling agents - what are they? why? Caramel - sugar, it's not a lolly! again, why? And just the first few ingredinets of one of the dry foods: Rice; chicken and chicken by -products; vegetable protein concentrate; corn; chicken digest; vegetable fibre; Chicken by-products - beaks, feet, eyes, etc etc... (eu) Corn - again Chicken digest - what is this?

Think of beef jerky - or walking into a deli with loads of salamis hanging - stinky! It's dehydrated protein, to us it's stinky, to dogs, it's yummy! And all natural...

Royal Canin has corn and glutens in it as well... one of their ingredients is "natural chicken flavor" what is that? Also, it has had some recalls and for me that takes it off the table. Some of the Nutrience also has corn and can be very grainy

Hi Sags, It's not that "I" don't recognize them per se - some dog foods (cheapo) have ingredients that have no business being in pet food or any food at all... The Eagle Pack Holistic I give Gomez doesn't have corn or any type of gluten in it - even before all the recalls, I wasn't happy with any of the glutens... As for brands that have been recalled, call me radical, but I would no longer trust the company of said food, even if I wasn't feeding the particular recalled item... I would no longer trust them - If they can't keep a good ingredient control of even one of their products, they're not good enough for me, sorry... Should EP recall one of their products for lack of quality control, it will be off my list also and back to the drawing board...

Eagle Pack has not been affected at all - Nutro is not the best choice anyway... A lot of their formulations have corn in them whichis not easily digested by doggies... Best thing you can do is pull up both websites and do an ingredient comparison - if I don't recognise an ingredientin a food, Gomez doesn't get it...

Yes, stinky it is! Yesterday we went to the beach and I put some of the treats in my pocket (doi) I had a whole bunch of dogs following me! I was like the pied piper of Brighton! Plus, the jacket had to go straight in the wash when we got home, it permeates everything!

Yes, sorry, Macro Wholefoods, the one I go to is on Bridge Street but it looks like they have others... http://www.macrowholefoods.com.au/content.php/52.html They also have Eagle Pack and the sometimes the Dick Van Patten formulas

I got them at Macro, but the vet also sells the treats

Gomez gets the treats and the canned, a spoon over his EP Holistic and is doing very well on the two together... It stinks though! And so do the treats... but they love it!

Eagle Pack Holistic

Look carefully at the lists of ingredients - if you woudl not eat it, chances are your dog shouldn't either, some list things like "chicken digest" or "poultry by-products" For example, look at the list of ingredients in Eagle Pack Holistic: Ingredients: Chicken Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Ground White Rice, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (Preserved With Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Pork Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon Meals, Flaxseed, Dried Egg Product, Tomato Pomace, Menhaden Fish Oil, Carrots, Peas, Sun-Cured Alfalfa, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Quinoa (Organic), Blueberries, Apples, Inulin, Beta-Carotene, Cranberries, Dehydrated Kelp, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Yucca Schidigera Extract, DL-Methionine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Pantothenic Acid, Niacin Supplement, Choline Chloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Biotin, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract, Inositol, Polysaccharide Complexes of Zinc, Iron, Manganese, Copper and Cobalt, Potassium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Lactobacillus acidophilus Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, B. subtillus, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus coagulins, Aspergillus oryzae, and Aspergillus niger. Everything is natural and traceable Go to the websites of some of the foods that are available to you and look at the ingredients, and compare - youwill soon see a pattern of ingredients you like and those you don't - in general, dogs don't digest corn very well, so you may not want to feed our dog a food with corn - Look around as if you were looking at labels for yourself... discalimer! EP is just what I feed Gomez, and I am in no way affiliated with them

Do the pooches get sardine breath? And sardine whiskers?

probably a pretty obvious one, but for sick doggies, i.e. the runs, vomiting, etc... Boil some chicken parts in water - then use that water to cook some brown rice, well overcooked, add some more water or stock* if needed. Shred the chicken and mix it in to the rice. let it cool completely and "serve" it soupy... It's good as it is very bland and lets their body get on with healing and not too much digesting... *do not use stock cubes, powder or premade stuff, too much salt, preservatives, etc - just stock from boiled chicken or bones

We use canned food mixed with kibble, or peanut butter smeared on the inside - someimes frozen - Have a look at their website: http://www.kongcompany.com/worlds_best.html If it's not stuffed, Gomez doesn't bother with it - he also did not like the tinned stuffing they sell alongside the Kongs, plus it's kind of slimy....

Eagle Pack Holistic has no grains, you could try that - maybe the fish vesrion or the duck, both low on the "allergy" scale...