pare Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 just wondering what people think of raw pet foods you get from the supermarket such as bush's, 4 legs, and vital. they say they have fresh meat (listed as their first ingredient), but also have "selected grains and cereals", which i thought was bad for dogs. they also seem to be about the same price if not more expensive than barf, which i feed my dogs now. (am i wrongly equating price with quality?) i feed my 13.5 yo rough collie barf but i'm not sure she likes it. she takes so long to eat it, and i even have to put a little soy sauce sometimes as that seems to encourage her a bit. i also put her seaflex sticks in there as she wolfs that down. thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 just wondering what people think of raw pet foods you get from the supermarket such as bush's, 4 legs, and vital.they say they have fresh meat (listed as their first ingredient), but also have "selected grains and cereals", which i thought was bad for dogs. they also seem to be about the same price if not more expensive than barf, which i feed my dogs now. (am i wrongly equating price with quality?) i feed my 13.5 yo rough collie barf but i'm not sure she likes it. she takes so long to eat it, and i even have to put a little soy sauce sometimes as that seems to encourage her a bit. i also put her seaflex sticks in there as she wolfs that down. thanks in advance. Personally I think they're cheap rubbish and would never feed any of them to my dogs. However that's JMO and no doubt others will disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Personally I think they're cheap rubbish and would never feed any of them to my dogs. However that's JMO and no doubt others will disagree. I agree with Miranda. I would only use these as rewards/treats, never as a main meal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaCharlie Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I would never feed them to my dogs. You also have the added risk that meat packaged as pet mince is allowed to have extra preservatives added to it which can actually be harmful to dogs (does anyone know of the top of their head what its called? Im drawing a blank). Better off sticking with pet mince from the butcher. Hardly costs a thing and is better for them. Basically they just mince everything that people don't want to eat rather than throwing it away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Ditto. Wouldn't touch the stuff. IMHO they are too full of rubbish. Cheers Westiemum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westielover Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Stay away from the supermarket raw pet food - they contain sodium sulphite - which is a preservative used to keep meat looking red & fresh. Long term feeding of this is toxic to dogs & cats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaCharlie Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 sodium sulphite Thats it! I knew it started with an 'S' and had something to do with sulphar lol. Just couldn't remember the exact name of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 4 Legs does not contain preservatives or artificial colourings. It is however a cooked product. Ecopet rolls also do not contain preservatives but again are cooked. I am a bit suss on their mince. Both the above are quite good products IMO. I don't have a problem including them as part of my pets diet. The dogs certainly love them and I have had no issues with poos etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pare Posted January 8, 2008 Author Share Posted January 8, 2008 I would never feed them to my dogs. You also have the added risk that meat packaged as pet mince is allowed to have extra preservatives added to it which can actually be harmful to dogs (does anyone know of the top of their head what its called? Im drawing a blank).Better off sticking with pet mince from the butcher. Hardly costs a thing and is better for them. Basically they just mince everything that people don't want to eat rather than throwing it away. so i just ask for "pet mince" from the butcher? i'm just a little suspicious about butchers because the couple of times i bought "doggy bags" from the local butcher, she had diarrhea (though she had no problems with their marrow bones). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 The only mince my dogs get is human grade, not "pet mince". That way I know what's in it, and more importantly, what ISN'T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaCharlie Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 I would never feed them to my dogs. You also have the added risk that meat packaged as pet mince is allowed to have extra preservatives added to it which can actually be harmful to dogs (does anyone know of the top of their head what its called? Im drawing a blank).Better off sticking with pet mince from the butcher. Hardly costs a thing and is better for them. Basically they just mince everything that people don't want to eat rather than throwing it away. so i just ask for "pet mince" from the butcher? i'm just a little suspicious about butchers because the couple of times i bought "doggy bags" from the local butcher, she had diarrhea (though she had no problems with their marrow bones). I cheat. I buy it from a guy at supply place and he is the one that deals with the butchers. So, I dont know exactly what to ask them sorry. I buy things like organs from the butcher though. They charge about 50c for them. Where do you live roughly? Someone might be able to point you in the direction of a good place to buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pare Posted January 8, 2008 Author Share Posted January 8, 2008 I would never feed them to my dogs. You also have the added risk that meat packaged as pet mince is allowed to have extra preservatives added to it which can actually be harmful to dogs (does anyone know of the top of their head what its called? Im drawing a blank).Better off sticking with pet mince from the butcher. Hardly costs a thing and is better for them. Basically they just mince everything that people don't want to eat rather than throwing it away. so i just ask for "pet mince" from the butcher? i'm just a little suspicious about butchers because the couple of times i bought "doggy bags" from the local butcher, she had diarrhea (though she had no problems with their marrow bones). I cheat. I buy it from a guy at supply place and he is the one that deals with the butchers. So, I dont know exactly what to ask them sorry. I buy things like organs from the butcher though. They charge about 50c for them. Where do you live roughly? Someone might be able to point you in the direction of a good place to buy. I live in templestowe (north-eastern suburb of melbourne). it would be great if someone could recommend a good butcher for raw foods. otherwise, poodlefan's suggestion of human grade mince sounds good - though that might get expensive since I also have a ridgeback x to feed. but anything for them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Ecopet rolls also do not contain preservatives but again are cooked. I am a bit suss on their mince. I was buying the Ecopet rolls for a while as a standby for when I worked late shifts and husband had to feed the dogs....he can't cope with having to defrost raw food in the microwave. Poor dear is kitchen-impaired. The dogs loved the rolls but when I bought the mince, I thought it smelled revolting and threw it out. It was well within it's use by date, and appeared fresh to look at but didn't smell at all nice. I buy human grade minced beef, roo and whatever else is on special. At least I know that if it's fit for human consumtion it will be fit for my dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 I feed 4legs and the new Bush's range from time to time - as some variety on top of his standard diet. Go to www.urbananimal.com.au - they did a big article recently on supermarket pet foods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Julie Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 I live in templestowe (north-eastern suburb of melbourne). it would be great if someone could recommend a good butcher for raw foods. otherwise, poodlefan's suggestion of human grade mince sounds good - though that might get expensive since I also have a ridgeback x to feed. but anything for them! If you're willing to travel to Box Hill, then there are good cheap Chinese butchers there for buying your meat from and it's human grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jans Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 There is a great shop in Moreland road Coburg (Melbourne) - "Petlove". Claire makes up pet food mix, which is either beef, chicken, rabbit or roo, and she adds in grated vegies, oils, parsley, garlic, grains etc. No preservatives - all fresh daily so I buy in bulk sometimes and freeze portions. She is open 6 days a week and also stocks quality dry food and other things you'd find in a pet shop (no, she doesn't sell livestock). Web site is Petlove.com.au Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now