Sail_Away Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Hi DOLers I know this question has been asked a dozen times and I've been reading loads of threads on here but am still undecided on the best grain-free dry food for dogs... I will have a new puppy in a few weeks and will feed predominatly raw however, want a kibble added to the diet also - I fed my previous dog on Royal Canin but after much research have decided there are better products out there... Just wanted some opinions on the best premium dry food - I'm thinking Taste of the Wild, Canidae or Ziwipeak (only just heard of this one, I like the idea that it comes from New Zealand, so no chance for Irradiation?). Any thoughts/suggestions greatly appreciated... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzy82 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I used to feed Canidae. Artemis is also very good, along with TOTW and Orijen (not sure if the latter is available here in Australia). There is also processed raw food, like BARF, and K9 Natural, which comes frozen or dehydrated. The dehydrated version doesn't need refrigerating. Not sure why you want to add dry food? Is it for convenience or the nutrition? If it's for nutrition, I use the processed raw for that. I feed mostly prey model raw, but for peace of mind to make sure they're not missing any nutrients I sometimes feed some of the processed stuff. I wouldn't go back to dry food now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esky the husky Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Easthborn Holistic also do a grainfree food. I don't normally feed kibble but my girl has done very well on their food Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 We do very well here on Big Dog Barf Kangaroo or small chic frame/ beef brisket bone & TOTW dry food. My 2 love TOTW in any of the grain free varieties :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sail_Away Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 Thank you both for your comments - I would like to steer away from the premade BARF mixes as I think there are too many preservatives in it - I heard of another dog the same breed as mine, having a bad reaction to it. Although I do realise that dry food is probably no better in some cases... I really would love to stick to 100% raw if at all possible (meat & veg) however, I thought as a supplement/filler one meal a day (while pup is on 3/day) grain-free dry would be ok... I just spoke with the breeder who is currently feeding raw and small portion of dry (Advance)... So many decisions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Orijien is not available here - it was withdrawn after the cat food was poisoning our cats and they withdrew the dog food to ensure no accidental consumption. Neither TOTW or Canidae are irradiated. I feed Canidae and am very happy with it. All dependent on what breed you have but personally owning a large breed, I don't even consider a aw diet until the dog has finished critical growth. I prefer a dry food as I know it is completely balanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sail_Away Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 Orijien is not available here - it was withdrawn after the cat food was poisoning our cats and they withdrew the dog food to ensure no accidental consumption. Neither TOTW or Canidae are irradiated. I feed Canidae and am very happy with it. All dependent on what breed you have but personally owning a large breed, I don't even consider a aw diet until the dog has finished critical growth. I prefer a dry food as I know it is completely balanced. The possibility of poisoning is so worrying from some of these dry foods! Unfortunately I lost my Standard Poodle to cancer last year and am now on a mission with this new puppy to feed the best possible diet - I am getting a Hungarian Vizsla :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I don't think there is a discerning risk of poisoning with dry foods at all. With Orijien it was the irradiation which caused the issues for the cats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Easthborn Holistic also do a grainfree food. I don't normally feed kibble but my girl has done very well on their food I have used Earthborn Holistic too & use it when I can't get TOTW dry food. Very happy with the results & my 2 love it :) I have probably made the same comment before Esky the Husky but I think your Esky is just stunning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sail_Away Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 I don't think there is a discerning risk of poisoning with dry foods at all. With Orijien it was the irradiation which caused the issues for the cats. I know some companies recalled their products earlier this year though... Ideally Australian made would be best... Black Hawk is the only one I'm aware of made here but I'm not sold on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Sail away, I just had another look at the Barf Big Dog Kangaroo ingredients list & as far as I can see it doesn't have any preservatives in it Maybe there is a something on the list I am missing. I would prefer my dogs to have the least amount of preservatives too. Gosh this whole best diet for our dogs can do your head in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sail_Away Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 Thanks guys, I think I might try TOTW... I also agree about Esky the Husky - Just gorgeous!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Sail away, I just had another look at the Barf Big Dog Kangaroo ingredients list & as far as I can see it doesn't have any preservatives in it Maybe there is a something on the list I am missing. I would prefer my dogs to have the least amount of preservatives too. Gosh this whole best diet for our dogs can do your head in The Canine Country BARF mix I use doesn't have preservatives either. I don't know any of them that do, can you please give links of the ingredients list to the ones that do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sail_Away Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 Sail away, I just had another look at the Barf Big Dog Kangaroo ingredients list & as far as I can see it doesn't have any preservatives in it Maybe there is a something on the list I am missing. I would prefer my dogs to have the least amount of preservatives too. Gosh this whole best diet for our dogs can do your head in I am only assuming it has preservatives in it because it is 'packaged' there is no way it can be 'fresh' and then just frozen meat... I know a couple of people that tried it and their dogs came up in hives! I have Ian Billinghurst's book "Give your dog a bone" here somewhere but we just moved and are still unpacking so no idea where it is. I know what you mean though, there are SO many options out there and everyone has a different opinion on what works best and then all dogs are different... I just try to avoid 'commercial' food where possible and just use fresh ingredients... I didn't really want to go onto dry food but I think a small amount each day of good quality brand should be ok... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 It is sold Frozen I must be missing something here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Sail away, I just had another look at the Barf Big Dog Kangaroo ingredients list & as far as I can see it doesn't have any preservatives in it Maybe there is a something on the list I am missing. I would prefer my dogs to have the least amount of preservatives too. Gosh this whole best diet for our dogs can do your head in I am only assuming it has preservatives in it because it is 'packaged' there is no way it can be 'fresh' and then just frozen meat... I know a couple of people that tried it and their dogs came up in hives! I have Ian Billinghurst's book "Give your dog a bone" here somewhere but we just moved and are still unpacking so no idea where it is. I know what you mean though, there are SO many options out there and everyone has a different opinion on what works best and then all dogs are different... I just try to avoid 'commercial' food where possible and just use fresh ingredients... I didn't really want to go onto dry food but I think a small amount each day of good quality brand should be ok... So you don't freeze your own meat for human consumption as a way of preserving it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Companies are allowed to add preservatives and not put it on the label, as long as it is below a certain %. Choice did an expose on this a while back and found a lot of the "fresh" food contained very high levels of preservatives. That said, there are some that don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sail_Away Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 Sail away, I just had another look at the Barf Big Dog Kangaroo ingredients list & as far as I can see it doesn't have any preservatives in it Maybe there is a something on the list I am missing. I would prefer my dogs to have the least amount of preservatives too. Gosh this whole best diet for our dogs can do your head in I am only assuming it has preservatives in it because it is 'packaged' there is no way it can be 'fresh' and then just frozen meat... I know a couple of people that tried it and their dogs came up in hives! I have Ian Billinghurst's book "Give your dog a bone" here somewhere but we just moved and are still unpacking so no idea where it is. I know what you mean though, there are SO many options out there and everyone has a different opinion on what works best and then all dogs are different... I just try to avoid 'commercial' food where possible and just use fresh ingredients... I didn't really want to go onto dry food but I think a small amount each day of good quality brand should be ok... So you don't freeze your own meat for human consumption as a way of preserving it? I mainly feel that companies that 'mass produce' pet products would have to add some preservative to the meat in order for it to keep until sold... apparently Australian law has loop holes for labelling on pet food and Sulphur Dioxide is not required to be shown on the ingredients list... anyway, I have no proof of there being preservatives in the BARF mix, I am just sceptical... I will most likely just make my own bones/meat/veg mix anyway. Very interesting topic though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I don't think there is a discerning risk of poisoning with dry foods at all. With Orijien it was the irradiation which caused the issues for the cats. I know some companies recalled their products earlier this year though... Ideally Australian made would be best... Black Hawk is the only one I'm aware of made here but I'm not sold on it. TOTW and Canidae are far superior to Black Hawk in terms of quality IMO. If source of food is an issue then Ziwipeak might be the best option. There is another NZ I think - name escapes me. Check out the Natural Petstore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Mine found the Ziwipeak way too rich - but it makes for great training treats (the actual food, not their training treats which are much more expensive but seem like the same thing). I tried ToTW but mine had the worst farts ever when they went on it. Ever. I had to leave the room gagging. Never again... IF you're after Australian made then I'd use Nutro. The only reason I don't use it is the size of the kibble (I use kiddle on walks so like tiny kibble so I can give my dogs a high rate of re-inforcement). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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