OSoSwift Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 (edited) I am doing some research on the Ziwipeak and K9 Natural range and thought what better place to ask for peoples thoughts and opinions than on DOL. So sock it to me, the good, the bad, the so-so's please :) Oh and I am also researching the Ziwipeak cat food as well :) Edited February 5, 2013 by OSoSwift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 My dogs have only ever tried the canned food - the green tripe and the venison ones. They really loved it but it's not cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toshman Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 I buy Ziwpeak in the 1kg bags and use it for treats for my three border terriers...they love it. It smells delicious, too :laugh: But i couldn't afford to feed it all the time, sadly It always looks and feels good and i'm sure the dogs would do very well on it...shame about the price... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Same toshman - although it was too rich for my boy as his regular food. If you buy the food as training treats it is really affordable (much cheaper than their treat range). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toshman Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Same toshman - although it was too rich for my boy as his regular food. If you buy the food as training treats it is really affordable (much cheaper than their treat range). Yep - I worked rhat one out too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 (edited) The ingredients look really great but finding stockists down here has been impossible (so it might be hard to find, depending on where you live). Very expensive but then I guess it depends on how you intend to use it. I wanted it for training treats and emergency food but currently, it's cheaper to just make my own dehydrated meats in the oven. Edited to add.. Talking about Ziwipeak, I've not looked into K9 Natural. Edited February 5, 2013 by Hardy's Angel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 I am looking at stocking it but also feeding it to the cats and using it part time with the dogs :) Thanks for the heads up, the price is quite expensive and that is what is making me um and arr about it. K9 Natural is freeze tried and they have a complete food and a green tripe. Also made in New Zealand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diva Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Ziwipeak is the only canned food mine happily eat so I sometimes use it when travelling, I think it is good quality but a bit too expensive to feed often to large dogs. I have used the dry food as treats but they prefer a few other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cali Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 both excellent, but the price is a little unreal lol, unless your feeding a Chi, I cant see feeding either of those foods exclusively, and I am willing to pay quite a lot for dog food. K9 natural where I live is $239 a box, and Ziwi peak is $30 for a 1 lb bag , I am willing to pay over $100 for good dog food, but $200? I don't think so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwifeathers Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 I fed my Border Terrier and IG Ziwipeak and a little raw topper or their wet food exclusively for over a year, and both did very well on it. The IG was raised on it and I couldn't of asked for better. Great coat, great teeth, and the IG grew brilliantly. Because it is very rich you only have to feed a very small amount, even less if you feed some raw as well, and it was enough for us to be able to afford it. It's very high quality stuff (and I'm not just saying that because I'm a kiwi!) but it is ridiculously expensive and just couldn't afford it anymore when they rose the price again (not sure if it was the store I had it shipped from or the actual makers) so I switched to Orijen end of last year, which I'm very happy with so far. NZ Natural I haven't used myself but I know other people that use the frozen stuff but don't feed it exclusively (mixed with raw and rotated). From what I've seen its mostly fat and the only freeze-dried flavor worth buying is the Freeze Dried Raw Venison Feast. The Freeze Dried Green Tripe is recommended to be used as a transition food only. Worth having a closer look at perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 (edited) OSoswift I just started Bruno on some Ziwipeak late last year as his night meal (he was getting raw in the mornings). I was looking for a high quality, shelf-stable food that he could tolerate. He has GI and allergy issues and is a picky eater who refuses to eat kibble. He loved it and his gut tolerated it. It costs a bomb and he is a large dog, so I was still going to feed raw for one feed of the day to make it more economical. That said, it is nutrient dense and doesn't contain filler, so the quantities you are meant to feed are quite small. It seemed to have high-quality ingredients. I liked the lack of filler as I have a dog who is underweight and a poor eater, he never seems to eat enough/ get enough nutrients out of regular food. I would still be feeding it now except that he is having allergy/GI issues of his own and is on a restricted diet (nothing to do with Ziwipeak though). :) Edited to add: I found it worked well as a non-messy training treat too. Yay, clean hands! Edited February 6, 2013 by trinabean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumbeat Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Oso, I bought thr freeze-dried K9 Natural to try a couple of weeks ago. I was really surprised how runny it is when reconstituted - not what I expected at all. The suggested quantity also didn't look very much and my dogs are only 8 & 9kg so I added a bit of extra meat to it. The dogs however seemed to enjoy it and scoffed it down. I'll use it for when I forget to defrost meat or don't have quite enough but I don't think I'll use on an everyday basis. I could make some up and take a photo of it if you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabbit Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Have been feeding ZiwiPeak for a couple of years and cannot recommend it highly enough - our Staffords do beautifully on it and seriously love it. We feed it for breakfast in place of kibble (at about 1/4 to 1/3 of the recommended daily qty). Dinner is raw - meat, fish, eggs, veg, meaty bones etc. We moved over from Holistic Select and within 1 week we saw more energy and a change in weight (slimming through the flank but no change across the rib covering - like the equivalent of a human being bloated and then losing the bloating if that makes sense), and no more allergies in one susceptible dog. Saw an improvement in coat in 2 - 3 weeks. Yes its expensive but for us its well worth it. We also have a pup being raised on it after transitioning slowly from his breeder's kibble. Very happy! The best food is the one your dog does best on - give it a try and if you don't get good results then look at something else :) Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 I agree Wabbit - seriously love that name by the way - I guess where I live many people still go to the stockies and get the big bags of stuuf or go to the supermarket. I ma thinking the market for this food may be limited purely becasue it is way higher then what people are traditionally used to getting. I think you woudl get some onto it that have allergy dogs and some that are feeding a raw based diet but I am not convinced that I would sell enough to distributing it as much as I would dearly love to :) I am considering getting it for the cast though as one of the naked boys does get occasional bouts of IBS which are improving in the last 4 months but could be better - ie not happen at all :) Hmm thank you all so much you have definately given me much to ponder over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 Oso, I bought thr freeze-dried K9 Natural to try a couple of weeks ago. I was really surprised how runny it is when reconstituted - not what I expected at all. The suggested quantity also didn't look very much and my dogs are only 8 & 9kg so I added a bit of extra meat to it. The dogs however seemed to enjoy it and scoffed it down. I'll use it for when I forget to defrost meat or don't have quite enough but I don't think I'll use on an everyday basis. I could make some up and take a photo of it if you like. Thank you I have been sent a sample of the green tripe which interestingly didn't agree with one of the dogs at all. Lewis in the past has had some tummy issues - now fixed by avoiding chicken in any form, but cast iron gut Rommi did not do very well on it at all, she ets it reluctantly as well. I haven't tried them on the complete one though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podengo Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Elsie is raw fed, we give k9 natural on occasions when I have not stocked up on food as supermarkets sell it frozen here. The freeze dried food is great for trips away when you don't have freezer access and don't want to resort to feeding kibble. We were actually at a 3 day seminar last weekend and there wasn't room to keep all the raw fed dogs food there so quite a few had the freeze dried food :) it is expensive though, Elsie went through pretty much a whole bag over the weekend as she tends to drop weight really quickly when she is working all day. Its way cheaper to just feed raw and use pre made as a back up IMO :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabbit Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I agree Wabbit - seriously love that name by the way - I guess where I live many people still go to the stockies and get the big bags of stuuf or go to the supermarket. I ma thinking the market for this food may be limited purely becasue it is way higher then what people are traditionally used to getting. I think you woudl get some onto it that have allergy dogs and some that are feeding a raw based diet but I am not convinced that I would sell enough to distributing it as much as I would dearly love to :) I am considering getting it for the cast though as one of the naked boys does get occasional bouts of IBS which are improving in the last 4 months but could be better - ie not happen at all :) Hmm thank you all so much you have definately given me much to ponder over. Hi OSoSwift, thanks I like the name too - its a nickname we use for one of our girls. Staffords are renowned for laying on the ground stretched out like a frog - she seemed too ladylike to have a nickname of frog, so Rabbit and Rabbie often becomes Wabbit Re ZiwiPeak, we buy from Bowhouse online, the Aus distributor. I agree re supermarkets and stockfeed places. To me the main barrier to take up of ZiwiPeak is comparing it kg for kg against kibble, as then it does seem horribly expensive. We couldn't justify feeding all our dogs on it as their entire food source. Our 5 kg bag of Ziwi lasts just a little less than it did for a 13.6 kg bag of Holistic Select. The way we feed it, as a supplement to a fresh raw diet, it works out only a couple of dollars more per week per dog than Holistic Select. Its also very handy if you suddenly need a handful of bait! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chocolate Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I have been reading this thread and just thought I would comment on my experience with these foods. I think both K9 Natural and ZiwiPeak are top notch supreme foods. I personally like to give the K9 Natural in winter months as with the warm water added it makes a lovely warming food on cold days. I prefer ZiwiPeak for hot summer months. The air dried cuisine is great but I have also had amazing results with the canned food. I would never normally even consider giving canned food but I had some pups who had been having the runs and their poos were still rather soft after meds a couple of days later so I thought I would open a can of Tripe, Lamb & Vension. I hoped the tripe would help with their gut and the weaning process and I was blown away with the transformation overnight in their poos. It is really smelly and appetising you can just smell it is real food and not processed mush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
16Paws Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 We've had our Lab and Golden on Ziwipeak (dry) for about 4 months and we're very happy with it. It is $$$ but our Golden boy hasn't had any hot spots since switching him to Ziwipeak and both are in excellent condition. We supplement with RMB/Fish to help with the cost. Dreading any change in our finances which might mean having to switch them back to another food As a tip - the lamb is cheaper then the venison, by about $15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I finally got around to buying some Ziwipeak but I think my opinion remains the same- it's a great food (even the fussy Hellhound puppy ate some) but as a food for multiple dogs, way too expensive (we currently have four dogs, all 25kg+). What's left of the bag will be used for training treats as it's very well suited to that (smelly, soft and small pieces). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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