# What is the best kibble to feed working dogs?



## Rebecca Shahin (May 2, 2010)

Hi, my husband and i breed Czech German Shepherds as well as Black Malinois. 

I was just wondering what would be the best kibble that is available here in Australia.

The premium varities that i know of are Pro Plan, Iams, Eukanuba, Royal Canin and Pedigree Advance.

Before we get into the argument of why feed kibble and raw v's dry i just want to know which premium kibble is good and why as we also feed our dogs raw as well.

This is my first post so be nice please.

Thanks .


----------



## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Rebecca Shahin said:


> Hi, my husband and i breed Czech German Shepherds as well as Black Malinois.
> 
> I was just wondering what would be the best kibble that is available here in Australia.
> 
> ...



What else do you have? Those are only called "premium" in their own advertisements.  I would not choose any of them for a first choice.


----------



## Rebecca Shahin (May 2, 2010)

Connie Sutherland said:


> What else do you have? Those are only called "premium" in their own advertisements.  I would not choose any of them for a first choice.


Okay....why not? What brand do you recommend that i might be able to find here and why? Thanks


----------



## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Rebecca Shahin said:


> What brand do you recommend that i might be able to find here and why? Thanks


It will be faster if you connect me with a site, maybe, of a multi-brand distributor in Australia.

Or see which of the Whole Dog Journal's annual "best kibble" list choices you can get.

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/is...og-Food-Review-Whole-Dog-Journal_16098-1.html


----------



## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

or ...

http://www.WorkingDogForum.com/vBulletin/f25/best-dry-dog-food-13878/


but ...

http://www.WorkingDogForum.com/vBulletin/f25/those-feeding-evo-anything-natura-15374/


----------



## Kara Fitzpatrick (Dec 2, 2009)

i like Taste of the Wild... it's what works for me and my dog. I've been really happy with it so far.


----------



## Fathi Shahin (Apr 2, 2010)

Kara Fitzpatrick said:


> i like Taste of the Wild... it's what works for me and my dog. I've been really happy with it so far.


Thanks, which company makes it?


----------



## Kara Fitzpatrick (Dec 2, 2009)

here is there website: 
http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/


----------



## Jennifer Michelson (Sep 20, 2006)

I tried Canindae and was not impressed, then Wolf King and Hund-n-flocken (solid gold). Now on Wellness and have seen some difference in stool and coat on my older dog. One of my guys has SIBO (he has always had loose stool) and now they are solid. My 7 month old has a nice coat and good stool. So we are sticking with Wellness.


----------



## Brian McQuain (Oct 21, 2009)

I also had good sucess with Wellness, however I'm feeding Orijon now with great results as well.


----------



## Keith Kaplan (Sep 6, 2009)

I feed Orijen, Acana, and for a limited time, Evo. Orijen and Acana are both owned by Champion Pet Foods. Acana is less protein, which I will feed during the summer when they are getting less exercise (due to heat). I say Evo for a limited time because Natura, the company that manufacturers Evo, was just bought by Proctor and Gamble and I do not trust them.

After a lot of research, I have found Orijen to be the best and highest quality. Since it is way better quality than the brands you listed, it will be much richer, and you should transition the dog over a month or so.


----------



## Amy Swaby (Jul 16, 2008)

Taste of the Wild is great if you have a the money but on average a 35 lb bag of the stuff is $50+ Personally I feed Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, it's pretty good quality and far more reasonable in price than some of the others.


----------



## Mario Fernandez (Jun 21, 2008)

Just because a said dog food has the best ingredients.... doesn't mean your dog will like it or your dog does well on it. Feed whatever your dog preforms and looks and acts healthy. It is a trial and error process. 

I say this as a good friend of mine who generally feeds raw is now having to working graveyard and his wife won't feed the dog raw for the life of her. My friend has a mal, GSd and a rotie... So for the last year, he bought Orjen, Evo, Innova, Abady, Wellness with mix results can't keep weight, lose stools, dull coats....the one food that all the dogs love and look good on is of all things Purina One or Pro plan, can't remember which one. Ever since feeding this he has had no problems.


----------



## Lynda Myers (Jul 16, 2008)

I was feeding just Taste of the Wild and now gone to Premium Edge ($37.00 for a 35lb bag) and add Taste of the Wild(48.00 for a 30lb bag) to it. Only because don't think Premium Edge has enough meat in it. Both adult dogs are doing well on three 1/2 cups (2 1/12 P. E. and 1 cup TOTW) pup gets 1cup of each. Actually my female is look much better on the mix then she did on straight Taste of the Wild. Can't tell a different in the other dogs. i think some dogs require limited carbs in their diet.
Her's the link for Premium Edge
http://www.premiumedgepetfood.com/products/dogs/dry_food

Taste of the Wild link:
http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/products/

I found this website to be helpful when comparing dog foods:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/index.php

Hope this was of help to you.


----------



## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Mario Fernandez said:


> Just because a said dog food has the best ingredients.... doesn't mean your dog will like it or your dog does well on it. Feed whatever your dog preforms and looks and acts healthy. It is a trial and error process.


This is a really good point. I notice this with raw feeders in particular that I've talked to that just *refuse* to try something else because it almost becomes like religion to them. My oldest dog is 14 and he doesn't do a great job of digesting bone any more. About a week and a half ago, I gave the dogs t-bone steaks that had gone a couple days past when they should have been sold and the next day, he threw up a pretty decent chunk of bone. :-o Yeah, no more raw for him, I think. 

Plus my youngest gets off and on diarrhea with raw. They're both now doing really well with a half and half mix of EVO Salmon & Herring and California Natural Herring & Sweet Potato, but now that Natura will be owned by P&G, not sure what I'm going to go for. So I have the two girls that do fine with raw and the two boys that don't. Maybe I finally need to buckle down and become a "real" nutritionist and give the whole homecooking thing a try. :-k


----------



## Matt Grosch (Jul 4, 2009)

good discussion on this thread from a few months back


http://www.workingdogforum.com/vBulletin/f25/best-dry-dog-food-13878/index14.html


----------



## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Rebecca Shahin said:


> Hi, my husband and i breed Czech German Shepherds as well as Black Malinois.
> 
> I was just wondering what would be the best kibble that is available here in Australia.
> 
> ...


I feed raw, however when I do feed kibble (which I do because hubby refuses to feed raw when I travel and leave dogs home) I feed Wellness Core or Nutro Lamb and Rice.....Nutro is not the best by far, but the dogs do really well on it. 

Little Ash just started eating Wellness Core yesterday and so far no issues with stool. (I have to travel and she has to stay home, so I am starting her now to see if she will have issues.....I don't think she will...she has only been raw fed since she was 8 weeks old and she is almost 6 months old now). 

Off topic....pics of your dogs would be GREAT!!!


----------



## Shane Woodlief (Sep 9, 2009)

Taste of the Wild is good stuff. I use the Bison/Venison Blend. Great grain free food for reasonable prices.


----------



## Maureen A Osborn (Feb 12, 2010)

I am sitting down doing research now also since Natura sold to P & G ....oh am I pissed! I FINALLY got my male dogo to eat well and look great, and those morons went and sold the company (I feed him Evo red meat) and the others Innova. GRRR


----------



## Candy Eggert (Oct 28, 2008)

The OP is from Australia so her choices may be limited in what she's able to get for her dogs. Rebecca I posted this in another thread for Fasil but he may have missed it.

http://www.addictionfoods.com/usa/products.php

Addiction is dry dehyrated raw (just add warm water) food made in Oz. In my opinion it's one of the best. It's way spendy here in the US but might be more reasonable "down under". They are seeking distributors in Australia ;-)

If I could I'd have both of my dogs on it full time.


----------



## Timothy Saunders (Mar 12, 2009)

I have tried pro plan performance and it was ok but to much stool for me. I am now feeding something new called earthborn. of your choices I would use pro plan


----------



## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Found this stuff (I just googled available dog food in Australia)....not terrible at all in my opinion....but geesh, the prices are scary...

http://www.petdeli.com.au/cms/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabID=3445&ItemID=4424

http://www.petdeli.com.au/cms/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabID=3445&ItemID=4353


----------



## Matt Grosch (Jul 4, 2009)

Since the good foods all seem over $2/lb, I was looking at different price points (grain free seems to be what gets them up to the $2 mark)


Solid Gold looked pretty good at about $1.50/lb, Canidae (spl?) looked pretty good at I think around $1/lb (as long as you dont go for their premium grain free), To round out the cheap food, I thought some of the pro plan (I always liked the sensitive skin/coat because it is salmon and oatmeal, and Nutro.

The hippie guy at the speciality food store also told me that kirkland/costco has a pretty good food, for what it is, that is almost grain free...?


(and he said he general rule is to not buy it if it has corn, wheat, soy, or by-products)





****why cant you post on a thread thats a few months old?


----------



## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Matt Grosch said:


> ... ****why cant you post on a thread thats a few months old?


Doesn't it just alert you and ask you to re-confirm that you do indeed want to?


----------



## Matt Grosch (Jul 4, 2009)

apparently you can, if you just hit 'submit reply' it says you cant, but if you check the box down at the bottom, I guess it overrides that...thx


----------



## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

OMG.....Ash is doing well on the Wellness Core, except for the fact that she GASSES us out of the house. 

Went back to Raw tonight, since I know Doug will have no issues feeding it. Her stools were good and still minimal, energy was good and she loves it......hope he can find his gas mask. 

Tonight was a 22oz game hen, egg, beef liver, salmon oil and E......hope that fixes the gas issue.


----------



## Faisal Khan (Apr 16, 2009)

Carol Boche said:


> Tonight was a 22oz game hen, egg, beef liver, salmon oil and E.......


Can I come for dinner


----------

