dog food

[wildey]

We plan to move to France later this year and take our two dogs.  We feed them or Forthglade - does anyone know if it can be bought in France?

[Clair]

[quote user="wildey"]We plan to move to France later this year and take our two dogs.  We feed them or Forthglade - does anyone know if it can be bought in France?[/quote]

Why not contact them directly  and ask if they retail in France?

Company Name:	FORTHGLADE LTD
Contact Person:
Address:	Bernards Cross Bellinster Factory Est Winkleigh EX19 8DH - United Kingdom
Tel:	+44 (1837) 833 22
Fax:	+44 (1837) 837 51

[maureen]

Hi, been here nearly 30 years and have never seen or heard of your dog food. Don't worry there is a wide variety of food here, we have moved on from the dark ages when dogs were fed the scraps off the table!

maureen.

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Dog food is much nicer here than back in Oz. When we brought our dog over 5 months ago he weighed 9kg. Now he weighs just over 12kg. He loves dog food cuisine. (I even like the smell of the food too. Used to make me retch back in Oz).

[SaligoBay]

Beurk, can't imagine what it must smell like in Oz!

I bought a pack of Belamy (from Norma) the other day, it is truly disgusting.  And slightly sticky.  And dark brown.  Really, really foul.

I bought it because it looked like he wasn't going to eat the Frolic (that's the one with the dalmatian on the front with coloured spots).   I mixed them both together, and after a couple of days on hunger strike he picked all the bits of Frolic out and left the Belamy.

Now the Frolic's finished, so he has to eat the Belamy till it's finished too.  I am a cruel and heartless woman.

[Christine Animal]

Supermarketwise, we still find Brekkies Multicroc to be a very good product (the green bag with a girl with a German Shepherd slung over her shoulder).

SB, wait till you see what comes out at the other end with that Belamy stuff... and with Frolic, doesn't it come out de toutes les couleurs... (they do like it though, if has a sort of "beefy" smell).

 

 

[SaligoBay]

LOL!

Nice rusty red with Frolic, exactly the same colour as the Frolic itself! 

The Belamy is so disgusting, I think I'll have to put it on fast-track to the poubelle, without going through the dog first. 

I'll give the Brekkies a try next! [:)]

[Christine Animal]

Yesterday at Leclerc at the end of the rayon as a promotion there were bags of English dog food called Gusto, made by The Working Dog Food Company.  There were five ten kilo bags left and I took them all  [:)]

It looks quite good stuff and the dogs like it.  I don't know if this was an exceptional promotion or something Leclerc are going to have permanently as there was none in the actual rayon with the other brands.

It is called Gusto, but after having a little search it looks as if it is called Autarky in England which is also made by The Working Dog Food Company (perhaps Gusto is the export name) as on this site the Summer bag (the same name as the one I got, Summer Gusto)  looks very similar as the one I bought.

http://www.csjk9.com/productcart/pc/viewCat_P.asp?idCategory=9

I just wondered if anyone else knew of it.

Edit:  On second thoughts maybe Gusto and Autarky are not quite the same, as they say Autarky is called a super premium, but made by the same company.

 

[Deimos]

Never heard of I myself. However, I tend to avoid food for “working dogs” as these often have far higher protein levels that I like. In fact I’ve found most French dog food has what I consider high protein levels. No idea if what you got was “working dog” food (just the name of the manufacturer suggests it might be).

Ian

[Christine Animal]

Ian the protein level is 21%.  I've found it, the Gusto :

http://www.maradonar.com/autarky-gusto.htm

 

[PossumGirl]

Christine, I did a search and so far none of the sites I've found list the actual ingredients!  Can you see if it has Brewer's Yeast in it?

Thanks,

PG

[Les Trois Papillons]

I knew people in England who used Autarky and it is very good but like ' it says on the tin'  it is for working dogs and is very high protein.  If you have a dog that gets a lot and I mean a lot of exercise then it is excellent otherwise I wouldn't recommend using it long term.

 

When we first arrived in France, having used Winalot in England, I found out that it was called Friskies here but my dogs wouldn't eat it beause it had vegetables in it.  After trying several French foods most of which seem to have vegetables in and therefore are apparently inedible (!) I have ended up feeding them on Pedigree which does not have vegetables but which I feel has perhaps too much protein and will try to wean them on to something else. 

And I thought children were fussy.    

 

[Christine Animal]

The Brekkies Multicroc I mentioned further above has 23% protein and the Adult Gusto for "Summer years of Life" has 21%.

Possum, I couldn't find the ingredients on the sites either.  But here is what is on the bag and there is yeast:

Cereals, Meat and Animal Derivatives (min 21% chicken), Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (min 5% beet, peas, green leaf and flax), Fats and Oils, Minerals, Yeast.  BHT as antioxidant.

 

[PossumGirl]

[quote user="Christine Animal"]

Possum, I couldn't find the ingredients on the sites either.  But here is what is on the bag and there is yeast:

Cereals, Meat and Animal Derivatives (min 21% chicken), Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (min 5% beet, peas, green leaf and flax), Fats and Oils, Minerals, Yeast.  BHT as antioxidant.

 

[/quote]

Figures.  Almost everything does!  I guess that for now, it remains Burns (even though the Diva doesn't actually like it!!).  I understand that Solid Gold "Baying at the Moon" is going to be available from a distributor in Germany sometime next month and we might try some of that.  It is a grain free food, and she did very well on EVO (also grain free) when we were living in the States.

PG

[PossumGirl]

Actually, I think that might be "Barking at the Moon" rather than "Baying."

PG

[Deimos]

I only know (or have opinions about) Border Collie diet and it is generally considered that you would feed a working dog (with all the physical and mental effort required) a food with 20% to 24% protein levels and a pet dog (who is not subject to anything like the energy demands) somewhat lower protein levels. I always try to keep mine below 20% (though that is difficult with French dog food). The James Wellbeloved used to be at the 20% level (but then my local supermarket stopped selling it – but the version they sold smelt very bitter). Fortunately now on Burns again at 18 and a bit percent.

(That said you will find lots of different people with different opinions of dog diet).

Ian

[PossumGirl]

[quote user="Deimos"]

(That said you will find lots of different people with different opinions of dog diet).

Ian[/quote]

Ain't that the truth!  A lot of the BC folks I know feed raw.  That doesn't work for us for a variety of reasons, so we've always stuck with a commercial diet with small bits of "extras" mixed in.  I know some people are against the "extras," but I can't help it; I'm weak.

Maggie was a rescue and we don't really know what her life was like before us, but I do know that I've often thought she has an eating disorder.  She will turn her nose up at even the most tempting treats if she is stressed in any way shape or form. If she feels we're "forcing" her to eat, then she acts as if she's being beaten.  So, I find being able to leave a dry food available for her to eat when she is ready is less stressful for all of us.

Her being non-food motivated has always been a problem even with training.  There is nothing that you can feed her that is more tempting that chasing a cat or a squirrel, or even the possibility that there MIGHT be a cat or a squirrel to chase.  She'll actually take food from your hand, to be polite, then drop it on the ground uneaten.

She's a very, very weird dog.

PG

[Deimos]

I must confess I’m quite unconvinced about BAFT diet for modern dogs.

The modern pet lifestyle is very different to that of wild wolves. Energy demands, supplemental nutrients, etc. are all massively different. Even if BARF is somewhat closer to the prey wolves might catch, modern dogs do not actually have to catch their BARF meals and thus expend massively less energy in their lifestyles. Similarly, dogs will tend to eat a lot of vegetation. They are selective. In the wild, as they roam they will naturally tend to find (and eat) what they need. Wild wolves live in diverse environments and roam over a large range. Many modern pet dogs get a run in the local park which hopefully has grass and maybe a few weeds – nothing like the diversity of plant material required.

Eating raw bones can be quite dangerous for a dog fed BARF diet as the BARF diet does not accurately mimic the “wild diet”. Wild wolves will tend to eat skin and hair as well as everything else. Research has shown that the faeces left as the bones are passed will be firmer, and that the bones will be wrapped in hair, etc., protecting the animals internal organs from damage as the bones pass through the system. Such protection is not available to pets who are not fed the complete carcass.

Etc., etc.

I did look at BARF quite a lot at one point and what seems to be actually proposed has all the signs of a “fad”. Arguments about feeding dogs what they ate before they evolved into what they are today for me hold little weight. There seems a massive amount of inconsistency in what such diets propose (e.g. why should you provide supplements if its such a good diet (as some propose)). Little research appears to have been done and what has, shows negative effects as well as positive effects (though the pro-BARF diet people strangely do not quote the “negative research” (e.g. Freeman L, Michel, K, Nutritional analysis of 5 types of "Raw Food Diets" Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA), Vol 218 No.5 March 1, 2001 p. 705). Ignoring that feeding such a diet is quite hard work for an owner, I have so far been totally unconvinced as to there being any benefits and think there are added risks to such feeding regimes. I’m sure that many dogs fed BARF diets are healthy, as are many dogs fed tinned foods plus mixer and dogs fed dried foods. Truth is demands on most dogs today are very different from what was required in living in the wild, or even just working.

Ian

[WJT]

Hi Deimos, very interesting post. I have been struggling the last three or four months with what to feed my two dogs.  I have a large and small dog, just before leaving France the beginning of Jan my small dog became ill. By the way I still suspect poison even though the vet said that nothing showed up in the tests. He seems to be fine now but they said that it was probably colitis. He said to feed him a bland diet of chicken and rice. Well I couldn't feed it to just the one so had to feed both of my dogs this diet and of course they loved it.

The vet said that I could only keep them on it for about six weeks and that it did not provide the necessary nutrients they needed. I was beginning to doubt this advise until I read your post. It makes a lot of sense. If you could see my two dogs, I am afraid they wouldn't last two minutes in the wild with the wolves [:)] 

I do not have the heart to just give my dogs kibble so do mix in tin food as well so have really been chocking and changing trying to find the right diet of which I know is really no good for my dogs.  My husband says don't worry about it find a healthy dry kibble and let that be the end, they will eat it if they have no other choice.

I always liken this to the cabbage soup diet of which by the way I am starting tomorrow. [:'(] I will do this for a week to lose a little and detox after a bit of a binge and it is absolutely disgusting. I know that they are just dogs as others have said but just putting down a bit of horrible tasteless dried up kibble, I feel I am sentencing my poor dogs to a life of cabbage soup diet. [:(]  Therefore, I am trying to find something that they at least enjoy eating a little. Unfortunately, nothing comes close to the chicken.

I guess after saying all of that, I really just wanted to know if anyone has any suggestions on a good tinned food that tastes good to dogs that you could recommend to mix with some kibble.[:)] 

[Deimos]

No experience of tin dog food so cannot make recommendations. However, in the UK many people speak very highly of something called “Nature Diet”. Its no so much tinned but comes in a alu tray (from memory anyway).

I’m afraid mine get only dried food, but they love it. I’ve actually been through quite a few different brands since moving to France and have finally found one they seem to get on with. They have always eaten whatever I’ve given them (though one did find Hills a bit too hard/crunchy – still eaten though). When I’ve changed it has always been because I’ve not been completely happy with how they were getting on with the food. Often nothing tangible just sort of “not thriving quite like they should”. Just a feeling that “they could do better” (though still always 100% healthy, 110% active, etc..).

When I first moved here I found James Wellbeloved at the local supermarket which he used to eat in the UK. However, it smelt bitter and unlike the UK stuff, so went on to Hills, then Royal Canin, then Advance, etc. Ended-up with Burns.

I like Burns as the protein levels are about correct, GM free, human grade ingredients, etc. Not involved with the supply in France but if you want to try it, let me know and I will PM contact info for the distributors.

That said, this is what I have found for my dogs and different dogs (breeds and individuals) have different requirements so my own thoughts are to “find what works” and stick with it. If your dog is thriving, doing well happy, etc. then you have probably got it right.

A famous expression about economics is “Get 3 economists in a room together and you will get 4 different opinions”. I think the same is true when it comes to dog nutrition.

Another way to avoid “the cabbage diet” is to feed them just dried food (“cabbage diet”) but then make special treats for training (e.g. “liver cake”). Easier, good for training, keeping dog’s mind active, provides motivation, variety of taste, etc.

Ian

[WJT]

I just did a search on Burns and it does sound interesting, I assume it is not available in the supermarkets and you must order.

I have just started feeding them Pero Organic with chicken and rice and they do eat it. However once a day I do give them some nasty Pedigree tinned food. I get the Pero at Waitrose so I am sure it will be a problem finding in the Dordogne. We will be there for three months so I will have to find an alternative. My dogs do not really like Hills either and the tinned Pedigree in France is different than in the UK and is even more disgusting if that is possible [:-))] Unfortunately, if I just gave them the dry food and treats (I have tried this in the past) my little one will only eat the treats and will absolutely wear me down. However, I have never heard of "liver cake" so will have to look out for that one as well as Burns when I am there.

My big dog is almost 70kg so a bit difficult to take food with us with everything else we need to take in the car including him!

Thank you for the information, very interesting.

[Deimos]

[WJT wrote]: “Unfortunately, if I just gave them the dry food and treats (I have tried this in the past) my little one will only eat the treats and will absolutely wear me down”

Stick at it. A dog will not starve itself. Your dog has probably learnt that you will give in and all it takes now is a battle of wills and you will win and you dog will not come out any the worse. I tend to think that if you give in to your dogs they will become fussy eaters.

Ian

[WJT]

Yes Ian, I think you are right. I don't give them any treats at all now but as I said do feel the need to give them tinned food in addition to the dry. My big dog has never been a problem, it is the little one (Maltese) he does not like dry food or really even the tinned but is very greedy for chicken, treats or what have you and will drive me mad. So since he has been ill, I have just stopped giving treats all together, unfortunately the big softy has had to suffer too (I do find the odd occassion to give him on the sly but it is hard to get one over on the little one).

As I mentioned in my PM, I will be looking into giving them the Burns that you have mentioned. Thank you again.