Alternate Dog food

[ismail]

Hi All, was just wondering what the opinions are around this,
Ive always fed our dog Eukanuba, a german shepherd and all our previous dogs also.
They never had serious health issues and all where good structured animals.

How does the other brands compare Monteco, Alpha etc from experiance

[Royco]

Our Huskys could only eat Eukanuba!
We tried others from the vet (although don't know the brands you quoted), but they were always too low in protein.
Not sure what your german sheperd's requirements are, our dogs had sensitive stomachs, and could only eat Eukanuba.

The best is to check the contents. Me thinks a lot of dog food is just wood shavings!!

[KZNSFA4Y]

We have tried Montego and the dogs seemed fine with it. Hills they don't like, but we have settled again on the best wich is Eukanuba. All our dogs look and behave amazing on it. In just two days our doberman went from matt black to shining black. They are also more alert and intelegent on it. By far the best and we have tried many.

[Scorpion]

My animals was also always on Eukanuba, but I switched to Vet's Choice just over a year ago. My Labs are happy as anything! I have to feed them a bit more, but it's worth it for the saving... (don't ask! )

[Stef]

Started our Lab on that other brand (cream coloured bag; R600 for 8kg's ) from the vet, but extremely expensive and hardly ever any stock of the Labrador variation; so back to Pedigree it was. He also loves Alpo, but I'm not too comfy with that. We also feed him Butch (tinned meat) or pet's mince from the butcher mixed in with mieliepap on occasion. Fit as a fiddle, shiny coat etc.

Our late Boerboel was raised on Pedigree; no issues; had to be put down due to brain cancer.

[george]

We also give Vets Choice to the dogs and they are happy and in good condition.

[Hilux 1]

Hi Ismail,
I'm one of a few KUSA registered breeders for beagles in the Cape, i use to feed my dogs Eukanuba, Hills science diet ect. Till my brother bought him a boerbull and the breeder adviced him to use Montego, and since then(+/- 2yrs now) i also only use Montego

[Stef]

My animals was also always on Eukanuba, but I switched to Vet's Choice just over a year ago. My Labs are happy as anything! I have to feed them a bit more, but it's worth it for the saving... (don't ask! )

You mean you don't have to haul out the spade that often...kinda wondered why OOOOMS's spade has such a long handle...

[Hilux 1]

Our late Boerboel was raised on Pedigree; no issues; had to be put down due to brain cancer. [/quote]


contridiction there hey no issues but got brain cancer, sorry dude but that made me laugh now

[ismail]

Tertius, I was also advised on Montego, thats why I am asking this question,
but from personal experiance Eukanuba has worked for my dogs, strong teeth, good shiny coats and bone structure,
other than that I dont know other food, my mother used to cook meals for the dogs daily before,

[swartvark]

I used to feed my Rottweiler and boerboel Montego, but switched to Vets Choice when I got a new Boerboel puppy.
I don't know Eukanuba, but if it is as good as you guys say it is I might just give it a go.

Is it about the same price as Montego?

[Mud Dog]

Long story that I won't bore you with, but after a lot of research ..... Olympic is the best balanced food without crap fillers. I know the brand from it's inception and even met the man who engineered it. The international company (one of the biggest names in the food industry) that now owns the brand did their own research when looking for an opening in the pet food market and made the previous owner an offer that he couldn't refuse. It's a vet's only product ... not off the shelf.

Alpo is sadly substandard stuff IMO ... rather use Montego ... it's the best balanced of the cheaper lines that are available from other outlets besides vets. I can't always afford to feed 3 big Boerbulls on Olympic, so I alternate with Montego ..... no problems, just more stools with Montego than with Olympic. When breeding the mother and pups get only Olympic.

[STAMPIE]

We have 2 Jack Russels and only feed them Montego. Both are healthy and in good shape. No problems what so ever.

[Polarbear2008]

I have 1x Belgian Shepard and 1 Rodesian Ridgeback and both are fed Montego Classic. They are in perfect health.

There is also less poops to pick up than with the Checkers/PnP no name dog foods.....

[KZNSFA4Y]

I will also admit that when I cant afford eukanuba I buy montego. Montego is good for the price and the dogs enjoy the taste. They all hated Hills. But if you saw the difference eukanuba made to our doberman you would have been shocked. And that was after feeding him hills and royal canine. He even prefered montego. So on a budget i vote montego and for top quality eukanuba. Eukanuba might also be cheaper in the long run on vet bills.

[kfxnando]

two boerbulls, they grew up on Pedigree, then latter onto vets choice, till vets choice was killing our pets(strange how quick people forget) then back to pedigree, and from that point they started getting fed our left overs as well, and from time to time a pot of pap, as a treat, then pedigree price went mad and became scarce
then found Montego and have been on that site, and now mixing Montego regular and senior
both are now 9 years old, and in good health, and often still see them playing and behaving like the puppy that I say they are.

[Stef]

Pedigree was off the market for about 6 months due to plant reconfiguration; our local vet didn't have stock of Labrador food so we had no choice to buy the dodgy brands like Alpo etc.

Our late Boerboel was raised on Pedigree; no issues; had to be put down due to brain cancer.

contridiction there hey no issues but got brain cancer, sorry dude but that made me laugh now [/quote]

Mostly the Boerboel, Alsation, Labrador and other large breeds develop hip and other joint problems due to inferior food brands that are fed during the first 12 months (bone density) Our boerboel did not have any joint issues

[Scooter]

We used to use Ultra Dog (vets or special stores only) and never had a problem (20kg bag cost around R400)
Then the older dog had to be put down and we got our new Saint Bernard puppy and his tummy didn't like the ultra dog at all so we switched to Royal Canin.

I tried the Alpos and Montegos but the difference is quite something when you give good quality food.

Most dog foods are made of fillers, cereal and the like and don't keep the dog full very long and give them no nutrition.
When deciding you need to make sure that the main ingredient is meat, normally dehydrated chicken (royal canin is 25 % IIRC)

You will find that although the good quality stuff is pricier you will not have to feed them as much, there will be less stools and they wont be stinky either

My hounds eat a bag of royal canin a week, that costs me over R550 per bag, expensive??????????
Might be pricy for dogfood but hell i reckon we all spend more than that taking the wife and kids for dinner one night.

Not a bad price to pay to have my best friends healthy.

I now also boil up some bones with carrots, beef stock, garlic, mixed herbs. They love the gravy over their pellets and of course love to chew on the softened bones.

[ismail]

I agree with you Cameron, with regards to vets bills, i virtually dont have any,
but from what I am reading Montego sounds like a good alternate to Eukanuba

[oxydog]

We only use Eukanuba (the "Working and Endurance" variation) for our GSP and Retriever. The miniature worshond <^,===========,' gets the same (just because) and all of them are in perfect shape. We used to feed them Vet's Choice, but after the poisoning mishap a couple of years ago, we decided to switch. If you love them enough, no money is too much to spend on proper dog food.

[oxydog]

The benefits op using proper dogfood - check out this Whippet ...

[ismail]

Agree totally with you oxydog

[Donkey]

Any ideas on how the various brands vary on taste?

[oxydog]

Sorry, haven't tried any of them...

[Donkey]

Let's not rush and await feedback from the experts this is gonna be interesting

[Royco]

Any ideas on how the various brands vary on taste?

[oxydog]

I remember when we were young, we used to say that if you wanted chest hair (among others), you should take a Bob Martin every day, but this is taking it too far!

[Dodging]

I use Jock. Buy it from Afgri. My dogs (1 x 10yr old male German Shep/Chau cross, 1x 5yr old female German Shep, 1 1 yr old male x mongrel terrier) love the stuff. After trying this the first time they turned up their noses when I bought Pedigree again. Price is really good too. I normally buy a 20kg bag at just over R200.

They look happy, don't poo a lot, have good energy and their coats look shiny.

http://www.afgrianimalfeeds.co.za/jockmulti.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think I'll try their premier brand sometime... Called 'Grandeur' http://www.afgrianimalfeeds.co.za/jockmulti.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Rebel 4x4]

All my dogs were on Hills, very expensive. Swopped over to Bobtail. Makro got them for R189 for a 25kg bag. My Labbies love it as well as my dachunds...

[Doctor V]

Used to feed my 2 demons (Boerboel X Lab's) a variety of foods when they were younger. Stuck with Montego classic till they developed health issues. Male went onto Royal Canin and female on Vet's Choice Lite and later bothe went onto Vet's choice Lite - the Senior Vet's Choice left them hungry as both are very active. Female put down in June due to cancer (9years old). Male still on Vets Choice Lite and Puppy on Large Breed Puppy