Food In Australia - What Should I Feed?

[Lex&Frank]

Hi all!

Just finishing up the final bits and pieces so everything is perfect for when I go to pick up my gorgeous boy next weekend!!

On my final list of things to do this Saturday (tomorrow) is choose and purchase a food for Frank.

There is a great wealth of experience on PV and I was hoping you could help with recommendations as to a good food that I could purchase that is available in Australia.

Any comments or opinions would be greatly regarded for my first baby :)

Lex (and thanks from Frank too ;))

[FourteenLegs]

The variety available to us in Oz is not nearly as extensive as it is in North America, at least not without a bit of searching and travelling. Do you have "Pet Barn" down in Victoria? They import a lot of the best stuff available in the U.S., such as "Natural Balance" and others of that quality.

I get "Nature's Gift" canned from the supermarket, and that is EXCELLENT. I combine that with plain, fat-free yogurt and grated carrot for my girl's dinner. Twice a week I'll share a can of sardines in oil between them. Maybe start with Nature's Gift "Puppy" variety if you go that way and leave out the additives until he's a little older. I give my girls kibble for breakfast, with a teeth-cleaning chewy.

MOST IMPORTANTLY though, DON'T change his food from what the breeder is feeding him, all at once. quickest way to an upset stomach and diarrhea. Bad thing for pups! SLOWLY mix in a little of his new food with the old, gradually increasing the ratio old/new at each feed. Not a big shock for the system, that way.

I bet the breeder is feeding Eukanunba or IAMS. They seem to have the breeders sown up, if the breeder is a member of the Canine Council or whatever the governing body is in Vic. It's GARBAGE.

The best thing though is to feed a well balanced diet - some veges (carrots, steamed beans - things like that); carbs (rice and/or pasta); crunch for dental health; a small amount of non-fat, plain yogurt or cottage cheese; sardines in oil on occasion; some fruit for treats (also cheese) but NEVER EVER GRAPES OR SULTANAS!!; and good protein source.

I'm sure he'll do well. Good luck!

[crazypugmom]

I don't know if this is a good food for puppies or not, but I feed one of my guys Addiction which is made in Australia.

[FourteenLegs]

I immediately had to go off and google that food Leslye, as I hadn't heard of it!

And DAMN, wouldn't you know it?? It's actually made in New Zealand and I can't find it available in Australia!! Gosh it looks GOOD. I was searching around their website and they said they were looking for Australian distributors - it's a pity noone has picked it up here. Might put in a call to one of the big pet supplies retailers and give 'em a nudge.

I really like what I read about it!

[Lex&Frank]

Thanks for all your help :)

I went with Royal Canin kibble and the Nature's gift cans for puppy as recommended... I also bought some pumpkin and have cooked it and frozen it into cubes I can pull out for his dinner when needed. I'll give him yoghurt and things as well and bought a Kong toy to freeze the plain yoghurt into for a treat.

So I will find out tomorrow what his breeder was feeding and get a small amount to change over his diet so he doesn't get an upset tummy.

Thanks for all your help :) Made food shopping and deciding much easier :)

Lex (and Frank in 6 days :) :) :) )

[Puggered]

Whatever his breeder is feeding, you will need to keep feeding that exactly for the first 48 hours as the change will stress him enough without tummy stress too.
After that, start with 10% new food, 90% old food and just increase the percentage of new slightly with every meal. It should take you about a week to ten days to change him completely to the new diet.
Just to be on the safe side maybe PM Rona or myself and tell us the brand name of the food the breeder had him on.

[Puggered]

I immediately had to go off and google that food Leslye, as I hadn't heard of it!

And DAMN, wouldn't you know it?? It's actually made in New Zealand and I can't find it available in Australia!! Gosh it looks GOOD. I was searching around their website and they said they were looking for Australian distributors - it's a pity noone has picked it up here. Might put in a call to one of the big pet supplies retailers and give 'em a nudge.

I really like what I read about it!

Guess what's even worse?
Their canned and treat varieties are made in New Zealand. The dehydrated raw ditto (I want to try the possum).
Howver the kibble varieties are made (depending on variety) in USA, Canada or AUSTRALIA!! Yep, made here but not sold here. Hmmmmm.

[crazypugmom]

I immediately had to go off and google that food Leslye, as I hadn't heard of it!

And DAMN, wouldn't you know it?? It's actually made in New Zealand and I can't find it available in Australia!! Gosh it looks GOOD. I was searching around their website and they said they were looking for Australian distributors - it's a pity noone has picked it up here. Might put in a call to one of the big pet supplies retailers and give 'em a nudge.

I really like what I read about it!

Rona,

I have fed the dry kibble that is made with kangaroo to Chyna who has bad food allergies and she did great on it. Taz who was the most picky eater in the world loved it too. Due to some of Chyna's urinary issues, I have most recently been feeding the deydrated raw Summer Brushtail . I can't believe you can't find it there.

[crazypugmom]

Guess what's even worse?
Their canned and treat varieties are made in New Zealand. The dehydrated raw ditto (I want to try the possum).
Howver the kibble varieties are made (depending on variety) in USA, Canada or AUSTRALIA!! Yep, made here but not sold here. Hmmmmm.

Let me caution you on one thing. Chyna has done great eating the raw Summer Brustail. She has food allergies, and her skin has never looked better. However, she also has urinary issues, and the vet at the teaching hospital did some research on the food and wanted me to try feeding her the can brustail instead. I bought some and just gave her about 3-4 bites along with her raw, and she started having diarrhea. This is never good for any dog, but Chyna also has disc disease and can't control her bowels. It was horrible. Since she had not eaten anything else, I had to assume it was the can food so I did not give her any more. I decided to give Tinker a couple of bites of it since he has an iron stomach. He also developed diarrhea. So, I don't know if the can food was too rich or whether it was just a bad can. Either way, I will not be trying the can again.

As I mentioned, I love the dry kibble made with kangaroo and the dehydrated raw has been great. The 2lb bag of raw will last me two weeks for Chyna.

[FourteenLegs]

That's worrying about the canned possum Leslye - I imagine it must have been too rich for your guys. It would be very gamey.

Interesting that the New Zealand manufacturers are using brushtail possums in the food. They are an introduced species over there (from Australia) and the little buggers have become a PLAGUE. I know my Kiwi neighbours hate them and I guess this has been a way to deal with cutting down numbers. In Australia they are still viewed affectionally as they have adapted extremely well to living ANYWHERE - rural; urban - your roof.... and we haven't had population explosions like in NZ. And like the introductions of rabbits and foxes into Australia because some idiot thought it was a "good" idea to have more furry critters, it just goes to show what a disaster these ideas can be.

Don't get Angela and I started on cane toads....