Artemis is excellent – it’s one of the foods I most highly recommend that is available in Australia, as I have mentioned in a previous comment. You can order it here – http://www.dog-health-care-information.com/petdeli (please note that I do NOT recommend all the foods sold at that site – some are extremely poor quality, but the Artemis is great).

Regards,
Brigitte

Hi George,

Definitely the Canidae Grain Free All Life Stages Dry Dog Food is at least as good as the Canidae All Stages Dry Dog Food (that contains grains). In general, I think that any food that is grain free is superior to a comparable one that contains grains. So I guess what I’m saying is that the Grain Free version is a little better than okay.

Regards,
Brigitte

On another note, I am taking a course to become a Vet assistant and we did a Urine lab, in which we could bring in our pet’s urine for analysis. One of the ladies in my class brought hers in and there were so many crystals in the poor things urine that our teacher ( she is a Vet Tech) said if he was a cat they would have had to done surgery to unblock him. When asked what food she feeds him she said “Purina.” So I made sure when looking for a new food for my pets to never glance at a Purina product.

I don’t have any direct knowledge of Fromm, but so far as I am aware, it is a perfectly reasonable food.

Regards,
Brigitte

Thanks for your kind comments. I appreciate it.

In my humble opinion, Iams is NOT a good choice at all, and neither is Hills Science Diet. I would never touch either food.

Blue Buffalo, on the other hand, I believe is an excellent food so far as I can make out – a number of readers have in fact specifically drawn my attention to to it, and swear by it.

Regards,
Brigitte

The link I provide above gives all the information about why I took Sojos off my list of best dog foods ranked.

So far as I understand it, the problem that existed with Sojos was fixed, and I believe that Sojos is a great line of food. I continue to stand by that. My issue is that the owner of the company appeared to cover up the problem and pretend it didn’t exist. It just makes me a little more cautious with the Sojos foods.

Hope this explains my position.

Regards,
Brigitte

Yes, I did hear about Eagle Pack changing hands a few months back. I haven’t heard anything untoward as a result of this, though. So far as I know, it is still being run the same way and the food is still the same. (But please anyone, feel free to correct me if I’m mistaken on this).

I’m not familiar with Kent, so can’t comment on that.

Regards,
Brigitte

There are several excellent brands of dog food available. I don’t pretend to have reviewed every one in detail. My list above is a list of my personal preferences, but I wouldn’t discourage people from using other brands if they prefer them.

So long as the food complies with the guidelines I provide in the post above, and you and your dog like it, then by all means, go for it. Wellness is not one of my personal favorites, but it’s not a bad food.

Regards,
Brigitte

Sorry for the delay. By now you will have had your puppy at home for about a week!

None of the above recommended foods is better than the others for puppies, so far as I can tell. They are all excellent for puppies and adult dogs alike.

Have a great time bringing up your new puppy!

Regards,
Brigitte

i need to be able to feed all three of them the same food and did research and sojo’s complete seemed like the best option. can you please tell me why you have taken it off your favorite’s list? thank you so much in advance for your reply! you have a wonderful and informative website!

Occasionally, my Lhasa gets loose stools and they all chew at their paws, and have no matter which food I have had them on. I do think the bumps on the schnauzers backs have gone away as a result of the Flint River. I guess I want to know if you consider them both equal foods. My male schnauzer has red around his mouth that never goes away. Would that be from food? He is a white snhnauzer so it looks awful.

Thank you so much!
Linda Tew

Although Merrick is not on the top of my list of the best dog foods ranked, it’s certainly not at the bottom. It’s an okay food, and if you prefer to use it, then by all means do so, particularly if it falls within your price limitations. You could do a LOT worse!

Regards,
Brigitte

I haven’t heard of “Best in Show” dog food. The ingredients you list sound okay, though. I would imagine that choices for healthy pet foods are quite limited in Indonesia?

Regards,
Brigitte

Thanks so much for your lengthy and informative posts.

Sorry it has taken me some time to respond.

I wasn’t aware that Ziwipeak dog food was available in Australia. A New Zealand reader brought it to my attention some time ago when it had recently been released in New Zealand. So that’s great to know. Thanks! I’ve just done a quick search, and it’s available from several sites.

Yes, the Artemis foods are also excellent. I thought I had referred to Artemis dog food for Australian readers in the comments to this post, but perhaps it’s somewhere else on the site that I’ve talked about it. Artemis can be purchased online for delivery within Australia here – http://www.dog-health-care-information.com/petdeli – please note, however, that I do NOT recommend a lot of the foods on that site – only the Artemis, Eagle Pack and BARF.

Again, thanks so much Dean for your very detailed input.

And thanks for your kind words. I really appreciate it.

Regards,
Brigitte

I’ll just mention a couple of idea’s that might be worth contemplating for your Schipperke. Due to her weight condition I think you will be allot better off feeding her a QUALITY dog food like ARTEMIS WEIGHT MANAGEMENT for adult dogs. This is a dehydrated dog food and all it requires you to do is 5 to 10 minutes prior to feeding your pet, just add HOT boiling water to the dry food and this will make the food soft for her. This dog food is made this way and shouldn’t be given to dogs dry. I like it allot because it really is a great quality dog food with NO GRAINS and NO BEETPULP and more importantly it also includes all the vitamins and minerals that is required. The other added bonus feeding your dog this, is that it should tell you on the packet the exact amount of food your dog requires to enable her to get down to the right weight.

The other thing I swear by for dogs, is to give your dog about a teaspoon to a tablespoon of low fat natural yogurt every morning or around lunch time.

I personally think you should try the ARTMIS or ANY excellent quality diet dog food at least until she reaches the weight she should be. Once you have accomplished that then you might want to start feeding her your own home made food which is great, something as simple as Chicken, Turkey, beef or Lamb mince, this is the protein they need. Then add with it boiled brown rice and a combination of boiled vegetables such as Carrot, Spinach, Green beans, Potato and Broccoli. I also like to add a raw egg in and mix it up in the food, I like to give them about 2 eggs each week. Lastly add about a teaspoon of Fish oil or Flaxseed oil or even combine both oils with her meals, If your going to combine both oils half a teaspoon of each is adequate. This is a simple yet a great home made meal and you could always mix half of there ARTEMIS or any other excellent quality dry or soft kibble to this home made recipe.

IF you read this I would like to know how your Schipperke is going so far as it has been about 6 weeks since you posted. Has she lost any weight so far with what you have been doing?

Regards
Dean

The sad truth is we only have a few options to chose from, unlike the AMERICAS where they seem to have availability to ALL brands which is FANTASTIC.

However the good news is, if you are NOT concerned about price then you can get the BEST dog food in the WORLD here in Australia as can our AMERICAN friends.

It’s called “ZIWIPEAK” the bad news is that it cost’s around $30 for a 1 kilo or 2.2 pound air dried pouch, or $130 for 5 kilos or a 11 pound air dried pouch. As you can see it’s more then likely the most expensive dog food that you have ever come across but once you see the ingredients, for example the meat (Venison) minimum percentage is 65%, then there’s the added organs (Offal’s) such as Liver, Tripe, Kidney and Heart which has another minimum of 19.5% just on the organs or (Offal) content alone plus allot more greatness such as Green-lipped and blue mussels, Chicory Syrup, Fish oil, Kelp, Vitamins, Minerals and more.

The PROTEIN minimum is at 34% and the FAT at 26% ALL these figures I have given are based on there VENISON only product. They also do a LAMB product which I think is very much the same as the VENISON protein and fat minimum. There VENISON and FISH product is done the same way and the meat minimum on this is 50% and the venison organs (Offal’s) is the same at 19.5% and the fish which is Hoki has a minimum of 15%. It really is a amazing product when ALL other brands struggle to have a PROTEIN of higher then 25% and considering the only source of protein in this product is 100% meat, I find it very impressive. It makes a great deal of sense the more you think about it because if our dogs were to live in the wild like there ancestors, they would be either hunting other animals and eating them to survive or/and savaging other dead animals when ever they can.

However there is still no denying that ZIWIPEAK is most likely a great deal more expensive then “INNOVA, EVO” or any other brand on the market world wide but the difference with “ZIWIPEAK” is that it is priced the same price no matter what part of the world you come from. I know allot of you out there CANNOT and WILL NOT justify such a high price which I can understand TOTALLY but I’m just telling it as it is here in Australia only because I hear tons of Australians asking where can they find serious quality dog food.

I don’t understand how America can purchase this food yet it is made in New Zealand who are our neighbors. It’s a crying shame here in Australia why we cannot purchase foods such as Life’s Abundance, Honest Kitchen, Flint River Ranch to name a few different brands. We can purchase Innova, EVO here in Australia only IF you are willing to go through “Pets Paradise or through there other 2 suppliers” I absolutely REFUSE to go through such companies simply because I know they are making a enormous mark up on top of what ALL other sellers sell it for world wide and I just find it absurd.

I personally will NOT feed my pets ANYTHING that contain CORN, BEET PULP, WHEAT, or SOY. There are quite a few premium dog foods like LIFE’S ABUNDANCE for example that does contain BEET PULP and many of the other so called “PREMIUM” brands will also contain one of those 4 fillers.

Now for some better NEWS. Here in Australia we can purchase (ARTEMIS) which is a dry food that does require some Hot water to be added to it before feeding it to your dog. This dog food also sounds FANTASTIC as it has NO CORN, WHEAT, SOY, BEET PULP or artificial colours or flavors, it contains nothing but goodness and the BEST thing about this product is that it only costs around $21 for a 1.8 kilo or 4 pound bag. This same product also comes in a 6.8 kilo or a 15 pound bag for around $63 and a 13.6 kilo or a 30 pound bag for approximately $107 which is a great deal cheaper then the ZIWIPEAK. I hope this saves most of us AUSSIES asking you the same on going questions Brigitte. lol Above ALL hope this information helps ALL us Australians and hope more people can use this as a guide because it really is frustrating trying to find REAL premium quality dog food here in Australia.

Just before I go, regarding the “EAGLEPACK HOLISTIC” range, I do know they do make it without CORN in at least one of there “Holistic” ranges but they do use BEETPULP I believe.

Regards
Dean

Thanks! (soo much)

Now that I am in Australia I have noticed that he is starting to have the shakes again, and his muscle mass has turned into more fat. he does not have the energy like before, and I am stressed out and need to find what kind of great Healthy food I can come up with in Australia. I need to know if I can ship the Wellness food out here or if there is another brand that is as good or better then Wellness? Please Help Me! I need to help my friend. Thank You Quintin McKell

Thanks for updating us on how your dogs are going on the Honest Kitchen dog food and the Honest Kitchen Sparkle supplement.

I’m really glad to hear that your dogs are healthier overall since being on their healthy diet. Sorry to hear that the Alopecia X has not improved even with the addition of the salmon oil as well as the Honest Kitchen products.

As you know, I prefer raw food for my dogs, so a frozen raw food is fine by me.

Yes, a healthier diet is definitely the key to a healthier dog!

Regards,
Brigitte

Sorry if you have mentioned this, I tried to read everything!!! But…. For the Eagle Pack in Australia, do you recommend the Holistic or Regular? They both have different protein levels. I have an Australian Shepherd. Thank you, Janelle

I will follow up when I find more. Thanks – Alan

I have two boxers and a cat and am always looking for the best food options for them. Currently, I’m feeding my two boxers Solid Gold WolfCub and Solid Gold Barking at the Moon and my cat is eating Solid Gold Katz-n-Flocken in the morning and Solid Gold Blended Tuna (with about 1/2 cup of additional water) in the evening. My younger boxer has colitis and the Wolfcub seems to control it the best. My cat has recently been diagnosed with Feline Idiopathic Cystitis which is why he is now on the Blended Tuna with the added water. All my pets seem to be very happy and healthy on their food but I always wonder if raw wouldn’t be better. I looked into your top choices and liked the Sojos Europa the best. I’m thinking of adding to my family and getting a French Bulldog puppy. The breeder says she is currently on Iams (yuck!) but would the Sojos Europa be okay for her? Also, does Sojos have something for my cat? I’m sure feeding him a raw diet would be best but I’m afraid to irritate the cystitis. I tried EVO and even with only a tiny amount for 3 days – we ended up in the emergency vet because of a serious flare up. Help! I just want the best for my fur kids but there is so much confusing information on the internet and my vet (bless his heart) believes in Science Diet or EVO (he’s carrying that on a trial period).

Gina

Yes, the Honest Kitchen Sparkle supplement is an excellent herbal remedy for the healthy skin and coat.

Another one you might want to consider is a fatty acid supplement which is also good for healthy skin and coat, but is probably similar to the salmon oil you are currently trying.

I’d give any of these supplements a good couple months’ trial to see whether they work or not.

I’d be interested to hear whether any of these supplements helps out with the dryness of the Alopecia condition.

Regards,
Brigitte