The (Available in CH) Dog Food Review Thread

[flacaflaca]

For those having trouble finding the order box on the editrust website, look for the link to "Hundefutter bestellen" -- here's a direct path:
http://www.editrust.ch/firma/kontakt...er%20bestellen

For the person asking which Acana food to get for their dog, what I would recommend is a trial and error for a few months, since each dog is different.

The dog food I used to buy in the US isn't available here, and one of my dogs has some food allergies. I tried a few store-bought foods meant for allergic or sensitive dogs when I first moved to CH, but I didn't like how my allergic girl did on them. When I found editrust, I first tried Orijen 6 Fish, but she had too much diarrhea with that. After doing some google research and seeing information that many dogs who have diarrhea on Orijen 6 Fish do just fine with Acana Pacifica (not sure why since both Orijen and Acana are owned by the same people, but perhaps it's the slightly different mixture of fishes or just the lower protein amount), I switched my dogs to Acana Pacifica and both are doing great on that one.

[KeinFranzösisch]

very useful info I am going to bookmark this. I am curious though. Where do you all go to pick up your dog food?

here in the US we have "big box" chain stores like PetSmart and Petco... rather obvious places to go and pick up dog food.

What is there in CH?

[eng_ch]

	Quote:	KeinFranzösisch
	here in the US we have "big box" chain stores like PetSmart and Petco... rather obvious places to go and pick up dog food. What is there in CH?

Fressnapf and Qualipet are the 2 main chains. And then there are a few independents too. Fressnapf give you 5% off dog & cat food if you have their customer card

[eng_ch]

OK another vote for Editrust's service here - I only ordered on Sunday night and a parcel arrived today, Tuesday. Will have to wait and see how they all do on the food (I got some cat food to try too) but the service so far can't be faulted.

[Nowaqui]

Hello,
Found Qualipet when I moved to Switzerland thanks to the folks here.
I fed my dogs Iams in the States, they both did well on it. My airedale, 12 years old, has always had a sensitive stomach and for a while stopped eating Iams so I tried Blue buffalo, fish and sweet potato. He ate that even when he was sick and didn't seem to care for the Iams, his coat changed and turned soft and beautiful.
Anyway now that we are here I discovered how expensive the dog food is, double or triple the price we paid there.
I decided to try Biomill, some recommendations from the forum, thank you.
I am actually feeding my airedale and 8 year-old weimaraner Biomill Lamb and rice dry food. The airedale is having perfect poops and no gas -that translates to no more really stinky gas, which is really great as he has always had a little gas.
The weimaraner is thinner now and her coat gets oily quicker, so I am in the process of finding out more about this.
Thank you for starting this thread, really helpful and interesting to know what other doggies are eating.

[kargatorfan]

I was referred to Golden Way to purchase dog food http://www.goldenway.ch/ I have not been yet, but plan to go today. There are three stores:

Riedikerstrasse 50
8610 Uster
Tel 044 / 940 15 23
Fax 044 / 941 46 96
E-Mail info[at]goldenway.ch
Mo - Fr 8.00-12.30
13.30-18.30
Sa 8.00-16.00

Reutenenstrasse 32
5210 Windisch
Tel 056 / 441 37 46
Fax 056 / 441 37 46
E-Mail info[at]goldenway.ch
Mo - Fr 9.00-12.00
13.30-18.30
Sa 9.00-16.00

Sunnehofstrasse 7
8493 Saland
Tel 052 / 386 31 76
Fax 052 / 386 31 75
E-Mail EMail Saland
Mo - Fr 9.00-12.30
14:00-18.30
Sa 9.00-16.00

My sweet beagle has recently been diagnosed with bladder cancer and I am now cooking her food. But I want to continue to supplement and am considering the Acana brand as it seems to be corn free and use higher quality carbohydrates...a recommendation from a book about diets for dogs fighting cancer. I am going to the Uster store as they also have frozen meat and veggie mixes that I may use when cooking food for Emily. Will let you know about the store and the food.

[r4chel]

Our dog (lab and cockerspaniel cross) gets fed biomill dinner as he hates large chunks, he is fussy. So it is nice small pellets and he loves it, his coat is shiny and overall he is in a great condition.

[ullainga]

Ours eat different brands - mostly Acana, Orijen, Taste of the Wild sometimes Eukanuba, this all is bought from Zooplus. We also buy Platinum from our trainer, which they love, and they get a lot of meat and chicken.

[kargatorfan]

I went to the Golden Way Store in Uster to purchase dog food. They were very helpful, had a great selection of high quality dog foods including Acana and Orijen. The young lady who helped us was very friendly and spoke some English, although she told us her dad is there during the week and speaks perfect English. They had lots of supplements and also carry the fresh meat as well. I can highly recommend the Uster branch of the store.
http://www.goldenway.ch/

Riedikerstrasse 50
8610 Uster
Tel 044 / 940 15 23
Fax 044 / 941 46 96
E-Mail info[at]goldenway.ch
Mo - Fr 8.00-12.30
13.30-18.30
Sa 8.00-16.00

We decided to try the Orijen, although I also read about Swiss Natural (http://www.allfarm.ch/modules/wsShop...location_id=61) and FeliCan Dog (http://www.felican.ch/html/Joomla/in...lican-dog.html), two other locally produced foods which appear to have the higher protein content my dog needs. Has anyone tried either of these foods? The Swiss Natural is a 20kg bag for 99CHF, which is considerably cheaper than the other premium foods.
Thanks

[meloncollie]

I'm sorry to hear about your beagle, Kargatorfan. Paws crossed for the little guy.

FYI, I cook for one of mine (fish or chicken, veg, sweet potato) and add a vitamin supplement, Bosch Vi-Min which is designed to go with home-cooked diets. I get it delivered from Meiko:
http://www.meiko.ch/index.cfm?shopar...AE380798C02834

Product description here:
http://www.bosch-tiernahrung.de/inde...e=sorte_vi_min

He looks good, the vet is happy with his general condition on this diet.

	Quote:	kargatorfan
	Has anyone tried either of these foods?[/U] The Swiss Natural is a 20kg bag for 99CHF, which is considerably cheaper than the other premium foods.

Thanks for the Swiss Natural link - I'm also looking for a grain-free food, and am tempted to try the Adult Huhn und Kartoffeln, although I worry that the fat content might be too high for my girl.

Did you notice - does Goldenway carry sample sizes of Swiss Natural? (Oh how I hate trying to change foods - I end up wasting the better part of an open bag when it becomes apparent 2 weeks down the line that a food doesn't suit...)


(By the bye - is that a sheltie I spy cuddled up with the beagle in your Avatar?)

[CHanuck]

I transitioned my pup to Magnusson's Meat & Biscuit food (http://www.hundmat.com/en/) when I arrived here largely due to posts on this forum about it (thank you meloncollie et al); I had never heard of it before. The transition to this food was easy and she seems to tolerate it well (no issues with stool consistency, gas, etc.) I did it very slowly and she's now been on this food for more than three months. My only complaint is that her breath is much worse than it used to be (terrible, in fact), but I think this might be related to the consistency of the food (the baked kernels are pretty soft compared to extruded foods), and it just means that I have to step-up the brushing a bit. I order through Meiko and have found it to be easy and affordable (free delivery usually within 48 hours).

My pup was previously on a prescriptive diet in Canada due to some giardia-related GI issues but I was very eager to transition her to a higher quality food, especially since she is a giant breed dog with specific nutritional needs (and is still growing). It can be challenging to find a high quality dog food that is not high protein (not over 25%, in my case). My dream food (for my girl) is Golden Eagle (http://www.goldeneaglepetfoods.com/products-for-dogs), but I've not yet found a way to get it in Switzerland (or Canada, for that matter). If anyone ever finds a source for this brand in CH, I would really appreciate it if you could let me know. Thanks!

[fduvall]

We just started using Zooplus in Spain (where we are now living). I give them top marks for pricing and delivery, so far. Taste of the Wild is the brand we are buying now. But I don't think they deliver to CH yet (I see you live in FR).

We had very good customer experiences (in Zurich) with www.essendia.ch
and www.solidgoldswiss.ch - I would heartily recommend either of these companies.

fduvall

	Quote:	ullainga
	Ours eat different brands - mostly Acana, Orijen, Taste of the Wild sometimes Eukanuba, this all is bought from Zooplus. We also buy Platinum from our trainer, which they love, and they get a lot of meat and chicken.

[ullainga]

	Quote:	fduvall
	We just started using Zooplus in Spain (where we are now living). I give them top marks for pricing and delivery, so far. Taste of the Wild is the brand we are buying now. But I don't think they deliver to CH yet (I see you live in FR).

they do, at least according to the website.
http://www.zooplus.de/content/shippingcosts

I haven't had any issues with them either, very quick delivery and good prices.

[grumpygit]

Some of you are already familiar with our Labs "culinary choice". They call him Dyson next door!
Anyway as he is a Lab and prone to overeating, we were feeding him on the Purina Proplan for large dogs, light food, but the shop advised us to switch to the sterilised version as the light one was leaving him hungry. Didnt notice too much on the hungry stakes after we switched as he still eats anything that moves or doesnt in the garden.
He gets allergies that we put down to the amount of windfall fruit he eats.
He is two years old now and I just wish one day I dont have to watch out every time his head goes down on walks that he isnt consuming another animals recycled lunch.

[Jules in Basel]

I second http://www.solidgoldswiss.ch/

Customer service has been excellent. I've gotten lots of rebates and free trial bags of food and the woman that runs the site has been super nice. She even called me once when I ordered a 2.3kg bag of Taste of the Wild (to try on my picky eater) to tell me she was out of that size, but could send me the 6.9kg bag at the same price and apologized for being out. Plus I've always gotten my orders within 2 days of ordering.

They don't have a huge food selection in dry dog food (Natural Balance, Predator and Taste of the Wild), but none-the-less, a great little company.

[argus]

This company is efficient and even gave us a discount after our second purchase.

http://www.telion.ch/de_CH/cms/view/331

Very competitive pricing, too.

[meloncollie]

Bringing this thread back up.

After a horrible couple of months where a reaction to a new drug led to the mother of all IBD attacks, leaving Haifisch not able - and then not wanting - to eat.... and after trying just about everything available in CH and DE, including home cooked, to tempt him...

I stumbled on this - and glory be, he is eating of his own accord again. And keeping it down. (Halleluja!)

http://www.tamusana.ch/

Haifisch is eating the potato-based foods. The mini biscuits are especially good, as Haifish only has a few teeth - shape and texture are important to getting him to eat.

Small producer, batches made fresh so there is a ca. 10-14 day delivery time. Very friendly folks.

If your dog is having extreme tummy troubles, you might keep this in mind.

[kargatorfan]

Thanks for the food post Meloncollie! I think I might have to order some of the treats!

Sorry I did not see your posted reply from awhile back, but yes Murphy is a little sheltie guy...8kg. He's from a rescue organization in Dallas, TX-DFW Sheltie Rescue. He and Emily, my beagle, get along well.

Hope your pup is feeling better after the food fiasco!

[meloncollie]

	Quote:	kargatorfan
	Sorry I did not see your posted reply from awhile back, but yes Murphy is a little sheltie guy...8kg. He's from a rescue organization in Dallas, TX-DFW Sheltie Rescue. He and Emily, my beagle, get along well.

Always happy to see another Belltie ... erm... sheltie fan!

I have three of the little guys myself. Actually not so little. My Haifisch, who I always think of as tiny, is 10kg, ca 38c. Houdini the extreme Belltie is 13kg, ca 40cm - and Hooligan, my collie-sized sheltie is a whopping 17kg, 52cm to the shoulder. She's hoooooge for a sheltie (half American ). All are rescues, Hooligan from Germany, Haifisch from France, Houdini from Switzerland.

By the bye, should you be interested there is a forum for Swiss (and DE, and AT) sheltie fans:
http://www.sheltie-forum.ch/forum/index.php

Thanks for thinking of my Haifisch - he's hanging in there. At 17, each day is a blessing.

Hope you've found a food that works for your gorgeous guys.

[Jennifer W]

Just now discovering this thread, and it is perfect timing for me. As a new arrival with a big dog, and no Blue Buffalo here, you have all given me a great deal of information, and I should be able to find something that will work. I love how helpful everyone here is. Thank you.