So, I recently heard a recommendation for a kibble type food, that contains no carbohydrate - it's air dried (traditional kibble requires carbohydrate). I have no intention of feeding raw (for loads of reasons) but was interested, so took a look at it. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002AYC7TG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00 It's called ZiWiPeak and indeed the ingredients look impressive. If I wanted to feed this to Charlie, I'd feed the venison and fish one, as that's the one he is likely to tolerate the best. I thought I might give it a try....then I saw the price! Gosh. £23 a kg! What's it made of? Gold dust.... Anyway, I decided to order one small bag in order to take a look at it. I'm hoping to be able to cut up the squares and use it for training treats - I use so many treats trying to train my hooligan, that it would be great if I could find a "proper" dog food that is high value enough to use as treats.... Not sure I could afford to feed it as normal food though! This is what it has in it... Venison - Meat (includes up to 3% finely ground bone) min. 50% Hoki Fish min. 12% Venison - Liver, Lung, Tripe, Heart and Kidney min. 28% New Zealand Green-Lipped Mussel min. 3%
Hmm, it doesn't seem that different to Burns. So, yes, very expensive! Although, strangely, cheaper per kg to buy one pack than five!
Hehe, I like one of the benefits: "Easier to feed". Yes. Because other kibble is just so darned difficult!!!
If Charlie is a "more active adult" - I think that's probably right - then.... [h=3]Feeding Guidelines*[/h] Energy required: 1625 kCal Amount fed per day: 281 g Scoops per day: 4.94 So 1kg would last 3.5 days - so £46 a week on dog food. Mind, I'd probably feed about half that amount. Charlie is a very good "doer". He gets only 100g a day of his food now, plus his training treats (low fat turkey).
Yeah, that is the worst thing about kibble. You have to open the bag, then you have to take the kibble out of the bag, then you have to walk to the bowl, then you have to put it in the bowl. If this new kibble can simplify this process then I'm all for it.
The Burns dog food is kibble based on carbohydrate? I mean, it's a normal kibble, isn't it? At least as far as I can see, but perhaps I looked at the wrong type. The thing about ZiWiPeak (they claim) is it doesn't have the high volumes of carbs as other kibbles.
No, I meant in terms of the quantity fed per day. I was sort of expecting the ZiWiPeak one to say that it only needed half the amount so it worked out comparative. I suppose that doesn't make sense, though, since carbs and proteins have the same caloric density.
Oh, I see. Yes, that's right, it doesn't seem a particularly low volume needed, a bit less than Charlie's current food but not much. It seems really expensive alright - and since I'm broadly content with Charlie's current food don't have a massive drive to switch. Anyway, let's see what it's like when the sample bag arrives.....
I fed my previous girl on Orijen - I loved it and she did too. Similar to ZiwiPeak and also outrageously expensive. Old Remy could live off the fumes from kibble though so never had too much but the current pair would be eating around 650g a day between them (Tarka needs loads to keep a decent weight) and I think OH would have a coronary if he saw the dog food bill for that amount....
Riley is a seriously picky eater with a sensitive tummy. I'm sure in my heart he'd be better on raw but it's just not practical for us. I tried him on Orijen thinking it was as close to raw as kibble could get and he STILL wasn't fussed and two dogs on it is expensive. I think they did eat slightly less than a kibble with car in it but only just. They're both on Kronch grain free now and Riley gets a little tripe mince or wet food on top to keep life interesting.....
So I got 1kg of this - it cost me £18.99. It is very smelly (good, I thought, for treats). And comes in flat flakes. It is very easy to cut up. One flake is about the size of treat I'd give for something (a heel, sit etc) outside in a moderately challenging environment. I'd cut them half for clicker training. A quarter would get a bit too small to handle. It's quite heavy (in weight) so you don't get a huge amount of flakes to a scoop..... I put a scoop in my pocket for an off lead walk at the Common, in a very smelly area, quite busy with other dogs and people. That would be about a 1/4 of Charlie's daily allowance. About what I'd use anyway for such a walk. I didn't use it all though, so had enough left over for clicker training later. Charlie likes it. I'd say it's much higher value than normal kibble, a seabiscuit, or very lean turkey, but not as high value as cheese or beef. It worked well as an everyday treat, I'd say. But, I think you don't get very much for the calorie of ziwipeak....it's a lower volume than normal kibble. Still, higher value. I feel good that I have a treat that is quite high value and "proper" dog food (particularly the green lipped mussel - good for joints), so I'll see how we go. The main thing will be whether using it like this means he puts on weight. If not, I very well may stick with it as a training treat. ziwipeak1 by Julie T, on Flickr ziwipeak2 by Julie T, on Flickr
That sounds really interesting I'm probably going to give it ago for treats especially as it claims to help joints.
Interesting "shape" - looks quite moist, a bit like the Orijen (not thats its really moist, just malleable almost)
Critical point for use as a training treat for me: does it float? Floating kibble is essential to entice Lochan into the river after a Fox poo incident - Orijen doesn't. There is a new diet around very similar to Ziwipeak and Orijen called Farmina N&D. I've just blagged a trial bag from a rep and will let you know how it goes, it seems to be going to retail at about £23 for a 2.5kg grain-free lamb and pomegranate bag, a bit less for the low grain version which is GMO free based on ancestral grains.
HaHa - I've no idea whether it floats. I'll try some in his water bowl.... Farmina N&D sounds good. £23 for 2.5kg is a better price. Still quite steep though. Yes, do let us know what it's like.
