Dog food for extended European trip (1 Viewer)

Sep 11, 2014
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What do you do if you're going to be out of the country for 2-3 months, regarding the dog's food?

I doubt we have storage space or weight allowance to take sufficient tins/sacks of mixer. I also doubt we could buy the exact same food wherever we find ourselves and anticipate digestion problems if we chop and change his diet.

What do others do?

Karen
 

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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i used to take a big bag of the food my old dog used to eat . but in truth these days its available in eu. well something similar.
if going to morocco i bought a bag before crossing in spain . but its available there in the supermarkets these days . dried food is easier than tins . start them here and keep trying .

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Jul 29, 2013
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We take bags of mixer with us but there are mixers in the supermarkets it's a bit of a job to decide which is suitable but you can get it and what is available varies in brands.(y)(y)
 
OP
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Sep 11, 2014
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i used to take a big bag of the food my old dog used to eat . but in truth these days its available in eu. well something similar.
if going to morocco i bought a bag before crossing in spain . but its available there in the supermarkets these days . dried food is easier than tins . start them here and keep trying .

We tried swapping him to dried food, it wasn't very successful (very nasty results the next day :( I guess it's time to try again.

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Jul 29, 2013
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We use beta have always found the dogs we have had over the years liked it.
 

vwalan

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try a bag from your vets to start with . or even have a word with a local kennels .
we used to buy a big bag from our local farm supply stores usually cheapest place around but usually didnt buy the cheapest makes .
ours used to be abroad 6 months or more of the year so they either liked it or got hungry.
but many times they had fish or some of ours that was left.
one wouldnt eat tinned food after awhile .
 

Kim H

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Aug 24, 2011
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We take our food with us. We use Millie's Wolfheart as one of our dogs has allergies to some ingredients and we don't want a flare up whilst abroad. As its high in protein, you don't need to feed as much and best of all its VAT free as its a working dog food.

https://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/

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D

Deleted member 29692

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I've never seen the food my two eat anywhere outside the UK but I'm sure it's available. So far I've always just taken enough with us but we've never been away for as long as you're thinking of.
 
Feb 24, 2013
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We find that Lola actually seems to like the change, can't be very exciting always having the same dinner, her appetite picks up a treat when away on different food. not sure if it is the MH, travelling or new food she likes (y)

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vwalan

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i used to find mine liked running with the wild dogs in spain or morocco. she used to bring them back to the truck for a feed . she wouldnt let other dogs share her food but wild dogs yes they could . we often had 6-10 dogs to feed . made good guard dogs . blackie the last one could go missing for days then turn up with new friends . she would also sleep outside watching all the vans in our group or set the wild dogs up as guard dogs as if to say work and you will be fed .
i miss her sometimes she was almost human.
 
Feb 22, 2014
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We feed ours raw so would by human food from the supermarket.
 

vwalan

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be alright in cornwall if you feed yours human food they sell children pasties down here . ha ha .

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OP
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reckless
Sep 11, 2014
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We use Lidl/Aldi dog food. Our dog does very well on it, and you can buy exactly the same stuff at Aldi and Lidl on the Continent.

That's definitely worth trying, thanks

We find that Lola actually seems to like the change, can't be very exciting always having the same dinner, her appetite picks up a treat when away on different food. not sure if it is the MH, travelling or new food she likes (y)

Milo will eat anything (probably comes from his days fending for himself on the streets) but we've stuck with what the rescue recommended apart from once and that didn't go well.
 

sdc77

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Jan 28, 2013
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We use royal canin.. which is availabel in france .. normaly carry enough for the time away though
 
Feb 24, 2013
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I think Lola just likes the baguettes avec jambon :)

seriously, although I can share your fears, might be worth trying a new dry food to see how it goes (y)

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32143

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We use dry take a little with us, and cut off ingredients label, when we run out just look for closest match on label, generally they have the same stuff abroad under a slightly different name as a lot of the big brands are made by the same company.
Always see a lot of pedigree stuff, so generally can get their dental sticks.
Lidl always seem to have dog foods and treats in any country we have visited, so we stock up on treats when we see one. Only place had real problems was Greece, local supermarket only had cheaper stuff, with a lot of colours, so we ordered stuff from vets, delivered in couple of days.

:)
 
Oct 18, 2012
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If I have to change the brand of dog food for any reason, when supplies are getting low I mix the old and new 50:50. That seems to avoid an upset tummy. It is difficult to judge how much to take away.

Dried food everytime - it doesn't smell like tinned food:(
 

JJ

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I find it amazing how there are people who think that, once across the Channel, life as they know it, ceases to exist!

(NB. I suppose it might, if you are going across to the Dis-United Kingdom from the mainland...)

JJ :cool:

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May 8, 2010
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The one thing we couldn't find in Spain, was anything resembling a Bonio. We ended up having to buy some small biscuits from the supermarket. They smelled nice -coconut - but they just weren't what a large dog needs! :oops: So, if your dog is any bigger than a Cocker, you might be well-prepared by taking a good stock of 'proper', 'man-sized' biscuits. (y)
 
Dec 12, 2010
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Our boys get frozen raw food mixed with Skinners Field and Trial dry. The raw comes in 1.4 kg "sausages" and we can only carry enough of them for 1 month away. If we run out, we tend to feed them canned tuna or buy some raw mince. Tinned dog food has too many additives and fillers in it, bit like most human ready meals I suppose ?

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OP
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Sep 11, 2014
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If I have to change the brand of dog food for any reason, when supplies are getting low I mix the old and new 50:50. That seems to avoid an upset tummy. It is difficult to judge how much to take away.

Dried food everytime - it doesn't smell like tinned food:(

Tried the 50/50 - still got the upset tummy :(

I'd much prefer to feed dried food but hubby feels dogs should have meat. I don't think Milo would care, to be honest, and it would be a whole lot easier.

Karen
 
OP
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Sep 11, 2014
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I find it amazing how there are people who think that, once across the Channel, life as they know it, ceases to exist!

(NB. I suppose it might, if you are going across to the Dis-United Kingdom from the mainland...)

JJ :cool:

When we cross the channel @JJ I always hope that life as we know it *will* cease to exist for the period that we're away :)

Next time will be our first with the dog and I'd prefer to avoid any unnecessary upset due to change in his normal food. Its doubly unpleasant to clear up after a dog with the runs.

Karen
 

Kim H

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Tried the 50/50 - still got the upset tummy :(

I'd much prefer to feed dried food but hubby feels dogs should have meat. I don't think Milo would care, to be honest, and it would be a whole lot easier.

Karen

Ours have dried food as stated before (Millie's Wolfheart) but we also give them fruit and veg as treats (carrots, apples, cauliflower, broccoli) and put a tin of sardines on top of their kibble once a week. Tinned dog food is high in sugar and water and IMO produces a lot more waste - if you catch my drift!

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OP
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reckless
Sep 11, 2014
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Ours have dried food as stated before (Millie's Wolfheart) but we also give them fruit and veg as treats (carrots, apples, cauliflower, broccoli) and put a tin of sardines on top of their kibble once a week. Tinned dog food is high in sugar and water and IMO produces a lot more waste - if you catch my drift!

Totally get your drift @Kim H all the more reason for me to persevere with that change asap.

As for fruit and veg nah not happening, he sniffed and walked away in disgust :D

Karen
 

Minxy

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We use Aldi/Lidl food here and abroad so no problem, if we are getting low and have to buy another brand we give it to our 2 older dogs as our little Tazzy has a gippy tummy anyway so she gets the remains of the 'normal' stuff.

As for clearing up after an 'ill' dog ... that is NOT nice .. not one bit ... and what comes out of one 'end' is worse than the other!
 
May 8, 2010
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Dried food for our dog, too. He scoffs it down!
It also make 'picking up' after him so much easier.:D

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