I saw in a magazine of dogs the publicity of the pet food company Eagle Pack.
The Eagle Pack is present in Italy since 2002, I read in different italian websites positive comments but here, this dog food isn't very well know.
Is there someone who know or who uses this product?
How is this product?
I visited the italian website and I was impressed by the incredible number of the ingredients, it's very high.

The Italian Eagle pack website: http://www.eagleitalia.it

Questo messaggio è stato modificato l'ultima volta il: 30-09-2008 11:50 da Magnagati.

I have seen this food but it is not very popular in our area. There are so many dog food choices and a lot of companies are now producing a premium food. I looked at some of the ingredients in the Eagle Pack. I like their Holistic product but not some of the others that have corn for the second ingredient. How are the European Bergamascos when it comes to eating? Ours are pretty picky so we try to give them a variety to keep them interested, inaddition to cooking some fresh meats, fish and vegetables for them. Bergamascos are not highly food motivated like a lot of other breeds. They seem to only eat what they need which is good because they don't get overweight. Here is a link with lots of information about dog food and ratings. It will give you lots of material in english to read. :wink: After reading some of this, I have found there is no perfect commercial food but there are a lot of bad ones. We have also tried some very highly rated foods with the best ingredients and our dogs won't eat it.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main">http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main</a><!-- m -->

Thank you for the link.

In the past the Bergamascos with the shepherd eat polenta (typical North Italian food, in particular polenta is a speciality of the regions Lombardia and Veneto, the polenta is make with maize, water and salt) a piece of bread and cheese.

For my experience I can say that the Bergamascos aren't very interested in food, my bergamasco has more interest in the game with the ball; when I give him the food I say "mangia" (eat) and I close he in the garage, when he finishes I open the garage.

I use an italian product: http://www.novafoods.eu/component/option...Itemid,58/
Even here the eagle pack products are not very popular, a friend of mine that breeds westy and smooth fox terrier told me that a her friend, Dobermann's breeder use the eagle pack, but it's very expensive and she mixture it with another brand.
I found the eagle pack price in a magazine for dogs and they quote a price ranging from 60 to 65 euros (91 to 98,60 dollars) for a 15 Kg bag.
I read the link and it's very interesting.
I noted that the approach to food for dogs in europe is different than that overseas, the European laws are very strict and the Italians even more. I have spoken in this period with different people about the dog food and many don't like much the food that comes from america.

Questo messaggio è stato modificato l'ultima volta il: 30-09-2008 11:55 da Magnagati.

Here is a link to the foods we use:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp">http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.frommfamily.com/products-fs-d-d-grain-free-surf-and-turf.php">http://www.frommfamily.com/products-fs- ... d-turf.php</a><!-- m -->

The quality of foods in the USA have defintely improved over the last 5 years. We try to avoid all foods that have a lot of grains, especially if it is the first ingredient. I will look at the Nova site.

Wow!... $95 for a bag of dog food. :cry: That is a lot of money. A 33 Lb bag of Eagle Pack Holistic would cost me $45 if I purchased locally. That is about the same amount we pay for the EVO and Fromm food (links to website above).

Our Bergs definitely eat more when they have had a lot of exercise.
Ciao

It's very interesting the Fromm, besides It's very interesting the contents of protein and fat and especially the conceptual difference that's in europe, if I take a book on dogs or one breed in particular I can read in the chapter on nutrition that a good dry food for dogs must contain:
crude protein 22-25%
crude fat 8-14%
However i like much the fromm dry food.
What kind of dry food do you use for the puppies?

Unfortunately the taxes in Italy are very high, on dogs food we pay the iva (imposta sul valore aggiunto - Value added tax), this particular tax is approximately the 20% of the final price.
If I bought directly the Eagle Pack Holist From USA with favourable exchange $45 are 30 euros.

My Bergamasco eats tasteful when my brother's dog, a Siberian Husky female comes at my home, the movement and competition improves the appetite.

Questo messaggio è stato modificato l'ultima volta il: 30-09-2008 11:58 da Magnagati.

There has been growing research that higher protein food for dogs is good. However, it is not desireable for very large breeds and especially while they are growing. We find the Bergamascos like the food with a higher protein content. I think this is because it has more meat in the ingredients with very little or no grains. This is a more natural diet for a canine considering they are primarily carnivores with a small percentage of vegetables and fruit. We also feel the extra protein and fat content in the kibble is good for active dogs and for Bergamascos who don't like to eat very much. You just have to be careful it doesn't upset their stomach if you are changing from a lower protein/fat content food. Our Bergamascos are very active and it is hard to keep the weight on them. Our adult male is about 33kg and our adult females are between 24 and 27kgs. We also will mix the Fromm chicken ala veg with the EVO to give them variety. The protein content on the chicken Fromm is 24% and fat is 15%. This is closer to what you were saying...

We like to feed our puppies a food that has a little less protein (while they are growing) and then we switch to an adult food when they are over a year old. This is the oposite of what most people do. Although, the puppy food has more mineral content such as calcium for the growing body. We feed Natural Blend made by Royal Canin. Link: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.naturalblend.com/SCHDNBP.HTM">http://www.naturalblend.com/SCHDNBP.HTM</a><!-- m -->
The adult dogs like this also and sometimes we will let them have some.

Okay... one more brand we feed to both the adults and puppies for variety: Honest Kitchen - Embark. It is dehydrated and you have to mix it with water first. This food is expensive but the dogs really like it. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/embark.shtml">http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/embark.shtml</a><!-- m -->

A couple things we really like about the foods we use. 1.) They have less fillers and are more nutrient dense so we do not have to feed as much. The dogs are full with a smaller quantity. 2.) Their stools are much smaller and that makes the yard easier to clean. I do believe people should feed what works best for their own dogs. Just because it is expensive or a highly rated food doesn't always mean it is good.

I agree with you, it's better a slow growth and well thought that a growth too fast. 8)

I want to thank you for all the information you provided to me, is really interesting to compare our knowledges and experiences, especially to compare the differences between America and Europe.

I carryover up this topic
I use the novafoods dog food: http://www.novafoods.eu/index.php
Now the novafoods has launched a new line, the Natural trainer, the brand with this new line adds what was missing to reach brands such as Almo nature ( http://www.almonature.co.uk/index.php?lng=3 (holistic)) and eaglepack (holistic), which in several italian forums I read be considereds the tops dog food brands.
What was charged to the old line Trainer professional was the fact to make often loose faeces, who has already changed to this new line of novafoods took a further improvement, especially as regards the faeces, now the third ingredient is the rice.
It also seems that the old line will cease to exist and will be present while stocks last.

The new Natural Trainer Line: http://www.novafoods.eu/products/?ViewID...amilyID=18

Questo messaggio è stato modificato l'ultima volta il: 30-09-2008 12:00 da Magnagati.

I found this dog food brand: http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/about/
Someone know it?

Questo messaggio è stato modificato l'ultima volta il: 30-09-2008 12:01 da Magnagati.

I point out a site that reviews various worldwide brands: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

Questo messaggio è stato modificato l'ultima volta il: 30-09-2008 12:01 da Magnagati.

I found this dog food brand very interesting: http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
The brand is also present in Italy but with a different name and unfortunatly with not the same ingredients and formulation: http://www.texaspets.it/petcani1.htm

Questo messaggio è stato modificato l'ultima volta il: 30-09-2008 12:03 da Magnagati.