No, they love la factrice. She delivers their food.
One dog is German and the other Swiss.
2 Likes
True enough, but one has to have it to spend it.
They are better at knowing what to eat and what not to right
Which always perplexes me as to what appeals in cow pats, since cows are vegetarian.
I had to get up early this morning to bite the postman, our dogâs ill. 
8 Likes
Our pooch has a very delicate stomach - always has done. If he eats something that disagrees with him, then he has diarrhea which is unpleasant for him and us (it makes picking up his poop a horrible experience⊠and unlike our neighbours we always pick up after him).
When living in the MĂ©doc we had a local pet shop - Dog & Co - who specialise in croquettes and were very helpful in finding something as close to what he ate back in the UK.
This is what we buy him whenever weâre back visiting there MĂ©docâŠ
1 Like
You could have a lie in, she comes just after lunch when I am making coffee!
My washerupper in chief cleans all my plates once given the correct permission and command but I thought I had him beat yesterday after I had a salad. Couldnât bring myself to eat all the lettuce but I left it on the plate anyway. He scoffed the lot and, as usual, left the plate gleaming. Just needs 5 seconds under the hot tap and a quick scrub, job done. 
He looks and sounds fierce but he loves everybody and imitates Jacque Brel with his howling plea when someone looks about to leave âtu me quitte pasâ 
2 Likes
Thanks for the maxi zoo catfood those of you that suggested it.
Iâve just had a quick look at their website, interesting offers. 10% off first order for newsletter signup, 10% off currently offered for shop pickup - lots of shops - free pickup at your local pickup point for 49 euro order. Otherwise free delivery to cat residence for 69 euro order etc.
That Wilderness brand looks ok except a tad expensive especially for croquettes. Are they that good?
Also seen they have Royal Canin, not sure how price controlled RC is but Iâd look at the giant packs available in Ruralmaster or similar too if I wanted that.
Maxi Zoo did have a bit of Felix (boss cat likes the Succulent and the Soups that are currently included in his Amazon .fr subscription) and Whiskas (boss cat will eat it, but not his favourite and does not do well if itâs too many meals of it)⊠but the Maxi Zoo choice looks good and healthier options close enough to Amz price.
Not sure if they do referral codes but if anyoneâs got one I plan to give maxi zoo an order in early October.
Owned by the Mars Family who are the richest family in America (but donât support Trump). Which is why I go for French owned smaller business Babâin.
3 Likes
Probably fibre and gut microbes, not the way I would want a fecal transplant. 
My doodles try to scrape up the horse droppings squashed by cars and baked by sun after market days. We will never understand what smells so delectable. Iâm just grateful there is no fox pee in our garden for them to roll in.
I read somewhere that dogs get something like 45% of their beneficial bacteria from external sources. Weâre fortunate in having rabbits on our land, so the poo our dogs pick up most of the time is dry and doesnât smell. At certain times of the year though they feast on pig shit - currently being spread on our neighbourâs field and the flies are multiplying rapidly. Time to buy Red Tops.
1 Like
I can confidently recommend âZooplusâ - they deliver anywhere in France, and donât sell any crap brands. Very efficient, wide range, including European brands not normally found in shops here. All done online, they do not support the costs of shops. Just google them.
I would not personally suggest Royal Canin - too high in cereals, for padding.
Bon courage with your big move! - and Welcome to SF and la belle France!
1 Like
I recommend the butcher, nearly always one in every medium to large town.
Another fan of Zooplus - very fast delivery too.
Airedales come from a limited gene pool, which means they tend to have problems - typically allergies to certain foodstuffs - chicken tends to be an issue. So I look for lamb + rice recipes. Zooplus carries specialist providers like James Wellbeloved. Wolf of Wilderness is useful because they have exotic proteins that are less likely to be allergens.
2 Likes
Depends on the supermarket and when you buy it. Our local Super-U has viande pour les animaux that Iâd be perfectly happy eating myself in a bourguignon and have considered doing it as a novelty - it is often better quality than the meat sold for that purpose. But not in every store in the group and not every day - if it looks nasty then skip it.
Our 17yr old whippet has had that as a raw diet most of the 10yrs weâve been here and raw meat has most of the nutrition they need. We would add 10% cooked chicken livers and a squirt of salmon oil and used to give a whole raw chicken wing daily but over the past year we have moved to cooking everything for her and it is mostly cooked chickent thigh these days as she is getting fussy in her dotage.
We also keep a bowl of croquettes available at all times - she has never been greedy so only takes it occasionally but we get a good brand with added chondroitin etc. We (she) like(s) Canagan, a premium UK brand available via Jardiland stores or online from them in France.
We stopped insuring for vets bills even before coming to France and she has been disgustingly healthy throughout her life, the only major item being a tumour removed last year that cost maybe 5% of what we would have been paying for insurance all those years (we do have 3rd party pet insurance via our home insurance)
2 Likes
Do you take all the meat off the bones before giving it to her? Lots of little bones in there to get stuck otherwise I would have thought.
1 Like
We donât give her that now as she is too elderly and we even cut the meat for her these days as well as cook it (a la plancha, since you didnât ask) 
. But no - there is much nutrition in the bone itself and if it isnât cooked then healthy dogs can easily chew through a whole chicken wing without harm. At one point we even gave her raw drumsticks but decided that the meat/bone ratio in wings was better (and they are cheaper).
We have a vetâs bill that says otherwise!
meat bones are turned into stock (or bone broth for millennials) which he loves.
Gazillions of articles online including those published in respected journals and written by qualified veterinarians support the benefits of dogs eating raw chicken wings - the only contra-indication is for those dogs that bolt their food without chewing, as of course the bones are too large to safely swallow whole. But then that also holds true for meat - did you know that one of the main accidental causes of human death in the USA is choking on a piece of meat? I only discovered that after my nieceâs fiance tragically died that way in front of her at a Christmas celebration some years ago.
Cooked chicken bones are of course a no-no - they change drastically during the cooking process and are less nutritious as well as prone to splintering. Cooking makes food more palatable but in most cases lowers nutritional value and even creates toxins such as antioxidants (still love a good barbecue, mind). Thumbs up to bone broth, mind (I only call it stock when I make it for myself and have a roast free range chicken carcass on the go right now for that purpose). Pick over the drained carcass afterwards for meat and cartilage for the dog - plus mashed carrot if I am lucky (she usually casts it aside).
R