# Eukanuba -- what do you think?



## cs_girl (Mar 15, 2009)

I was looking up information on different foods and looking at reviews and Eukanuba seemed like a good food so I picked up a bag of the adult maintenance for Bailey. 

I was just wondering what people thought about this food and if you feed it how your dogs like it?

I love Orijen and feed it to my cats but when I tried my last dog on it she ate it for a day or two and then wouldn't touch it. $60 down the drain, lol. The same thing happened when my mom tried giving it to her dog.


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

You could do much better than Eukanuba. Most of their formulas contain pretty poor ingredients.


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## StellaLucyDesi (Jun 19, 2008)

I'm not sure what reviews you were reading about Eukanuba, but IMO it is not something I would feed because I feel there are much better foods out there. Eukanuba isn't the worst of the lot, but not the best. They do have a new line that is "supposedly" better...Naturally Wild, I think. I like feeding a good quality, natural food with a decent amount of protein/fat and no by-products, artificial preservatives, etc. No corn, wheat. Basically, I like gluten-free. Meat/meal (like chicken, chicken meal, etc.) has to be the first ingredient. I have used grain-free, but don't consider grain-inclusive bad. In fact, I am using grain-inclusive at this time. For MY dogs, I have found the high-protein, grain-free don't really work the best. Here are some foods I would feed and recommend. This is not to say, your dog won't do well on Eukanuba, tho'. It, like Purina (which I have used - ProPlan) has been a stand-by food for alot of people for years. But, just in case you want to go more natural....

Grain-inclusive:

Eagle Pack Holistic Select - this is what I'm feeding (dry and can)
FROMM 4-Star
Innova
Wellness Super-5 Mix
Canidae
Merrick
Solid Gold
Nature's Variety Prairie
Natural Balance
Evanger's
Halo
Avoderm
By-Nature
Dogswell
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul
Newman's Own
Castor & Pollux Organix
Natural Planet Organics, Nutrisource
Flint River Ranch

Grain-free:

Orijen, Acana
FROMM 4-Star Surf & Turf
Solid Gold Barking at the Moon
Nature's Variety Instinct
Merrick BG
Wellness CORE
Taste of the Wild
EVO
Canidae Grain-free

And, I know there are many more to choose from, but this is a good starting list. Have you been to these sites...? www.dogfoodanalysis.com, www.dogaware.com, www.dogfoodproject.com. These are great reading and very helpful. They can be used to "guide" you. IMO, they are not the end-all, be-all, but I have used them as a resource. My philosophy is read the ingredients!!!!! Then, choose what works for YOUR dog. Good Luck, your new Cocker is beautiful!


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## UrbanBeagles (Aug 13, 2007)

I used to feed it a few years ago, was a walking advertisement for it! Honestly, before the formula was changed in mid '06, this was the single best dry food on the market ... and I usually don't make generalizations like that. The research behind it was & still is top notch. However, they bagan to cheapen the formulas, lowering the protein and DHA levels in the puppy/Premium performance feeds, changing the source of ingredients. Finally I got fed up and moved on. That being said, I have been following up with Eukanuba recently. They have brought back their old Performance formula 30/20 just gave it a new name for sporting dogs. They are doing away with all those stupid breed/size specific formulations and are going back to the old feeds. The adult maintenance, for instance, was changed to medium breed - fat/protein/kcals were tweaked - but is now back to the original maintenance formula. They have also brought back their breeder program & improved it, but yeah, too much information, lol  

I will say this. If it's anything like it was in years past, you can't go wrong with Euk, it'll be worth every cent. It's a very low carbohydrate feed, despite what you'll hear about it being grain based, nothing could be further from the truth. It was a very good food for dogs with digestive issues or dogs who were plaque formers. 

If you don't mind, keep us posted. I'd love to hear how your dog fares on the Euk!


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## StellaLucyDesi (Jun 19, 2008)

You know, UrbanBeagle, I am agreeing with you more & more LOL! I know lots of people (farmer friends, trainer friends, my brother who can't afford better, neighbor, etc.) who are feeding the basic stand-by feeds...by that I mean Purina, Eukanuba, Pedigree...and their dogs are doing really great! So, I am kinda changing my philosophy a little. Go with what works for your dog!
I have used ProPlan before and liked it alot. I also used Eukanuba when it was the "old style", as well, and like it at the time. Now I'm using EPHS. It is a middle of the road "holistic" food, but it's working right now. And, I still feel the need to go the "holistic" route, so it's good. But, I will say that you have some good points in your advice and I appreciate the input!


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## txcollies (Oct 23, 2007)

StellaLucyDesi said:


> You know, UrbanBeagle, I am agreeing with you more & more LOL! I know lots of people (farmer friends, trainer friends, my brother who can't afford better, neighbor, etc.) who are feeding the basic stand-by feeds...by that I mean Purina, Eukanuba, Pedigree...and their dogs are doing really great! So, I am kinda changing my philosophy a little. Go with what works for your dog!
> I have used ProPlan before and liked it alot. I also used Eukanuba when it was the "old style", as well, and like it at the time. Now I'm using EPHS. It is a middle of the road "holistic" food, but it's working right now. And, I still feel the need to go the "holistic" route, so it's good. But, I will say that you have some good points in your advice and I appreciate the input!


You should hear what the serious gundog people feed and love. Diamond, Black Gold, Red Flannel, Arkat, and some Pro Plan. Their dogs do FANTASTIC on those foods.


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## UrbanBeagles (Aug 13, 2007)

> You know, UrbanBeagle, I am agreeing with you more & more LOL!
> I know lots of people (farmer friends, trainer friends, my brother who can't afford better, neighbor, etc.) who are feeding the basic stand-by feeds...by that I mean Purina, Eukanuba, Pedigree...and their dogs are doing really great! So, I am kinda changing my philosophy a little. Go with what works for your dog!



Uh-Oh! Welcome to the darkside, LOL! <JK> 

But yeah, I have seen hounds eating feeds like Pride, Sportsmix, Purina. These dogs look great, can run all day. I can't say, regardless of ingredients, that these foods are bad when they keep active dogs in such good shape.


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## SaveStrayDogs (Feb 4, 2009)

> Uh-Oh! Welcome to the darkside, LOL! <JK>


Can i join too??? LOL

I think that we still have in Greece the old eukanuba formula...


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## cs_girl (Mar 15, 2009)

Thanks everyone for your opinions.

I guess when it comes down to it -- regardless of how GREAT people say a food is or how good the ingredients look, it all comes down to what results you get. I agree with this because I have tried MANY foods over the years and to be honest, we had better results with many of the lower quality foods then the higher quality foods.

Thanks again!


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## SaveStrayDogs (Feb 4, 2009)

I just discovered something very interesting...
I ve been looking for a low-cost but decent food for the last months.
Currently we are on Purina ONE.My dog needs 200gr per day.

I was looking the ingredients on Eukanuba UK site and i discovered that a 14kg dog must be fed with 150gr from Eukanuba Adult small-medium breed ,and my dog is 13kg.

So ,if i 'll use eukanuba l'll have to feed less.A 3kg bag will last for a month...

I must check the prices too...Tomorrow!

(My vet keeps recommending Eukanuba...)


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## StellaLucyDesi (Jun 19, 2008)

Now, I'm not saying go out and find a low quality feed and feed it over a good quality one, but I really do feel (after my own experience) that sometimes the high-protein, grain-free or even raw, etc. don't always work for all dogs. Some do better on a GOOD quality, middle-of-the-road food with a decent amount of protein/fat and sometimes grains. Bottom line is, it is a personal decision. I do believe in doing the best you can for your dog! By that I mean, the highest quality feed, that works for your dog, that you can afford, and feel comfortable feeding. Thanks for listening to my rant LOL!


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## txcollies (Oct 23, 2007)

Being able to afford it and the dogs doing decent on it should be #1. I saw the price for Euk and I about died. $50 for one bag, and it wasn't even 50#. A ton of the holistic foods were just as pricey. I don't see how people do it in this day and age. ;-)


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## Donna5503 (Mar 13, 2009)

Hi....I've read that Eukanuba isn't a very good food -- it has to many fillers. My dog has a sensitive stomach...so I've researched some foods and I settled on Blue Buffalo Dry Food -- it costs $15.00 for a 6lb bag at Petsmart -- He loves the food and is doing very well on it. 

I feed him 1 Cup in the Morning and at night I give him 1 Cup of Boiled Chicken or Beef in a light Broth with 1/2 C of Dry Food.

Dog foods are very confusing....years ago there wasn't as many and the old favorites seemed to do just fine (like Pedigree, Alpo, Purina) ...but somewhere down the line these foods aren't very good anymore....the people running these companies have gotten cheap on the ingredients and they've been sold over & over again....and they put profit over nutrition.


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## HersheyPup (May 22, 2008)

I just bought a bag of Eukanuba Naturally Wild Venison and Potato....30 lbs. for $52.59 plus tax. yikes! 

I called the company today and the woman I talked to was EXTREMELY nice and was giving me more information than I even asked for. All I wanted to know was the calcium content of the three different varities (they are not listed on their website) and she was very helpful. 

If anyone wants to know..the Venison has 1.3% calcium, the Turkey formula has 1.4% and the Salmon has 1.0%. 

She told me that most people initally buy the product because it doesn't contain meat by-products or any corn, but then their animals are just loving the food and they even have to try and keep their cats away from the dog food, lol. We'll see...so far my dog loves it and seems to be having an easy time digesting it. No gas or other unfavorable results. 

I have been having great results with the "middle of the road" dog foods. The foods that are considered premium and ultra premium are the ones my dog has had trouble adjusting to. I do feed her "people food" raw meat, rice, fruits and veggies as well with no tummy upset...but those high end kibbles are not working for her.

I'll let you know how the Eukanuba works for her after a while. This is my first try with Eukanuba since the 80's!


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## UrbanBeagles (Aug 13, 2007)

> Hi....I've read that Eukanuba isn't a very good food -- it has to many fillers. My dog has a sensitive stomach...so I've researched some foods and I settled on Blue Buffalo Dry Food -- it costs $15.00 for a 6lb bag at Petsmart -- He loves the food and is doing very well on it.
> 
> I feed him 1 Cup in the Morning and at night I give him 1 Cup of Boiled Chicken or Beef in a light Broth with 1/2 C of Dry Food.



Eukanuba has no fillers. Off the top of my head, the ingredient list for the regular maintenance feed is/was chicken, chicken by product meal, ground corn, sorghum, fish meal, barley, chicken fat, beet pulp (sugar removed), brewers rice (imperfect rice pieces NOT rice left over from brewing process). I don't see a problem with any of these ingredients. Ground whole corn is a good source of B vitamins and is no different than any other grain. It's not a filler unless the company begins to split ingredients to list different types of corn in several places on the list. Sorghum is excellent for regulating blood sugar, which is why I have been thinking about Eukanuba recently ... Anyway, no fillers here. Just muscle meat, organ meat, fish meal, chicken fat as the animal protein/fat sources & barley, corn, sorghum, rice as the grains. 

If you did an internet search on these ingredients for human consumption, you'd find a plethora of information touting the health benefits and nutritional composition. Do the same search on those ingredients in dog food, and they are evil fillers that are indigestable carbo loaded, going to kill your dog, etc. These grains actually contain nutrients while grain free feeds have potatoes, a simple starch that spikes blood sugar and offers little to no nutritional value.

ETA: Wanted to add that Eukanuba was one fo the first, if not the first feed company to add DHA to their product and to list the carb/fat/protein content of their feeds. Not guaranteed analysis of protein, but how much of the actual feed is comprised of calories from fat, carbs and protein. Their feed has always been very low carb, RIVALING the grain frees @ around 26-33% for most of their puppy, performance, and regular maintance lines.


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## sheltiemom (Mar 13, 2007)

Ripley's breeder swears by Eukanuba, except for her pregnant bitches, she feeds puppy chow. I fed Euk on her advise for a while, and my dog did well, but the price is high. I feed Purina One now, but I have no prob with Euk...I disagree with alot of posters on this forum with regard to food though.


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## Donna5503 (Mar 13, 2009)

I'm sorry Urban Beagles - but I disagree.

I've researched Dry Dog Foods for weeks now -- and Eukanuba is not one I would recommend.

PS-- Your dogs are adorable


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## cs_girl (Mar 15, 2009)

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I do appreciate all of the replies! 

My family and I are huge animal lovers. We have rescued many animals over the years and found homes for them and we all have pets now. Two of my sisters worked/work at vets offices and my sister and my mom both have their vetrinary assistance diploma (where they also learned about nutrition). I also plan on getting mine. I have done a lot of research and read many reviews on different foods. I have also tried many different brands on my cats and dogs. I also talk with my sisters (I have four) and my mom about the foods they tried and how they worked. I'll be honest, I have not been overly impressed with the TOP quality pet foods. I could have easily purchased the Orijen for Bailey since I buy it at my vets office only 4 minutes from my house but instead we drove 45 minutes to petsmart to pick out another food because I was not happy with the results Orijen gave. Not only that, but each time I tried it, it gave my pets diarrhea.

Royal Canin came in a tiny bag and quite a bit more expensive. It had almost the same ingredients are Eukanuba and you had to feed more then DOUBLE the amount daily!!

I called and asked another pet store about Canidae and I was told that they don't carry too much of it because they don't sell enough of it to keep it in stock (and this was a BIG pet store). When I asked what the lady recommended (other then Orijen) she said she almost 100% of the time recommends Nutrience to people. 

Yet, another store I went into recommended another brand of pet food (that at this time I can't remember).

So, even the people who work in stores, know the ingredients, and get told by customers what works and doesn't work have different opinions on what the "ideal" food to feed is.

But one thing they ALL agreed on was that each animal is different and you can't go by the list of ingredients on the bag, you have to see what results you get and go by that.

One dog may do excellent on Orijen whereas another may do best on Purina or Pedigree.

Now, an update on the Eukanuba. Unfortunately Bailey seems to be a picky eater because he won't touch the stuff! He was eating Beneful and seemed to enjoy that but even when mixed with wet food he won't eat the Eukanuba. However, my cats seem to keep eating it.


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

UrbanBeagles said:


> Eukanuba has no fillers.


That's hilarious. What's corn/corn meal, beet pulp and brewers rice? All fillers - Fillers that dogs don't need and two of which that are known allergens.



cs_girl said:


> Two of my sisters worked/work at vets offices and my sister and my mom both have their vetrinary assistance diploma (where they also learned about nutrition).


Well _that's_ interesting. DVM's get little to NO training in nutrition - it's not apart of their degree - what type of nutrition training do vet techs get?


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

I think if your dogs do good on the Eukanuba, then you should feed it. Me, I've seen their prices and for the same money, I can get what I personally feel is a very good quality food for the same money, that my dogs do good on. My younger sheltie, at age 9, can eat almost anything. He'd probably do well on Eukanuba but since he does fine on a high quality food, he'll stay on that. Once, at PetCo, I was amazed at the prices of some of what I consider low quality food. The higher quality ones were very close to the same price. 

Marie


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## lillie20 (Oct 17, 2008)

I fed Eukanuba to my dog for a year and it did not work. After trying to always analyze his vomit problem, I decided to take him off the food. He's is so much better and now am convinced it was the food all along. Not sure if chicken-by-products or corn meal, etc. didn't agree with him. You have to go with the food that works for your dog.


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## UrbanBeagles (Aug 13, 2007)

Donna5503 said:


> I'm sorry Urban Beagles - but I disagree.
> 
> I've researched Dry Dog Foods for weeks now -- and Eukanuba is not one I would recommend.
> 
> PS-- Your dogs are adorable



In a good debate, we're all entitled to disagree with each other. Makes things lively  But please don't assume I have not done the research, because my findings have led me down a different path. I've owned dogs my entire life and began researching nutrition seriously in early 2000 when my first Beagle was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Been researching ever since, learning will never be complete, can never know all there is. I have tried everything from grain free raw to raw w/ grains, to a spectrum of holistic kibbles. Also found that a good number of holistic feeds are astronomically high in calcium - this can and has caused whelping complications in the past for me. 

Thanks for the comments on my Beags


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## HersheyPup (May 22, 2008)

The prices of pet food have gotten so high...I am even suprised by the prices of Pedigree and Dog Chow at the grocery store or pet supermarket. I don't have anything against either of these brands...just that they used to be SOOO much cheaper than the smaller names in the industry. Now they are much closer in cost it seems. With the exception of Timberwolf which correct me if I am wrong, but is the most expensive kibble on the market?

Everything has gotten so expensive though..like a bag of rice used to be a couple of bucks and now it's $5 to $7. Rice is a staple for millions of humans and big part of many feeds...so it stands to reason that the trickle down effect has caused the huge price hike even for the "grainy" foods.

I can't give detailed feedback of Eukanuba,yet, but so far absolutely perfect poops, excellent palatability and best of all (for my dog who can have a problem with it) NO gas, yay!! Some of what I consider to be the BEST brands would have me searching the cupboards and drawers for insensce and candles...and even then she'd be inevitably sent to the dog house, lol!

(I did start with their newest line Naturally Wild, though, and this line has no corn or by-products)


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## DougSlimline1 (Feb 11, 2009)

Eukanuba is a lower grade of dogfood. If I were you I would go with brands like Purina or Iams. If you are interested I know a great online store for dogfood coupons.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

DougSlimline1 said:


> Eukanuba is a lower grade of dogfood. If I were you I would go with brands like Purina or Iams. If you are interested I know a great online store for dogfood coupons.


Purina makes a variety of dog food; what ones do you consider to be a higher grade than Eukanuba? IMO, Purina ONE and Pro Plan are the only ones I'd ever consider and that would be if I were homeless. No offense to those of you who feed Purina but I feed my dogs the best that I can and it's not a Purina food. It's not Iams or Eukanuba either. The online coupon place is fine if you feed those foods but there's not a high quality food listed.


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## HersheyPup (May 22, 2008)

DougSlimline1 said:


> Eukanuba is a lower grade of dogfood. If I were you I would go with brands like Purina or Iams. If you are interested I know a great online store for dogfood coupons.



May I ask why you think Iams is better than Eukanuba? Iams and Eukanuba are both manufactured by Proctor and Gamble and Iams is sold in Grocery stores while Eukanuba is not. 

I do like some Purina products, though!


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## SaveStrayDogs (Feb 4, 2009)

My vet brought me a sample of eukanuba Venison & multigrain.
My dog HATED it.The kibbles are VERY small.

I bought this formula : http://www.eukanuba.co.uk/EukGlobal...dult Medium Breed Normal Activity.jsp?id=2018

and she LOVED IT!!! The kibbles are the biggest we have ever tried and very tasty(i always eat 1-2 kibbles)!!! I really like the fact that she has to eat less (140-150gr/day)than the most brands that are on the same lever(royal,hills,pro plan,ONE->200-230gr)!!!

I wish i had listened to my vet's opinion earlier... BUT,i wouldn't have learned the things than i know now...

We'll see the results in 2-3 months...


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

I had my dogs on Eukanuba not that long ago because I can get it for free. They did horribly on it. On their new grain free foods they had to eat a ton of food a day and where still losing weight, they were eating like 5-6 cups of food a day. I switched them to a different formula and they were both gassy, Lloyd was getting hot spots, horribly itchy. They both acted like kids on a sugar high. I used to feed it to my old dog, Lucky, like 5 or 6 years ago and she did well on it then, but my 2 now did horribly on it.


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## HersheyPup (May 22, 2008)

SaveStrayDogs said:


> My vet brought me a sample of eukanuba Venison & multigrain.
> My dog HATED it.The kibbles are VERY small.
> 
> I bought this formula : http://www.eukanuba.co.uk/EukGlobal...dult Medium Breed Normal Activity.jsp?id=2018
> ...


I started my dog on this formula..but when I looked up the link you posted I was suprised to see that the ingredients for your formula is totally different than the ingredients we have here in the US. 

Here...look at this:

Naturally Wild New Zealand Venison and Potato (US Formula)

Ingredients
Venison, Potato, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Brewers Rice, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken Meal, Fish Meal, Dried Egg Product, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp, Potassium Chloride, Chicken Flavor, Brewers Dried Yeast, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Calcium Carbonate, Rosemary Extract 

Now from the UK Eulanuba website:
EUKANUBA PRODUCT : Eukanuba Wild Nature Venison & Multigrain

Ingredients
Venison(>14%), corn(>14%), sorghum, chicken meal, rice(>10%), barley, animal fat, poultry meal, dried beet pulp, dried whole egg, chicken digest, potassium chloride, brewer's dried yeast, fish oil, sodium chloride, sodium hexametaphosphate, DL-methionine, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate.
Additives per kg:
Vitamin A:12000 IU/kg, Vitamin D :900 IU/kg, Vitamin E ( α-tocopherol):200 mg/kg, Copper as Copper II Sulphate:25 mg/kg

I thought that the difference between countries was pretty dramatic!


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

Hmm, that is interesting. Look how many grains are in the top five of the US formula.


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## SaveStrayDogs (Feb 4, 2009)

Yes there is a big difference between those 2 formulas.
I like most the US version...BUT...i can find the multigrain formula(why so small kibbles people???why???)

Till now my dog likes her eukanuba chicken & rice/medium breed.

Although Eukanuba is considered for many people as a low quality dog food, has the same price as acana,eagle pack,royal canin,pro plan,hills--->20euros /3kg.


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