Switching from Solid Gold to Royal Canin, anyone else?

[QuickSilver]

Oh, I see that your dog eats ~ 1/6 cup per day. A fifteen pound bag of SG would last you a looooooong time, I would imagine over six months, and probably more. I can't see something about how many cups are in a bag. Let me see if I can find that.

[QuickSilver]

Okay, that's very annoying, I can't find a cups : pounds ratio. But if you have a bag handy, you should be able to figure out how many "servings" the large bag has.

[delicatepuzzle]

[quote=hk25492;2737572]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Are you going to be overseas for several months, or longer? This would be a moot point for me because it takes Thor so long so get through one bag.

Great question, I'll be here (The Emirates) for at least 2 years,maybe 3. You're absolutely right about needing to have a back up plan in case the RC doesn't work out. I'll look at shipping rates, if they're too expensive then I might be able to ask other expats to bring me a bag in their suitcase when they fly home. (there are people traveling to/from the states all the time). I don't know if it's realistic to rely on people to "pretty please" bring me a heavy bag of food for the next 2 years though. especially now with airlines tightening their reigns on excess baggage....i'm babbling! You have great points....but I still don't know what to do

I used to live in Saudi Arabi about 10+ years ago. Try googling pet food stores in Dubai. I'm sure RC will be ok.

[hk25492]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

I can see your dilemma, and I think there's a good chance the RC will be fine. However, you might want to ask yourself (again), what will you do if they start itching constantly? It's not something they'll be able to put up with for years on end. Will you go to one of the other brands the vet has? Start cooking?

Also... they must have dogs in the UAE, right?? What are they all eating?

Finally, can you just buy three years worth of dog food and send it to yourself now / check it? How many cups do your babies eat per day?

I guess I'll have to start cooking if the RC doesn't work out. The other dogs here eat Pedigree or something along those lines. I haven't been here that long, so I haven't really met a ton of people. It's not exactly a "dog friendly" country as people here are scared of dogs and consider them to be dirty. people who do have dogs are generally expats like me, and not locals. so the selection of dog food and dog products is not only very expensive, it's also sparse. Other dog owners here are probably in the same bind that i'm in. I can't buy 3 years worth of Solid Gold because it expires pretty quickly (6 or 9 months shelf life if I remember correctly).

[hk25492]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Oh, I see that your dog eats ~ 1/6 cup per day. A fifteen pound bag of SG would last you a looooooong time, I would imagine over six months, and probably more. I can't see something about how many cups are in a bag. Let me see if I can find that.

I actually have 2 dogs, Livie & Tasha You're about right on your calculations though... but a 15lb bag lasts me about 3 or 4 months. With baggage allowance being 50lbs per bag, I'd have to ask someone to let me borrow about 1/3 of their baggage allowance every 3 months

[hk25492]

[quote=delicatepuzzle;2740678]

Originally Posted by hk25492

I used to live in Saudi Arabi about 10+ years ago. Try googling pet food stores in Dubai. I'm sure RC will be ok.

I googled and googled and googled! but didn't come up with anything good. I also went to SG's website and looked to see where they distribute their food internationally. I did the same thing for Wellness and a couple of other brands. None of them distribute to the UAE (or Saudi or Oman - I even thought about driving across the border to pick some food up if it was available in a nearby country). I'm starting to think that I should be happy that RC is even available here...especially after seeing my "grocery store choices" (pedigree, etc.). I guess my situation could be much worse if you think about it. I think I'll try the RC for a couple of months, like someone said earlier in the post, "it's not like it's going to kill them".

[QuickSilver]

Okay, so you've got a plan. You're all set.

Just out of curiousity, what do the locals think of your doggies? Is that like if an American went to a country where people raised bats as pets or something?

[hk25492]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Okay, so you've got a plan. You're all set.

Just out of curiousity, what do the locals think of your doggies? Is that like if an American went to a country where people raised bats as pets or something?

The only locals that have been in contact with my dogs are servicemen...people coming to install things at my house, the doorman, etc. The don't want to touch them, and they don't want the dogs sniffing at their feet. When they come into my house, they usually stand to the side for a minute until I've had a chance to either pick them up or put them in the bedroom with the door closed. Some people ask me how old they are... because they think they're puppies due to their size. I have not taken them for any walks because it's generally anywhere from 110-120 degrees outside during the summer. Once things cool down (October/November) I'll start looking for parks for them. But to tell you the truth, they'd pick their "doggie donut bed" over any park in a heartbeat