after looking to source raw here in northern ireland ive seen p@h do prize choice blocks, rabbit, tripe, chicken, im just wondering if anyone has used them and with what outcomes? also do you feed these by themselves or do you need to add anything?

Prize Choice is fine for feeding IME. I use it as part of a raw diet, adding chicken wings, poultry neck, lamb ribs, pilchards, raw eggs, fruit and veg and anything else I can get (plus bones for chewing).

I recently had to buy some of this to tide me over to the next delivery from my usual supplier.  I can tell by the output from one of my dogs that the Prize Choice Chicken and Rabbit minces are quite high in bone.  I'm not sure about Turkey.  However it shouldn't cause issues if you add more meat to even things out.

My only other complaint is the texture of this stuff; it's so finely ground that it resembles mousse rather than mince.  My dogs aren't that keen but if I combine it with other things they don't turn their noses up and they really like the tripe.

I regularly buy Prize Choice Beef Chunks and Heart Chunks both of which are excellent and would help to give the mince a bit of interest.

> My only other complaint is the texture of this stuff; it's so finely ground that it resembles mousse rather than mince

:) It is a bit like that, some varieties more than others :) Mine never turn their noses up at anything, but I make sure that they get quite a bit of 'real' meat too which they eat with equal gusto - they have no taste :) :) :)

My fussy puppy ate it happily for about a month, perhaps it's the texture she's now starting to complain about, she is just starting to turn her nose up a little bit, aargh it's worse than having a cat! She's sometimes eating it if I warm it through (I normally feed it to her at room temperature). Oh well back to PAH tomorrow to try something else I suppose, though she's jolly well going to have to finish the half a dozen blocks in the freezer as well, that will hopefully also increase variety as people keep saying that's what she needs so I am doing my best to provide it!

mine have always been on prize choice tripe,we get ours delivered every fortnight by a guy whos cheaper than pah,he only delivers certain areas of london,but also does all dry food too.mine all love the tripe, fed raw,but also having 2 picky eaters,have tried a few dried foods without success,but found recently they love orijen puppy and so far am seeing good results with both body condition and weight,when combined with prize choice tripe.mine also like the prize choice lamb which seems quite high in bone,cos the next day their poos are like marbles!

I have fed PC in the past - at the time the rabbit variety had a good percentage of chicken mixed in with it but that may have changed. I wrongly assumed that rabbit was just rabbit but a check of the ingredients proved that wasn't the case. Just something to be aware of if you have a dog that is intolerant to chicken.

so could i simply feed these blocks or are they in fact a complementary food?

> so could i simply feed these blocks or are they in fact a complementary food?

Yes and no - if fed as part of a planned raw food diet you wouldn't add anything like mixer, but it would be just part of the weekly balance of meat, bone and offal (and raw veg if you feed it). I think it says something about adding it to mixer on the packaging, but have no personal experience of feeding it like that.

I've used the free flow minces from time to time to tide me over when I'm waiting for an order from my other supplier. I found the blocks useful for weaning, but they're way too sloppy for the adults.

I think they are ok (free flow), and if that's all I could get I would defiantly use them rather than feeding a commercial diet. I think they are quite watery though and not as much substance as other minces. They don't do any bones either do they? The best I've seen is the beef chunks, and as I rarely feed beef wasn't much good for me.

I much prefer suppliers like The Dog Food Company, DAF, Landywoods etc. I'm not keen on the branded raw foods, but if that's all there was I would use them. Have you tried local butchers? I get about 60% of my bones from there - Wings, carcasses, ribs, trotters, heads, ears, tails etc  Some free, some not. What suppliers have you asked?

If you want to feed a fully raw diet you'll need to add offal, bones and a wide variety of protein sources. I buy my offal mostly from the supermarket as and when I need it because it's very cheap and you don't need much.

Also, try joining the Yahoo group BritBARF; They may know of suppliers in N.Ireland, of a few of you could club together, may make it worth a suppliers while.

I think it says something about adding it to mixer on the packaging,

Really? Didn't know it said that.. I know it used to say 'For working dogs only', but that was years ago, I don't think it says that now.

> I know it used to say 'For working dogs only'

That meant that it was VAT free, not that it was only suitable for certain lifestyles.

> Really? Didn't know it said that..

Depends which one you buy - the 'breeder' packs just have the above printed on, but the ones you buy in pet shops have a fully printed pack, and it does indeed say it can be fed with mixer.

That meant that it was VAT free,

Ooops lol Shows how much I know about comercial foods!! I didn't realise places like P@H sold VAT free food.

Depends which one you buy

Maybe I've just never read the packets! Going to make a point of looking now next time I'm in a pet shop. :)