We will be moving to Switzerland in May. I just got back from finding a home to rent and exploring our area to gather information about products available in Switerland.

I found a store that will sell Nutro (lamb & rice) but it is very expensive. Roughly 2 1/2 times what I pay here.

DH suggested we have a bunch of bags shipped over with our furniture. How long do you think I can store the food before worrying about spoilage?

I also found some Swiss or European made dog foods which are less expensive (there seems to be significant tariffs on imported goods). Any one in Europe that can offer up some suggestions if I decide to change Ace's food. Biomill was one of the brands that seemed to be popular. Since I do not know French, I could not read the ingredients.

Not long. I think the average shelf-life is a year or so, but even if it doesn't technically spoil, the vitamins break down so it becomes less nutritious over time. It sounds like you're going to have to switch eventually, so you might just have to bite the bullet and do it as opposed to delaying the inevitable.

I think you could probably get by with 2...maybe 3 bags and not have any problems. Plus, that would allow your pup to have some stability (same food) during the move.

Here is Biomill's website and it is in English! You can at least take a look at the ingredients:

http://www.biomill.ch/en/index.php

I'd probably bring along at least 4 months worth of food along. That should give you plenty of time to settle in, research other food alternatives and then make the transition.

If it were me, I would probably ship a couple of bags and then you'll have time to find something suitable. Maybe you can find lab breeder there and get some food recommendations from them.

I went shopping for my secret santa when we were in Germany and Switzerland this last Nov. and I noticed that they actually carry alot of the same brands of dog food in pet stores there as they do here (same with toys like Kongs etc) Since I wasn't shopping for Food, I didn't spend a whole lot of time in those aisles, but I remember seeing mostly the grocery store brands there (Iams etc) not many of the more premium brands. I think I remember seeing Royal Canine as well. There were a few other brands of food that we sell here in America that I remembered seeing there, but I can't recall what they were exactly.

Your best bet would probably be to bring a couple of bags with you, and then go to some pet stores once you get there and research the back of the bags to find something similar to Nutro. All the bags at the petstores I went to had most of their ingredients in several languages- INCLUDING ENGLISH- so the language barrier shouldn't be a probelm. Europeans are big dog lovers like we are here- so I'm sure you won't have a hard time finding a pet store in your area that carries premium brands of some sort that will work for your dog.

Good luck on your move- I'm so jealous! I love Switzerland!

Try Burns they offer a holistic dog food, may be worth a look?
http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/links.html (look at right hand side topic, select overseas and country, it gives a stockist number)

Also James Wellbeloved is another holistic food, send them an e-mail as they may have stockist there.


Brands I saw in France and throughout Europe, Pro plan / Royal Canine / Nutro. Supermarket brands Iaams / Eukabana (sp?) / Friskies / Pedigree. I do not think you will find as much choice there.


Can't think of any more at moment.

Off topic abit but a translation site, so at least you can understand any post that comes

http://babelfish.altavista.com/

Hey, I'm in Norway. And yeah, they have the same brands here if you like Purina, Royal Canin, Eukanuba, Iams, and Hills.

Meat is outrageously expensive here, so we had to go with Purina Pro Plan Salmon and rice.

Everytime one of us goes home we load our carry ons with dried chicken treats and Zuke's. My advice is to put some bags in your personal belongings if you get to ship a container over, but sooner or later you'll have to switch. And EVERYTHING is 2.5 times more expensive. We pay about..oh, more than $50 for Pro Plan.

Hey, I'm in Norway. And yeah, they have the same brands here if you like Purina, Royal Canin, Eukanuba, Iams, and Hills.

Meat is outrageously expensive here, so we had to go with Purina Pro Plan Salmon and rice.

Everytime one of us goes home we load our carry ons with dried chicken treats and Zuke's. My advice is to put some bags in your personal belongings if you get to ship a container over, but sooner or later you'll have to switch. And EVERYTHING is 2.5 times more expensive. We pay about..oh, more than $50 for Pro Plan.

I would avoid the Purina, Eukanuba, Iams, and Hills. They do NOT have such great ingredients.:o:

However, I have even considered feeding Royal Canin before. Many of the formulas have great ingredients and I know people that have had great success on it.

Thanks for all the great advice. I am going to ship a few bags over and work on transitioning Ace once we are settled in.

I have been using babel fish a lot for research. It has been great as I have been doing a lot of online research.

I would avoid the Purina, Eukanuba, Iams, and Hills. They do NOT have such great ingredients.:o:

However, I have even considered feeding Royal Canin before. Many of the formulas have great ingredients and I know people that have had great success on it.Be aware that the Royal Canin ingredients are totally different in Europe, so if you are a label reader, you'll want to look carefully. My friends in Switzerland feed Pro Plan and are very happy with everything other than price.

They are 3dog! Totally different.
I have tried Royal Canin in the states and Wellie hated it. I think I ended up throwing out about 40 lbs. And I would prefer not to feed any of these brands, but we just don't have a choice. They do seem to be doing pretty well on the Pro Plan, but I am continuing to search. We cook up liver mixed with rice for a spoonful of something yummy on their dinners.