Ziwipeak Dog Food- any good?

[Sandra Griffith]

I was given a glowing endorsement of  Ziwipeak dog food and was wondering if all of you wonderful experts in the world of dog nutrition and experience with high quality commercial foods could give me any thoughts on it?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hi Sandra,
I visited their website and was unable to find any complete list of ingredients or nutritional information, so I can't say anything about the quality of this food one way or another. If you can provide one, I'll be happy to do an analysis.
It also doesn't appear to be available in the United States.
The validity of any dog food recommendation is completely dependent on who is making the recommendation: what their connection to the product is, whether or not they stand to gain from your purchasing the product, and what knowledge they have of canine nutrition and dog food manufacturing practices.
Can you share any further information with us?

[Sandra Griffith]

Thank you so much for your reply. It is definitely available (perhaps newly so) as the woman who reccomended it to me had just purchased it at my neighbourhood privately owned pet supply store. I found their ingredient list at the following website address: http://www.ziwipeak.com/nzl/cuisinefamily.shtml The reccommended food was the Ziwipeak 'Daily Dog' Air-Cuisine.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

INGREDIENTS: Lamb - Meat (min. 65%), Liver, Tripe, Heart and Kidney (min. 19.5%), Chicory Syrup, Green-lipped and Blue Mussel (min. 4%), Fish Oil, Lecithin, Kelp, Vitamins and Minerals, Parsley, Naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, Additives: Vit. D3 592 IU/kg, Vit. E 7.4mg/kg, Copper (copper proteinate) 9.8mg/kg. Calories 1854 KJ/100g.
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS:
Protein (min.) 33% Ash (max.) 8%
Fat (min.) 27% Fibre (max.) 1.5%
Moisture (max.) 15% Calcium 2%
Phosphorus P 1.1%

The problem with this list is that "vitamins and minerals" doesn't tell us much. There is a common ingredient in dog foods called menadione, which is often listed as "source of vitamin K", which in reality is a synthetic form of vitamin K which has been linked to dozens of very serious & potentially fatal diseases. Is it in this food? This list doesn't tell us which vitamins & minerals are included.
A minimum fat content of 27% is really high; it's partially caused by all the organ meat in this food. Many canine nutritionists advise against feeding organ meats too often.
Compare the nutritional analysis of the Kiwi peak to Orijen Adult formula; notice the difference in fat, moisture, and fiber content. Also notice the information on other nutrients. such as essential fatty acids, which is not provided by Kiwi:

Protein 40.0%
Crude Fat (min.) 16.0%
Crude Fiber (max.) 2.5%
Moisture (max.) 10.0%
Calcium (min.) 1.5%
Calcium (max.) 1.7%
Phosphorus (min.) 1.2%
Phosphorus (max.) 1.4%
Omega-6 (min.) 3.0%
Omega-3 (min.)
DHA
EPA 1.1%
0.6%
0.3%
Carbohydrate (max.) 20.0%
Glucosamine (min.) 1200 mg/kg
Chondroitin (min.) 900 mg/kg
Microorganisms (min.) 120M cfu/kg

I can't say Kiwi Peak is a bad food, because i don't know enough about it from the info provided. But the fat content is too high IMO, and it's almost certainly made up primarily of saturated fats, because of the high amount of organ meat in the food. What did the lady who recommended it like about it, and what is her background or knowledge of canine nutrition?

[Sandra Griffith]

She just told me that she had an incredibly picky eater and that this was the first food that her dog had been totally in love with and agreed with her dog's digestive system as well. I don't know what her nutritional background is but I thought that it never hurts to look into something new. Thank you so much for the feedback.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Absolutely, it's important to continue to check new options, especially now that Natura has been sold to P & G. I am desperately looking for new, high-quality foods we can recommend.
I wonder if you look at the bag in the store, if it gives more complete info on the exact vitamins & minerals included in the food. That would help you to make sure it doesn't contain menadione.

[Sandra Griffith]

Will do. I won't be home for a few weeks as I'll be on the road. I'll be home in a few weeks and check it then.

[Sally, Echo and Emmi]

I do the same thing and I also will use it as a training treat.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jane, Sally, can you tell if there's menadione in the food? Is it on the labels?
If not, I think it would be a decent once in awhile food or treat rather than on an every day basis.

[Sally, Echo and Emmi]

Hi Karen, Dianne (Trinity Doodles) and I have discussed Ziwi Peak before although not specifically in regards to menadione. She uses it for treats for all her pups so IF I had to guess I would say no. I am certain she wouldn't be using it for her pups. I hope she sees this discussion and chimes in!!!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree with you, if Dianne is using it, it's probably okay.

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

ingredients as follows: venison meat, fish, venison liver, venison tripe, venison heart and kidney, New Zealand Green Mussel, Lecithin, Fish Oil, Inulin from Chicory, Dried Kelp, Parsley, Naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, vitamins (vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Hydrochloride), Minerals (iron, amino acid complex, copper amino acid complex, manganese amino acid complex, zinc amino acid complex, selenium yeast, potassium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate).

As Sally shared (Hi there Sally, we need to catch up!) we use Ziwi Peak food for treats, $24.99 for 2 lbs. of meat is far better than the typical $14-18 for 12 to 14 oz. Our doods have given us the paws up on all 3 flavors ~ venison, venison & fish and lamb. Ziwi peak is my secret weapon to avoid neighbor irratation =) a little rowdy barking and a shake of the ziwi peak bag and they are running on in the house zipping the bark! So not only do the doods love it but the neighbors do also. Also toss some on top of food when anyone needs beefing up ~ usually stud boys who have no interest in food what so ever when one of the girls are in heat. For food it would not be practical for us to use with the number of doods we have, for treats it is the best around here (we buy it in 11 pound bags).

[Sandra Griffith]

I was just wondering how easy it is to break up into teeny tiny pieces for training treats. I usually break up treats into the size of half a grain of rice (or smaller if I can!) so the breakability factour is key. The bag that I saw did not allow you to "peak inside" to tell.