Markus Muhle and other cold pressed dog food

[dieseldog]

just received this today first time i have tried it got a very good deal on it got 2 sacks 15kg for £48 including delivery which will last me around 2 months with the use by date isn't till Feb next year should be fine for freshness 
the food its self would suite the larger breeds when it comes to the size of the pieces and if diesel was reviewing it for taste he would give it 11 out of 10 [forgive him hes not good with numbers  when he gets excited ] will have to give him daily amount in to 4 portions till he stops wolfing it down 

[Tinyplanets]

I also fed this to my 6kg terrier without any problems. She is also a speed eater. I found it helpful to soften some with water and freeze in a kong to slow her down but she also managed the big pieces okay.

[Dottie]

I haven't seen or used Markus-Mühle but I have  used Gentle which is made at the same plant.  I am still giving Gentle in the way that Tinyplanets describes and also as training treats. I really like cold pressed food and mine did well on Gentle.  It was just the weight control that was the problem.  Anyway, you certainly got a bargain there.  I got a similar one because the sell by date was close. I managed to nearly use it all up before it reached the date. If MM is like Gentle, I assume that it is heavy so are you weighing it out?  I found that I really needed to as I am no good at guessing.  The amount was so tiny though - I used to feel sorry for the poor Cairns.      Glad your dog is enjoying the food and hope he does well on it.

[dieseldog]

i always weigh the food each day anyway as i bought some digital scales just for this purpose if the kibble was smaller it probably would be OK to fill  a jug to a level were you know is the correct weight but not sure if it would be as accurate with the larger kibble
I'm not sure if they do a smaller kibble which could be one of the problems what put owners off who have smaller breeds which is a shame
 

[chrishordley]

I usually feed five dogs so weighing is crucial and I am sure that guestimating Is a factor in the overweight dogs problem as manufacturers don't make it easy. I have fed MM for a couple of months alongside raw although as separate meals. It is easy to snap the pieces into sections but what interested me as much as this cold pressed idea, was that although a little less in calories than the 3900 kcal which is pretty standard, they recommend feeding a little less . My only problem is I don't like feeding the same starch source month in and month out. Both MM and Gentle are rice based and it is perfectly possible for dogs to develop intolerance to rice. I am feeding a bag of Ancestral Canine potato based but will return to cold pressed as I have just suddenly lost another middle aged dog with unsuspected lymphoma. He was a rescue and quite likely fed on cheap kibble before.

[Psychedelic]

Just thought I'd ask another question about Markus Muhle, as I am looking for yet another food to try Roger on as he is still having some sloppy poos and not maintaining his weight terribly well.

So, I'm fairly sure his issues are down to corn, but as this food is cold pressed, does anyone know if this would change the reaction his gut would have to it?

My initial thought is just to steer clear, it's just a shame as so many people seem to have had such good experiences with it.

[Dottie]

Sorry that I can't help you with the question about  the corn content in MM.  Did you check out Gentle which is the same sort of product but has a corn-free recipe?  When my lot were on it their poos were perfect - never been better in fact.   

[Psychedelic]

I'll have a look at it. Thanks.

[Tinyplanets]

There is also Black Angus by Markus Muhle. I believe that doesn't have corn in and uses brown rice. It is cheaper than Gentle but more expensive than Markus Muhle. It is also a smaller sized kibble. It smells very similar to the others and produced good firm poos.

[Psychedelic]

Thanks for that one, will investigate further.

[lurch64]

Hi Deisledog, I use MM and have just received a delivery of my regular 2 sacks. I'd be very interested to know where you ordered yours from at that fab price :-)
I feed mostly RAW but use MM as a back up if I run out of time or forget to get the meat out of the freezer. It's the only one I trust really... I have started on the Black Angus Junior at the min  as I have a litter of pups

[Dottie]

Hopefully Dieseldog will be along to answer that question.  If not, you could send a private message if you like. As you say, it is a good price.  I checked on Zooplus and they have an offer of an extra 1.5kg free - that is here.  I may be wrong but it looks like what used to be called just Markus Muhle now has NaturNah in the title.  Black Angus is on offer on the Zooplus website too.  It's unusual to see a dog food containing beef.
They are both considerably cheaper than the one I buy (Gentle).  I can't see why because the ingredients aren't so different and they are the same company although Gentle is said to be British, according to the review in the food directory.

[lurch64]

Yes its beef duck and herring ;-) I paid £79 to 2 sacks

[Dottie]

I have just amended the title of this thread slightly because I thought it would be useful to have a designated cold pressed food thread (of which Markus Muhle is the main one).   Scampers website has an explanation of the cold press process here.

I am open to correction on this, but as I understand it, there are probably only about a handful of brands that are cold pressed. The ones that I know of are:
Markus Muhle NaturNah - just one variety
Markus Muhle Black Angus - I cannot find a separate website for this but there are several lifestage varieties on Zooplus here
Gentle - one type only (for all lifestages).
Lupo
Lukullus - again, I can only supply the Zooplus link here. There are several different varieties.
Farmfood HE
There may be more so if anyone comes across something, please update this thread.

They mostly come in 5kg or 15kg bags.  2kg ones would be more suitable for owners of small breed dogs, particularly as the amount needed is less.  Also, paying out for 5kg can be quite expensive if the dog doesn't take to it.  I don't know why some of the  companies have not thought of this. For the scores on the dog food directory of this website, see individual products. Some of them score very highly, particularly Gentle which comes in at 4.8.  These products do not seem to be widely available in retail shops.   For many people this will necessitate online purchase.There are a few companies who are offering cold pressed foods so it shouldn't be too hard to find a product that suits.

I only have experience of using Gentle and it has been a positive one. I chose it because there was nothing in the ingredient list that I didn't want and the fact that it isn't baked/extruded at high temperatures as is kibble.  Also, it is for all lifestages which for me, with three (then four) dogs, all at different ages was very convenient.
 A few observations:
* The product looks and feels a lot different to kibble. The pieces are described as nuggets. I have only seen Gentle but I can say that it smells really nice - a bit like gravy.  I don't know if this is relevant to all, but pet odour seems (to me) to be reduced.
* It is necessary to weigh the food and not to use a cup or mug.  This is because the product is dense and heavy.  There are a few videos on YouTube about cold pressed food and one of them contains an image of 50G of kibble compared with 50G of Gentle.  There is considerably less of the latter. 
* The product has limited shelf life (IIRC it is about six months) so it is probably best not to buy too much at once.
* Cost - MM is considerably cheaper then Gentle. I don't know why because the products are all made at the same plant in Germany.  I understand from this website that there isn't one in the UK at the moment.  Gentle is said to be a UK company but seems to have the same person contact details as MM.  I haven't any figures but to me, despite the higher cost of Gentle it seems to have been economical. This is because I bought the 15kg bag and the fact that the feeding amount  is small.
* Effect on dogs: All mine really enjoy the food and have done well on it. Bella's coat was in poor condition and it has helped to improve matters.  Their poo has been perfect - formed but not too bulky.  Unfortunately I have had to reduce the quantity to considerably lower than 1% of body weight due to weight control issues.   I soften Gentle with warm water, put it inside a Kong and freeze it.  This keeps them occupied for some time.

Looking forward to hearing what others have to say about this type of food.

[Schnauday]

Bellfor Forest brook treat comes up as cold pressed on amazon, and is free delivery. Any body tried this one ?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/FOREST-BROOK-TREAT-Salmon-pressed/dp/B00M64QENK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414150704&sr=8-1&keywords=cold+pressed+dog+food