One of the popular industrial dog foods in the super premium category is Canadian food 1st choice (Fest Choice). PLB International Inc has been producing pet food for over 30 years and has long earned a good reputation, as evidenced by numerous accolades from dog breeders and owners. 1st choice diets are manufactured exclusively in Canada, and their formulas and recipes are constantly being improved.
Types of 1st Choice diets for dogs
1st Choice dog food is produced by a Canadian company, as is Pronature. The high quality of the products is evidenced by international quality certificates and super premium status. A special feature of the diet is the use of products in the feed that are grown on the company’s own farms. In total, there are more than 13 types of food, including wet canned food and dry croquettes. 1st Choice dog food is designed for puppies, adult dogs (small, medium and large breeds), and there are also a couple of therapeutic, hypoallergenic diets.
The composition is based on the following components:
- natural meat and offal;
- rice, oatmeal and barley;
- potato;
- chicken fat;
- linoleic acid;
- flax-seed;
- fatty acid;
- beets and tomatoes;
- yucca extract;
- mineral complexes;
- phytocomponents.
It is important that all 1st Choice food lines do not contain grains, flavors and flavor enhancers that cause allergies and stomach upset.
The manufacturer indicated on the packaging the exact amount of meat after dehydration and heat treatment, and meat by-products are not used at all.
Advantages and disadvantages of food
The Fest Choice brand has a number of advantages:
- good composition. Focusing on maintaining the health of pets, natural ingredients predominate in the developed formula. These are meat and plant matter. In addition, each granule contains a sufficient amount of micro- and trace elements that meet the daily intake;
- You can’t do without preservatives in dry food. “1st choice” uses natural preservatives - tocopherols (vitamin E);
- sufficient range of products. A variety of specialized foods will help you make the right choice in accordance with the characteristics of your dog;
- optimal price. The price corresponds to the quality of the product. At the same time, every dog owner can afford such dry food.
However, along with this, there are some disadvantages to this product:
- a significant amount of plant components in the composition. They make up about a third of all substances;
- presence of by-products. There are very few of them, but they are still present;
- The taste set is quite monotonous. Basically it's chicken. Hypoallergenic formulations contain lamb and fish;
- Buying food of this brand will not be difficult on specialized sites. But finding it in retail stores may not be easy. It is often put on the counter in special pet stores, but more often you have to place an order.
Advantages of Fest Choice food
There are many advantages to 1st Choice dog food, but they especially stand out:
- a large amount of meat;
- high quality products;
- a large amount of vitamins, minerals;
- no chemicals;
- high levels of probiotics, lactic acid and fatty acids;
- variety of lines;
- average price.
The main advantage of 1st Choice diets is a large amount of fiber, medicinal herbs and phytocomponents, which are hypoallergenic, therapeutic, and preventive products.
What is included in the food
Taking care of your animal's nutrition is a company priority. A team of professionals - veterinarians, as well as nutritionists and biologists have developed a special balanced nutritional formula, including an optimal set of vitamins, macro- and microelements. A distinctive feature of the “1st choice” dry food line is:
- high content of natural meat as the main ingredient in each package;
- a good variety of flavors for each category of food: from chicken to lamb;
- the presence of minerals in each granule that helps normalize digestion. They provide healthy shiny coat and skin, allow you to control your pet’s weight;
- the composition contains practically no by-products from meat and bone meal, as well as allergens such as wheat, corn or soy;
- preservatives and flavorings made only from natural ingredients;
- the special form of dry food granules helps clean plaque from teeth;
- strengthening your pet's immune system.
Which food option should you choose for your pet?
1st Choice dog food lines are designed based on the animal's age, breed and size, health status and individual needs. There are also several options for hypoallergenic and medicinal food.
For puppies
The Pappy Fest Choice line is suitable for dogs from the third month of life, immediately after weaning from maternal feeding. Croquettes in the diet are small and contribute to the development of the jaw apparatus. The series is especially suitable for puppies of small and medium breeds, based on chicken meat and a mineral complex. The series also has options for small breeds with allergies and digestive disorders, to improve the condition of the coat and joints.
For mature pets
The Fest Choice line is divided into two series: for small, medium breeds from eight months to eight years and for large breeds from one to six years of life. The main components in each series are meat, vegetables, phytocomponents, potatoes and beets.
There is a food option - universal, like a daily diet with meat and fish, for all breeds of adult dogs.
Therapeutic and preventive lines are hypoallergenic dry food with duck and potatoes, suitable for all breeds for the treatment of digestion. There is also food for the treatment of obesity, with low activity, which is considered high-protein and low-calorie. And a separate food - for treating dermatitis and improving the condition of the coat.
Nutrition for aging animals
The Senior Fest Choice line is designed for all breeds over the age of seven years. The diet contains a lot of dietary meat, oatmeal, fish, rice, phytocomponents, chondroitin and minerals. The line is also suitable for dogs with digestive problems, allergies, sensitive skin and obesity.
Regardless of the line and series of 1st Choice food, each option contains glucosamine, chondrotin, and mineral complexes. This improves the functioning of the nervous system, brain and musculoskeletal system.
Reviews from dog owners
Alexandra S:
I have a Yorkie, my name is Lola. From a young age she constantly had stomach problems. Well, regular cheap food definitely wasn’t suitable. Immediately something happened. Therefore, I carefully selected food for the baby. I decided to try Fest Choice and introduced it gradually. Everything went smoothly. Moreover, she constantly turned her nose up at other mass market brands. I even checked the naturalness of yoghurts with her. If she eats, then everything is fine)) And then Fest Choice began to eat well. And now only on it. So far there haven't been any serious problems.
Olga T.:
The store didn't have our food, I think I'll take this one and try it. Well, to be honest, I didn’t notice much of a difference. Although many people praise 1st choice. Jason seems to eat it the same way, although he doesn’t care what he eats, in my opinion. The packaging is beautiful, it smells nice, but I don’t think I’ll buy it regularly. More likely as a backup option.
Irina F.:
Initially, this food attracted me for some reason when I was choosing food for my puppy. Fest Choice came right away. I take it for miniature dogs. There are small light brown granules, they are just the right size for small breeds. Everything in the composition is beautifully written, but I even tried it myself once. I didn’t feel anything bad about the taste; it wasn’t a very greasy crisp, almost tasteless. I didn't get poisoned)
Reviews of Fest Choice dog food
Anastasia: We really like Fest Choice, because the composition is very diverse and healthy, and the price is much lower than in similar brands. The veterinarian recommended this food to us, and I read good reviews on the website, so we definitely decided to buy it. We give it from three months, our dog is very active, healthy and savvy.
Fields: We buy a line for adult pets of medium breeds, we especially like the rich composition. The amount of meat, vegetables, cereals and vitamin complexes with supplements is enough to keep our pet active and completely healthy. Even a huge appetite suggests that 1st Choice food is very good, we will not change it under any circumstances.
Oksana: For such quality and incredibly rich, nutritious composition - an excellent, even low price. We have been giving food for two years now, we have never changed it to another and we do not intend to. I have never seen so many healthy products in one diet. We even tried a series of hypoallergenic and therapeutic foods, the problem went away after a week.
Reviews from leading veterinarians
The overwhelming majority of specialized veterinarians speak positively about this brand of dry food. On thematic forums you can find the following statements:
Anastasia S.:
In my practice, there were cases when this food was not entirely suitable for the pet. There were eating disorders. But there are very few of them. In general, the composition of Fest Choice is good. You can try introducing it a little at a time with your usual food, increasing the volume and adjusting the proportions. And then watch the reaction.
Natalia T:
Good food, I like the composition. I often recommend it to my patients. It is, of course, not medicinal. It's very suitable for regular feeding.
Veterinarian recommendations
Veterinary experts highlight a number of tips for selecting food:
choose from super-premium or holistic classes; the packaging must be without tears, the jar must be free of dents and rust
Pay special attention to the expiration date; the meat ingredient should come first; It is better to feed the dog dry and wet food alternately to normalize the fluid level; do not forget about the characteristics of pets.. According to reviews on the Internet, most veterinary specialists recommend the following foods:
According to reviews on the Internet, most veterinary specialists recommend the following foods:
- BELCANDO.
- dr. ALDERS.
- HILLs PD k/d.
- HAPPY DOG.
- BRIT.
However, it is worth choosing food based on the preferences of the pet, its health, and the owner’s wallet.
Manufacturer of rations and official website of the company
The manufacturer of the 1st Choice brand is the Canadian company PLB International, which was originally engaged in the sale of agricultural feed. In 1990, the company launched the first lines for the production of industrial diets for pets and within 4 years successfully entered the world market.
High-tech equipment is used in the production of animal feed; all products are certified according to AAFCO (American Association of Quality Control) and HACCP (Production Safety Control System) standards.
All information about the range and composition of feed in any line of the brand can be found on the manufacturer’s website https://russia.1stchoicepetfood.com/ru-ru/.
Composition of dog food 1 st Choice
The manufacturer states that all diets are able to meet the energy needs of dogs (due to high-quality sources of animal protein and fat), and also emphasizes that the food does not contain potentially dangerous products for dogs prone to food allergies. A detailed analysis of the composition of food for adult dogs will help you figure out whether this is true.
Compound:
- Chicken meal
- broken rice, pearl barley, oatmeal
- chicken fat (source of Omega-6 fatty acids)
- as a preservative – a mixture of tocopherols (source of vitamin E)
- dried beet pulp, chopped fiber, dried tomato pulp
- chicken liver hydrolysate
- whole flax seed
- yeast extract
- ascorbic acid (vitamin C),
- taurine, chicory extract (source of inulin)
- ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide
- Yucca Schidigera extract
- iron zinc proteinate, sodium selenite, thiamine mononitrate
- seaweed meal, green tea extract, dried mint, dried parsley
- L-carnitine
- sunflower oil extract
- vitamin B12
Analysis
- Protein 25%
- Fat 15%
- Crude fiber 2.5%
- Ash content 7.5%
- Calcium 1.3%
- phosphorus 0.8%
- Omega-3 0.25%,
- Omega-6 2.9%
- Omega-9 0.1%
As can be seen from the composition, the food uses chicken meat (in the form of flour) as animal protein - without feathers, offal, heads or legs. There are also no potentially unsuitable grains for dogs with allergies (wheat, soy, corn).
Preservatives and flavorings come from natural products, and there are many ingredients that have health benefits for dogs. A more detailed conclusion about the composition of the diets will be presented below.
Ingredients of 1st Choice Puppy Sensitive Skin & Coat: base
About Puppy, like other 1st Choice brand foods, the English formulation for the Canadian and American (CA/US) markets is very different from the English formulation for the UK (GB). The translation into Russian on the label is based on the British version of the composition, and we compare the data with it.
The first two ingredients in the diet are of animal origin. Place No. 1 is occupied by 18% lamb flour (Lamb Meal), but it is not necessarily made “from lamb meat,” although it was called that way in the Russian translation - the English name does not indicate its purely meat base. In second place is 15% herring flour. By the way, the third ingredient - brown rice - also has a share of 15%, followed by two more carbohydrate components - dried potatoes and barley groats.
Briefly about the main thing
- 1st choice dry dog food belongs to the Canadian company PLB International.
- A distinctive feature of this food is its completely natural composition of meat and plant ingredients. Flavorings and preservatives are also natural substances.
- Fest Choice products are divided into groups depending on the age of the dog (newborns, adults and seniors). In addition, you can choose food depending on the breed of your pet, its size, such distinctive features as food or skin sensitivity, allergies, and the need to monitor weight.
- Limited tastes are perfectly compensated by the presence of natural nutrients, vitamins, micro- and microelements in the composition of dry food.
- Unfortunately, there are no analogues of this product in our country. However, it is difficult to find it in stock on store shelves. However, it is very easy to place an order on the website on the Internet.
- But in any case, always follow your veterinarian's recommendations. Don't experiment with your pet's diet. The main thing is his health, not the brand.
Negative reviews
My dog (Pekingese) is currently 1.5 years old. For a long time I tried giving her Purina Pro Plan food with chicken for small breeds. We developed a wild ear allergy. They turned red and scabbed. The veterinarian said that chicken is contraindicated for us and we need to choose food with hypoallergenic ingredients, such as duck, lamb, salmon. So we lived on these feeds for some time.
And then someone told me that 1 choice food won’t give me this allergy. At first, the dog gobbled up the food on both cheeks. But after 4-5 days the excitement disappeared. I ate without pleasure. And at the end of the week she began to scratch her ears suspiciously. And long live allergies. Again redness, again scabs, the ears quickly become dirty and emit an unpleasant odor. And no matter how much the dog loves me, he won’t let me touch his ears again; it hurts. And so behavior, well-being, playfulness, stool remained at the same level.
The granules are small, neat, all of the same shape. There are no crumbs in the bag, the smell is acceptable. Just right for small jaws, but as I wrote above, the love for it went away in just a few days. I gave the rest for foster care. If your baby/little one also does not tolerate chicken well or they simply have sensitive stomachs, then I highly do not recommend this food.
Review from milo4ka_1 about 1st Choice food for miniature and small breeds with chicken
I bought the food on sale in an online store. The first thing that struck me was the smell. Compared to our food, this smell is much stronger and less pleasant. The granules are not large, just “too tough” for my minis :). As recommended, we tried to gradually switch to the desired food, adding a little granules to the usual food.
However, my beauties completely refused to eat at all. On the third day, there was no end to my anxiety, I decided not to experiment and returned them to their usual diet. No problem - the bowl was empty. I tried giving a couple of granules separately, the dogs turned their nose up. Ultimately, it was decided to “donate” a bag of food to homeless dogs.
Review from Milaya-Ya about Puppy Toy&Small Breeds food
We would be happy to receive feedback from veterinarians and customers about 1st Choice food (Fest Choice). When we receive product reviews, we will definitely post them in this section.
Rating of holistic dog food
Holistics are the highest quality, but also the most expensive. Due to their high price, they are significantly less popular, because feeding a large breed pet with expensive food is financially difficult for many dog owners.
Top 5 holistic food rating:
- Acana (manufactured in Canada);
- Primordial (made in Italy);
- Essential (made in the UK);
- Grandorf (made in Belgium);
- Canagan (made in the UK).
If you choose holistic dog food, you can safely take any from the list above, without paying attention to the position in the ranking. All these foods have a very good composition.
At the moment, the PetObzor website has made only a dozen reviews on holistic food. Accordingly, only these studied foods were taken into account when compiling the rating. But in the future, as new reviews are released, we will update this rating.
Price and where to buy
You can buy food of this brand in online pet stores:
- "Old Farm" (link):
- Packaging 350 g - from 187 rubles;
- Packaging 2.72 kg - from 971 rubles;
- Packaging 7 kg - from 2117 rubles;
- Packaging 15 kg - from 4465 rub.
- "Le'Murrr" (link):
- Packaging 350 g - from 210 rubles;
- Packaging 2.72 kg - from 1099 rubles;
- Packaging 7 kg - from 2373 rubles;
- Packaging 15 kg - from 5003 rub.
The prices indicated are valid at the beginning of September 2022 and may change over time. For exact prices, see the store websites using the links above.
Positive reviews
I have two dogs - a golden and a labrador. Both I and they prefer a natural diet to dry food - cereals, meat, vegetables. But, unfortunately, because of this diet, the golden began to develop an allergy - a coating and smell appeared in the ears, hair began to fall out on the stomach and scratching began.
We tried different hypoallergenic foods, including Pro Plan recommended by the breeder. There was no improvement, and some brands of dogs refused to eat at all. And when compared with real meat, I understand them well. We found out about the Canadian food 1st choice by chance - a kitten appeared and the breeder recommended this particular food. We decided to try it for dogs too.
Let me make a reservation right away, this food is not considered hypoallergenic - it is for animals whose stomach, skin and coat are very sensitive to nutrition and react to the slightest changes: digestive problems begin, the skin becomes dry and flaky, and the coat becomes dull, becomes brittle, the process Shedding occurs excessively long and abundantly. The line includes a separate food for allergy sufferers – with potatoes and duck.
The most important thing is that both dogs really liked the food. I believe you shouldn't judge an entire brand just because your pet didn't like something. There are no guarantees; if one thing works for your neighbor, it will work for you. You should always try. If it becomes boring, we alternate it with hypoallergenic food of the same brand. I can’t say for sure whether it will suit your pet or not, but it’s definitely worth a try.
Conclusions about 1 st Choice food
Based on an analysis of the composition of diets and in accordance with reviews of dog owners who have been raising their pets on products of this brand for many years, the following conclusions can be drawn about 1 st Choice food:
- The composition and nutritional value of the diets make it possible to offer them to dogs without additional feeding with natural products and supplements if the dog looks good and has no health problems.
- 1st Choice is a complete food for everyday use that does not have a line of diets in its portfolio, however, the availability of food for special occasions helps to adjust the dog’s menu in situations that do not require a radical change in the feeding regime and food composition.
- The diets have an optimal price-quality ratio.
Despite some shortcomings, the Canadian brand 1 st Choice produces competitive products in the segment of super premium food of good quality.
