Dog Food Overseas

Lyzelle

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#1
Anyone know which brands are available overseas(Italy in particular)? I just thought of this today, that maybe some of the brands I would go to wouldn't ship overseas or wouldn't be available. I will have a bag of Acana on hand just in case, but knowing ahead of time would be nice!
 
B

BeagleMom

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#2
Totally new here, I'll post an intro in a moment. But, to answer your question, it all depends. You're military right? If you are near a military exchange, then you should be able to get the usual (junk?) brands in the exchange or commissary. Local pet shops should also have some of the American brands (at least they did when I was in Germany). But, I never found a super quality brand either place. Our commissary in Germany did have Paul Newman's and Dick Van Patten (wasn't sure of their quality). But, I could get Science Diet, Eukanuba, Pedigree, Iams, etc. The problem with the local pet shops were the ingriedents were in the local language, which did me no good. I knew human food names in German but was lost looking at the side of a bag of dog food.
I did have a friend post on Facebook a few weeks ago that the exchange in Ramstein Germany had Blue Buffalo and that she had been ordering it from the US. If you have access to an APO box, you can try having it shipped to you. Don't know about the cost of shipping.
A word to the wise (I found out the hard way)--some countries are picky about bringing meat products in. As I recall, I had no trouble getting dog food into Germany back in 1998 when we first moved overseas with pets. When I returned to Germany in 2006, we didn't have any. But, when we returned in June to the US we had our beagle. I had food taped to the top of her crate (per the airline instructions) and they made me throw it out when we went through customs (it was considered a meat product) even though it was American dog food purchased in the PX.
You may want to see if they will move a few bags of food with your household goods, if you put them in airtight containers. Or, since you should have your mailbox before you go over, try having some food shipped before you leave.
Good luck on the move. I always wanted to be stationed in Italy, but never got anything but Germany!
 
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BeagleMom

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#3
Totally new here, I'll post an intro in a moment. But, to answer your question, it all depends. You're military right? If you are near a military exchange, then you should be able to get the usual (junk?) brands in the exchange or commissary. Local pet shops should also have some of the American brands (at least they did when I was in Germany). But, I never found a super quality brand either place. Our commissary in Germany did have Paul Newman's and Dick Van Patten (wasn't sure of their quality). But, I could get Science Diet, Eukanuba, Pedigree, Iams, etc. The problem with the local pet shops were the ingriedents were in the local language, which did me no good. I knew human food names in German but was lost looking at the side of a bag of dog food.
I did have a friend post on Facebook a few weeks ago that the exchange in Ramstein Germany had Blue Buffalo and that she had been ordering it from the US. If you have access to an APO box, you can try having it shipped to you. Don't know about the cost of shipping.
A word to the wise (I found out the hard way)--some countries are picky about bringing meat products in. As I recall, I had no trouble getting dog food into Germany back in 1998 when we first moved overseas with pets. When I returned to Germany in 2006, we didn't have any. But, when we returned in June to the US we had our beagle. I had food taped to the top of her crate (per the airline instructions) and they made me throw it out when we went through customs (it was considered a meat product) even though it was American dog food purchased in the PX.
You may want to see if they will move a few bags of food with your household goods, if you put them in airtight containers. Or, since you should have your mailbox before you go over, try having some food shipped before you leave.
Good luck on the move. I always wanted to be stationed in Italy, but never got anything but Germany!
 
B

BeagleMom

Guest
#4
New here, I'll post an intro in a few. But, to answer your question, it depends. I have a friend in Germany with an APO box who has been ordering Blue Buffalo for awhile and was happy when the PX at Ramstein Germany started carrying it. But, it's HUGE and I don't think they have anything in Italy to compare in size. I could get the usual--Iams, Eukanuba, Pedigree, Alpo, etc--when I was in Germany. The local pet shops carried the same brands and some local ones, but since I was no good at reading a label in the local language (knew about human food, but not dog), it did me no good. I switched my beagle to a much better kibble when we returned to the States in June! I also tried looking at the FAQs on websites, but they never addressed overseas shipping. I would say give it a try. I know that PetSmart shipped supplements, but never tried actual food.
Good luck. I always wanted Italy as a duty station, but have spent 9 of the last 18 years in Germany. Now I'm in CA and want to go back to Europe. I really miss it.
 

Lyzelle

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#6
Hopefully I can get it shipped in, then. I'm thinking of switching permanently to Fromm, but I'm not entirely sure how more likely they are to ship to Europe than Acana is.

Thanks for the info.
 
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#7
Italy will have Acana and Orijen. I was living in europe for two years (just moved to florida 2.5 weeks ago!) and I could easily get those brands in the better stores there. You'll be able to ask store clerks for the better brands/ to try to translate the bags at the stores too. Stay respectful of their culture (as you probably DON'T need to be reminded) and they will help you as much as possible. You'll be fine if you stick with Acana and Orijen though (it'll cost you an arm and a leg but look in to the VAT form to get the local taxes taken off- I am prior military so thats how i afforded it)

Good Luck!
 

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