This whole feeding thing is a minefield.

Leanne

Leanne

Sniffer Dog
Location
Shropshire, UK
So Mas came home on Purina robust puppy - fabulous poos, genuinely delightful to pick up, well as much as poo can be :cautious:... anyway no issues at all. But then I looked at the ingredients and realised that actually there is very little meat content.

Leo (11yo) is on tails - £25 a month, delivered to the door - fabulous and reviews are great. His coat has improved and as he has hypothyroidism that sort of stuff is important.

Easy peasy then - I just switch Mas over to tails! Had first delivery and am slowly introducing it. 3/4 Purina, 1/4 tails. Poo is suddenly just a teeny bit sloppy... nothing major but after 4 days I would have expected it to solidify? As a result I haven’t increased the ratios.

I’ve also just got the bill - £40 a month. Now I don’t mind spending that if it’s better for him.. but sloppy poo doesn’t indicate that does it?

I’ve poured over all about dogs for hours - I’m just confusing myself now.

I just want a simple reasonably priced food that is good.

I’m heavily debating raw but that throws my training regime whereby all food is fed by hand, especially at school where he has to remain focussed.

Any suggestions?
 
edzbird

edzbird

Location
Isle of Man
Your subject heading has hit the nail on the head. It is indeed, a minefield. I can't see the meat content for the MiPet one your vet recommended, so if that is the basis for your switch, I wouldn't bother with it.

I use Skinners Field & Trial Duck & Rice (the adult version obviously)- just had a quick squint at their website & the meat content varies depending on the protein source. Some are similar to your Purina some are higher. For me, Skinners IS a simple, low cost food. And it has reasonably good reviews. And, most importantly, Coco likes it, and it agrees with him.
 
Jacqui-S

Jacqui-S

Moderator
Location
Fife, Scotland
It is a minefield. Even more now the whole grain free question has arisen.
I don't know the answer. There ISN'T a right answer.
I researched for months.......
I wouldn't put much stock on what the vet is promoting though.....they aren't generally that knowledgeable on canine nutrition and promote the products they sell at the surgery.
We all use different food.
If your dog looks good on it, the poops aŕe good and it suits your pocket then it is right
 
Leanne

Leanne

Sniffer Dog
Location
Shropshire, UK
W
Jacqui-S said:
It is a minefield. Even more now the whole grain free question has arisen.
I don't know the answer. There ISN'T a right answer.
I researched for months.......
I wouldn't put much stock on what the vet is promoting though.....they aren't generally that knowledgeable on canine nutrition and promote the products they sell at the surgery.
We all use different food.
If your dog looks good on it, the poops aŕe good and it suits your pocket then it is right
Click to expand...
I think I’m going to finish what we have and then introduce Millie’s to both dogs. Would be significantly easier to have one type of food!
 
Boogie

Boogie

Moderator
Location
Manchester UK
It’s about what is the right food for your dog.

Tatze is on Skinner’s salmon and rice and it suits her very much. She is slim, glossy and bouncy. :)

Our pups are on Royal Canin which costs exactly twice as much, yet the ingredients aren’t as good. But what they do have is a huge range for all breeds - and GDs have a contract with them so that’s the reason the pups are on it.

.
 
Jen

Jen

Stanley is on Canagan.

He was on JWB when he was a puppy and I was never happy with his poo’s. So we switched him over.

We get through a 6kg bag a month and it’s £32 so not too expensive really x
 
Charlie

Charlie

Location
Argyll & Bute, Scotland
It is definitely about what food is right for your dog and your budget. Hattie and Charlie are on Skinners Salmon & Rice, they are in great shape, active, healthy and full of zest for life. I get in on repeat monthly order from Amazon with free P&P for about £25 for 15kg, it turns up so I don't even need to remember to order it.

I wouldn't use a vet recommended food either, they will stock and sell the most expensive brand.

When I first got Hattie I spoke to a sales assistant at Pets at Home about the best dog food, to say I came out more confused than I went in is an understatement o_Oo_O xx
 
M

MaccieD

I've had a quick look at the vet 'freebie' and I wouldn't be happy not knowing the % of ingredients. Descriptions such as Dried chicken, rice aren't particularly helpful, ideally you want to know % dried chicken and % rice etc so you can assess the protein level. Also I don't like foods with Maize in which is pretty indigestion- for both humans and canines :) but is a relatively cheap filler.
I've read a lot around canine nutrition in the last 18 months and it is and remains a minefield. Best advise is to research and choose a food that is of a quality you are happy with, at a price you can afford, which your dog thrives on and has an availability that you are hapy with i.e. supermarket stocked, direct from manufacturer etc. One of the areas I highlight to clients is the marketing - ignore the pictures of happy dogs on the packaging or drawings of chickens, sheep etc. just read the content. Marketing is aimed at the human and has little to do with the quality of the food.
A good source of info is www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk and helps to define choices.
If you are really interested in canine nutrition I would recommend reading Linda P Case's Dog Food Logic.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1617811386/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
Emily

Emily

Location
Melbourne, Australia
Yep, definitely a minefield. Ella is on Royal Canin Labrador Retriever Adult and she started on the puppy version with the breeder. I do mix some raw with her kibble but the RC is always the base.

I've tried to switch Ella onto two different foods on two different occasions (both Australian made, premium kibble with good ingredients and better value for money) but both times they didn't suit her and we ended up back on the RC. She's happy and healthy on that so I'll just have to ignore the fact that it's imported and more expensive.
 
JES72

JES72

Location
SW London UK
It is such a minefield! I can see how different dogs in the same household have different food.

Homer came to us on Chudley's puppy so we continues with that, but he had continuous runny tummy troubles the we moved on the the adult formula. Our dog sitter suggested Burnes so we put him onto the Burnes range and found that lamb and rice suited him best but he wasn't good with other meat sources and definitely not chicken. Although as a puppy he had home cooked chicken and rice to help settle his tummy and has raw chicken wings as a treat. We tried the Chudleys sensitive lamb food a while back as its nearly half the price but Homer just didn't like it. He'd leave his dinner and spit out kibble all over the kitchen floor, only eating when he was really hungry and I'd mixed special treats in with his food. So we went back to Burns.

I've named the brands we've tried but they could be substituted with any brand.
 
Cath

Cath

MLF Sales Coordinator
Fred is on Royal Canin and Annie is on Millie’s. I get both on line and delivered to my door. You can get some really good deals on Royal Canin on line, I just shop around for that one. Both enjoy their food and are very active and healthy.
 
Selina27

Selina27

Location
Herefordshire, UK
Yep, it's a minefield, yep I agree vets highly likely to promote what they sell in surgery.

I think I struck lucky with Cassie, well after a bit of trial and error, she has Burns Original Chicken and Rice, which suits her very well for a number of reasons. Price wise though it is not the cheapest, but still less than a pound a day. I alternate though between Zooplus and my local retailer, it differs by £14 a bag!
 
Emily

Emily

Location
Melbourne, Australia
Leanne said:
Is there anything to stop me feeding raw in the morning and then kibble throughout the day as his training food? It seems like opinion is mixed?
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No, there are quite a few people on here that mix it up. I typically give Ella kibble for breakfast (because I can't be bothered doing anything else at 6.30am while making a cuppa and getting milk for the kid) and raw/kibble for dinner.
 
Jen

Jen

I don’t see why that would be a problem. My only concern would be if something was upsetting his tummy you wouldn’t know what f was.

So I’d be tempted to get him set on a kibble first then gradually add raw in later x
 
Leanne

Leanne

Sniffer Dog
Location
Shropshire, UK
I really like the look of poppies picnic but it’s a bit out of my price range for 2 dogs... if I could give them half the amount and then top them up with kibble I think I could make it work!

It also means I could continue to carry Mas’s food with me at work and feed him throughout the day like I do now.

Might it be better to feed the raw in the evenings? You could literally spend hours researching this and still find no answers
 
Leanne

Leanne

Sniffer Dog
Location
Shropshire, UK
Jen said:
I don’t see why that would be a problem. My only concern would be if something was upsetting his tummy you wouldn’t know what f was.

So I’d be tempted to get him set on a kibble first then gradually add raw in later x
Click to expand...
If I did the raw I would keep him on the kibble he’s on now from the breeder. He likes it, only poos twice a day and he seems happy enough - it’s Just the reduced meat content I’m not happy with
 
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