Burns Dog Food, Quantities - how much do people stick to the feeding guide?

catlou

Hi all

I would like to hear other people's feedback / experiences?

I have been feeding my dog Burns Dry Food for a few months now, when I changed him on to it his behaviour dramatically improved :eek: - so obviously I'm reluctant to change him onto something else again. However I'm still not really sure if it suits him, he should be getting about 90g a day the feeding guide = Maximum 10g per Kg but really he's getting about 120g a day which over a week works out like an extra 2 days food.

I have phoned Burns and they were helpful but said he shouldn't be getting more than 100g. I know all dogs are different etc. but I just wanted to know how others get on with it?

I have heard that some people struggle to keep weight on their dogs on Burns so I was just wondering do the people who feed it all the time generally stick to the guidelines or do they find that their dogs need quite a bit more to keep in good condition?

I'm not sure if I am worrying over nothing! and just need to chill and carry on feeding the quantity he's on now or is he needing more because it doesn't suit him and I should be changing him onto something else.

I'm going to change him over from Chicken & Brown Rice to Lamb & Brown Rice Burns over the next week to see if that makes a difference.

Sorry for the long post! .......But hope it makes sense and you understand my question!?!?

Thanks! :T

rita-rabbit

give the dog some raw ocassionally - I do & it's fine (ok I have cats but think should be the same)!

skiTTish

Burns is light and full of air ,many dogs weight drops drastically on it ,I really don't rate it as a food at all but if you like it then you will need to feed your dog more ,it is a very common problem

gettingready

I used to feed Zara Burns - I was mixing tinns and dry.

She would not only have dry Burns, no matter what.

She has put on weight and I was tesing all dry fod there is - eventually settled on Orijen as this is the ONLY dry food Zara eats and her weight now is dropping down slowly to what it should be.

What I found interesting is that the measuring cup that I got brim Burns held 100g Burns dry food but when I eighter the same cup with Orijen inside it took 200g of Orijen - Orijen is heavier and you feed less so in effect it is quite econimical and excellent food.

It may seem expensive but because you feed less (Zara is 39kg, should be 35kg so I feed her acording to the 35 kg guide which is 300g per day) it works out about £40 per month for my big girl which I think is pretty reasonable for a really good quality food.

Saying that - Burns was good for Zara but she was eating more of it and changed because of the weight issue as it was quite difficult to measure moist food and not have to throw away quite a bit as waste as it was going off.

Hintza

As you have pointed out yourself all dogs are different. I once found a forum entry where the guy had three Springers (as do I) which was interesting, all the dogs were fed completely different amounts. Some below and some above the RDA.

I was feeding significantly more than the RDA (50%) but the dog works and is active, however in August he was castrated and I have found he is getting closer to the RDA now.

You just have to keep monitoring them. Just for interest I feed Skinners Muesli (off season) and Crunchy (on season)

mrcol1000

Have you not tried the high engery Burns food for underweight dogs?

threemuttleys

the thing is, you feed more and you are wasting money (may aswell feed something else) I dont feed it anymore, but when I did I used to add boiled veg to the meals to bulk it out and help the dog not feel so hungry

catlou

Thanks everyone for your responses!

It's good to see what others think, I've just started changing him onto the Lamb & Brown Rice I think I might keep him on that for a couple of months and if I'm still feeding him a lot more then I'm going to change and try him on CSJ.

Ritarabbit: I haven't tried feeding him anything Raw yet I will have to one day! I'm worried he won't be interested in boring dry food after!! :eek:

Don't know if everyone is aware of this? While I was looking at the Burns website I came across the Canine Alert range which I haven't seen before. They are for "Assistance Dogs" so priced cheaper because VAT free. I have compared the ingredients they are almost the same - but sounded better. So I phoned Burns to query the difference they said the protein is the same but that the Alert foods have added Antioxidants and Omega Oils - surely that is a good thing for all dogs - Pets not just working dogs? Omega oils are usually good for the brain and and skin hair etc. I'm guessing this is the same in Dogs as humans?

http://www.burnspet.co.uk/dog/assistance_products.asp

I am going to need a bit more Lamb to try it for a couple of months so I am going to buy the Alert Lamb seen as it's cheaper too!

Rosie75

I have one spaniel who is fed dry Burns (Lamb and Rice) and looks fantastic on it. She basically has the RDA. My other spaniel didn't do at all well on Burns - he lost so much weight I was embarassed to take him out as he looked malnurished. I even tried the high energy food they do, but that was no better. I also tried him on CSJ but he still looked thin. In the end a few people on a dog forum told me that Arden Grange is a good food for dogs that struggle to keep weight on, and I tried one of their working dog foods (Premium) which turned out to be a good food for him.

Bubble16

threemuttleys wrote: »

the thing is, you feed more and you are wasting money (may aswell feed something else) I dont feed it anymore, but when I did I used to add boiled veg to the meals to bulk it out and help the dog not feel so hungry

Sorry to sound like an idiot but does this work and not make them gain weight? I used to feed my boxer Burns but won a sack of Hills and he LOVED it so have stuck with that since. However he is an enormously greedy mutt and always acts like I haven't fed him for a week (embarassing on walks!) He is also probably bigger than he should be despite my not feeding him as much as apparently I should of the Hills and taking him for two 1 hour off lead walks a day.

I am currently fostering a very underweight boxer who is on Burns (supplied by the rescue) I was thinking of adding tripe as a way of helping him gain weight, would this work?

Hintza

Age of dog is important. If they are young health and active then don't worry too much. But if they are oldert or have been castrated etc then you have to keep a closer eye on them as they are more likely to gain weight.

Remember protein isn't the bee all and end all for dogs. Some good old fashioned fat can work wonders.