Which dog food?

KEZZAE_2

We feed our two dogs (3 year old hyper Chocolate Labrador and 4 year old Border Terrier) on Skinners for working dogs, I think its about 13-15 pounds for a 15KG bag. They love it...... Also, they have had Vitalin before for working dogs. There are various websites that you can order these from. We've been told to feed our Labrador on the cheapest food as possible as being a Lab he'll eat anything and everything...... Protein level is below 20%, which is better to stop him from being so hyper....

Hope this helps

Kez

Becles

Thanks for the useful tips - sorry it turned into an argument.

I used Beta for years with my previous collie and my eldest dog, but they changed that recipe and they wouldn't eat it anymore. We went onto Pal as went shopping as a supermarket roadshow was packing up, and they gave me bag loads of free samples and they dogs enjoyed it. Used Pal for years, and now they've changed that :rolleyes: Dunno why they can't leave these things alone!

bulchy

Have you tried chappie? My dogs are fed raw meat but if ever they have to be fed by someone else, and they dont want to handle the raw meat, i give them chappie to feed them.I also keep a tin in the cupboard for when I've forgotten to defrost meat and theres no veg or tins of fish in for them. Its quite cheap but its reccomended by vets as its easy to digest. I know they do a dried food as well, unsure of prices though.Apologies if its already been mentioned.

Sue

kenshaz

Chappie is an excellent food ,does it smell really fishy?

Luis

Erk, I have only skimmed through the thread, as things seem to get a tad heated at one point, so apologies if I am repeating anyone else:

I feed my treasured woofer on Bakers, which is about £4 for a 3kg bag (I think), therefore, if you bought bulk, bigger bags would be proportionately cheaper? 3Kg lasts a good couple of weeks, as she is not a big eater, and gets her diet augmented by scraps and all the cat food she can filch when I am not looking!

It is the best I have tried by far. My (internationally renowned, oo-er) Vet said it is best to feed a dog on mid-priced food, rather than top brand expensivo stuff, as it can be too rich - especially when they are growing, as it makes them grow too fast for their joints to cope, and brings on joint probs in later life (useful for if you have GSDs as I did at the time).

My kennels uses James Wellbeloved, which all dogs I have ever had LOVE, but costs a fortune, so may only be worthwhile for well-off og owners, or dogs with dicky tummies. Shame, because it is good stuff.

I have tried Wagg before, but it made our 2 GSDs and my Heinz fart like the scene from Blazing Saddles all day every day - and the smell!

I agree with the other poster who mentioned IAMS and Eukanuba, I have heard that they do quite horrific tests on animals with their food, so will not buy it on principle.

Anyway, I have a Heinz, my 4 best friends all feed their dogs (1 Rhodesian Ridgeback, 1 GSD X, 1 Muttly, 2 Rotties, 3 Neopolitan Mastiffs and 1 Pyreneean Mountain Dog) on mid range dried dog food, with no adverse effects to date. And as stated, I recommend Bakers.

HTH.

Lillys_mum

Hi I have been reading this thread with great interest.

We have just got our dog ( 5mth old German Shepherd x Siberian Husky) from the local animal shelter. She was fed on Arden Grange puppy from them and they recommended we keep her on that.
The recommended amount for her weight (20kg) is 500g per day but this is not enough for her we have had to top this up to 650g and she still appears hungry. This is quite an expensive food at £34 for 15kg bag and she doesn't seem all that settled on it.

She poos abouit 4 or 5 times a day:eek:
And they stink and are quite often soft :eek:
And she farts alot and they really stink too :eek:

Can anyone suggest what else we could maybe try.

Thanks

Luis

Hi Lilly's Mum,

I can only reiterate what I posted above. Having had 2 GSDs from pups, and several other adult ones, I can say that they do tend to have loose stools. Also, Please bear in mind what I said about too high a quality food and the effect that this has on their joints as they get too long and lean too fast for their joints (esp hips for GSDs) to cope. Although, yours will have someprotection being a X.

Try getting a mid-range food, and gradually mixing it in - don't change all at one or you'll have a gasto nightmare with them, and you'll be picking up jobbies with a sponge. (BTW, we always used to call the inevitable jobbie picking up "gathering barker's eggs" lol).

I think a slightly lower protein, and higher cereal mix, as found in a cheaper brand will be more filling too. but bear in mind GSDs are greedy!

WeirdoMagnet

Lillys_mum wrote:

Hi I have been reading this thread with great interest.

We have just got our dog ( 5mth old German Shepherd x Siberian Husky) from the local animal shelter. She was fed on Arden Grange puppy from them and they recommended we keep her on that.
The recommended amount for her weight (20kg) is 500g per day but this is not enough for her we have had to top this up to 650g and she still appears hungry. This is quite an expensive food at £34 for 15kg bag and she doesn't seem all that settled on it.

She poos abouit 4 or 5 times a day :eek:
And they stink and are quite often soft :eek:
And she farts alot and they really stink too :eek:

Can anyone suggest what else we could maybe try.

Thanks

Don't have any personal experience of GSDs, but I do know that they are quite prone to sensitive stomachs. I have a colleague who has a GSD with a dodgy tummy, which can only tolerate tinned Chappie, but that brings its own problems as it is not 'firm' enough for the dog to be able to empty it's own anal glands, which of course is not good.

Apart from the "feed that can not be mentioned", :silenced: which I use, you could have a look at the nutritional content of the following less-commercial type feeds. As Luis says, look for something lower in protein (about 18ish%) - most commercial types are way too high. I would however steer clear of Bakers - the artificial additives and colourants are said to cause hyperactivity and could also irritate the stomach too. Have just had a look on their website and it's also quite high in protein (23%) too.

CSJ/Autarky
Dr Johns
James Wellbeloved
Was also trying to find a link to Chappie Complete Dry which is made by Masterfoods/Mars, but they don't have any info on it.

I'll also post a link to the recognised Nutrient Requirements for Dogs - can't do it from work as computer is so slllloooowww, so I'll do it from home.

If/when you do try any new food, or change for good, do remember to change over a period of 5-7 days, so as not to upset the natural gut flora.

kenshaz

Georgina,an excellent study,and it will be my bible from now on,sorry if I stifled you and formed incorrect assumptions,you are truly very good,as are others on this site,all three deserve my praise and respect

NicolaC

We feed our staffie James Wellbeloved.
On occasions when we've run out and I've had to get a "cheaper" tin of something from the shop, you can really tell that he's had a different type of food which has additives.

Hubby read up on all dog foods before we got our pup two years ago and James Welbeloved was one of the most highly recommended by lots of breeders.
We get a large bag for about £17 and it lasts between 3 to 4 weeks. In my opinion this is far cheaper than the nasty tins of food anyway.
Other than we sometimes give him Naturediet (which seems really hard to get ahold of at the moment). It's not very cheap, but it is very good stuff. It actually smells a lot better than most of the other "wet" dog foods on the market.

Our dog is very healthy and has a fantastically shiny coat on him.