Decent quality dry dog food

gettingready

Zara was on Orijen for a long time but due to finances had to cut back and she has been on Skinners Salmon for few months now.

Worried about her coat (terrible state - waiting for the vet verdict on Thursday as to the reason for it) as it is dull, dandruff and really bad condition so want to look at other food options.

Apart from Orijen (too expensive and her coeat was bad then too) and Skinners - what should I look at?

Long haired, 6 yo GS girl...

Thanks

PollyOnAMission

Before I switched to raw I found Wainwrights food from Pets at Home good and reasonably priced. I used to use their wet trays and Harringtons dry complete biscuits.

I've also heard good things about Fish4Dogs, but I don't know how much it costs. Might be good for her coat being fish based?

In your situation I'd be very tempted to try a grain free food. If raw feeding isn't for you, there are grain free complete foods. CSJ do one called No Grainer

Good luck!

krlyr

Autarky sounds good - not the chicken one (lots of maize) but the salmon and rice one looks good, and I think I've seen the turkey one recommended.

Ingredients
Salmon (min 35%), rice (min 33%), oats, chicken fat, yeast, full fat linseed, alfalfa, prairie meal, peas, unmolassed beet pulp, dicalcium phosphate, mannan oligosaccharides, milk thistle, marigold, nettle, seaweed, blackcurrant extract, carrot, yucca extract, thyme, beetroot, tomato, peppermint, fennel, paprika, turmeric, dandelion, ginger, fenugreek, oregano & aloe vera (min 0.4% herbs, min 4% vegetables).

£25.50 per 15kg bag directly from Dodson & Horrell (free shipping)and you may find a discount code (they had some deals on recently for the Jubilee), or you can buy 2 bags for £37.99. Might be deals on other websites too if you look.

daisy_darling

DR Johns Gold, it's VAT free because its for working dogs. I downgraded to it from Purina ProPlan. The Purina was about 40 quid for 14 kg bag, and the Dr John is a tenner for 15kg.

MoMo is a springer and she's just as full of fizz on this cheaper food, and her coat is lovely too.

rising_from_the_ashes

I'd be less inclined to think it's food based if her coat was the same on Orijen - unless she's got an allergy to a common ingredient in both that and the Skinners. Have you done a comparison on the 2 and seen what they have in common?

Also, (just being curious), have you ever fed her on something that wasn't fish based?

I'll 2nd Wainwrights - I used to feed it to Ben and it was a great food too. It shot up in price (I was paying around £22 / 15kg when I started and it was at £33.50 when I switched to Skinners) and think it's now at £36.99 / 15kg.

I did actually have a look at it again when Maisie arrived but TBH the ingredients (duck & rice) were pretty similar to the Skinners so didn't think it was worth the extra money.

However, I'm not sure that Duck is agreeing with her (although her old food is prob still working it's way out her system) - so may have a go at Wainwrights (they do lots more flavours than the Skinners) if it's still not fully settled by the end of this bag.

ac

I had to do the BARF feeding regime with my first bullmastiff due to skin and behaviour problems, it got him through his prime years, but now with my second i've got him on oscars, which is suiting him so far, been on it for about 8 months. they have a good website and a few different types of foods to choose from, i.e. allergy friendly/senior/working dog. best thing they come to your house assess your dogs needs and deliver to the door (this helps cause if i was to go in a pet shop i'd come out with more than just dog food), i pay £25 for 15kg. my little baby ,(all 8st 8oz of him), is on 700g a day, split into 2 meals and the food lasts about 4-5 weeks, and im happy to say that there has been no wind problems, HTH

zaksmum

I don't think you can go wrong with CSJ dry complete food. I switched mine over to that from Hills Science Plan when Lucy had serious mobility problems and the most horrendous loose stools. I get the variety called "That'll do!". It's £30 for two 15kg bags delivered and it's excellent quality.

Since mine have been on it, all Lucy's mobility problems have completely disappeared, her stools have firmed up and every day a stranger will comment on how good both dogs' coats are.

They're both bouncing with energy and I can't recommend this food highly enough.

Can't believe how cheap it is, too, for such a good quality food.

If you go to their website, fill in an online form detailing any problems your dog has and they'll send you some samples free of charge.

Griizelda

I now feed my Flat Coated Retriever on Autarky Senior and he's doing well on it. As another poster said, Dodson & Horrell sell two 15g bags for £37.99 delivered, which is a good price. Here's the link:

http://www.dodsonandhorrellpetfood.co.uk/brands/autarky?gclid=COmn3paX6bACFcohfAodCHByzQ

Cyril

My bullmastiffs girls eat JWB and look great. Not the cheapest I know but cheaper than vets bills through them looking / feeling poorly.

MrsAtobe

John Angell Dog food is supposed to be very similar to Fish4Dogs, and also very good, and is about £15 cheaper per 15kg than Fish4Dogs.

PollyOnAMission

I see from your other thread that you are now looking into BARF, but I thought I'd post this anyway in case it's of some use to you

http://www.whichdogfood.co.uk/